1 John 2:3-5 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.… I. THE GREAT CHANGE IS DESCRIBED. For this purpose three phrases are used by the apostle in verses 3 to 6. 1. "We know Him." Knowledge is the result of observation and experience. It in]plies certainty. We know that bread is nutritive, because we have eaten it and found it to be so. We know that honey is sweet, because we have tasted it. Now this is precisely the force of the term when we speak of the knowledge of Christ. Hence it is that we know His power, for we have proved it; His wisdom, for we have been guided by it; His love, for we have enjoyed it; and we know His truth, for we have ever found Him faithful. How thankful we should be this is the nature of true religion. It is not a speculation about which there is uncertainty. It is not a doubtful opinion. It is a reality of which we may have experience. They who have attained to it may say, "We know Him." 2. "We are in Him." This expression brings us into still closer communion with Christ. Not only are we brought to Him, to converse with Him, but we are made to dwell in Him. This union of the believer with Christ is the source of all the blessings of which he becomes the partaker by the knowledge of Him. 3. "He abideth in Him." Had Noah left the ark while the deluge continued, he must have perished. If the man slayer went out of the city of refuge, it was at the hazard of his life. When Shimei violated his pledge to Solomon, and passed beyond the bounds of Jerusalem, he brought upon himself the sentence of death. And so with the believer it is essential to his safety that he shall abide in Christ. How forcibly is this lesson taught by our Lord Himself (John 15:4, 5). II. THE EVIDENCES OF THIS GRACIOUS STATE. These are equally clear with the description of that state. And it is observable that each feature in the description is accompanied by a corresponding evidence. The variety of the evidence is a testimony to the supreme importance of the inquiry. It is the will of God that we should faithfully examine ourselves by it. 1. "If we keep His commandments." "By their fruits ye shall know them." "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." He taught as how His people might be known by others. Then in the same way they ought to know themselves. 2. "Whoso keepeth His word." There is a close and natural connection between this evidence and the former. The word is the directory of the conduct. Whenever the knowledge of Christ has been obtained, His word is obeyed exclusively and universally. Exclusively, for no other authority is admitted. Universally, for whatever it forbids is avoided, and whatever it requires is done. 3. "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought to walk even as He walked." This evidence is the completion of the two former. It consists in the imitation of the example of Christ. (J. Morgan, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.WEB: This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. |
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