Exploring 1 John: Keep His Commandments
1 John 2:3-6 - Do you obey, understand and walk with Him?
”By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.“
1 John 2:3-6 NASB1995
In this next passage in 1 John 2, John outlines the tests of our faith that we can use to see if we can truly claim to know God through Jesus. Throughout these four verses, John repeatedly talks about knowing. Let’s do a word study: Knowing comes from the Greek word γινώσκω or ginṓskō, with the following Biblical usages:
to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
to become known
to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
to understand
to know
sexual intercourse between a man and a woman1
to become acquainted with, to know
Obviously number 3 is right out as far as a usage of this “knowing”; the footnote in the Blue Letter Bible lexicon references this as a “Hebraistic euphemism”. The knowing that John is talking about is understanding or having knowledge. So the first way that we can test that we know Him is to keep His commandments by being obedient. It should be emphasized again that obedience does not bring salvation; salvation brings obedience. If that obedience is missing from your life and you consider yourself a believer, then you are a liar and don’t know God. J. Ligon Duncan, Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson Mississippi is quoted in Precept Austin about the tests that John invokes:
"Now, from dealing with sin then, and false teaching about sin, and dealing with the proper view of sin in the Christian life, he [John] moves to another subject. And his subject is “How one can know that one knows God? How can you be assured that you know God? How can you be assured that you are a Christian?” And in this section that begins with 1Jn 2:3, he lays out three tests for knowing that you are a Christian: one of them is moral; one of them is relational; and one of them is doctrinal....How is it that a person comes to know that he or she really knows the Living God, really has a saving relationship, really has a fellowship knowledge of the Living God--doesn't just know things about Him but knows Him--is in relationship with Him?
That's the question that John is asking here. And the tests that he gives are designed to help you come to a firm and certain answer to that question, to strip away any self-deception that may be in your heart, and to open your eyes to see the truth, to find out whether you don't know God or whether you do know Him.... he's not giving these so that we will begin judging the rest of our congregation as to how they stand with the Living God, but that we might look at ourselves and ask how we stand with the Living God.
So the three tests in these four verses are moral (We obey God), relational (we know God and His love) ) and doctrinal (we walk in the manner that Jesus walked). Here is what Enduring Word says about how obeying His Word perfects the love of God in us:
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him: John also makes the link between our obedience and our love for God. A perfected (the idea is mature) love for God will show itself in obedience, and the presence of this obedience and love gives us assurance that we are in Jesus (By this we know we are in Him).
Mark it, when one becomes a Christian, there is a change in his relationship with sin. Sin is not eliminated in the believer until he comes to glory, but his relationship to sin is changed when he truly become a Christian.
A Christian no longer loves sin as he once did.
A Christian no longer brags about his sin as he once did.
A Christian no longer plans to sin as he once did.
A Christian no longer fondly remembers his sin as he once did.
A Christian never fully enjoys his sin as he once did.
A Christian no longer is comfortable in habitual sin as he once was.
“The Christian no longer loves sin; it is the object of his sternest horror: he no longer regards it as a mere trifle, plays with it, or talks of it with unconcern… Sin is dejected in the Christian’s heart, though it is not ejected. Sin may enter the heart, and fight for dominion, but it cannot sit upon the throne.” (Charles Spurgeon)
The questions I must ask myself every day are all about sin: Do I love sin, do I brag about sinning, do I plan to sin, do I fondly remember sin, do I enjoy sinning, and am I comfortable sinning? A course correction is certainly in order if you still carry around the various mottos of Las Vegas in your heart instead of the Word. I I find that I catch myself in sin more and more the closer I get to Him, even if the sins are not as profound as in my earlier secular wasteland days. As far as He is concerned, all those “little” sins impede a walk with Him just as much as the big ones. Take the test - Obedience, knowing, walking!
My next devotional examines 1 John 2: 7-11, the greatest commandments.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I ask in the name of my Lord Jesus that I grow in obedience, knowledge of You and your Word and that I walk in the way of Jesus as I continue my growth in faith. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 4/7/2024 to review the lexicon for “knowing”.
Precept Austin was accessed on 4/7/2024 to review commentary for 1 John 2:3-6.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.