I John 3:1 “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.”
The word that is translated “know” connotes far more than simple cognizance or awareness. When we walk through a busy airport, we encounter a sea of faces and we certainly “know” that they are all about us and we are certainly aware of them, we’re cognizant that they are there; and our main concerns are to avoid being trampled or hindered in our rush to get to our next gate. But, to “know” someone, in this context, is to “know” them in a loving way, having a sense of fellowship with them, and esteeming them and what they stand for with respect; that is, having a strong sense of Brotherly Love for them. Usually, “the world” that “knoweth us not” is hostile to us and wants nothing to do with us and oftentimes is abusive to us. There is a sub-world in this greater world that we live in, of which our Lord declared, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23); that is, He doesn’t know them in a loving way. It is that same world that the Lord doesn’t “know” that so hates and despises the faithful Children of God. The “world” that doesn’t “know” us seems to think we are ignorant, out of date, and just stupid because we turn away from the ungodly sensual pleasures and lustful greed that drives them. They simply cannot understand why we do not want to live like they live. And, because they do not have the love of God in them, abuse and persecution are their natural responses to true Christianity; and such ill behavior seems perfectly acceptable to them. Simply put, they “have not the love of God in” them (John 5:42) because the Spirit did not put it in them; furthermore, they don’t want it, they despise it, and can’t get it. Our Lord explained it this way, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44) and “no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:65). Paul explains that “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Corinthians 12:3). Thus, we should not be surprised, that even in our day, there as so many that venomously despise God and godliness. But, like our ancestors, let us “be” humbly “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58), always “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).