I John 2:3

View Video Blog by right clicking on link:  I John 2:3

I John 2:3

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments."

THE STUDY:

          For readers who wish to decide whether their experience of fellowship with God has led them really to know Him in a personal way, John gave a simple test: We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands.^[1] This morning I want to look at a couple of things. First thing that stands out to me is the word “Know!” This word is used 23 times by John in this Epistle. We find it used two times in this verse alone. The first “know” is found without any connection. It stands alone, but the second “know” is within a subordinate clause which is connected to the main clause. So, what does this mean?

• The first “know” is translated to mean “understand.”

• The second “know” is translated to mean to learn to know a person through direct personal experience, implying a continuity of relationship—‘to know, to become acquainted with, to be familiar with.’^[2]

This passage would read like this … [And by this we understand that we

have become acquainted with Jesus through a direct personal experience, if we keep his commandments.]

          John is implying to the reader that “WE KNOW!” We know that when we keep his commandments we are in fellowship with God.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• The first thing we can take with us is the fact that keeping God’s commandments (the ones written on our hearts now, not on tablet) are good signs. Signs that not only others can see but ones that we can see as well. I call these moments “measuring sticks.”  

• Secondly, I preach this from the pulpit, we know when we are out of God’s will and we know when we are in His will. My kids know when they are doing something they should not be doing. Why lie or try to hide it if you didn’t know I would not approve of it. We do the same thing with God.  

CONCLUSION:

          We have lived in a multitude of different houses during our ministry. We are raising kids and one of the things we have done is measure them as they grow. All of us have done this at one point in time in our lives. You stand straight with your back against the door frame. Your mom or dad takes a marker and puts a line were the top of your head is. You step away and they mark your age over the line. You can go back to that door frame and look at how you have grown over the years.

          The same can be said about our spiritual growth. We have moments in our lives (being tested, difficult times, heartaches, even blessings) that after we have come through it, we can see how far God has brought us. We see how much we have grown in the Lord. My prayer for you is that you come to know Jesus Christ. I hope these devotionals help you come to know Him in a more personable way.   

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

---

^[1] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1 Jn 2:3). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (327). New York: United Bible societies.