Q: Would you please explain 1 John 3:2. Does this Scripture tell us that we cannot know what our destiny or potential is?

No, it does not mean that at all. Quite to the contrary, we are clearly told in Scripture, so that we CAN know, what our destiny is. We read in Ephesians 3:14-19 that it is our destiny to become spirit members within the Family of God, and that we KNOW that we are to be filled with "all the fullness of God."

1 John 3:2 does not tell us something different. In fact, this passage CONFIRMS, rightly understood, that we DO know what our destiny is. When we read this passage in context, it states:

"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we KNOW that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

This passage tells us that we KNOW that when Christ is revealed or manifested at His Second Coming, we will be LIKE Him. Christ will return in glory (Matthew 24:30), and so we, too, will appear or be manifested with Him in glory (Romans 8:17). Right now, we are not yet filled with God's glory, as we are still flesh and blood. That is, it has not yet been revealed or manifested what we shall be, because we are not yet powerful glorious God beings. But we do KNOW that we will be glorious God beings--at the time of Christ's return.

Notice the following Scriptures which make this understanding perfectly clear:

(1) We read in 1 John 3:2 about the time when Christ is revealed. We read about Christ's revelation--talking about His RETURN--in many additional places:

-- 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 says that when Christ is "revealed from heaven with His mighty angels," He will take vengeance on those who disobey God.

-- 1 Peter 4:13 tells us that when Christ's glory is "revealed," we will also be glad with exceeding joy.

-- Luke 17:30 compares the time when Christ is "revealed" at His return with the time of Noah and Lot (verses 26-29).

(2) We also read in 1 John 3:2 that when Christ is "revealed," we will be LIKE Him. That is, when Christ is revealed in glory, we, too, will be revealed in glory. Again, note the following additional passages:

-- Romans 8:29 tells us that God "predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son," with the ultimate goal of our glorification (verse 30).

-- 1 Corinthians 15:49 adds that we "shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man"--Jesus Christ.

-- Philippians 3:21 says that Christ will "transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body."

So, we have been TOLD WHAT we will be! But it has not been revealed yet--as we have not been revealed or manifested yet in power and glory. But we KNOW that we WILL be REVEALED or manifested as born-again God beings in the near future. Notice Paul's words in Romans 8:18-19:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the GLORY which shall be REVEALED in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the REVELATION of the sons of God."

Again, when is our glorious revelation going to take place? At the time of Christ's Second Coming! Note Colossians 3:4, as it is correctly translated from the original Greek:

" When Christ who is our life is manifested [or revealed], then you also will be manifested [or revealed] with Him in glory" (compare Elberfelder Uebersetzung). The New Revised Standard Version and the Revised English Bible translate accurately: "When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory."

Other translations say, "when Christ... appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory," giving thereby the intended meaning that Christ's revelation will occur when He appears at His Second Coming. But all renderings make it clear that we will be revealed or appear with Him in glory, when He is revealed or appears. That is why we are to eagerly wait "for the REVELATION of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7).

We can and do know our potential. That knowledge has been revealed to us by God, but it has not been revealed yet to the world, as we are still flesh and blood--not yet immortal God beings. Rather than teaching us that we cannot know what we will be, 1 John 3:2 tells us the exact opposite: We can and do know our potential, but the manifestation of our potential has not occurred yet. That is, we are not yet glorified! But when the glorified Jesus Christ is "revealed" or appears at His Second Coming (1 John 2:28), we KNOW that we will also appear with Him in glory--provided, however, that we have remained faithful to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

For more information on our destiny, please read our free booklets, "The Mysteries of the Bible," "God Is a Family," and "The Gospel of the Kingdom of God."

Lead Writer: Norbert Link