Passage
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
1 John 3:2 (WEB)
Nearby Context
1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "beloved", "children", "revealed", "like", and "just". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beloved" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "See how great a love the Father..." into verse 3's "Everyone who has this hope set on...", so "beloved" and "children" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "beloved" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.