1 John 2:3-6
The Love of God Perfected
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. - 1 John 2:3-6
Introduction
By God’s grace, I’ve had the opportunity to share the gospel in several different countries. While on these various short and long-term mission trips, in each given context, the goal was always to preach Christ crucified in the most faithful and effective way possible. Whether I was sharing with an atheist, a muslim, a hindu, or a buddhist, one question would usually strike a common concern among them all and lead to a fruitful conversation: do you know what will happen when you die? Although the muslims knew they would face judgment, they had no idea if they would go to heaven. Although the hindus and buddhists had varying views of reincarnation, they had no idea how they would come back in the next life. Although the atheist seems certain of an infinite nothingness after death, there is always an eventual confession of doubt when pressed. Some form of uncertainty unites them all.
Jesus does not mean for His people to be among those who are unsure of their eternal condition. Assurance of salvation is not only possible, it is an expected part of the Christian life. John writes to us that we may “know that we know him….” We aren’t being humble when we say “I hope I go to heaven.” Although that may be the truth, it is not a Christian way of thinking. The child of God is to know that they know Jesus. Like Paul, we should be able to confess “I know whom I have believed, (2 Timothy 1:12)” When Peter calls us to be diligent to “make [our] calling and election sure, (2 Peter 1:10)” the implication is that it is actually possible to be sure of our election! The Baptist Confession states:
“... those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love Him sincerely, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may be certainly assured in this life that they are in a state of grace. They may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and this hope will never make them ashamed.”
Although the confession makes it clear that assurance is not always experienced (in fact, some believers go the majority of their lives without it), it is possible to possess it. John wants us to know that we savingly know Jesus. Dear friend, do you know that you know?
The common result of Gnostic preaching was a lack of assurance. The Gnostics saw themselves as those who possessed secret knowledge of God. They taught that salvation came by having this secret knowledge or deeper mystic experiences, so many Christians felt like they were lacking. In our day, preachers may have made you feel like you aren’t a Christian because you don’t speak in tongues or haven’t “encountered” the Holy Spirit the way they did. Some groups may have ostracized you for not being a part of their crowd, dressing, or possessing the same knowledge they do. John wants you to know your assurance of salvation is not based on a mystic experience or secret knowledge. Assurance is based on faith in Christ, and the fruit of a new life.
According to the text, our assurance is inseparably linked to the way we keep God’s commandments, live in the truth, and walk like Jesus. Before we dive into each of these tests, there is a vital truth we must understand. If we don’t grasp this, we will become Pharisaical and legalistic. Keeping the commandments, living in the truth, and walking like Jesus are all prefaced upon three things: knowing Jesus, the loving Jesus, and abiding in Jesus. In a word, our obedience flows from salvation. Our acceptance with God precedes our obedience to God. Saving faith comes first, then fruit is produced. The first two verses of this chapter must be solidified as a reality in our lives before we focus on this text, examining whether or not we keep God’s commandments. This is what separates legal obedience from evangelical obedience. True Christians look to the cross first, and see the propitiation and intercession of Christ as their only grounds of acceptance with God. After they have been saved by grace, their lives naturally begin to look different.
Keeping the Commandments
When we read of “his commandments,” John is directly referring to the moral law of God, the Ten Commandments. Any person who says they know and love God must know and love His commandments. John learned this first hand in John 14:15, when Jesus told him, “if you love me, keep my commandments.” I’ve heard preachers say that because Christ has redeemed us from the “curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13), it must mean that the law is a curse! They think it wrong for Christians to display the Ten Commandments in their homes or in a courthouse because the law is in and of itself a curse. This is so wrong. The “curse of the law” is the punishment we deserve for failing to keep it. However, the law itself “is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. (Romans 7:12)” The Christian life is centered on the cross, and measured by our relationship to the Ten Commandments. First, the commandments reveal our sinfulness and need for a Savior. Then, the commandments reveal what a saved life should look like. When God brings us to Himself, He first convicts us of sin, then He shows us His love. After that, He gives us grace to love Him back, and lastly our love for Him is authenticated by obedience.
The text says, “in this is the love of God perfected….” The Greek word for “perfect” (teleioō) means “complete” or “full.” Essentially, our love for God is still lacking if we don’t care about loyalty. How could any husband honestly say he loves his wife if he doesn’t want to do the things that give her joy? How could a child say they love their parents if they purposely go out of the way to break their parent’s hearts on every occasion with no remorse? How can a Christian say they love Jesus, and yet the Ten Commandments aren’t for them? The law of God is not disconnected from the love of God. To the contrary, God’s law is rooted in His love, and we cannot say we love Him if we do not obey Him.
Does this mean we aren’t saved if we ever violate the commandments as believers? Absolutely not. Paul Washer clarifies this so well:
The evidence of salvation is not sinless perfection or a perfect scorecard of obedience, but a new relationship with God’s commandments, a real inclination toward them, a genuine desire to do them, a growing practical application of them, and a real contrition when our neglecting them becomes obvious.”
John advocates a life that is marked by the commandments, not one perfected by them. Keeping the commandments looks like confessing sin and repenting when we violate them. Keeping the commandments looks like studying them, and attentively seeking to live our lives by them in every way. So, do you know them? If called upon to recite them, could you do it? Could you state the positive requirements, negative prohibitions, along with the common misconceptions of each commandment? God’s love is supposed to make you care about His moral law.
Living the Truth
1 John 2:4 is a bit of a parallel to 1 John 1:6, 8, and 10; the text reads, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” John is concerned for those who live in deception. Paul speaks to Timothy of evil men who spend their lives “deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)” The forthrightness of these Apostles can be quite shocking to modern ears. We aren’t used to people speaking so bluntly. Yet, the fact of the matter is that some people actively lie to the world because they know their practice of life doesn’t match their profession of faith. Others are genuinely deceived, by their own fault or some set of circumstances, they’ve been led to think they’re saved when they're not. I wonder, is anyone reading this a liar? Are you deceiving, or have you been deceived?
I was told recently that preachers shouldn’t make people feel like they might not be Christians. John and Paul didn’t get that memo! Neither did Jesus for that matter; the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount was to reveal the marks and characteristics of true disciples, distinguishing them from the false. A Pharisee was meant to hear that message and doubt his salvation. Now, it’s true that we don’t want to be like the Gnostics or the Judaizers, who troubled the consciences of true believers, telling them they weren’t saved for not keeping ceremonial laws or possessing secret knowledge. It’s also true that many preachers today are all law and no grace. They major in works, and never preach the cross. Christ’s sheep sit under such preaching in a state of constant doubt and inner turmoil. But, at the same time, we must realize that the worst thing we could ever do for a false convert in our midst is coddle them in their lost condition. The worst thing we could do for a liar is make them feel like they’re living in the truth. If the truth is not in them, we need to tell them the truth.
The truth false converts need to realize is that salvation is not based on what they do. It is based on what Christ has done, and then authenticated by the way it changed their lives. A false convert looks back to the time they repeated the sinner’s prayer, and thinks they’re saved because they were really sincere. A false convert trusts in their Christian upbringing, their own profession, a baptism, or response to an “altar call.” It’s wonderful if you had those things! A Christian home is a wonderful blessing of God! Baptism and professions of faith are not just important, they’re commanded; even “altar calls” can be used by God. But, none of those things save us! It is faith and faith alone in Christ alone that saves. If someone asks for your salvation testimony, and you just rattle off about everything but God’s grace, the truth still isn’t in you. Some of you reading this may feel like you’ve been trusting the wrong things to save you, and such a realization is the grace of God. You need a glimpse of reality! Wake up, and Christ will give you light.
Walking Like Jesus
The weight of verse six can be easily skipped when casually reading on a surface level. Upon deeper meditation, this one verse can be enough to condemn us all if understood wrong. What does John mean when he says anyone who says he abides in Christ must walk like Jesus walked? True Christians have a difficult paradox to live with; they have contrasting desires constantly at war. We have enough of a love for God to be stirred to action at the call to walk like Jesus; yet we have enough indwelling sin to know we constantly fall short of that expectation. Can John seriously expect us to live the way Jesus lived?
To begin, let me clarify what John does not mean. One common teaching of Hyper-Charismatic/NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) circles is that Jesus was the most normal Christian who ever lived. They believe that Jesus “emptied” Himself of all divinity while on earth. By doing this, all of His miracles were not performed as God but as a man dependent on the Holy Spirit. Therefore, anything He did, we are expected to do too! Miracles, signs, wonders, walking on water, multiplying food, all of these things are just as possible for you as they were for Jesus according to these teachers. One prosperity preacher named Kenneth Copeland even went so far as to claim that any born again believer could have died for the sins of the world, because that’s all Jesus was. These are not Christian doctrines. These are blatant heresies that should be easily spotted and rebuked. Sadly, many in our day embrace some form of these doctrines and literally believe they are “little gods,” or “anointed ones” in the same way Jesus was.
There were certain things Jesus did in His earthly ministry that only He could have done as the unique God-man. The result of His miracles was the authentication of His divinity and message. For example, when He calmed the storm, the disciples wondered how it was that the winds and waves obeyed Him; only God has such power over creation. When He healed a crippled man, it was to prove He had authority on earth to forgive sins; only God has authority to do so. When Jesus went to the cross, it was to be the perfect propitiating sacrifice for the sin of the world. No mere man could have endured the wrath of YHWH and impute to fallen humanity the perfect righteousness of God Himself. There are certain things Jesus did that we are not meant to do. Not now. Not ever. Jesus is God. We are not.
What John has in mind here is that of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:29-30:
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
This is called the Golden Chain of Redemption: to be foreknown, predestinated, called, justified, and glorified by God. From eternity past, the Father chose us to be the siblings of Jesus. He called us to Himself, forgave our sins, and currently has us in the process of sanctification as we prepare for the day of glorification. Walking like Jesus means to live a life of sanctification. It means loving the Lord with all our lives, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, with the example of Jesus as our model. How did Jesus love God? How did He have compassion on a lost and dying world? How did He pray? How did He preach? How did He interact with the Scriptures? Conformity to the image of Christ is the reason for our existence on this earth.
When my dad heard that I was enrolling in seminary, he offered to let me teach his Wednesday night Bible study as part of my preparation. I taught on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. I didn’t think I did very well, but many of the people came forward later to offer compliments and thank me for teaching. I don’t remember all the details, but I do recall a woman telling me, “You sound like your dad.” It was a compliment. She meant that I moved like him. I used animation and hyperbole similar to him. I raised my voice at times, and spoke with reverence and passion the way he did. Since then, I’ve heard several similar comments from people who have heard us both preach. I’m not a carbon copy of my dad, but I am cut from the same cloth. When some people hear me preach, they see something that resembles him.
You will never be exactly like Jesus, but when people see you, they should be reminded of Him. They should see a life that is flawed and imperfect, but a life that reveres and seeks to emulate Him regardless. When Peter attempted to betray Christ, he was given away by the way he spoke (Matthew 26:73). In other words, he sounded like Jesus. When the early Church began to grow, the outside world called them “Christians. (Acts 11:26)” The word “Christian” means “follower of Christ.” The title was meant to mock them, but no title could have better captured exactly what they were trying to do! The name was embraced by the early Church, because walking, looking, and sounding like Jesus is our greatest goal in life. Do you walk like Jesus, dear friend? Does your speech betray you? Are you a “Christian?”
Conclusion
Knowing Jesus makes you walk like Jesus. The love of God makes you obey the Law of God. Abiding in Christ conforms you to the image of Christ. Rightly did the old hymn writer pen those classic words, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” But remember, trust comes before obedience. Faith comes before fruit. Have you been to calvary? Have you seen the love of God revealed in the crucified Galilean? Only faith in His blood can remove your sin and cloth you in the very righteousness of God Himself. Trust in Christ, and a life-change will follow.
