MONDAY – 1 John 3:23-24, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” This week we continue on with looking at the last of the three “Benefits of Love” that John has pointed out. The third and final benefit is the Abiding Spirit. In our text we see that John repeats the main points of his letter which are evidences of genuine salvation; believing, loving and obedience. John begins by saying this is His commandment… It is very important to understand that God commands us to believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ. Believe translates an aorist form of the verb pisteu? which means “to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust.” This is not just “believing” your car will start and take you home but instead, “believing” to the place of getting in, sitting down, turning the key on and driving it home. You don’t really “believe” the chair will hold you up until you set all your weight in it and rest in confident trust on its ability to hold you. This is what true Christians do with Jesus. The Greek word here refers to a point in time when a person believed but that believing produces continuing results that last for the remainder of the Christian’s life. The object of true faith (believing) is the name of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus alone. His name denotes all that He is; both Savior and Lord (Philippians 2:9–11). In Scripture, we find that the Apostles often told people to believe in the name of Christ. It is an important New Testament theme (John 3:15–16, Acts 16:31, Mark 1:15, Luke 24:47). John pounds this nail repeatedly and as a matter of fact, it was the very reason he wrote both his gospel (John 20:31) and this first letter (1 John 5:13).
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Are you “believing” in Jesus? Have you and are you placing your complete trust and confidence in Him and His perfect work?
TUESDAY – 1 John 3:23, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” This matter of believing on the name of His Son Jesus Christ is so important we need to elaborate a bit more today. William Barclay so beautifully comments, “Here, we have that use of the word name which is peculiar to the biblical writers. It does not mean simply the name by which a person is called; it means the whole nature and character of that person as far as it is known to us. The psalmist writes: ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord’ (Psalm 124:8). Clearly, that does not mean that our help lies in the fact that God is called Yahweh; it means that our help is in the love and mercy and power which have been revealed to us as the nature and character of God. So, to believe in the name of Jesus Christ means to believe in the nature and character of Jesus Christ. It means to believe that he is the Son of God, that he does stand in relation to God in a way in which no other person in the universe ever stood or ever can stand, that he can perfectly reveal God to us and that he is the Savior of our souls. To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to accept him for what he really is.” So as Christians we have truly placed our only hope and trust in Jesus and as true Christians, we will continue to do so although at times with some struggle and difficulty. R. S. Candlish exhorts, “Keep on believing. Continue to believe more and more, simply because you see and feel it more and more to be “his commandment that you should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.” Unbelief, in you who have believed, is aggravated disobedience. And, as such, it is and must be especially displeasing to God. It is his pleasure that his Son should be known, trusted, worshipped, loved; honoured as he himself would be honoured. You cannot displease the Father more than by dishonouring the Son; refusing to receive him, and rest upon him, and embrace him, and hold him fast, and place full reliance upon him as redeemer, brother, friend. Do not deceive yourselves by imagining that there may be something rather gracious in your doubts and fears; your unsettled and unassured frame of mind; as if it betokened humility, and a low esteem of yourselves. Beware lest God see in it only a low esteem of his Son Jesus Christ.”
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Do you see and understand the importance to keep on believing? Are you seeing and believing in the whole nature and character of Jesus as revealed to you in Sacred Scripture? Or do you believe in a God you have fashioned in your mind and heart from a self-serving perspective? Father, we cry out with the Father who came to Jesus in Mark 9:23, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief”.
WEDNESDAY – 1 John 3:23b: “…and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” We now move along and see we are to also love one another, as He gave us commandment. This commandment referred to is found in John 13:34 where Jesus was washing the disciple’s feet and having the Passover with them before His death. We must love each other with that same selfless, sacrificial, forgiving love with which Jesus Christ loved them and us. John also tells us in the 13th chapter that “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end”. The Greek word love here used by John is a present tense, active form of the familiar New Testament verb agapa?; the sacrificial love not of feeling, but of will and choice. The present tense of the verb tells us that love is to be what continually and habitually characterizes a Christian’s attitudes and actions. We are to keep on and continue in loving. Scripture is very clear on this matter of Christians and love (Luke 6:31–35, Galatians 5:13, 22, Phillipians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Hebrews 10:24, James 2:8). That love and serving will express itself to all men but especially to fellow believers (Galatians 6:10, John 13:34–35, 15:12, 17). This is yet again another reminder from John to his readers and to us that genuine faith in Christ and love for the brethren are inseparable. We should not say we are true believers and fail to love and sacrificially serve others. This command is imperative for all Christians.
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Ask yourself honestly, who do you love? Who do you selflessly and sacrificially serve and give to? If you are convicted by your answers turn to Jesus in confession and forgiveness. Father, forgive me and help me to love and serve You with all my heart and then others as myself.
THURSDAY – 1 John 3:24: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He
abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” We now get to the actual benefit of love when we see the blessing promised to the one who keeps His commandments is that he abides in Him, and He in him. The word abides is the Greek verb men? which means “to remain, stay, reside”. This is one of the Apostle John’s favorite words for salvation (John 15:4–10) and he refers to it repeatedly in this letter (2:6, 10, 24, 28, 3:6, 4:13, 16). Saved people obey God and remain in Him. John says it this way; he who keeps His commandments….abides. These are both in the present tense and we learn that obedience is linked to abiding. We have fellowship (Koinonia- shared life, participation) with God through Christ and it is only made possible by The Spirit given to all genuine Christians. All these following verses speak of the gift of The Holy Spirit to believers (Luke 11:13; 12:12, John 14:16–17, 26, 15:26, Acts 1:4–8, Romans 5:5, 8:11, 16, Galatians. 4:6, 5:16, 22, Ephesians 1:13–14, 1 John 2:20, 27, 4:1–2, 13). If you are a genuine Christian you have the Holy Spirit abiding in you who bears witness that we are the children of God and He is Divine evidence of the reciprocal relationship that we both enjoy and experience (Romans 8:16).
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Are you abiding in God? Do you have the evidence of The Holy Spirit bearing witness in you? Father, thank You for the gift of The Holy Spirit and that He remains in me permanently as Your child.
FRIDAY– 1 John 3:24: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” Any discussion of The Holy Spirit is certain to contain some mystery which is difficult for us to fully understand as redeemed sinners with fallible minds. However, as Jesus taught, the working of The Holy Spirit in a life is apparent. Jesus talking with Nicodemus in John 3:8 used an illustration of the wind. “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” . Just as the effects of the wind can be seen, felt, and heard, so the Holy Spirit’s working in the life is clear and made manifest as we can see the work and fruit that is produced which confirms a person is abiding in Christ and He in them. The Spirit regenerates us (Titus 3:5), places us into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13) gifts us for ministry in the church (1 Corinthians 12:7) illuminates Scripture for us (1 Corinthians 2:10–14), energizes our prayer (Ephesians 6:18) and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26–27).
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Father, Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Help me to live in submission to His leading, look to Jesus and experience fellowship with You.
