We do not know God merely in an objective, doctrinal way. It is in this way that the Jews know God. They know God objectively, apart from any subjective experience of Him. This means that they do not have any inner experience of the subjective God. But as those who have been born of God and who possess God’s life, we know Him not merely objectively, but in particular we know Him subjectively and experientially.
Because we know our God in this way, we cannot speak certain things, do certain things, or go certain places. Others may even defame us and falsely accuse us. However, because we know God subjectively, often we shall not have any desire to vindicate ourselves or argue in our own defense. No matter what others may say, we know that we have the divine life. We have God within us as our life and nature. Eventually this indwelling One will be expressed in our character and conduct. It is in this way that we know God experientially, and this knowing is a strong sign that we are in Him and one with Him.
In our behavior and way of speaking, we should bear a sign that we are in God. We should not talk with others the same way that unbelievers do. If your husband or wife, your children, your neighbors, and your classmates or co-workers cannot see a sign that you behave yourself according to the experience of God, then there is a question whether you are truly in God or not. We thank the Lord that those in the Lord’s recovery do have the testimony in their daily life that they are in God. We bear a sign that we are in God, even though at some times we are weak and fail Him. We thank the Lord that we have some evidence, some sign, in our daily walk that we are in God. This sign is an indication that we know the Lord experientially. Because we know Him experientially, spontaneously we keep His commandments.
In 2:6 John goes on to say, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as that One walked.” To be in Christ is the start of the Christian life. That was God’s doing once for all (1 Cor. 1:30). To abide in Him is the continuation of the Christian life. This is our responsibility in our daily walk, a walk which is a copy of Christ’s walk on earth.
Because God has put us in Christ once for all, we now must bear the responsibility to abide in Him. To abide in Him is actually to have fellowship with Him. On the negative side, this requires that we deal with our sins; on the positive side, this requires that we keep His word.
According to the context of these verses, the Lord’s word here refers to His commandments. His commandments are to love God and to love the brothers. We love our begetting Father, and we love all His children, all those begotten of Him.
When we are abiding in the Lord, having fellowship with Him, our abiding in Him spontaneously issues in love for God and for the brothers. Therefore, the second condition, the second requirement, of fellowship is that we love God and the brothers.
The Greek word used for love in verse 5 is agape. This word denotes a love higher and nobler than that denoted by the Greek word phileo. Only agape with its verb forms is used in this Epistle for love. In this verse “the love of God” denotes our love toward God, which is generated by His love within us. The love of God, the word of the Lord, and God Himself are all related to one another. If we keep the Lord’s word, God’s love has been perfected in us. This is altogether a matter of the divine life, and this life is God Himself.
God’s love is His inward essence, and the Lord’s word supplies us with this divine essence, with which we love the brothers. The word itself is not this essence or substance. The word is what conveys this essence and supplies it to us. Therefore, the word supplies us with the very essence of God, which is the divine love. As a result, we have something substantial within us for us to participate in and enjoy. This means that eventually the essence of God’s being becomes our enjoyment. Then out of this enjoyment there will be an issue—our love for God and His children.