PART 2 TO GUARD

Chapter 7 That Which We Heard from the Beginning

1Jn_2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

In the last section, we saw the verse telling us to “abide in Him” so that we may have confidence at His appearing. Because so many books have been written about “abiding in the Lord”, we may have the thought that this is a very high or even a mystical state to achieve. However, a few verses prior to these words, John defines abiding in Him in a way that is truly good news:

1Jn 2:24  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

Here John reduces the concept of Abiding in the Lord to something very simple, very “un-mystical”. John says we are to let “that which we heard from the beginning” abide in us. Then he says, “If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son”. The word continue, thank the Lord, is the same Greek word as “abide”. In both places the greek word is “meno” meaning to abide, continue, dwell, endure, remain, stand and tarry. So, he says “Let that therefore ABIDE in you which you have heard from the beginning…. (and if it does) you shall ABIDE in the Son and in the Father.”

What did we hear from the beginning? John says it is the promise of Eternal Life. This promise is in the Gospel. What we heard was a simple message. Holding onto that simple message in faith is the key to abiding in the Lord, and even standing with confidence at His appearing! The Gospel, per Romans 1:16 is the “power of God unto salvation.” This is a complete salvation, which includes justification, sanctification and our eventual glorification and inheritance. When we believed the Gospel, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee – a down payment pledge.

What God has agreed to purchase, He will also redeem. He paid the price, and by believing the Gospel and being sealed with the Spirit, we were proved to be His purchased possession. In other words, what He began in us, He’ll finish. It all depends on His faithfulness and unswerving dedication to the salvation He has revealed in His word. The message that we have believed is the most powerful and most important thing that we have received. It has been entrusted to us as a commitment. Simply believing this message has secured for us everything related to our salvation, and even though that salvation is unfolding in time as a process, in God’s eyes it is complete. We are complete in Christ.