Knowing about Being in Truth (1 John 3: 19-24)

KNOWING ABOUT BEING IN TRUTH (1 JOHN 3: 19-24): 

After writing about loving in truth and in action, Apostle John further clarifies the believers that they are of the truth and thereby they shall reassure their heart before God whenever their heart condemns them because God is greater than anyone and He knows everything. God had put eternity and the laws in the conscience of everyone and He is always greater than anything and knows everything beyond time. God looks at the heart of everyone as nothing is hidden before Him and when the perception and application of things of the heart are wrong there will surely an insight that condemns it, but many were carried away by their selfish desires without really analyzing the purpose of the things in God. Every believer’s heart is controlled by the Spirit of God and condemns a person, for not being carried away with evil. The Spirit of God can assure the believers themselves that they are abiding in truth through convicting.

Apostle John further instructs the believers by addressing them as beloved. He writes that if the heart does not condemn them, they have confidence before God and whatever they ask, they receive from God because they keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. A person who is free from the condemnation of sin is free in his heart because he is not carried away by sin and receive whatever is desired, as it is genuine and worthy according to the commandments of God and higher standards of scriptures. God is all-powerful and His works are incomprehensible and righteous beyond our thoughts and He never slumbers and faults. The believers’ confidence could never be for changing the mind of God by asking things according to their selfish desires but according to Godly desires, as a believer who keeps the commandments of God, know God and accept His ways that are according to His will, as well as strive hard to please Him by words and actions.

Apostle John makes a definite statement that the commandment for the believers is to believe in the name of Jesus Christ and so love one another which is the commandment given by Lord Jesus. Salvation is received only through Jesus Christ and whomsoever believes in Jesus will not perish but receive eternal life. Salvation is got by believers when they first started believing genuinely and the outcome of belief in Jesus should be following His commandments, out of which the primary one was to Love one another. Apostle John further writes that he who keeps the commandments of Jesus abides in God, and God in Him, and by that, the believers know that Jesus abides in Him, by the Spirit whom He had given. The person who knows Jesus, knows God and receives the Spirit of God and the person needs to keep the commandments by following the footsteps and teachings of Jesus in order to continually abide in God, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Stimulations for Self-Reflection:

1.      By what the believers shall know about abiding in truth?

2.      When does our heart condemn? Why?

3.      When believers have confidence before God? How?

4.      What does the author impels by saying ‘whatever we ask we receive from him’?  Why?

5.      How can we keep the commandments of God and please God?

6.      What is the commandment that the author reminds the believers?

7.      What was the commandment by Jesus? Why the author emphasizes it?

8.      What does one who keeps the commandments of Jesus do?

9.      How does keeping the commandments of Jesus helps us to abide in God?

10.  Who had given the Spirit of God? How?