1 John 2:5

1 John 2:5. But whoso keepeth his word: this phrase is our Lord's, both in St. John's Gospel and in the Apocalypse. Examination will show that the ‘keeping' is more interior than the ‘doing,' including that sacred reverence for the principle of obedience which is its permanent or abiding safeguard in the soul: ‘because thou hast kept My word, I will keep thee' (Revelation 3:8; Revelation 3:10). But St. John never speaks of the law: it is the ‘word' as the central expression of the mind of God which as precept is ‘the commandment,' and branches out into ‘the commandments.' Observe that the ‘if has now vanished, while the individual ‘whoso ' remains, and it follows, in him verily bath the love of God been perfected. ‘If ye continue in My word' interchangeable with ‘My word continuing in you,' ‘then are ye verily My disciples' (John 8:31): the same emphasis on the ‘truly' responding to ‘the truth is not in him.' But we cannot help feeling that this ‘verily' here alone made his own by St. John expresses the solemn joy with which the writer approaches a new word and a new thought that will throb throughout the remainder of the Epistle. Postponing the study of ‘love ' until we hear that' love is of God,' we must mark the ‘perfected love.' Five times the thought occurs; and, while always the fellowship of love with God is the undertone, there is a distinction. Twice it is of God's love in or to us; once, in the middle, it is obviously the love common to God and us; and in the rest it is no less obviously love perfected in ourselves. What it is here let three considerations show. First, the Divine love in the mission and atoning work of the Son has been exhibited as effecting the forgiveness and sanctification of the soul; but that does not constitute the full knowledge of God in Christ: His love in us attains its perfect operation only when it becomes the full power of a simple and pure obedience to His word; that is its finished work in us. We know God when we know His love; and the knowledge or fellowship of His love is the possession of its perfect influence within us as the active power of holiness in one that has been passively delivered by it from sin. Hence, secondly, it is added, by this we know that we are in him: not by spiritual enjoyments; not by ecstatic absorption into the Divine abyss, such as later and degenerate mysticism delighted to describe; but by the power to do His holy will in absolute self-surrender and consecration, do we know that we have union with God. It may be objected that on this view it should read ‘that He is in us:' now precisely this we do read when next the perfect operation of the Divine love is referred to: ‘God abideth in us, and His love is perfected in us' (chap. 1 John 4:12). It is not our consummate love to God that assures us of our union with Him, but the blessed experience of His perfected love in us. Thirdly, this is confirmed by what follows: He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk even as he walked. There is no stress on the ‘saith,' as if the meaning were that the profession ought to be confirmed by practice. True as that is, the truth is deeper here. The profession before was, ‘I know God;' now the phrase changes, ‘that he abideth in Him.' The stress is on the ‘abiding,' which now enters the Epistle for the first time to go no more out; and as this continuous fellowship with Christ is no other than the life of the Vine producing fruit in the branches, he who has it is bound to exhibit in himself the holiness of Christ, and walk as He walked. The knowledge, the life, the love of Christ is perfected in this, that we live as He lived. In fact, there are two obligations: being abidingly in Christ absolutely involves a Divine necessity of righteous obedience; and the profession of it binds the professor to do his own part to imitate Him. ‘If I then ye also ought. For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done' (John 13:14-15). This suggests the Master's self-sacrificing love as the specific characteristic of His pattern, and leads to the next section. But, before passing on, we should observe the wealth of new terms and thoughts which crowd into the present verse: knowledge, indwelling, abiding; all these being perfected love; and all issuing in our being ‘even as He.' Each one of these recurs again and again.