1 John 3:2 - Exposition

Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest (or, it never yet was manifested ) what we shall be. The emphatic νῦν is in opposition to οὔπω : our present state is known; our future remains still unrevealed. Again ( 1 John 2:27 , 1 John 2:29 ), we are in doubt about the construction. What is the nominative to "shall be manifested" φανερωθῇ , "he" or "it"? The context is strongly in favour of "it," i.e., "if it shall be manifested what we shall be;" 1 John 2:28 seems to favour "he," i.e., "if Christ shall be manifested." The context must prevail. "Our future state is not yet made manifest. We know that on its manifestation we shall find ourselves like God." The two things will be contemporaneous. The 'Speaker's Commentary' quotes the following anecdote: "When some heathen converts to Christianity were translating a Catechism into their own language, they came upon 1 John 3:2 . They stopped. 'No; it is too much,' they said; 'let us write that we shall be permitted to kiss his feet.'" Beware of inverting the meaning of the last clause, ὅτι , ὀψόμεθα κ . τ . λ .. It does not mean that the seeing God is a proof or sign of our being like him ( Matthew 5:8 ), but the cause of our being like him: "We shall be like him, because we shall see him." God is light ( 1 John 1:5 ), and light is seen. In this life νῦν we cannot see the light of the Divine nature "as it is," but only as it is reflected; and the reflected light cannot transmit to us the nature of the Divine original, though it prepares us to receive it. Hereafter the sight, "face to face" ( 1 Corinthians 13:12 ), of the Light itself will illuminate us through end through, and we shall become like it. Rothe takes "like him" to mean like Christ ( Romans 8:16 , Romans 8:17 , Romans 8:29 ; 2 Corinthians 3:18 ; comp. John 17:24 ; Colossians 3:18 ); comp. Revelation 22:4 ; Revelation 1:7 .