Now is a good time to consider the important theme we closed with in the previous post: “abiding in Christ.” “Abiding” usually refers to staying somewhere for several day” or continuing to do what you are doing.” But John is more concerned about “fellowship” and the continuation of our fellowship with Christ. Thus, in 1 John 2:24 we read, Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (See 2 John 1:9 for a similar statement.)
Now what is John saying? That “which you heard from the beginning” and
the “doctrine of Christ” (2 Jn. 1:9) are the same. It is the gospel which is all about Christ. This is the old commandment Jesus mentioned
in 2:7. It is what John heard and saw and handled concerning the Word of life
in 1:1-2. The command of the gospel is
that you believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ (3:23). When you believe in Christ you receive the Anointing
(the Holy Spirit) and you know the truth (2:20-21). Now “abide” in the truth you have through the
Anointing (2:27).
You may wonder, as I
have, why Paul didn’t speak in this same way.
He did, using a different term. Let
me share three thoughts with you on that question.
·
John spoke as he did because he heard Jesus talked
this way when He spoke of the “vine and the branches” (John 15:1-11). Jesus said believers, the branches, were to bear
fruit but could only do so if they remained in Christ, the vine.
·
Paul saw that the “gospel” was “the doctrine of
Christ.” In Romans “the gospel of God”
is concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed
of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead. As John said, the gospel is “concerning the
Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
·
In 1 Cor. 15:1-4 Paul speaks of the gospel as
the message of what Christ did, His death, burial and resurrection. That gospel was what Paul preached, they
received, in which they stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast
that word which I preached to you.
What is Paul referring to by “saved?”
It is another one of those “present tense” terms in the Greek like we
have seen in 1 John. It means they are being
saved. It is the present tense of
salvation. The Corinthians received the
gospel when Paul preached it; that’s in the past. Their standing is in the gospel has to do
with the future: they are assured they will fully experience that salvation
when they are in Christ’s presence and sin is no longer part of their lives. But now, they are being saved day by
day through the work of Christ, but only as I hold fast to that word, the
gospel. This is what John spoke of in 1
John 1:9, that the blood of Christ keeps on cleansing us. If I do not confess my sin that work of
cleansing is not happening. I have not
lost my salvation, but rather the on-going, day-by-day work of salvation is
impeded.
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