“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

Verse 6 is the second of the three false claims of this chapter.  The claim of verse 4 was the claim of fellowship with God without appropriating the principles of His Word. 

The claim of this verse is the claim of intimate fellowship with God without living out the principles Jesus applied to His life. 

 He who says he abides in Him

Now we come to the first of the 24 times the keyword “abide” occurs in 1 John.  Fourteen of these occurrences refer to the permanent relationship between God and the believer (2:6, 3:24 [2x], 4:12, 4:13 [2x], 4:15 [2x], 4:16 [2x]), Jesus and the believer (2:27, 2:28, 3:6) and both God and Jesus with the believer (2:24).  The other 10 instances refer to the Word of God abiding in the believer (2:14, the message (2:24 [2x]), the anointing (2:27), and God’s seed (3:9).  Eternal life (3:15) does not reside in unbelievers.  The one who does not love resides in death (3:14).  The one who resides in love resides in God (4:16). 

The word means to stay in place, to remain in a sphere.  The believer who claims that he “abides in Him” does not leave the realm where he finds himself.  He wants constant fellowship with God.  This is a believer with a persistent determination to fellowship with the Lord. 

The word “abides” speaks of intimate fellowship rather than a temporary or superficial connection.  Abide carries the idea of intimate fellowship or close friendship between God and the believer.  The believer in fellowship remains in a lasting condition without any intermissions. 

The Spirit-filled believer lives by the life Christ imparts.  The believer filled with the Spirit proves it by the practice of walking in fellowship with Him. 

PRINCIPLE: 

Obedience reveals the nature of our fellowship with God. 

APPLICATION: 

When we abide in the Lord, we engage in fellowship with Him.  If we walk unrelentingly in fellowship, God will change our lives.  This is the sign of fellowship. 

Jn 15:4-8, ⁴ “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

The rub comes when we do not consent to the will of God.  We love to devise our own ways for coping with life.  However, we do what God wants if we genuinely love Him.  If you love your wife, you will do what pleases her.