MONDAY, September 21, Brother Kline attended a love feast at Brother Snider’s.

WEDNESDAY, September 23, he attended another at Brother Samuel Mishler’s.  He spoke beautifully on 1 John 3:2:  “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him.”

A SHORT DISCOURSE.

In my view, there is no passage in the Bible which requires a stronger faith to believe it fully than the one just quoted.  No passage that I know of sets forth in such lofty terms of description the exaltation and glory of the redeemed.  Often have I heard persons express their wonder that Jesus did not tell us more about heaven and the future state.  This text itself tells us infinitely more about this than we are capable of comprehending.  Let us think a little.

I. It tells us that we are now the SONS OF GOD.  To be the son of a rich man is esteemed a great boon; to be the son of a king is an honor and fortune enjoyed by few.  But what are favors like these compared with being a son of God!  No wonder John says in another place:  “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” Take the words of my text all to yourself, my brother, my sister:  believe it; love it; and ever rejoice in the light of it.  You desire to know how you attained to this high distinction.  I will tell you.  Jesus came to you in his blessed Word with the assurance that “as many as receive him, to them gives he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which are born, not of blood; nor of the will of the flesh; nor of the will of man; but of God.”

  “This promise ever shall endure,
  Till suns shall rise and set no more.”

You received the Lord by believing on his name.  This is faith.  You believed with your heart; that is, your faith was full of love, and your love was attended and followed by obedience, and this made your faith complete.  It is yours now to rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

II.  But you can hardly believe that you are to be just like Christ.  On the mount you saw him glorified.  “His face did shine as the sun, and his outward form was white as the light.”  Now Paul says:  “He shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like unto the body of his glory.”  “Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

O brethren, let us look at the bright side of the Christian’s life, for it has a bright side, and that is the side next to heaven, on which the light of heaven forever falls.  I am not unmindful of the fact that, figuratively speaking, one side is turned to earth, and the earth in many respects is a very dark place.  On the earth-side “clouds and darkness are the habitation of his throne;” but on the heaven-side “the city hath no need of the sun to shine in it, for the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof; and there shall be no night there.”  “We are fellow-citizens with the saints [in glory], and of the household of God.”  Oh, brethren, let us walk worthy of our high calling.  “Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God concerning you.”