The Test of Our Duty: 1st John Lesson 12

1 John 2:24-27

 In our study of 1 John we are in the last section of Chapter 2. We have seen test after test by which we may know for certain about our relationship with Christ and have confidence regarding the work of salvation. All this was written so that we who believe in the name of the Son of God may know we have eternal life. The major theme of 1 John is “knowing.” He uses that word in some form over 50 times in five chapters. If you want to “know” you have eternal life make sure you can pass the fellowship test, the sin test, the obedience test, the love test, the growth test, the love of the world test, and the doctrine test.

 The key to passing these tests is not in what we say. Repeatedly John has written “If we say…” If we say we have fellowship but walk in darkness… If we say we have not sinned… The one who says he is in the Light yet hates his brother… The real evidence of eternal life and salvation is not in the words we say. The real evidence is in the way we live.

 As we learned last week, right living requires right learning. Believing right will result in behaving right. In this last section of Chapter 2 we have the doctrine test and the duty test. In verses 18-23 we saw the doctrine test. The doctrine test is important because we are living in the last days and the spirit of antichrist is working in the world. John knew the power of deception. John warns often of the threat of being led astray by false doctrine. There were many false teachers who were denying that Jesus is the Christ.

 The doctrine test is important because if you don’t have your Christology right, you cannot have salvation right. The doctrine of Christ is a non-negotiable. It is possible to be a Christian and have it wrong regarding your eschatology. But it is impossible to be a Christian and not have it right regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ. If anyone tries to tell you that Jesus and Lucifer and Michael were all spirit brothers, or whatever the Mormons teach, you are dealing with those who are antichrists. They are against Christ and they are not Christians. False religions deny the deity of Jesus. Unless Jesus is God, He is not the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.

 Doctrine is not only important because of its implications on the work of salvation, it is also important because of its implications on the way we live. This connection between doctrine and duty is glaringly obvious in the New Testament, especially in the letters of Paul. Most of his letters were written following that pattern. Paul would write extensively about doctrines of Christ and salvation. Then he would turn and focus on the duty of the Christian in response to those doctrines. Examples are Romans 1-11 and 12-16, Ephesians 1-3 and 4-6.

 John does the same thing. Having focused on the importance of the doctrine of Christ in verses 18-23, he now turns his focus on the duty of the Christian in verses 24-27. Let’s read these verses together and I want you to recognize the key word in this section. The key word is “abide.” We find this word five times in four verses. Read the verses.

 Our duty as Christians is to abide in the truth and abide in the Son, and abide in the Father. I called this the duty test, but that might not be the best title. Duty implies doing. The most common distortion of the gospel is the adding of works, or duty, to the finished work of Christ in order to be saved. This is another example of the spirit of antichrist. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

 The duty which John details for us in this section isn’t a list of things that we are to do in order to be saved. The duty John outlines here doesn’t require anything more than abiding. Our duty as Christians is to abide in Christ. If we abide in Christ all other duties will take care of themselves. If we abide in Him, and He abides in us, everything we do as Christians will be the product of His life flowing through us.

 We need to look at John 15 as part of our introduction to this passage. Read and expound on verses 1-11.

 In John 15 there is established the same thing we find in 1 John 2. To abide in Christ includes having His word abide in us. Our text today makes the same point. To abide in Christ is to abide in truth. These are synonymous. Verse 24 says, “If what you heard from the beginning (truth) abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” To abide in Christ is to abide in the truth. To abide in the truth is to abide in Christ. Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” If we abide in Christ we abide in the truth. If the truth abides in us, Christ abides in us.

 So we need to understand this word “abide.” It is “meno” in the Greek. The basic meaning is “to dwell, or remain.” As John uses it he is describing our relationship with Christ and the truth. Included in this word is the idea of steadfastness or perseverance. True followers of Christ are steadfast and persevere, or remain with Christ, remain true to Christ, and walk consistently in the truth of Christ. Included in the meaning of this word is the idea of staying steadfast and faithful and not walking away.

 My Greek scholar friend Spiros Zodiates (Zo-di-a-tes) helped clarify the meaning of this word for me. He says that abiding in Christ includes being of the same mind, the same heart, and the same will with Christ. If I am truly abiding with Christ and remaining with Him, and His truth is abiding in me, His mind is influencing my mind, His will is my will, His heart is my heart. That is the essence of what we saw in John 15. We abide in Christ and His word abides in us – our minds. We abide in Christ His love abides in us – His heart. We abide in Christ and we keep His commandments – His will.

 How is this our duty? Look at what John says in verse 24. “As for you, let that abide in you…” The words “let that abide” is one word in the Greek. It is the verb “meno.” And it is a present tense, imperative mood, active voice verb. Here is one of those occasions where we need the details of the Greek. The present tense calls for continuous action happening at the present time. When should we be abiding? All the time. The imperative mood is the mood of command. This is a matter of obedience. We are commanded to abide. And it is an active voice verb meaning that the subject is responsible for the action of the verb. We are responsible to abide all the time.

 This means that anytime my thinking isn’t like His thinking, my heart is not loving like He loves, and my will is not conformed to His will, I need to willingly and immediately and completely surrender my mind to His truth, my heart to love as He loves, and my will to Him to keep His commandments.

 What is the challenge with abiding? That is simple enough to understand. The problem is that too often my mind, my heart, and my will are not on the same page with Christ. There is often a battle of the wills. My will against His will. There is a battle of the mind, my thinking isn’t always consistent with His thinking. There is a battle for the heart. I want to love things He doesn’t love. I may not love the things He loves. But Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in you.” Often it is a matter of reminding myself who is Lord. Jesus is Lord, not Brad. John says, “As for you, abide…”

 We are to “let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning…” What is this? John reminds us that the message from the beginning was the pure message of the truth. John had watched many false teachers, antichrists arise who were infecting the church with false teaching and doctrinal error. He was emphasizing that the body of Christian doctrine was established in the beginning and it would not change.

 Turn toward the back of your Bibles to Jude. Read verse . This “faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” is the whole body of salvation truth contained in the Scriptures. It was communicated through men inspired by the Holy Spirit and it is not to be altered in any way. It cannot be changed. Parts are not to be deleted. Nothing is to be added to it. We have the truth which was proclaimed from the beginning in the Bible. We have the great privilege to hold it in our hands and read it, study it, understand it, and live it. It is more valuable than much fine gold.

 John goes on to say that if what you heard from the beginning (truth) abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the basis of our assurance of salvation. By this those of us who believe on the name of the Son of God may know we have eternal life. If we abide in the truth we also abide in the Son and in the Father.

 Verse 25 says, “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” I think John is continuing his discussion of the truth abiding in us and us abiding in the Son and the Father. His promise from John 15 was that if we abide in Him and He in us, we would bear much fruit and prove to be His disciples. His promise of eternal life is for those whose lives bear this fruit. The bearing of fruit is the result of abiding in Him and His truth. This fruit is the evidence of a genuine salvation.

 I worry about the eternal destiny of people who claim the promise of eternal life but whose lives lack much evidence of the reality of abiding in Christ or His truth. If we abide in Christ the evidence should be prevalent. If Christ abides in us, people should be able to see Him. If we abide in His truth this means we are living according to His truth. If His truth abides in us it will dictate how we think, how we act, and how we live. This does no mean we will be perfect. It does mean that we will be different than those who do not abide in Christ and His truth. There are too many people who make baseless claims of eternal life. The eternal life promise of Jesus is given to those who are truly transformed by the work of salvation. This transformation does not take place unless we are abiding in Christ.

 If we take our duty seriously and abide in Christ, abide in the Father and abide in the truth of God, we will have a confident assurance that the promise of eternal life belongs to us. This is the first benefit of being faithful to our duty. The second thing John tells us in this section is that Christ has given us the resources we need to fulfill our duty. The resource we need to abide in Jesus and His truth is the Holy Spirit. Read verses 26-27.

 The anointing we have from Him is the Holy Spirit. We saw last time in verse 20 that we have an anointing from the Holy one and because of this anointing we all know. Everyone who has the Holy Spirit abiding in them has the Spirit of God who is our Teacher and Guide into all the truth. Look at 1 John 3:24. The last sentence says, “We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

 At the time we come to faith in Jesus Christ we are given from Christ His Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus to His disciples and He came on the day of Pentecost and He takes up residence in the true follower of Christ. 

 The resource of the Holy Spirit is important because He protects us from those who are trying to deceive us. See verse 26. He is the Holy Spirit of truth because He is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit is fully God and equal with the other members of the Trinity. His work in us includes helping us to recognize error and deception. He teaches us the truth of God’s word so we can recognize the errors that are not according to the truth.

 John tells us here that the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth. John says in verse 27 that we have no need for anyone to teach us. This does not discount the importance of pastors and teachers in the church. Our role is to teach the Scriptures and equip the saints for the work of service. All I can do is present and explain the truth. The job of the Holy Spirit is to open your spiritual eyes and show you how to apply this truth to your life.

 John explains that all the Holy Spirit teaches us is true. John says that none of what the Spirit teaches is a lie. The Holy Spirit can no more lie than could God the Father or God the Son. John says, “and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” The Holy Spirit shows us what it means to abide in Christ and His truth. His teaching informs the mind so that the mind is filled with and understands truth. The Holy Spirit works in the heart to make us love what Jesus loves. The Holy Spirit informs and conforms our will so that we are willing to obey the truth.

 Our duty is to abide in Christ and His truth. Our duty is to make sure that our minds, our hearts, and our wills are one with our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we know we abide in Him. This is how we know we have the promise of eternal life. We have the Holy Spirit as our Resource to teach us and empower us and guide us into all the truth. He convicts us when we live in a manner inconsistent with the truth. He comforts us and encourages us when walking in the truth is hard and sets us on a path that brings resistance from the world. Abiding in Christ and His truth will take us on a path that is destined to collide with the world and the culture and often even those who call themselves Christians. 

 But think about it. The resource given to us to help us abide in Christ is none other than God Himself. The third member of the Holy Trinity is our indwelling power source and Guide and Teacher and Encourager. What excuse do we have for not fulfilling our duty to abide in Christ and His truth?

 Our duty is to abide in Him and let His truth abide in us. This is the basis for our confidence in the promise of eternal life. God has given us the resource we need to abide in Him and have His truth abide in us. 

There is a third truth in this section. I think I will save it for next time. It deals with having confidence and not being ashamed when Jesus appears at His Second Coming. There is far more there than we have time for and I don’t want to rush through it. It is far too important.

Just think about this between now and next week. In this section John has taught us the importance of doctrine and duty. Jesus is the Christ and our duty is to abide in Him. Abiding in Him and in the Father, and the synonymous idea of abiding in His truth means that we are of the same mind, the same heart, and the same will with Him. Our lives bear much fruit as we abide in Him and He in us.

We need to be seriously committed to our duty because this is the key to a fruitful life that glorifies our precious Lord and Savior and our heavenly Father. Living for His glory is our purpose, our reason for living. This is important now because we are His witnesses, His ambassadors to a lost and dying world.

This will be even more important when He returns. In John 15:6 we read, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” This is the imagery of judgment. This is what happens to those who were around the Vine, and tried to look like the fruitful branches, but were never truly abiding in the Vine.

Fruitful or fearful. The fruitful will rejoice at His appearing. The fruitless will shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. And He is coming.

We are going to turn our attention to the Lord’s Table now. The purpose of this is always to remember His death. Paul told the Corinthians “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)

The purpose of proclaiming His death is to confront us with the reason for His death. He died as the sinless Lamb of God who takes away our sins. His broken body was crushed for our transgressions. His blood was shed to provide for the remission of our sins.

But we also remember that He did not stay dead. He was in the grave from Friday evening until Sunday morning and He rose victorious over death. This proved that His work was finished and that the promise of eternal life would be provided for all who come to Him as the only answer to their sin problem.

But we also know He will return. His work is not finished. He is coming back. This is why we proclaim His death until He returns.

As we take the bread and the cup this morning I want you to think about this. Jesus didn’t set bread and cup before the disciples and tell them to look at them and remember. He said take and eat, take and drink it, in remembrance of Me. This bread and this cup enters our body. Those who are truly born again have Him residing in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

I think it is acceptable to think about these elements as Christ abiding in us. By partaking of them we are showing that we abide in Him.

So as we partake of the Lord’s Table today I want you to remember His death. But also I want to challenge you to consider wither or not you are abiding in Him and He is abiding in you.

Let’s pray.