FRIDAY March 10th
1 John 3:19–24
‘By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.’
We have come to the end of the third chapter, and John talks of matters of the heart. He talks about whether or not our hearts condemn us, that is as we have read and learnt from what John has already talked about in this letter, especially the important matter of love that should be evident among the children of God, have we felt our hearts condemn us or not. In other words has there been what I will call an inner conviction (v20) that has prompted us to realise that we are failing in this area or has there been an inner confidence (v21) that we are living in obedience to that which God requires from us.
God’s word should always have an effect upon us, we read in another well-known 3:16, (think back to the previous devotion) but this time in 2 Timothy that ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.’
Even as I prepare the devotions, it is so that what I prepare for others to read will also be a means of instruction to me, and I need to know just as you also need to know what it is that the word of God is speaking into our hearts. Is it to teach, to reprove, to correct, and that the inner confirmation or conviction of the Holy Spirit would cause us to apply what is revealed in whatever way he reveals to us. It is all about living in obedience to God’s commandments, and especially in the context of our verses today, in obedience to the commandment ‘that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another’. (v23)
As we live in obedience then we can be assured that we ‘abide in God, and God abides in him’. (v24) And how do we know by the witness of the Spirit whom he has given us. We need to heed the conviction and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, if our hearts condemn us, then correct what it is that needs correcting, if our hearts do not condemn us then rejoice that we are living in accord to his will and commandment. And in keeping his commandments, John says, ‘whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him’. (v22)