Behold, (1) (a) what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be (b) called the sons of God: (2) therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
(1) He begins to declare this agreement of the Father and the Son, at the highest cause, that is, at that free love of God towards us, with which he so loves us, that also he adopts us to be his children.
(a) What a gift of how great love.
(b) That we should be the sons of God, and so, that all the world may see that we are so. (2) Before he declares this adoption, he says two things: the one, that this so great a dignity, is not to be esteemed according to the judgment of the flesh, because it is unknown to the world, for the world knows not God the Father himself.