"But whoever may be keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected. in this we are knowing that in Him we are."
-Keeping His Word, His commands. John repeats himself once again here, emphasizing and driving home this point - there are two kinds of people: those who truly know the Lord, and those who do not. Those who are truly in Him, and those who are not. Those in whom the everlasting love of God has truly been perfected, and those in whom it has not. Only two kinds of fruit - good and bad (Mt 7.17). He leaves no quarter for any other option. There’s no such thing as semi-rotten spiritual fruit. He stakes out no place for any kind of a middle ground. You’re either in, or you’re not. Either Christ is in you, or He is not. Either you know Him, or you don’t. And there are many indeed who think they are in, or who may appear to be in, but they are not.
-Look at their life. Or rather, look at your own life. Inspect your own fruit - a tree is known by it’s fruit (Mt 12.33). Whoever keeps His Word - that’s the standard, That’s how you know if you’re truly in. Whosoever. Anyone who may be keeping, observing, obeying, respecting the Word of God.
-And I love the imagery here. John is talking about the amazing love of God truly having been perfected in the life of a fallen, broken sinner (how can it be?). A completed action in the past, with continuing results in the present. It’s like a love hotspot. But instead of being an access point to a worldwide web of information, we are talking about an access point for the universal amazing everlasting love of the God Who so loves. Connect here, click here, and you get love. Or it's like a repository, a kind of Fort Knox, but instead of gold we are talking about something far better, far more valuable. The God of love Who so loved from everlasting has lavished this love on one so unlovely, has loved so completely and thoroughly as to meet every need and fully supply all that is necessary for eternal life and godliness (as well as all good things to enjoy, to boot!), and has so loved this one as to transform them into an inexhaustible resevoir of His unconditional selfless love - love for Him and for my neighbor and for the world. His love in me. Poured out in my heart, spilling over to all around. Living in to the great commands of Scripture, fulfilling them, bringing them to life to light the darkness... Each and every day, an ongoing experience and adventure of the blessed assurance of knowing that He is in us and we are in Him. He has accepted us, accepted us into His forever family. So how about you? Where are you in relation to His Word? To His love? Is it in you? In this we know... Do you know?
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