Creating Expectancy

The Christian Attitude to the Future
(1 John 2:28-3:3)

There's a common prejudice that Christian belief about the future turns our eyes away from the present world and deprives it of importance. In this message about the implications of Jesus' coming again, Rob Yule shows that quite the opposite is the case. Christian hope invests this life with tremendous ethical significance. It is a preparation for eternity. Rob gave this address – the sixth is his series on 1 John – at Greyfriars' Classical Service on 13 August 2006.

In my last message in this series I looked at what the Bible says about the Antichrist – the world ruler, inspired by Satan, who will have one last crack at world government, in a vain attempt to pre-empt God's coming kingdom and reign over all the earth. Today, by contrast, I want to look at the coming of Jesus, the great event that the Antichrist spirit is trying to prevent.

This passage in John's letter doesn't go into any detail about the coming of Jesus, or about nature of his coming kingdom. It simply accepts Jesus' coming as a given, the focus of our Christian hope. It treats Jesus' coming, not as a matter of speculation, as end-time matters have become for many Christians, but as an incentive to how we should live now. John emphasises that our beliefs about the future affect our behaviour in the present. Our eschatology (what we believe about the future) should shape our ethics (how we behave in the present).

1. An incentive to readiness

Firstly, John presents the coming of Jesus as an incentive to being ready, so that we won't be caught out by his coming. The important word is that little word 'so'. 'And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.' (1 John 2:28). We’re to live in such a way now that when he returns he'll acknowledge us as his followers. We won't be ashamed by him denying that he knew us.

This is like what Jesus taught. He said his coming would be sudden or unexpected, like a burglary or a break-in. 'Keep watch,' he said, 'because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.' (Matthew 24:42-44).

In his parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), Jesus warned that some would be ready for his coming, and some would not be. The wise virgins had a supply of fuel for their lamps, and their lamps were trimmed and burning when the bridegroom arrived. But the foolish virgins didn't have enough oil to keep their lamps burning when the bridegroom's coming was delayed. They were away buying supplies when the bridegroom arrived for the wedding banquet. 'Sir! Sir!' they cried, 'Open the door for us!' But Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

The point of this parable is that wise people live now in the expectation of Jesus' coming. They are ready for him to come at any time. But others live with the view that they can fool around and enjoy the pleasures of life now, and repent later. Jesus' coming will catch them unprepared. Too late they will realise that events have wrong-footed them and caught them off-guard.

2. An incentive to self-awareness

The second thing John says about the coming of Jesus is that it's an invitation to self-awareness and true self-knowledge. 'Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall seem him as he really is.' (1 John 3:2).

True self-awareness consists in being certain about what you know and admitting uncertainty about what you don't know. John says Christians know with certainty that they are God's children. They know that when they believed in Jesus they were born again as God's children, and received all the privileges of being made members of God's family. Jesus is God's natural-born child. Christians are his adopted children. This is something every Christian knows, every Christian can be certain about.

But John says that in contrast to the certainty of our family status, our future destiny is still unknown. So how can we be certain about our future destiny? By extrapolating from the known to the unknown, from the Jesus we know now by faith to the Jesus who is coming again and we will know face-to-face by sight. 'We know that when he (Jesus) appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he really is.'

What John is saying here accords with the path of knowledge and self-awareness – how we come to know anything. How does a child learn? By responding to their mother or father, by exploring their world, by moving from the known to the unknown. How does a scientist learn? By extrapolating from observable realities and known laws of science, they can predict the existence of realities that haven't yet been observed or experienced. Perturbations in the orbit of Neptune led astronomers to predict the existence of an unknown planet, Pluto. The regularity of the chemical elements in the periodic table led to the prediction of elements that hadn't yet been discovered.

Our knowledge grows as we move from the known to the unknown. This is true of all forms of knowledge. Above all this is true of theological knowledge, knowledge of God's revelation in Jesus Christ and of our future destiny. We move from what is known – from what God has revealed of our future destiny in Jesus – to what is unknown – our own personal destiny. 'When he (Jesus) appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.' (1 John 3:2b).

Jesus revealed God's glory in human form – particularly when he was transfigured on the mountain. John says, 'We have seen his glory, the glory of the Only Begotten, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.' (John 1:14). To know Jesus as God's only-begotten Son, is to catch a glimpse of our future glory as God's adopted children. Jesus is the present revelation of our future destiny. We can know with certainty our future glory. There won't be any surprises or disappointments. 'When Jesus appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he really is.' Jesus' coming is the basis of a true Christian self-awareness and self-confidence.

3. An incentive to holiness

Thirdly, John says that the coming of Jesus is an incentive to holiness. 'All who have this hope in them purify themselves, just as he is pure.' (1 John 3:3). Our future hope is the basis for our present happiness. Since God's glory revealed in Jesus Christ is our future destiny, we should live our life now preparing for this glorious eternity. Our earthly life is immensely precious, since it is a preparation for sharing in God's eternity.

We can compare this with what Paul writes in Romans: 'God will give to everyone according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil; . . . but glory honour and peace for everyone who does good. . . . for God does not show favouritism.' (Romans 2:6-11).

There is a common prejudice that the Christian hope turns our eyes away from the present world and deprives it of importance. Quite the opposite is the case. The Christian hope invests this life with tremendous ethical significance. The Dutch theologian Hendrikus Berkhof says, 'this perspective lends an eternal importance to our earthly life.' (Christian Faith, p. 492). The choices you make here have eternal consequences. Life is too important to waste. It isn't just a game. It isn't for fluffing around. Life is a preparation for eternity.

So John encourages us that it's worth striving to live a moral life. 'All who have this hope purify themselves.' The hope of Jesus' return is a tremendous incentive to living a life of personal self-denial, service of others, and holiness before God. It helps us look forward to the completion of our personal salvation. It gives us the confidence that he who began a good work in us 'will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.' (Philippians 1:6).

Rob Yule, 13 August 2006
© 2006, Greyfriars Presbyterian Church