Streamed on: Jun 26, 8:01 pm EDT

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1 John 2:3 is NOT about the *saving knowledge of the gospel of God or His Son, but of *experiential knowledge of God and His Son. To get this wrong, as many commentaries have, is to lay the ground work for a complete misreading of the epistle!
There is a huge difference between:
*saving knowledge – is knowledge that one has when he knows how to be eternally saved, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. (Faith alone in Christ alone)
*experiential knowledge – is knowledge acquired after one is saved, by the consistent intake of the Word of God. The goal is to be Experientially Sanctified as a Mature Believer. That means to be set apart for special blessings such as Super Grace blessings, Escrow blessings, rewards, decorations, and special opportunities.
It is certainly true that any claim of knowing God is forfeited if we live neglectful of His Commandments. Just as a claim to fellow- ship with Him is false if we “walk in darkness,” so too, a disobedient lifestyle falsifies any claim to intimate knowledge of Him.
John 14:21-23 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." 22) Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23) Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
1 John 2:4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
Notice that the verse did not start by saying, “If we say.” (referring to John’s flock), but “he who says,” that is, whoever they may be, Christian or not.
Also, notice that the phrase “I have come to know Him” in this verse is nearly the same phrase found in verse 3, “we have come to know Him”

As in 1 John 1:6, someone may profess a fellowship with God which his life shows he does not possess. John was not afraid to call this kind of claim what it really is: a lie. Furthermore, it may be said of the same person that the truth is not in him.
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
The challenge is to remain in fellowship, to enjoy fellowship with God, and to live consistently applying doctrine. The way John emphasizes this in terms of the structure is found in 1 John 1:5-2:2. He emphasizes the negative by three false claims: 1.1:6 – Lying about having fellowship with God. 2. 1:8 – Saying that we have no sin. 3. 1:10 -saying that we have not sinned which makes Him a liar.
These negatives show the importance of maintaining fellowship, maintaining the Christian life and living in fellowship with God.
Then John is going to advance beyond that, starting in 2:3, to show that it is not merely being in fellowship, enjoying fellowship, but it is also:
1. Knowing God and developing an intimate personal relationship with Him.
2. Which is the basis for moving into the Advanced Adult Spiritual Life. It is not just being in fellowship; it is staying in fellowship.
1 John 2:5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
In contrast to the false claim made in verse 4, John now observes the person who keeps His word (a collective way of referring to “His commandments” (verse 4).
Obviously, a newly saved individual does not immediately possess the instructions in God’s commandments that he needs. That takes time, but when he is taught God’s Word, he starts applying what he has learned to his circumstances. It is at this point that the Lord lays down two conditions for Him to manifest Himself to us: 1. He who has My commandments, and 2. Keeps them.
John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."