1See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him. 6Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.
7Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God. 10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother. 11For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another— 12unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
13Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death. 15Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
16By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?
18My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth. 19And by this we know that we are of the truth and persuade our hearts before him, 20because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God; 22so whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 23This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded. 24He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
John begins by calling his readers “beloved.” This, too, is a term of endearment, though now addressing them as adults rather than small children. Having revealed that God has chosen to call us His children, John now states that we are indeed God’s children. But what does that mean? John says it has not yet been revealed, or made manifest or visible, what we will be. John is looking at destiny. What God has chosen us to become. The idea of “shall be” likely looks at the person’s state of existence. We don’t know what our nature will be in eternity. However, John does make clear what we can know.
Jesus’ appearing, when Jesus does appear, will cause us to become like Him. Being “like” Jesus does not mean taking on His divine traits or being able to walk through walls. Rather, we will become like Him morally, as revealed by John’s statement in 3:3. What does it mean to see Jesus “just as He is?” It means to suddenly see what holiness looks like. We will see Jesus in His righteousness. And then, we will become like Jesus. It is at this point that we will look at our lives through His eyes. We will see ourselves as we are at the time we are brought into Jesus’ presence.
So, why wouldn't every believer shrink back in shame? We will all see our sinfulness, yet not all will be humiliated before Him. Some will exult. For the believer who has not been abiding and therefore has not been confessing sin and living in a state of cleansing, there will be a sudden understanding of his or her failure. The non-abiding, unprepared believer will stand before Jesus with every sin exposed and uncleansed. For the believer who has been abiding in Christ and confessing known sins, arrival into Jesus’ pleasure will be a thrill. Their life’s goal, to be like Jesus, will have been reached. Those sins they hated will be permanently purged from their experience, and reward will await them. This is evident by what John says next.