1 John 2:6 – Abiding in Him Changes You

1 John 2:6 (NKJV)
⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

John talks a lot about actions matching confession. Joseph Prince says there are two types of Christians—confessors and professors. Professors say they are believers but there is no fruit to their saying. Confessors truly believe in the finished work of Jesus and fruit has begun to grow in their lives. Fruit grows by itself when the seed of the word is planted.

If you claim you abide in Jesus then you ought to walk as Jesus walked. That’s the Jack translation. That’s a big order. Ought doesn’t mean you have to or else God doesn’t love you. No. God loves you regardless. Ought also doesn’t mean it’s a commandment to obey or else. John is pointing out that if you are abiding in Jesus, your walk is going to look more and more like Jesus.

^“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). The Greek word for abide means to “continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, and stand” (Strong’s). There is a sense of time involved. It takes time to renew the mind. It takes time to hear good sermons, read the Word, and digest it.

A person might be a hateful person. When they come to know the Lord as Savior, they ought to have a renewed heart which leads to new fruit of love in their life. If it never happens, one might wonder about their salvation. Course we can never say who is saved and who is not nor should we. We can only see the out working of a changed life.

John isn’t trying to bring any condemnation on anyone. The believer is not condemned under any circumstances. He is just saying that if someone says they abide in Jesus, then those around them should begin to see Jesus in them.