1 John 3:1 Now Available feat. Eliza King & Will Carlisle

Apr 7

1 John 3:1 is now available on all streaming platforms!

THE VERSE

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.

Good Friday comes with an invitation.

It invites each of us to do the hard work of gazing at the sufferings and death of Jesus as well as consider the cross and all it accomplished. In 1 John 3:1, John the apostle asks us to do this in a unique way. It calls us to look at the love the Father has given us in the sacrifice of His Son for us. This looking isn’t just a quick glance or a drive thru visit, but a genuine beholding. The word in Greek translated “see” in English means to “see with the mind” but also to “become acquainted with by experience.” To take a prolonged and possibly uncomfortable soul stare at One who laid down His life for us on a bloody tree.

This event should take our breath away, and create genuine astonishment and bewilderment

You see, what we deserved on Good Friday versus what received are on vastly different ends of the spectrum. On that first Good Friday, enemies of God hammered nails into the wrists and feet of the very divine hands that had created them. This was cosmic treason and mutiny! While this mutiny was happening, so was a miracle. Just as Jesus’ first miracle was turning water to wine, so on Good Friday we find Jesus performing another even greater miracle: laying down His life in order to turn enemies into children. This event should take our breath away, and create genuine astonishment and bewilderment… God didn’t merely forgive or pardon through Jesus. He made a way for these perpetrators to become sons and daughters. We’ve seen parents and family members of murder victims forgive those who killed their loved ones, but we’ve never seen them adopt the murderer and take them into their home. This is precisely what God has done for us at the cross!

This love is not the kind of love we find on the streets or in Hollywood.

This love is not the kind of love we find on the streets or in Hollywood. In fact, the word translated “what kind of” here in this passage actually means “from what country” in Greek. When we see this too-good-to-be-true kind of love coming toward us as a gift from the Father, we recognize it’s a foreign love unlike any we’ve seen around us; it’s other worldly but it’s entirely true and directed toward us!

Immediately after reflecting on the crazy reality that we’re called children of God, John says this:

“And so we are.”

Let that settle in. We are children of God. Breathe it in over and over. Rehearse it. Sing it at the top of your lungs! Dare to believe it and live in the freedom it brings this Good Friday and every day here after…

The Artist

Will Carlisle is a songwriter, producer, artist, and worship leader in Atlanta, GA. He is also the host of “Our Daily Rhythm,” a daily Scripture reading podcast published by his church, Christ Covenant. He releases music under his own name and loves writing and producing music with others.

We asked Will to share about working on this song:

I absolutely love how matter-of-fact this verse is. God has called us his own children, and you know what that means? That’s exactly what we are. We are called children of God, and so we are. No terms or conditions. Just the love of a father.
Writing this song was a very meditative process for me. It was very powerful and sweet to just reflect on my identity as a child of God and how simple that truth is. The melody and chords came together really quickly, and Eliza absolutely crushed the b-section in one try! Eliza has been one of my favorite worship artists to listen to for a while, so working with her on this was an absolute gift. Her voice carries such anointing, and it was truly amazing to watch it come to life.