1 John 3:1
Thesis God loves believers not merely in a generic way, but with the specific, pure, and eternal love He has for His Son Jesus, including them in the Triune family through Christ's atoning work.
The shape of the argument
24 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.
- personal story · unit #12 — Oswald applies the doctrine to the baptism testimonies just heard by the congregation. He presents the testimonies as real-world illustrations of God's providential orchestration to bring people into this otherworldly love. The illustration personalizes and concretizes the abstract doctrine.
- God loves believers with the specific love He has for His Son, bringing them into participation in the Triune family's eternal love. unit #1
- The Father's love for the Son is the only love in the universe that is entirely pure, requiring no forbearance or overlooking—just unadulterated delight. unit #8
- God's love for believers is not comparable to any earthly love—it is not mere tolerance or forbearance but active, joyful delight. unit #11
- Spiritual adoption is unique in two ways: it is regenerative (believers are born again) and inheritance-focused (adoption in the ancient world was primarily about including someone in the family inheritance). unit #16
- Believers receive the Father's love for the Son only because Jesus earned it through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, bearing the wrath of God in place of sinners. unit #21
"We are called. We are chosen. To what? Holiness? Sonship? To the praise of God. Glory. Yes. Even higher. Is anything higher? Possibly it is. And it's all in this word. It's this. To be loved of God, even as his Son was loved by him. Have I gone too far? Do you think that I'm exaggerating? Have I suddenly given rein to my imagination? Am I going beyond the Scriptures? I am not. Listen to this. They are the words of the Son himself in his high priestly prayer in the 17th of John the 23rd verse. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one listen, and that the world may know them that Thou hast sent me. And then the most astounding thing." — Martyn Lloyd Jones (unit #4)
"the most astounding thing that's ever been said. And has loved them even as thou has loved me." — Martyn Lloyd Jones (unit #5)
Full transcript
0 · Oswald reads 1 John 3:1 and isolates the phrase 'what kind of love' as the exegetical focus
First John, chapter three, verse one, says, see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. I want to just lock in on this unique phrasing in verse one. See what kind of love the Father has given to us. If you read it really quickly, which I'm sure we've all done over the years, it just comes across as a poetic way of saying, oh my goodness, it's so good that God loves us, or, oh my goodness, God loves us so well or so bigly or something like that. But there's actually something really glorious and theologically profound in the sentence here, and it's this, this word kind of. See what kind of love the Father has given us.
1 · Oswald makes the central theological claim: the 'kind of love' in 1 John 3:1 is the Father's love for the Son, extended to believers
He is referring here to a specific kind of love, namely, listen carefully. Namely, the Father's love for his only begotten Son. What he's saying in verse one is that God doesn't just love us, he has extended the love he has for His Son Jesus to us. This isn't just God loves you. This is God loves you with the love he has for the Son. There are different theological terms for this concept. It's essentially a participation in the filial love of Christ. The fatherly love that the Father has for the Son has been extended to those who place their faith in Jesus, like those that you just heard from. Whenever you see this idea expressed, it's essentially this glorious truth. It's not just that God loves you in some generic way, some romantic way, some nostalgic way, but he loves you in a very particular way. And that way is, is that he has included you in his love that he already had and had from forever for the Son.
2 · Structural pivot signaling a shift from the main theological claim to supporting biblical evidence
So let's just quickly make sure we understand a few pieces of this, and we'll be done.
3 · Oswald marshals cross-references from across the canon to establish the biblical foundation for the Father's unique love for the Son
First of all, what you will see from the Father, when he rarely appears in the Gospels, when He rarely speaks in the Gospels, is one sentence, and that is, this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2 Peter 1:17 says that Christ received honor and glory from God the Father. John 3:35. Jesus says, the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. John 5:20. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that He Himself is doing. Behold my servant. Isaiah 42:1. Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. And what John is celebrating in verse one of chapter three of his Epistle is that it's not simply that God loves you, but that he has extended as if it were a kind of blanket. He has extended the love that he has for the Son to all who place their faith in Him.
4 · Oswald introduces Martyn Lloyd-Jones as a theological authority to validate his interpretation
Now, I did that exegesis on my own. And that's typically how I prepare sermons, is I'll do all the exegetical work on my own. But then I'll go back in church history and find some of these husky boys, some of these reliable offensive linemen type theologians. And I'll be like, all right. Am I okay here? Is this a novel interpretation of the text and so forth? And one of the most reliable kind of fullback theologians in my arsenal is Martyn Lloyd Jones. And I want you to hear what he says about this. The Father's love for the Son is special because it involves no need to sacrifice. Sorry, that's me. That sounded like Martyn Lloyd Jones. I had myself fooled. Here's Martin. We are called. We are chosen. To what? Holiness? Sonship? To the praise of God. Glory. Yes. Even higher. Is anything higher? Possibly it is. And it's all in this word. It's this. To be loved of God, even as his Son was loved by him. Have I gone too far? Do you think that I'm exaggerating? Have I suddenly given rein to my imagination? Am I going beyond the Scriptures? I am not. Listen to this. They are the words of the Son himself in his high priestly prayer in the 17th of John the 23rd verse. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one listen, and that the world may know them that Thou hast sent me. And then the most astounding thing.
5 · Oswald completes the Lloyd-Jones quotation, revealing the climactic statement that the Father loves believers as He loves the Son
Jones writes the most astounding thing that's ever been said. And has loved them even as thou has loved me.
Recent preaching context
The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.
Discuss · apply · pray
6 questions for your group this week
-
In 1 John 3:1, John marvels at the 'love the Father has lavished on us.' What does the word 'lavished' suggest about the nature and abundance of God's love for believers, as opposed to a more restrained or conditional affection?1 John 3:1→ How does this compare to the way you typically experience or think about being loved by others in your life?
-
The sermon emphasizes that God's love for believers is the same love the Father has for His Son. What does John 5:20 reveal about the Father's love for the Son, and what does it mean for us that we are loved with that identical love?John 5:20
-
According to the sermon, the Father's love for the Son is entirely pure—unadulterated delight without any need for forbearance or overlooking. How does understanding this exclusive quality of divine love help us grasp what it means that believers are loved with that same love, despite our ongoing sin and weakness?
-
Spiritual adoption in the ancient world was primarily about inclusion in the family inheritance, not merely about emotional belonging. In what way does framing our adoption as inheritance-focused (rather than sentimentally focused) change how you understand your standing before God and your future with Him?→ What concrete difference might this make in how you pray or worship this week?
-
The sermon traces our ability to receive the Father's love back to Christ's perfect life, death, and resurrection—He earned this love for us by bearing God's wrath in our place. Why is it essential that we remember this gospel foundation when we struggle to believe that God genuinely delights in us?→ When have you most acutely felt the gap between knowing this is true and actually believing it about yourself?
-
In John 17:24, Jesus prayed that believers would be with Him and see His glory, and the sermon declares that 1 John 3:1-2 announces this prayer has been answered. How should the reality that Christ has already secured our place in the Father's love and inheritance reshape the way we live this week—our choices, our anxieties, our generosity toward one another?John 17:24
5-day reading plan
This week we meditate on how the Father's love for believers—rooted in Christ's finished work—transforms us from orphans into beloved sons and daughters, secure in an inheritance that will be fully revealed.
In this prayer, Jesus declares that the Father loves us *as* He loves the Son—not with a lesser affection, but with the same delight. This astounding claim means we are not merely forgiven; we are embraced into the very heart of the Godhead's fellowship. Our assurance rests not on our worthiness but on Christ's prayer that has already been answered.
Here we glimpse the Father showing the Son all that He does, loving Him with perfect knowledge and perfect joy. This love needs no correction, no overlooking of flaw—it is pure exultation in the Son's person and work. When we grasp that this very love is now directed toward us in Christ, we understand that God's delight in us is not tentative or qualified, but settled and sure.
The Father's declaration over His Servant Son—'Behold my servant, whom I uphold... in whom my soul delights'—reveals what divine love looks like when fully expressed. This is not grudging acceptance; it is fervent, active pleasure in the beloved. Because we stand in Christ, we now hear this same divine pleasure spoken over us, transforming our self-perception from shame to secure identity.
Here we see Christ 'made perfect through suffering,' crowned with glory and honor, bringing many sons and daughters to glory. His work of redemption opens the inheritance to us—we are no longer slaves or strangers but co-heirs with Christ. Our adoption cost Him everything; our inheritance flows from His exaltation and our union with Him in that triumph.
Jesus prays, 'Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me.' Every word rests on His completed work—His obedience unto death, His resurrection, His ascension. We see the glory we will inherit only because Christ bore our judgment and won our redemption. This week's meditation culminates here: our future glory is not a hope we earn but a gift Christ purchased for us at infinite cost.
Prayer of Adoption and Beloved Delight
Father, we come before You in awe of the love You have lavished upon us—the same love with which You delight in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We confess that we often live as though we belong to You by obligation or merit rather than by the sheer, joyful affection of the Triune family itself. We forget that Your love for us is not mere tolerance of our weakness, but active, unadulterated delight in us as Your adopted children, included in Your eternal inheritance (1 John 3:1).
We are humbled to remember that we receive this love only because Christ earned it for us—through His perfect life, His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection, bearing the wrath we deserved in our place. The gospel declares that His prayers on our behalf have been answered: we are invited into the Father's love, inheritance, and glory (John 17:23–24).
Grant us grace this week to live as those who truly belong to You—not striving to earn Your delight, but compelled by the sheer wonder that You love us with the same love the Father has for the Son. Give us eyes to see our adoption not merely as forgiveness, but as regeneration and inheritance, so that we walk together in the gladness of children secure in the family of God. Let this truth reshape how we see ourselves, one another, and the world around us.
To You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, belongs all glory and praise, for You have made us Your own in Christ Jesus, now and forevermore.
Loved Like the Son
This prompt invites your family to grasp something almost too wonderful to believe: that God's love for us is the same kind of love He has for His own Son. Listen for moments of wonder or confusion—both are signs the gospel is sinking in.
Chris talked about how God loves us with the exact same love He has for Jesus. That's not a little love—it's the most perfect, joyful love that exists. If God looks at you the way He looks at His own Son, what changes about how you see yourself, or how you think God sees you?
Beloved as the Son
- When you heard that the Father loves you with the same delight He has for His Son, what stirred in your heart—and did you find yourself believing it, or did doubt rise up?
- How might our marriage change if we truly grasped that we are both loved by God not because we've earned it, but because Jesus earned it for us—and we live in that inheritance together?
- What is one way you can pray for your spouse this week to help them experience, more deeply, the Father's joyful delight in them as a beloved child?
1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
Why this verse: This verse is the thematic anchor of the entire sermon, presenting the astounding reality that God's love for believers is identical in nature to His love for His Son—a love that brings us into the Triune family itself. Memorizing this verse captures the sermon's central claim: that our adoption is not mere tolerance but the Father's active, joyful delight in us, grounded in Christ's finished work.
About the church
Crawler & AI-search policy · view robots.txt and llms.txt
This sermon page is intentionally optimized for search engines and AI assistants. We've opted into being crawled by both. The crawler-config files at the domain root:
/robots.txt
User-agent: * Allow: / User-agent: GPTBot Allow: / User-agent: ClaudeBot Allow: / User-agent: Google-Extended Allow: / User-agent: PerplexityBot Allow: / Sitemap: https://sermonsteward.com/sitemap.xml
/llms.txt
# Providence Community Church A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible. ## Sermons - [1 John 2 - Love of This World (1 John 2:1-29, 2025-10-19)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/10/1-john-2-love-of-this-world) - [1 John 2:18 (2025-10-26)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/10/1-john-2-18) - [Many Antichrists Have Come (1 John 2:18-27, 2025-10-26)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/10/many-antichrists-have-come) - [1 John 3:1 (2025-11-03)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/11/1-john-3-1) ## About - [About the church](/about) - [Plan a visit](/visit)
The page itself ships with Schema.org Article + Church markup (with real geo coordinates), Open Graph + Twitter cards for share previews, and a canonical URL. Transcripts are server-rendered HTML — no JS dependency for the readable body.