"And the [one] keeping the commands of Him in Him is remaining and He in him. And in this we are knowing that He is remaining in us, out of the Spirit which to us He gave."
-So here is where the rubber meets the road. Keeping His commands. Particularly these two, since John ties what he is saying here to the previous verse with an ‘AND’. You cannot separate them - we know He is thinking about these two: 1) persevering in believing in Jesus, loving Him with all our heart and living in full-on, all-out devotion to Him. And 2) loving one another, living in oneness and unity as a loving family, committed to one another and building one another up and making Jesus famous together, for better or worse. It’s about relationship - let’s not miss this. It’s not about a bunch of do’s and don’ts. It’s not about obedience, first and foremost. It’s about a growing love relationship with Jesus, and with His followers. The one who is continuing and growing in these love-relationships is most assuredly in Christ. And Christ is in Him.
-Um, let us not scurry past this truth today. It is so oft repeated in the church, it has become hackneyed and threadbare. It’s like the amazing sunset with which God paints the sky every evening which through overexposure we begin to take for granted and no longer take notice of. But notice this. Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1.27). Jesus Christ lives in me. This changes everything - or should. And it changes me - or should. He abides in me, the one believing in Him (and loving the one who also believes in Him). This is a marvelous mystery. The infinite God of the universe comes down to this tiny planet and lives in little ol’ far-from-perfect me, makes His home in my heart, takes up residence in my life. My life, my heart - I am invaded not by some strange alien lifeform but rather by the One Who made the universe and Who made me to be like Him and now He’s coming to finish the job. New heart, new life, all things are made new. It’s about a totally brand new identity as a member of His family and the mother of all upgrades - a supernatural high-tech Power Source which allows me to walk in love with every member of that family.
-Yes, Christ sends His Spirit to live in the heart of each and every person who believes in Him, and it is this Spirit Who assures our heart that we are in Christ, that we truly have come to know Him. He fills every fiber of our being with the knowledge that God is our Daddy and we are His child, that He truly is our Loving Father, our great Daddy in heaven Who constantly loves us and watches over us and hears us (Romans 8.15). Tho we were lost and blind, tho we were His enemies, slaves of sin, He sent His Son to buy us back and bring us into His family. Forever. His Spirit lives inside us, dwelling there permanently, never ever to leave, helping us, guiding us, teaching us, speaking to our hearts with the indescribable assurance us that we are God’s children (Galatians 4.5-6). It was a wonderful thing indeed for the first disciples to know Jesus in the flesh and to get to be with Him every day, but believe it or not, this is better. Way better. Now He lives inside our hearts, never to leave, not even for a moment. It’s relationship on heavenly steroids.
-But the gift of God’s Spirit is not merely about guidance and reassurance and reinforcing our relationship with Christ. It’s about power. Power for greater works (John 14.12, 16). Supernatural, limitless power which shows the unbelieving world that something greater than self-effort and ancient wisdom is in play here. It is Christ living not only in me but through me. And as much as anything this hyper-nuclear power would be brought to bear on the implementation of this one new-old command, to help us love one another. He plan is to populate this planet with outposts of heaven, assemblies of worshippers who are loving Him with all their hearts and are loving one another as a tangible expression of this love. This is how we live in relationship with one another, in community - such that we cannot, must-not go it alone. But the good news is, you and I ARE not alone. Isn’t that pretty much what Christ said in the upper room? Um, guys, I’m giving you a new command - love one another, and this is how others will know you’re following Me, and I’m going away but I’m giving you a Helper Who will actually be in you to help you do this, and let Me pray for you and ask My Father to make this a reality. Really, is anything too difficult for God? Do you think that Christ-in-you is not more than able to enable you and me and each of us to love even the most unloveable members of His body? To forbear with them? To forgive them? Just to give them the time of day even?
-But I think the Lord knew we were going to need some help to pull this off. Cuz again, it takes two to tango. And in this case, it takes three. You and I individually can crank up our love-the-Lord-with-all-our-heart thing independently of one another (altho arguably even THAT goes better in tandem). We could make a case that no one else is needed for that part of the equation. But as soon as God says ‘one another’, now it all becomes contingent on cooperation. Reciprocation. There is no way to fullly ‘love one another’ without another. God could have just left it at others - encourage others, bear with others, love others (that’s how He first put it, in fact - love your neighbor). Doing it to others requires nothing of them. The outcome does not depend on them in the least - just me and Jesus. We got this. But not anymore. Now I have to depend on ‘an other’. And so do you. And because of this, we need another Other. We need His Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill us with love - love FOR Christ, and the love OF Christ for one another...
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