“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 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” (1 John 3:22-24).
John reiterates a promise first made by Jesus: God hears the prayers of those who obey Him. Jesus says in John 14:13-15, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son [14] If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. [15] If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Jesus will only respond to the prayers of those who “keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight”. So, obedience unlocks many benefits, including an open and receptive audience with the Father through the Son.
The Dual Commands
Among the many commandments of Jesus, John is concerned with two. One must believe in the name of Jesus Christ. And one must love one’s fellow Christians.
John writes in an era when false teaching has corrupted the truth about Jesus Christ. Earlier in chapter 2, John calls out “antichrists,” who began as Christians but drifted from the simplicity of the gospel by promoting false ideas about Jesus. John combatted the early seeds of Gnosticism, a heresy that reached its zenith in the late second century. We’ll talk more about Gnosticism in the next section, but for now, we only need to know that Gnosticism taught a version of Jesus that is foreign to what is revealed in the rest of the New Testament.
Confidence in Fellowship
John urges his audience to remain faithful to the gospel by believing in the Jesus he and his fellow apostles proclaimed. Only those who remain faithful to the apostolic gospel have fellowship with the Father and the Son. John begins the epistle,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life- the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3).
John and his fellow apostles interacted with Jesus, witnessed his life and resurrection, and declared that message to the world. They are in fellowship with God and the Son; therefore, we must believe their testimony to have fellowship with God. If we keep the commandments of God revealed by the apostles, among which is to believe in Jesus Christ, we will abide in God, and He will abide in us. If I accept a gospel that contradicts the gospel proclaimed by the apostles, I do not have a relationship with God.
The Spirit’s Confirmation
I know God abides in me because He gave me His Spirit to dwell in me. Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles:
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father have are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15).
The Spirit revealed the message John and his fellow apostles preached, the same message Jesus received from His heavenly Father. And when we become Christians, we receive the Holy Spirit who dwells in us as a confirmation of the message preached by the apostles.
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