1 John 3:23-24

1 John 3:23-24

And this is His commandment: in order that we should believe by the name of His Son Jesus Christ and we should love one another – just as He gave a commandment to us.  And the one who keeps His commandments remains in Him and He in him.  And in this we know that He remains in us: out of the Spirit that He gave to us.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus once told His disciples that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  Then He taught His disciples that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40)  This teaching of Jesus is clearly evident in the opening of this section of verses.  John tweaks it a bit to fit the context of His letter, but the point is the same.  Believe through Christ; love one another.  That sums up the whole of God’s law.  If we always followed those two things we would never break God’s word.  It was a powerful teaching at the core of Jesus’ ministry.  That’s why John repeats it so similarly here.

Do you love God at all times?  Do you love your neighbor?  What makes both of these commandments so hard to keep every day?  What makes both of these worth striving for every day?

Second Thought:

Look again at the two verbs that John says here.  Believe.  Love.  There are two dynamics to faith.  As Dietrich Bonheoffer says and I am prone to quoting, “Only those who believe obey and only those who obey believe.”  Faith involves both belief and an obedience response to God’s invitation to believe.  This fundamental understanding is also present here in John’s words: believe and love.  When we believe and love one another, we are fulfilling the basic definition of faith.  We are believing and responding to God’s gift of faith to us.

Are you surprised to find one more place in scripture that is based upon the understanding of the two sides of faith?  How good are you at having each of these fundamental aspects of faith in your life?

Third Thought:

Here we also have a fundamental teaching of Christianity.  How do we know that Christ remains in us?  We know because the Holy Spirit is with us.  Christ promised us His Spirit and those who are in Him have His Spirit.  It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than this.  There is no other proof needed.  If the Spirit is within you, you remain in Christ and He remains in you.

Is the Holy Spirit in you?  How do you know?  What does this mean to you?  How does this knowledge affect your outlook on the future?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 4:1-3