Assuming someone walked up to you and said, Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, what would you say?
When we talk about love, there is always a distinction with the parental love. And in this case, we are looking at Abba Father’s love.
Meanwhile, have you had a chance to read my article, Follow Me As I Follow Christ? You should check it out.
Behold What Manner Of Love Verse
The compelling statement, Behold what manner of love, is not just an inspirational quote but a scriptural quote with a unique meaning.
In the whole material called the Holy Bible, there is but one verse translated in the King James Version with the phrase, Behold what manner of love. It is 1 John 3:1. It says;
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
What do you make of this verse of scripture? Let us take a close look.
Behold What Manner Of Love Meaning
The terminology Behold is an instructive word about seeing and looking. More expressively, it is a call to observe something visible. In this case, it is a manner of love that the writer tells us to behold.
Therefore, Behold what manner of love is a call to look and see the kind of love God has shown to us. That is because the manner of love is relative to the Father, and God is the Father. So then, what manner of love is this?
What Manner Of Love Is This?
Remember, I had said in the beginning that the love we are exploring is the love of the Father. The Father’s love here is the love of God towards humankind. This type of love is the one that enables us to become sons and daughters (children) of God. How so?
The scriptures according to Romans 5:7–8 WEB says:
“For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
The demonstration of God’s love towards us is not an act against us; it is for us. It entails the sufferings of Christ for our sins and the glory that followed. In that glory is the sonship we access with the Father in the Son. Here is the difference between us and the world.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 WEB
As The Believers Today, when we look at what Christ did at the cross, we see what He offers us out of it: salvation, the Spirit, and sonship. All of these are one in essence; it is the Father’s Love.
Brother Paul the Apostle said in Galatians 4:3–7 WEB:
“So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’
So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
On the other hand, Brother John continued his letter saying, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.” 1 John 3:2 WEB.
In verse 3, he added that those who have this hope in Christ keep themselves pure just as Christ is pure. What is the hope? It means that when He appears, we will be like Him. It is about the resurrection.
In essence, while we behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, we should know that this love is in Christ Jesus. And by believing in Christ, we gain access to that love, making us children of God. Once we become, we have become. Are you a son or daughter of God?
