1 John 3:1-3 tells us the benefits of beholding God:
v1. 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.
v2. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
v3. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
The first benefit is joyful adoration. With God’s help, knowledge of Him helps us to worship and praise this incomprehensible God. Why do we study theology? We don’t study theology just for knowledge’s sake. We study so that we can glorify God: so that we can “see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.” For example, studying soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, should inspire us to worship in awe.
The next benefit and effect of beholding is transformation. We are God’s children now. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. It is important to distinguish between justification and sanctification. While justified, we are not yet fully sanctified. With God’s help, we are being sanctified: transformed into his image. Transformation should be a natural result of being in God’s presence…. “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” This transformation is cause and effect. When we see him as he is, we will be like him. Remember Moses’s radiant face after his encounter with God?
With God’s help, we can enjoy freedom from sin. Our hope is this: God is at work in us and will complete our sanctification. Phil 1:6. Still, we have personal responsibility to obey God’s commands. This purity is hedonistic. God wants us to walk in freedom from sin and we should be content in righteousness and freedom from sin.
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
