1 John 3:1
1 John 3:11Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
The Watchtower teaches that only the 144,000 anointed are "children of God" in the new-covenant sense, and that the great crowd are only "friends of God" as Abraham was (The Watchtower, 1 February 1998, "The Other Sheep and the New Covenant"). is usually read within that framework — John's "we are called children of God, and such we are" applies to the heavenly-hope class; the earthly-hope millions are reclassified as friends awaiting adoption after the thousand-year reign.
Read 3:1 with 2:7 and 5:1 in hand. John has been addressing "beloved ones" — the whole congregation — since 2:7, without any class switch. When he says in 3:1 "see what sort of love the Father has given us, so that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are," the "we" is the same "we" the letter has been using throughout. 5:1 settles the question: "everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God" (pas ho pisteuōn — "everyone who" — in the Greek). If you believe Jesus is the Christ, John says you are already a child of God. You are not in an antechamber waiting to be promoted. Pair 3:1 with ("you are all sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus") and ("a spirit of adoption as sons") to show the new-covenant upgrade from friend-of-God (Abraham) to child-of-God (every believer in Christ). Ask gently: am I a child of God, or am I only a friend?