ARE YOU IN CHRIST?

1 John 2:5-6, 9 (NIV) ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ⁹Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

Are you in Christ? There are millions of people that claim to be Christians that love only themselves. John is giving us a chief indicator of Christian life. He tells us plainly that if anyone is obeying God's Word (since Jesus is the Word made flesh this means to be walking with and obeying Jesus), then God's love will truly be made complete in that person. The indicator is love.

If we don't have love, we are only fooling ourselves. We may have a form of religion. We may have a desire to be good or even to please God, but we are missing something vital. The presence of Jesus in us will manifest Himself as the love of God through us. John saw the love of God as one of the main characteristics of Jesus. If Jesus is living in us, that characteristic will be in our lives as well. To walk as Jesus walked is to demonstrate love for God and our fellow man in all we do and say.

We cannot hate our brother if we are in the light. Hatred is an expression of darkness. It demonstrates the condition of our heart. Hatred is antithetical to the presence of Jesus in us. If Christ is in communion with us, we will find it impossible to go on hating a person. His presence will change our perspective to understanding, sympathy, and love. The mind of Christ will reveal the causes of a person's offensive behavior. Then we will hate the sin, but love the person enslaved by it, even when they hurt us. They "know not what they do".

Consider: Is the love of God being truly made complete in me?