Eternal Life by Abiding

1 John 2:25-29

1 John 2 contains many different themes and messages that we could spend weeks looking into the entire chapter. There are warnings and instructions, encouragements and rebukes, but when you come to the last five verses there is a clear message concerning eternal life. If you desire to have eternal life then you will know it when you see that you abide or remain in Christ and He is your life’s desire.

Verse 25 clearly and succinctly reminds us that Jesus promised us eternal life. This verse refers back to John 3:15, “That whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.” Clear and precise. What more instruction do you really need? Believe in Him and your eternal life will be found in Him. It is through Christ and no other.

Then in verse 26 we begin to see John’s instructions to knowing whether or not you possess eternal life. This is not only instructions for possessing but a challenge to the believers. Are you still abiding? You once were but are you now? Do you still love your first love? Do you still practice that daily communion with your Lord? Do you still seek Him as you once did? John says that he has written this letter in order response to those who are trying to deceive them. There were many who were saying that Jesus was coming soon and then there were those who were claiming to be Christ in the flesh come again. These John refers to as antichrists. But he calls them little antichrists because they are not the one to come but resemble the one to come. But the verse says that they are trying to deceive them. It is not working. They are not deceived, but John is writing to encourage them and help them maintain their strength. What attempts to deceive the church are there in the world? What attempts to deceive the church do we find within the church as a whole?

Verse 27 begins the process of explaining how we can know if we have eternal life. John says, “As for you.” You the believer. He is talking to the church and not the world so what he is saying here is for the church. The anointing which you received is a reference to the Spirit. The prophets of the Old Testament were anointed, but today all believers are anointed with the Spirit. But he says that this anointing abides within you. It lives and remains in you. It is not leaving. This anointing is received from Christ and is not leaving. It will remain in you. And because it remains in you, you have no need of anyone teaching you. The Spirit is to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Spirit is also known as the Spirit of Truth. He is the one who illuminates the Word of God to the Believer in whom He dwells. There is still need of receiving teaching through the church and other means but because of the Spirit in you, if you are properly submitted to the Spirit then you can study and interpret for yourself. There is not a need for outside help. As you submit to the teaching received through the Spirit you should become more in Christ. As you are taught and ruled by the Spirit, all of whose teaching is true, you should come to abide in Christ or remain in Him as the Spirit remains in you. The idea is that as believers we are to be constantly living with the Spirit working in us to make us new and to resemble Christ. We see our world and the problems of the world, but are we the believers becoming Christ-like and living within the world to affect a positive change? Do we allow our Christ-likeness to live and change our world? Do we allow the Word of God through the Spirit to make us into better people and then allow the Spirit to work through us to change the hearts and minds of those outside of the body of Christ?

In verse 28 John calls those to whom he is writing little children. We are to come to Christ as little children. A child is one who is young, so these believers may be new believers. Or it may simply be a term of affection by John to those to whom he is writing. He commands them to “abide in Him.” In Christ. This is an instruction. It is best for you to abide in Christ. This is what you are to do. As we are told in John 15, that we are to abide in Christ and He will abide in us. As the branches of a vine abide in the main shoot so we are to abide in Christ. Apart from Him we have no life. If we abide in Christ then when He returns and we stand before Him we will have no reason to be ashamed or to have fear. If we live in abiding in Christ then we may boldly approach the throne of Christ. By living in obedience and allowing the Spirit to lead us we will not be ashamed before Christ.

In verse 29 John shares a brief defense of the righteousness of Christ. Firs he starts with what we know and that is that Christ is Righteous. So if Christ is righteous then anyone else lives righteously is also in Christ. It is guilt by association but we are not truly guilty we are free of our guilt. Christ’s righteousness is not some arbitrary standard but an unchanging standard set in the Word of God and that the Spirit will lead us to live by.

If you want to know if you have eternal life:
Do you abide in Christ?
Does the Spirit abide in you?
Does the Spirit have the freedom to work in your spirit to make you righteous?