What John describes here is the normal experience of a Christian believer.

Our hearts do not condemn us
“If our heart does not condemn us...” (3:21). There is no better life than to know that you are forgiven, that God is for you, and that whatever happens, you are only a short distance from your eternal home, where you will see God’s face, your tears will be wiped away, and you will rejoice in God’s glorious presence.

We have confidence before God
“...we have confidence before God” (3:21). What an amazing statement! God will destroy the wicked, but the normal experience of the Christian life is to know that it is well with your soul and so to have peace with God and confidence before Him.

God answers our prayers
“And whatever we ask we receive from him...” (3:22). As you believe God, love God, and obey God, the things that you ask of Him will be aligned with His will. And when the things you ask for are aligned with His will, you will receive what you ask for.

We live according to God’s commands
“...because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (3:22). John keeps coming back to the life God has called us to live, believing, loving, and obeying God’s commandments. And here he reminds us again that as we pursue this life, assurance will grow and peace will prevail.

Here is a marvellous description of the normal Christian life. Pursue this life to which God has called you, and these blessings will be yours. Your heart will not condemn you. You will have confidence before God, and God will answer your prayers.

Which of these four blessings of the Christian life did you most need to be reminded of today?

John presents us with three themes—obeying, loving, and believing—and he uses them in three ways: as tests, as directions, and as signs.

Tests
The evidence that a person knows God is that he or she obeys God’s commands, loves God’s people, and believes in God’s Son. A person who knowingly resists God’s commands is not a Christian. A person who says, “I love God,” may sound very spiritual, but if he, at the same time, hates his brother, his claim is false. And if a person claims to be from God, but she denies Jesus Christ, she is a liar. These are tests by which we may discern those who are in Christ.

Directions
Obeying, loving, and believing are God’s directions for our lives. They suggest questions you could use when you lack assurance: 1) Am I choosing not to obey one of God’s commands? 2) Am I carrying bitterness or resentment toward someone? 3) Am I relying on my attempts to live the Christian life rather than relying on Jesus? If your answer is “yes” to any of these, you should not be surprised that you lack assurance.

Signs
John gives us three signs for recognising the work of God in our lives—believing, loving, and obeying. You might think, Well, I don’t see much of this fruit in my life. How many apples do you need to see before you can conclude that you’re looking at an apple tree? Not many. The tree may not be loaded with fruit, but if you can see even a few small apples, you can say with confidence, “It’s an apple tree!” And the more fruit you see, the more peace and joy you will have, knowing that you truly are in Christ.

What evidence of belief—even if only “a few small apples”—do you see in your own life?

John tells us that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the Son of God.

First, Jesus is the Christ
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (5:1). The liar denies that Jesus is the Christ, but a person born of God believes and confesses that Jesus is the Christ.

Then John says, “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2). John is describing the incarnation. God became a man in Christ Jesus. “Come” points to where He was before, sharing the life of God in heaven. “Has come” indicates that His coming was a historical event. “Flesh” tells us that He shares our human nature. God is Spirit, so in taking flesh, the Son of God identified Himself fully with us.

This union of God’s nature and ours is realised in a person —Jesus Christ. And that’s why all our hope is in Him. God has promised a redeemer since the beginning of time, and God became the deliverer He promised.

Second, Jesus is God’s Son
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (4:15). Jesus is God’s Son. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). He is “the exact imprint of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

Jesus is God in the flesh. He is one with the Father (Jn. 10:30). His words are the Father’s words, His will is the Father’s will, His work is the Father’s work. So, if you are in Christ the Son, you are in God the Father. That’s why John can say, “Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

Who could you tell this week: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, and I believe that He is the Son of God”?

The “antichrist” (singular) is a person who will oppose Christ and all that He stands for. This person will be an embodiment of evil, and he will arise in the future. But even in the first century, there were many antichrists.

When John speaks about “antichrists” (plural), he is talking about ordinary people who once were in the church but then left the church. “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (2:19).

These people believed that Jesus was born and died like anyone else. They denied the virgin birth. They saw Jesus as a man blessed with special powers and a special ministry. They saw Him as an inspiration and as an example of what is possible for a person possessed by heavenly powers.

But John is clear: Any teaching that reduces Jesus to a man with special powers is a lie that reflects the spirit of antichrist. “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son” (2:22).

Notice the two denials: 1) Jesus is not the Christ, and 2) Jesus is not the Son of God. Robert Law says, “There are many lies and many liars; but he who utters this lie is the liar.”

This is the lie that in some form will be repeated again and again throughout the course of history, and whenever you hear it, you are hearing the voice of antichrist.

Which of these two lies about Jesus do you need to fight against?

John acknowledges that some relationships will be difficult, but he also reminds us of where love comes from.

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (3:14). We don’t choose our brothers and sisters. They are given to us. And this is also true of the church. It’s easy to love a group of friends you have chosen. But the church is not a cosy group of self-selected friends. Your sisters and brothers in Christ are given to you by God, and some of them will be hard to love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God” (4:7). The source of love is outside of ourselves. This is good news. God calls you to love your sister or brother, and He is the source of the love He calls you to give. Stop telling yourself that you can’t love someone. God is love. And if His love reaches you, you will have all the love you need.

How do you know what love is if you have not been loved well? John says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (3:16). Stop telling yourself that you don’t know what love is. God the Father sent His Son into the world for you. God the Son laid down His life for you. God the Spirit has come to indwell you.

God’s love for you will never end. He has loved you with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3).

How could understanding that God is the source of love help you to love your brothers and sisters in Christ, even when they are hard to love?

One way assurance grows is by loving God’s people. Here are two kinds of evidence that show whether a person actually loves God’s people:

Hatred is evidence of darkness and death
“Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness... the darkness has blinded his eyes” (2:11). Hatred blinds people to the truth. A person who hates will not be able to see reality or find the path of wisdom. The tragedy of our time is that anger has taken root, and it is producing the bitter fruit of hatred. Hatred is evidence of darkness.

Hatred is also evidence of death: “Whoever does not love abides in death” (3:14). The person who hates is trapped, and he cannot get out. When we see hatred, our first response should be compassion. “This man has no love in his heart. He may be in a state of spiritual death.”

Love is evidence of light and life
“Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling” (2:10). Love is a sign that you abide in the light. If anger and hatred take root, they would cause you to stumble. But if you love your brother, there will be no cause of stumbling in you.

John also says love is evidence of life: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (3:14). This is assurance: “We know...” How do we know? “Because we love the brothers.”

Where do you see evidence of darkness and death in your life? Where do you see light and life?

John has been talking the language of law. Now, he is talking the language of love, and the two are joined together. “Whoever keeps his word [his commandments], in him truly the love of God is perfected.”

The love of God has a purpose: to reproduce itself in us, that we may love as He first loved us. And the evidence that God’s love has fulfilled its purpose in us is that we keep God’s Word.

The obedience John is describing does not come from a sense of duty. It comes from love. This is the clear teaching of Jesus: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). Our submission to God’s will is the fruit of God’s love. We love because He first loved us.

There is a beautiful freedom about the Christian life. What is freedom? Some people have the idea that it is being able to do whatever you want. But some of the things we want to do would be damaging to ourselves, hurtful to others, and most of all, offensive to God.

So here’s a better definition: Freedom is when what you want aligns with what God commands. That’s why we read in Psalm 1:1–2 that the man who delights in the law of God is blessed.

Christ brings us into the most beautiful freedom by aligning our desires with God’s Word. When what you desire aligns with what God commands, then you will be free.

Ask God to breathe on you and fill you afresh with His Spirit so that you might love what He loves, and do what He would do.

The way we know that we know God and that we are in Christ is to keep His commandments, or to say it another way, to walk as Jesus walked. Walk in obedience to God’s commands and you will grow in assurance. Walk as Jesus walked and you will know that you are in Him.

The way Jesus walked was to obey the commandments. He said, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (Jn. 14:31). If we are in Him, we will do the same.

John said, “We know that we have come to know [God], if we keep His commandments.” The word “keep” here was used of a ship’s captain using his eyes and ears to scan the skies and waters and chart the right course.

You live the Christian life by keeping your eyes and ears open to the Word of God. What has God said that I need to hear in this situation? What principle do I need to apply? What promise do I need to believe?

If assurance depends on our keeping God’s commands, how can we ever hope to have assurance? Which of us can honestly say that we walk as Jesus walked?

No Christian keeps God’s commands completely, but all Christians begin to live according to God’s commands. That’s why Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own” (Phil. 3:12).

This is the path on which assurance is found. As you walk in this path, growing peace, joy, and assurance will be yours.

What encouragement do you find in Paul’s admission that he had not obtained perfection but kept pressing on?