Free Bible Commentary
“First John 2:3-6”
Categories: First John“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.”
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The false teachers that John refuted claimed to have a secret knowledge that initiated them into an exclusive group of gurus who truly knew the truth about God. So how can you really know that you really know? John greatly simplified things with a very easy test to determine that we actually know the Lord: “If we keep His commandments” (verse 3). Knowledge without obedience is walking in darkness. Faith in Christ cannot be merely philosophical, theoretical or unpredictable. It must be practical, ethical and continual. There is more to “walking in the light” than keeping the commandments of God, but this is the surefire way to know if you or someone else has been enlightened by the truth of God’s word. The purveyors of early Gnosticism clearly did not pass this test, therefore they could be rejected out of hand along with their teaching.
The Apostle John exposed those heretics for the liars that they were (verse 4), but let’s keep the application close to home and examine ourselves in light of God’s revelation. If we say that we “know” God and yet neglect or refuse to keep His holy commandments, we are either self-deceived (James 1:22) or trying to pull the wool over someone else’s eyes. Either way you look at it, that makes us liars, and we can be sure that our sins will find us out (Numbers 32:23). When we try to put up a front of righteousness, our religious façade will eventually crumble and people will see us for the hypocrites we are. If we continue to follow the way of darkness our lives can become so removed from God’s will and steeped in ungodliness that we can become devoid of truth. “The truth is not in” the person who abandons the way of righteousness.
“Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (verse 5). The only way we can truthfully say that we KNOW God is to keep His commandments, and the only way to truthfully say we LOVE God is to abide in His word. Learning and doing what the Lord says demonstrates that our love for Him is “perfect” or “complete” (John 14:15), and propels us toward spiritual maturity. John sets Jesus up as the perfect example to follow in knowing, loving and obeying the Father in all faith and righteousness (verse 6). Jesus was human as we are, therefore He is fully aware of our weaknesses and challenges. Jesus is deity as the Father is, therefore He knew and demonstrated how a person ought to live before Him in truth. Friend, if you truly come to know God and comprehend His perfect, omnipotent nature compared to your weak and limited constitution, you are going to try your best to do what He says.
Please read 1 John 2:7-11 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
-Louie Taylor
