In 3:2 John goes on to say, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we shall be. We know that if He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him even as He is.” Since we are the children of God, we shall be like Him in the maturity of life when He is manifested. To be like Him is “what we shall be.” This has not yet been manifested. This indicates that the children of God have a great future with a more splendid blessing. We shall not only have the divine nature, but shall also bear the divine likeness. To partake of the divine nature is already a great blessing and enjoyment; yet to be like God, bearing His likeness, will be a greater blessing and enjoyment.
The pronoun “He” in 3:2 refers to God and denotes Christ, who is to be manifested. This not only indicates that Christ is God, but also implies the Divine Trinity. When Christ is manifested, the Triune God will be manifested. When we see Him, we shall see the Triune God; and when we are like Him, we shall be like the Triune God.
In verse 2 John says, “We shall be like Him, because we shall see Him even as He is.” This means that by seeing Him we shall reflect His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). This will cause us to be as He is.
Verse 2 indicates that the children of God have a great future. However, I have heard some saints say that they do not have a future. These saints need to realize that they have a great future with splendid blessings. Our future is indicated by the word “it has not yet been manifested what we shall be.” What we shall be is a divine mystery. Because it is such a mystery, it must be something great. We are not able to imagine what our future will be. The fact that our future has not yet been manifested indicates that it will be wonderful. Although it has not been manifested what we shall be, we know that when the Son is manifested, we shall be like the Triune God.
In 3:3 John continues, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as that One is pure.” The hope spoken of here is the hope of being like the Lord, the hope of bearing the likeness of the Triune God. Our expectation is that we shall be like Him.
Verse 3 says that because we have this hope, we purify ourselves. According to the context of this section, from 2:28 through 3:24, to purify ourselves is to practice righteousness (3:7; 2:29), to live a righteous life that is the expression of the righteous God (1:9), the righteous One (2:1). This is to be pure without any stain of unrighteousness, even as that One is perfectly pure. This also describes the life that abides in the Lord.
In 3:4 John says, “Everyone who practices sin practices also lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” To practice sin is not merely to commit sin as occasional acts, but to live in sin (Rom. 6:2), to live a life which is not under the ruling principle of God over man.
No one who is a child of God practices sin habitually. We may sin occasionally, but we do not practice sin habitually. For instance, if someone has the practice of lying continually, this is a sign that he probably has not been born of God. Someone who has the divine life in him as a seed cannot lie habitually. However, due to weakness a child of God may lie in a particular circumstance. But because he is a child of God, he will not lie habitually. Instead of practicing sin, those who are children of God practice righteousness habitually.
In 3:4 John says that sin is lawlessness. Lawlessness is to have no law, to be without law. This does not mean to be without the Mosaic law (see Rom. 5:13), because sin was already in the world before the Mosaic law was given. Without law here denotes without, or not under, the ruling principle of God over man. To practice lawlessness is to live a life outside of and not under God’s ruling principle over man. Hence, lawlessness is sin, or reciprocally, sin is lawlessness.