1 John 2:6 

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” – 1 John 2:6 

Have you ever wondered why God so often asks about our location? Why He is always looking for us? It began in the very beginning. When Adam fell into transgression, God already knew exactly where he was, yet the Lord still called out, “Where are you?” And when Abel was murdered by his brother, God came to Cain and asked him, “Where is your brother?” even though nothing is hidden from His sight. Even Elijah, hiding away in a cave from fear and exhaustion, was questioned by God. The Lord asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

So when God asks about our location, it is a sign that we have begun to drift or that we have already drifted far from His presence. Didn’t the LORD Jesus say that He leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one sheep that has wandered? Then ask yourself, why would the LORD Jesus need to search for that sheep if it was truly abiding in Him? And didn’t He also declare that He came to seek and to save that which was lost? Why would God have to seek us if we were dwelling safely in Him? And why would the LORD Jesus need to save us if we were not in need of saving?

What does Psalm 91 say? “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High…” A person who truly dwells in God becomes sheltered under His wings, finds Him to be their fortress, and rests in Him as their sure place of trust. The LORD delivers him from hidden dangers, from deadly plagues, and from every trap of the enemy. His faithfulness covers him like a shield, so he do not fear the terror by night nor the arrow that flies by day. Even when thousands fall around him, God keeps His own secure because he is abiding in God.

And when we understand this, we begin to see what John means when he writes, “He who says he abides in Him …” (1 John 2:6). John is speaking of those who truly make their home in God, those who dwell in His presence and walk with Him daily. Consider the life of Moses. He was able to do mighty and marvelous works because he stayed near the presence of God. As it is written, the LORD spoke with Moses “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Moses lingered close, while the rest of the people remained far off . And because they kept their distance, they never truly walked with God.

In the same way, when we believe in the LORD Jesus, we become His temple. As it is written, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). His Spirit takes residence within us, and we begin to abide in Him. As it is written, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). We become one in the the LORD Jesus; we are no longer separated from Him. Through the LORD Jesus Christ we are united with Him, joined to Him in spirit, and brought into a oneness that sin can no longer divide. Because the LORD Jesus Christ already died for our sins. He destroyed the sin, the very thing that separated us from God and by His blood, we were brought near, for “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Now that we have been brought near to God, we are also commanded by the Lord Jesus to abide in Him. He says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). And again He declares, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). From this we understand that apart from the Lord Jesus, we cannot produce the good fruit that brings life within us nor can we bring forth a life that is well pleasing to God. We are in need of continually abiding in the LORD Jesus, for apart from Him we are dead. If He had not come to save us, we would all be dead in our sins and bound for hell. If He had not searched for us, if He had not sought us, we would still be wandering far from Him. We would remain lost—still straying, still without life, still without hope.

Now we can understand what John means when he says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6). If we claim to abide in the Lord Jesus, then our walk should reflect His walk, because abiding makes us one with Him. But if we are not walking with Him, it shows we are not truly abiding in Him.

No one in the Scriptures who truly walked with the LORD Jesus ever remained the same. For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), and when we walk with Jesus, His fire burns away what is sinful in us and conforms us to His own righteousness. As we follow Jesus daily, we are transforms into His likeness, learning to think as He thinks, to speak as He speaks, to love as He loves, and to show compassion as He shows compassion. We also begin to hate sins because sin separates us from Him and corrupted us. And as His Spirit works within us, our hearts begin to bear His own heart toward the lost just as we once were. We begin to search for and to seek those who are wandering, that we might bring them to Him, the only One who can save them, transform their lives, and give them eternal life. We become a light shining in a dark and fallen world, and we begin to speak the truth that sets men and women free.