Christ has one great charge for believers—to continue or to abide in His love.
a. “Continuing” or “abiding” is conditional. A believer can …
• break fellowship with Christ
• cease to keep his thoughts upon Christ
• walk out of the love of Christ
• get away from the love of Christ
• turn back to the world and to his old worldly friends (see 2 Co. 6:17–18)
• give himself back over to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:15–16)
Jesus said that it is up to the believer to continue in His love. How? By doing what any person does when he wants someone to love him. The person draws near to the person he loves: he does good and tries to please the person. So it is with the believer. The believer continues in the love of Christ by drawing near and doing good and seeking to please Him—very simply by obeying His commandments. (See Jn. 14:21; 15:10, 14.)
Now note a critical point. Christ always loves; His love is always there. But it is up to man to walk in that love. A man can never know and experience the Lord’s love unless he walks in it.
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (Jn. 14:21).
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.… Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (Jn. 15:10, 14). “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6).
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 Jn. 2:6).
b. “Abiding” in the love of Christ has a standard, a supreme example: it is Christ Himself. He was perfectly obedient to God; therefore, He continued in the Father’s love. We are to look at His obedience as our prime example. (Again, see note—Jn. 10:17–18.)
Note another critical point. A believer must do something if He is going to follow Jesus’ example and keep Jesus’ commandments. The believer must study and learn and abide in the Word of God, in the commandments and life of Christ. A person cannot keep a commandment unless he knows the commandment.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:4–5).
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Ac. 17:11).
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Ti. 2:15).
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pe. 2:2–3).
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 Jn. 2:28).
“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him” (1 Jn. 3:6).
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn. 9).
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PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES
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