February 10, 2021 PERFECTED BY LOVE
1 John 2:2-6 “My little children, I am writhing these things to you that you might not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world, and by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His words, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
These are potent verses to say the least! This is one of those times when we must take the word of God as it is, and not interpret it according to our own preferences; and we must remember that when His word contradicts our beliefs, it is a call to change what we believe. Refusing to change or adjust how we interpret the scriptures when our interpretation conflicts with what the scripture is saying, causes us to miss the truth of the scriptures. John makes it clear in the first chapter that we have all sinned and if we say we have not sinned, we are deceiving ourselves. However, he also makes it clear in the first verse above that we can live without sinning now that we are in Christ and He is in us-but if we sin, we have Jesus as our advocate who is with the Father. With that being said, let us move on to the main point of today’s blog. The most ‘attention-getting’ verse above is “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him;” This verse demands that I ask myself if I receive this verse for just what it is saying-If I say I know Him, yet do not keep His words, I am a liar-that’s strong language. These verses above also tell us that the keeping of His words is evidence that we have been perfected in the love of God. So, I must put myself in one of two categories; either I am a liar, or I have been perfected in the love of God. Lest we feel condemnation, let us understand that being perfected in the love of God is an ongoing process-not a one-time deal. But we must realize that when we are walking in the love of God, we will find ourselves keeping His word. If we find that there are some of God’s words we are ignoring and not keeping, we must repent of that and then turn our hearts to the Lord, be renewed, and then out of our love for Him, be quick to keep His words. The last verse above is also an amazing verse that is often over-looked; “the one who says he abides in Him, we ought to walk in the same manner as He walked.” That’s right! We can, and we are called to walk, or live, in a way that resembles the life Jesus lived! We either view ourselves as believers who continue to sin and are a disappointment to God, or we see ourselves as sons and daughters of God who have been made new, set free from the power of sin, able to live a life that is pleasing to Him. The key point for us is to know is that when we experience His love and are perfected in His love, we will be keeping His words and walking as He walked. The love of God is most powerful-it changes us from the inside out.
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is from God: and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (This is not human love, but is a love that comes from God.)
Blessings, Buddy
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