March 6, 2014 | Abide

“But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie-just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1 John 2:27 ESV)
 

“Abide” is the Greek meno [μένω] – a term one meets again and again in 1 John. In fact, it is the key idea in the first two chapters. Putting all of 1 John 1 & 2 together, we see that abiding involves believing the truth, obeying the truth, and loving fellow Christians.

Warren Wiersbe has a nice summary of this word John loves, abide:

One must recognize the importance of abiding in Christ…[via] obedience – love – truth.

  • If we say we abide in Christ, we should walk as He walked (verse 6).
  • If we love our brother, we abide in the light (10).
  • If the Word abides in us, we will be spiritually strong (14).
  • If we do the will of God, we shall abide forever (17).
  • False teachers do not abide (continue) in the fellowship (19).
  • The message we have heard should abide in us (24).
  • The anointing (the Holy Spirit) abides in us, and we should abide in the Spirit (27).
  • As we abide in the Word and in the Spirit, we should also abide in Christ (28).

If you are a believer and find yourself out of fellowship with God, it is because you have disobeyed His Word, lacked love for a brother, or believed a lie. The solution is to confess your sin instantly and claim God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). – Warren Wiersbe, Be Real.
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