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Just Like Him

1 John 3:1-3

What the apostle John put in devotional terms in his first letter, the apostle Paul put in theological terms in Romans 8. John's intent was to remind his readers that we have been given, by God, the same status as Jesus of Nazareth: We are children of God. We have not been made divine members of the Godhead like Jesus, but as children of God we have been promised an eternal inheritance as His heirs (Romans 8:17).

John also provides a clue as to what our eternal state will be like. Yet when the clue is stated we find it not definitive in details but sufficient for security. John admits "it has not yet been revealed what we shall be [like in eternity], but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). We can't know exactly what we will be in eternity because we don't know exactly what Jesus is like or will be. But this we do know: Whatever He is, "we shall be like Him."

Paul had commented on the Christian's destiny to be like Jesus in Romans 8. He affirmed that we are "heirs of God and joint heirs [family members] with Christ" (verse 17. The glory that awaits the members of God's family makes present sufferings minor by comparison (verse 18). Then Paul sets forth, in one verse, God's purpose for those who have been adopted into His family: "to be conformed to the image of His son, that [Christ] might be the firstborn among many brethren" (verse 29). As children of God, Christians are to become "brethren" of Jesus Christ, co-heirs with Him of the inheritance God has prepared for us (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Every event in life is used by God to bring us into conformity with Christ's image (verse 28). Finally, when He is revealed, we will be like Him for all eternity.

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