What Great Love

Part 1 of 2 in Identity in Christ

Parte 1 de 2 de la serie Identity in Christ

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Brian Hunter · July 20, 2025

Scripture Referenced

Recap

Brian opened 1 John 3:1-3, sitting with the idea that being called a child of God isn’t just a title but an actual identity: “and that is what we are.” He noted that the world’s failure to recognize believers as God’s children mirrors the world’s failure to recognize Christ himself, a shared identity that comes with a shared reception.

Turning to verse 2, Brian pointed to John’s own experience in Revelation as a picture of what “we shall be like him” means: John, Jesus’s close friend, fell facedown as if dead when he saw the glorified Christ. Brian suggested that same overwhelming transformation awaits believers: already carrying God’s Spirit now, but still awaiting a future, fuller change into glorified bodies at Christ’s return. He connected this forward-looking hope to Isaiah 49:16, God’s promise that his people’s names are inscribed on his own hands, reinforcing that the relationship isn’t provisional but permanently secured.

The message closed by tying the hope of verse 3 (that anticipating Christ’s appearing leads believers to “purify themselves” now) to the practice of worship and giving, framing generosity not as an obligation to keep the church running but as one more way of saying to God, “it’s all yours anyway.”

Touch Points

1. 1 John 3:1 says “that is what we are”, not just what we’re called. Does your daily life reflect that you actually believe you’re God’s child?
2. John’s response to seeing the glorified Jesus was falling facedown, overwhelmed. What does that reaction tell you about how you currently picture Christ?
3. Isaiah 49:16 pictures your name written on God’s own hand. How does that image of permanence shape how secure you feel in your faith?
4. Brian described giving as saying “it’s all yours anyway” rather than an obligation. How does that reframe your own view of generosity?

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