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4. Hear. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath given us, that we should be called sons of God, and be (such). For whoso are called sons, and are not sons, what profiteth them the name where the thing is not? How many are called physicians, who know not how to heal! how many are called watchers, who sleep all night long! So, many are called Christians, and yet in deeds are not found such; because they are not this which they are called, that is, in life, in manners, in faith, in hope, in charity. But what have ye heard here, brethren? "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be, the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it hath not known Him, us also the world knoweth not." There is a whole world Christian, and a whole world ungodly; because throughout the whole world there are ungodly, and throughout the whole world there are godly: those know not these. In what sense, think we, do they not know them? They deride them that live good lives. Mark well and see: for haply there are such also among you. Each one of you who now lives godly, who despises worldly things, who does not choose to go to spectacles, who does not choose to make himself drunken as it were by solemn custom, yea, what is worse, under countenance of holy days to make himself unclean: the man who does not choose to do these things, how is he derided by those who do them! Would he be scoffed at if he were known? But why is he not known? "The world knoweth Him not." Who is "the world"? Those inhabiters of the world. Just as we say, "a house;" meaning, its inhabitants. These things have been said to you again and again, and we forbear to repeat them to your disgust. By this time, when ye hear the word "world," in a bad signification, ye know that ye must understand it to mean only lovers of the world because through love they inhabit, and by inhabiting have become entitled to the name. Therefore the world hath not known us, because it hath not known Him. He walked here Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh; He was God, He was latent in weakness. And wherefore was He not known? Because He reproved all sins in men. They, through loving the delights of sins, did not acknowledge the God: through loving that which the fever prompted, they did wrong to the Physician. 

5. For us then, what are we? Already we are begotten of Him; but because we are such in hope, he saith, "Beloved, now are we sons of God." Now already? Then what is it we look for, if already we are sons of God? "And not yet," saith he, "is it manifested what we shall be." But what else shall we be than sons of God? Hear what follows: "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Understand, my beloved. It is a great matter: "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." In the first place mark, what is called "Is." Ye know what it is that is so called. That which is called "Is," and not only is called but is so, is unchangeable: It ever remaineth, It cannot be changed, It is in no part corruptible: It hath neither proficiency, for It is perfect; nor hath deficiency, for It is eternal. And what is this? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And what is this? "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." To see Christ in this sort, Christ in the form of God, Word of God, Only-Begotten of the Father, equal with the Father, is to the bad impossible. But in regard that the Word was made flesh, the bad also shall have power to see Him: because in the day of judgment the bad also will see Him; for He shall so come to judge, as He came to be judged. In the selfsame form, a man, but yet God: for "cursed is every one that putteth his trust in man." A man, He came to be judged, a man, He will come to judge. And if He shall not be seen, what is this that is written, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced?" For of the ungodly it is said, that they shall see and be confounded. How shall the ungodly not see, when He shall set some on the right hand, others on the left? To those on the right hand He will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom:" to those on the left He will say, "Go into everlasting fire." They will see but the form of a servant, the form of God they will not see. Why? because they were ungodly; and the Lord Himself saith, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Therefore, we are to see a certain vision, my brethren, "which neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man:" a certain vision, a vision surpassing all earthly beautifulness, of gold, of silver, of groves and fields; the beautifulness of sea and air, the beautifulness of sun and moon, the beautifulness of the stars, the beautifulness of angels: surpassing all things: because from it are all things beautiful. 

6. What then shall "we" be, when we shall see this? What is promised to us? "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." The tongue hath done what it could, hath sounded the words: let the rest be thought by the heart. For what hath even John himself said in comparison of That which Is, or what can be said by us men, who are so far from being equal to his merits? Return we therefore to that unction of Him, return we to that unction which inwardly teacheth that which we cannot speak: and because ye cannot at present see, let your part and duty be in desire. The whole life of a good Christian is an holy desire. Now what thou longest for, thou dost not yet see: howbeit by longing, thou art made capable, so that when that is come which thou mayest see, thou shall be filled. For just as, if thou wouldest fill a bag, and knowest how great the thing is that shall be given, thou stretchest the opening of the sack or the skin, or whatever else it be; thou knowest how much thou wouldest put in, and seest that the bag is narrow; by stretching thou makest it capable of holding more: so God, by deferring our hope, stretches our desire; by the desiring, stretches the mind; by stretching, makes it more capacious. Let us desire therefore, my brethren, for we shall be filled. See Paul widening, as it were, his bosom, that it may be able to receive that which is to come. He saith, namely, "Not that I have already received, or am already perfect: brethren, I deem not myself to have apprehended." Then what art thou doing in this life, if thou have not yet apprehended? "But this one thing [I do]; forgetting the things that are behind, reaching forth to the things that are before, upon the strain I follow on unto the prize of the high calling." He says he reaches forth, or stretches himself, and says that he follows "upon the strain." He felt himself too little to take in that "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man." This is our life, that by longing we should be exercised. But holy longing exercises us just so muchas we prune off our longings from the love of the world. We have already said, "Empty out that which is to be filled." With good thou art to be filled: pour out the bad. Suppose that God would fill thee with honey: if thou art full of vinegar, where wilt thou put the honey? That which the vessel bore in it must be poured out: the vessel itself must be cleansed; must be cleansed, albeit with labor, albeit with hard rubbing, that it may become fit for that thing, whatever it be. Let us say honey, say gold, say wine; whatever we say it is, being that which cannot be said, whatever we would fain say, It is called-God. And when we say" God," what have we said? Is that one syllable the whole of that we look for? So then, whatever, we have had power to say is beneath Him: let us stretch ourselves unto Him, that when He shall come, He may fill us. For "we shall be like Him; because we shall see Him as He is." 

7. "And every one that hath this hope in Him." Ye see how he hath set us our place, in "hope." Ye see how the Apostle Paul agreeth with his fellow-apostle, "By hope we are saved. But hope that is seen, is not hope: for what. a man seeth, why doth he hope for? For if what we see not, we hope for, by patience we wait for it." This very patience exerciseth desire. Continue thou, for He continueth: and persevere thou in walking, that thou mayest reach the goal: for that to which thou tendest will not remove. See: "And every one that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself even as He is pure." See how he has not taken away free-will, in that he saith, "purifieth himself." Who purifieth us but God? Yea, but God doth not purify thee if thou be unwilling. Therefore, in that thou joinest thy will to God, in that thou purifiest thyself. Thou purifiest thyself, not by thyself, but by Him who cometh to inhabit thee. Still, because thou doest somewhat therein by the will, therefore is somewhat attributed to thee. But it is attributed to thee only to the end thou shouldest say, as in the Psalm, "Be thou my helper, forsake me not." If thou sayest, "Be thou my helper," thou doest somewhat: for if thou be doing nothing, how should He be said to "help" thee? 

8. "Every one that doeth sin, doeth also iniquity." Let no man say, Sin is one thing, iniquity another: let no man say, I am a sinful man, but not a doer of iniquity. For, "Every one that doeth sin, doeth also iniquity. Sin is iniquity." Well then, what are we to do concerning sins and iniquities? Hear what He saith: "And ye know that He was manifested to take away sin; and sin in Him is not." He, in Whom sin is not, the same is come to take away sin. For were there sin in Him, it must be taken away from Him, not He take it away Himself. "Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not." In so far as he abideth in Him, in so far sinneth not. "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him." A great question this: "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him." No marvel. We have not seen Him, but are to see; have not known Him, but are to know: we believe on One we have not known. Or haply, by faith we have known, and by actual beholding have not yet known? But then in faith we have both seen and known. For if faith doth not yet see,why are we said to have been enlightened? There is an enlightening by faith, and an enlightening by sight. At present, while we are on pilgrimage, "we walk by faith, not by sight," or, actually beholding. Therefore also our righteousness is "by faith, not by sight." Our righteousness shall be perfect, when we shall see by actual beholding. Only, in the meanwhile, let us not leave that righteousness which is of faith, since "the just doth live by faith," as saith the apostle. "Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not." For, "whosoever sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him." That man who sins, believes not: but if a man believes, so far as pertains to his faith, he sinneth not. 

9. "Little children, let no man seduce you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous." What, on hearing that we are "righteous as He is righteous," are we to think ourselves equal with God? Ye must know what means that "as:" thus he said a while ago, "Purifieth himself even as He is pure." Then is our purity like and equal to the purity of God, and our righteousness to God's righteousness? Who can say this? But the word "as," is not always wont to be used in the sense of equality. As, for example, if, having seen this large church, a person should wish to build a smaller church, but with the same relative dimensions: as, for example, if this be one measure in width and two measures in length, he too should build his church one measure in width and two measures in length: in that case one sees that he has built it "as" this is built. But this church has, say, a hundred cubits in length, the other thirty: it is at once "as" this, and yet unequal. Ye see that this "as" is not always referred to parity and equality. For example, see what a difference there is between the face of a man and its image from a mirror: there is a face in the image, a face in the body: the image exists in imitation, the body in reality. And what do we say? Why, "as" there are eyes here, so also there; "as" ears here, so ears also there. The thing is different, but the "as" is said of the resemblance. Well then, we also have in us the image of God; but not that which the Son equal with the Father hath: yet except we also, according to our measure, were "as" He, we should in no respect be said to be like Him. "He purifieth us," then, "even as He is pure:" but He is pure from eternity, we pure by faith. We are "righteous even as He is righteous;" but He is so in His immutable perpetuity, we righteous by believing on One we do not see, that so we may one day see Him. Even when our righteousness shall be perfect, when we shall be equal to the angels, not even then shall it be equalled with Him. How far then is it from Him now, when not even then it shall be equal! 

10. "He that doeth sin, is of the devil, because the devil sinneth from the beginning." "Is of the devil:" ye know what he means: by imitating the devil. For the devil made no man, begat no man, created no man: but whoso imitates the devil, that person, as if begotten of him, becomes a child of the devil; by imitating him, not literally by being begotten of him. In what sense art thou a child of Abraham, not that Abraham begat thee? In the same sense as the Jews, the children of Abraham, not imitating the faith of Abraham, are become children of the devil: of the flesh of Abraham they were begotten, and the faith of Abraham they have not imitated. If then those who were thence begotten were put out of the inheritance, because they did not imitate, thou, who art not begotten of him, art made a child, and in this way shall be a child of him by imitating him. And if thou imitate the devil, in such wise as he became proud and impious against God, thou wilt be a child of the devil: by imitating, not that he created thee or begat thee. 

11. "Unto this end was the Son of God manifested." Now then, brethren, mark! All sinners are begotten of the devil, as sinners. Adam was made by God: but when he consented to the devil, he was begotten of the devil; and he begat all men such as he was himself. With lust itself we were born; even before we add our sins, from that condemnation we have our birth. For if we are born without any sin, wherefore this running with infants to baptism that they may be released? Then mark well, brethren, the two birth-stocks, Adam and Christ: two men are; but one of them, a man that is man; the other, a Man that is God. By the man that is man we are sinners; by the Man that is God we are justified. That birth hath cast down unto death; this birth hath raised up unto life: that birth brings with it sin; this birth setteth free from sin. For to this end came Christ as Man, to undo the sins of men. "Unto this end was the Son of God manifested, that He may undo the works of the devil." 

12. The rest I commend to your thoughts, my beloved, that I may not burden you. For the question we labor to solve is even this-that we call ourselves sinners: for if any man shall say that he is without sin, he is a liar. And in the Epistle of this same John we have found it written, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." For ye should remember what went before: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." And yet, on the other hand, in what follows thou art told, "He that is begotten of God sinneth not: he that doeth sin hath not seen Him, neither known Him.-Every one that doeth sin is of the devil:" sin is not of God: this affrights us again. In what sense are we begotten of God, and in what sense do we confess ourselves sinners? Shall we say, because we are not begotten of God? And what do these Sacraments in regard to infants? What hath John said? "He that is begotten of God, sinneth not." And yet again the same John hath said, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us!" A great question it is, and an embarrassing one; and may I have made you intent upon having it solved, my beloved. Tomorrow, in the name of the Lord, what He will give, we will discourse thereof.