1 John 2:3-8

Feelings Are Not a Valid Test

There are those who answer the question, "Do you know God?", by saying, "Yes, I can feel His presence in my heart." While it may help one to feel he has God's presence with him, it is important to realize feelings are not a good test for religious security. John says a better test is that of obedience (1 John 2:3; Titus 1:16; Matthew 7:21; John 14:15). Woods notes the word "keep" is present subjunctive indicating continuous keeping. The word "know" in scripture often indicates intimate knowledge as it does here (Genesis 4:1; Genesis 4:25). Thus, the close partnership of 1 John 1:1-10 is dependent upon one's yielding to God's will as set forth in His commandments. Of course, words must be matched by actions, as 1 John 2:4 clearly shows. The Gnostics believed they had a superior knowledge of God and yet did not display it in godly living. The continual lack of obedience, which is indicated by the present tense in the Greek, makes one a continual liar, and lying becomes a part of his very character.

By daily obedience, one continues to grow up in Christ until his love for God is complete, or full-grown. One who claims to abide in Christ can easily verify it by the way he lives his daily life. Woods writes, "'Ought', from opheilo, to be in debt, denotes the moral obligation here to exhibit the basis of one's profession." Peter calls Christ our example in 1 Peter 2:21 and admonishes us to follow His steps (1 John 2:5-6).

The old commandment was what John's readers had heard from the beginning of their Christian lives, or the gospel. It is an old commandment in that its basic parts had been repeated through the centuries (Leviticus 19:18). Yet, it is new in the depth to which the Lord took it when He said, "as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 13:34-35). Never before had love like Christ's been displayed to man (Romans 5:6-8; John 15:13). Also, the command is ever new in that Christians constantly find new ways and opportunities to fulfill it. The light of the gospel dispels the darkness of ignorance and superstition (1 John 2:7-8; compare John 3:19-21; John 8:12; Ephesians 4:17-18; Romans 13:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:5).