Articles
Truth
Truth
In a letter that has been divided into 13 verses, we are confronted with the word 'truth' 5 times. We now live in an age that basically denies the very concept of truth. Truth has become divorced from fact, history, and life. When people speak of 'truth', today they often mean simply one's opinion or viewpoint. It was different in John's day. John says of the disciples:
Vs. 1 - They knew the truth.
Vs. 2 - The truth abode in them.
Vs. 2 - The truth is eternal. It is that which they had from the beginning (5,6), and it will be with them forever (2).
Vs. 4 - They were walking IN truth.
Such truth is to be found in HIS (Jesus) commandments (6). When one is walking in truth, he is walking according to His commandments. The truth is the teaching of Christ and to abide in His teaching is to abide in truth (vs. 9). Truth has its opposite - falsehood and error. There were those who were deceivers and hence were NOT 'of the truth' (7).
This little letter needs to be read in conjunction with the reading of 1 John. John has already written much concerning truth and error in the lives of believers. Such surely involves the very element of WHO Jesus is, but it also involves in the practical aspect of being a disciple and thus walking in His teachings. Having the correct understanding of who Jesus is must be coupled with walking even as He walked (cp. 1John 1:7)
Abiding in the teaching of Christ thus is more than holding to the truth that He came in the flesh. If He is the Christ, He is the Christ with all authority (Matt. 28:18, see notes below). If we are disciples, we are "keeping his teachings" (Matt. 28:19). Those who say they know Him (approve, agree with), must make the application of living as He has taught (1John 2:3).
Hugh DeLong
