Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 3:1

"Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and [such] we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." — 1 John 3:1 (ASV)

The phrase “born of him [God]” (2:29) leads the author to marvel at the wonder of God’s redemptive activity. See how great the gift of his love really is! Why, he has identified us as being his very own children! And this is exactly what we have become through his acts. Clearly the author means to encourage his readers by reminding them of the lavishness of God’s grace and love— qualities that are missing from his opponents’ lives. They fail to recognize God’s love and feel no obligation to express it. But apart from love, there would have been no children of God.

Because believers are children of God, John warns them that the world is unable to recognize them or relate to them. That should not surprise them because neither did the world recognize God. The failure of the world to know God is one of the basic themes of the gospel of John (5:37; 7:28; 16:3). Those who belong to the world live in darkness. They cannot come to the light but must inevitably hate it.

The author wants his readers to know that approval by the world is to be feared, not desired. To be hated by the world may be unpleasant, but ultimately it should reassure the members of the community of faith that they are loved by God, which is far more important than the world’s hatred.