Daily Devotions
1 John
"And this is His commandment..."
Text: 1 John 3:23
COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD
The following text must be read in conjunction with what was written in the previous verse. They form a unit.
“And this is His commandment:
that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ
and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”
1 John 3:23
1. “And this is His commandment”
a) The pronoun “His” is a reference to God.
b) The word of the Lord is always to be taken as a Divine Commandment.
c) Two aspects of God’s commandment was highlighted.
2. “That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ”
a) This is the first word.
b) The focus is the Person of Jesus.
i) He is to be believed in.
ii) He is to be received as the Son of God.
iii) He is to be honoured as “the Christ” (The Messiah).
c) Faith must be exercised.
i) In believing Him as the Saviour.
ii) In believing that we are to pray in His name.
d) If we do not have this faith then we would not be keeping God’s commandment.
e) He is not under any obligation to answer our prayers.
3. “And love one another”
a) This was an expressed commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 13:34-35).
b) John has mentioned this a number of times in his epistle.
c) The problem remains that many do not keep this commandment.
4. “As He gave us commandment”
Let us recall what the Lord Jesus Christ specifically taught His disciples. There is no question that this teaching was stated as a commandment.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
These things I command you, that you love one another.”
John 15:12, 17