THE BASICS OF BELIEVING

Several words in these two verses have appeared numerous times in this epistle:

Commandment (2:3- we know Him if we keep His commandments; 2:4- we are liars if we do not keep His commandments; 2:7- new-but-not-new commandment; 2:8- a new commandment, 3:22- we have assurance for prayer through keeping His commandments)—all pointing to the Word of God

Believe- the rest of the epistle (4:1- do not believe every spirit; 4:16-have come to believe (perfect); 5:1- whoever believes is born of God; 5:5- overcomes the world by believing Jesus; 5:10- believed the Son of God; 5:13- the purpose of writing: to believe)

Love (love, appears 46 times in this epistle—it is a key component of the child of God

Know (40 times in this epistle—involves a surety and experiential knowledge)

Abide (22 times, both positively and negatively)

These are keep components in John’s letter to believers. But our focus is not to perform a word-study. These words convey meaning, and they connected with the larger context of our letter. I mentioned that last week, but we continue our look into this sweet letter written by the aged apostle John to his spiritual children.

He ends this section of his letter by summarizing the commandments and offering a segue into his next focus dealing with false teachers. We will look at this summary teaching which provides many encouragements to us this morning.

I. THE COMMAND SUMMARIZED 1 John 3:23—this is the command

John connects the commandments of which he has spoken about by summarizing it as belief in Jesus and loving one another. This command summarized is vitally important to the believers. Let us examine them in order.

A. THE COMMAND INVOLVES RIGHT BELIEF—that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ

This command is foundational to the Christian life. You cannot rightly keep the Commandments if you do not rightly believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot rightly love one another if you do not rightly believe in the name of HIs Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot expect to receive anything from God in prayer if you not not rightly believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I cannot overstate the importance of a salvific relationship with Jesus Christ. That is what John is talking about here. He is not describing an acquisition of facts alone. No, this is not simply knowing that 2 + 2 = 4. It is a salvific belief, a belief that changes your very nature. Greg Gilbert says it like this,

“It is, biblically speaking, reliance. A rock-solid, truth-grounded, promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from sin.”—Greg Gilbert, What Is the Gospel? 74

That we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. John was Jewish, and his audience was primarily Jewish, and as such we need to understand that name is not simply our appellation. It is a description of our character, our essence. The name of Jesus describes Who He is! Believe that, John says, that is the command. It involves right belief: Jesus.

This is foundational to the Christian life. But it is not the only part of the commandments, God’s commandments also involve right practice.

B. THE COMMAND INVOLVES RIGHT PRACTICE—and love one another

Love one another. This truth is found five times in this small letter. It is the commandment of God that we love one another. Now, we examine this in detail when we looked at 1 John 3:16-18. But, love is action. It stems from the fountainhead of love: Jesus Christ. But it gushes out into our relationships with others. It is expected of the disciples of Jesus Christ that they love one another.

It is, as I have mentioned, the distinguishing mark of the believer. Jesus says it is the means by which the world we know who we are. Speaking of the first century church, Eusebius, the early church historian, wrote,

“Then did they show themselves to the heathen in the clearest light. For the Christians were the only people who amid such terrible ills showed their fellow-feeling and humanity in their actions. Day by day some would busy themselves with attending to the dead and burying them others gathered in one spot all who were afflicted by hunger throughout the whole city, and gave bread to them all.”—Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, IX, 8.

You see, self-sacrificing love is what separates the early believers from the world. By their love all men knew that they were Jesus’ disciples. The commandment involves right belief and right practice! This, in turn, leads to the results of the commandment.

II. THE RESULTS OF THE COMMAND—The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him

The results of the commandment are two-fold, with an accompanying surety. When you put lighter fluid on wood and proceed to strike a match, you will start a fire. It is inevitable. Likewise, when we obey the commandment to believe in the name of His Son and love one another, we will enjoy these results.

A. THE BELIEVER ABIDES IN CHRIST—abides in Him

The believer who keeps the commandment to believe and love abides in Christ. Now, this word abide has appeared in our epistle numerous times. The concept is one of dwelling, of lodging together. It is used metaphorically in this case to refer to the intimate relationship believers have in Christ.

Consider briefly the wonders of this abiding in Christ. Paul develops this thought further, but instead of the word abide he substitutes the phrase in Christ.

According to Ephesians 1:3-14, we enjoy these benefits in Christ:

“Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3)

“In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (1:4-5)

“In Him we have redemption through His blood” (1:6)

“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance” (1:9-10)

“You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit” (1:13)

All of these benefits are because we are in Christ, we abide in Him.

London Baptist Confession of Faith XII:1:

“All those that are justified, God vouchsafed, in, and for the sake of his only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the Grace of Adoption; by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the Liberties, and Privileges of Children of God; have his name put upon them, receive the Spirit of Adoption, have access to the throne of Grace with boldness, are enabled to cry Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by him, as by a Father; yet never cast off; but sealed to the day of Redemption, and inherit the promises, as heirs, of everlasting Salvation.”—London Baptist Confession of Faith, XII:1

These are our benefits in abiding in Christ. These are your benefits, brothers and sisters. We abide, we dwell and reside with Him.

B. CHRIST ABIDES IN THE BELIEVER—He in him

John then tells us that Christ will abide in us. Just as we abide in Christ, Christ abides in us. It is a mutual relationship. There are a few occurences of this thought in other passages of Scripture, such as Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 1:27 where it is said “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,”

Brothers and sisters, Christ abides in you! You are, as Christ reminded the apostles in Matthew 28:20, never alone. Jesus said, “I will never leave you!” What a blessed thought that Christ, the eternal God, the beyond-our-imagination holy Son of God, the One who has existed for eternity, who never sleeps nor slumbers, who never tires and who is always in complete and utter control, is in you.

Rejoice at these results, these incredibly-mind-boggling benefits!! But there is one more benefit:

C. THE SPIRIT ASSURES ABIDING—We know…by the Spirit

John says we know by this, by the our abiding in Christ and He in us, by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.

The Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is the means by which we grasp our abiding in Christ and He in us.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is one of the most remarkable aspects of being a believer. This calls to mind what Christ said to His disciples, and by extension us, about the Holy Spirit in John 14:16-17.

And as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:9, if you do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, you are not a believer. A couple of passages I would encourage you to look at, perhaps this afternoon, are: 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Romans 8:11).

However, since we are dealing with 1 John, let’s focus on what John tells us here specifically. He says, “We know by this (that is, the mutual abiding of believer and Christ) through the Holy Spirit whom Christ has given.

It is the Holy Spirit that confirms our state with Christ. More than that, the Holy Spirit helps protect us against false teachers, a point that John picks up next in chapter four.

Conclusion

So, brothers and sisters, are we believing in the name of the Son of God? Have we cast off all hopes of self-sufficiency, falling into the arms of our loving Savior? We cannot be saved by any other means than simply repenting of our sins and trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Or, are you loving one another? Does the love that Christ has shown you spill over into your other relationships? Do people see you as patient, as kind and not jealous? Do people think you are lovingly-obsessed with the truth?

Do your close friends and family see you as calm, humble, as maintaining a short list of offenses? You see, we have a wonderful description of what it means to love one another in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Look at that passage, praying that God would reveal any areas in which you can be more loving, and then prayerfully ask God for help to love one another!

Perhaps you needed to be reminded of the results of the commandment. You have been saved for a while, you are growing in Christ-likeness, and yet you are discouraged. Cling to Christ! He is always present with you, no matter what you feel like. He is the wonderful Shepherd Who never leaves your side. He gently and carefully guides and leads you, always taking exquisite care of you.

Or, maybe you need to dwell on the indwelling Holy Spirit. Perhaps you have not considered this wonderful result of the commandment. Look to those passages, rejoice in the sweet gift our Savior has given to us!