He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. – 1 John 2:4
Have you noticed that the word love appears fifty-seven times in the Gospel of John and forty-six times in his first epistle? John’s writings are overflowing with the love of the Lord Jesus. He even speaks of himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ (John 13:23; John 19:26; John 20:2; John 21:7, 20). John received the love of the LORD Jesus Christ so deeply and personally that it became part of his very identity.
When John says, ‘I know Him,’ we understand that his writings show a different focus than the other Gospels. In the Gospel of John, he does not simply record what Jesus did, he reveals who Jesus is. He begins his writing from the very beginning of creation pointing to God who spoke all things into existence. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) and declaring that this Word was God manifested in the flesh, for John writes, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory’ (John 1:14). He is proclaiming that Jesus is God in the flesh.
We also read in his writings the seven ‘I AM’ statements of Jesus, each one showing us His true identity and the purpose of His coming,
I am the Bread of Life’ (John 6:35)
I am the Light of the World’ (John 8:12)
I am the Door’ (John 10:9)
I am the Good Shepherd’ (John 10:11)
I am the Resurrection and the Life’ (John 11:25)
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life’ (John 14:6)
I am the True Vine’ (John 15:1)
There is so much more in the book of John. This is why most pastors encourage a new convert to begin reading in the Gospel of John because how can you follow Someone you do not personally know? The book of John reveals who Jesus is, His heart, and the very purpose of His coming, as declared in John 3:16. Even Paul despite of his excellent background, great achievements, and status. He counted all of it as nothing compared to knowing the LORD Christ. He wrote, ‘Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’ (Philippians 3:8). And again, he said his desire was, ‘that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection’ (Philippians 3:10).
Both Apostle Paul and Apostle John carried one heartbeat and one desire, and that is to know the Lord Jesus. Their style of teaching and preaching may be different, but neither of them ever swept sin under the rug or treated it as something harmless. Both preached and taught with boldness that sin keeps a soul in bondage and separates us from the presence of the Lord. And both walked with a burning desire not only to know the Lord Jesus, but to walk with Him daily, and to finish the work that God had entrusted to them.”
Yet many of us become so caught up in the mighty acts of God that we forget to seek God Himself. Many are more interested in God’s hand than in His heart. But knowing Jesus is far more important than focusing on what He is able to do for us. When we truly know Jesus, that becomes the beginning of an intimate and personal relationship with Him. And when you know Jesus personally, your life is transformed you will never be the same again. The old things pass away, and all things become new. And what others say about Him will not move you, because the truth of Him dwelling in you.
This helps us understand what John meant when he wrote, ‘He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him’. No one truly knows the Lord Jesus and remains the same. Many people boldly claim to know the Lord Jesus, yet their lifestyle and character do not reflect Him in any way. They misrepresent Him and become a stumbling block to others.
Whether you are heterosexual or homosexual, if you continue living in sin yet still claim that you love and know Jesus, you are a liar! You are deceiving yourself! and the truth of God is not in you! Even the devil believes in God and trembles (James 2:19). John boldly calls such people liars, just like satan! because Jesus Himself said, ‘You are of your father the devil… for he is a liar and the father of it’ (John 8:44). It means your life are representing the character of satan, not of God. Because the children of God live in the light and not in darkness (1 John 1:6–7).
How can we say we love Jesus and know Jesus, yet keep living in the very sin that nailed Him to the cross?
How can we claim to know Him while holding onto the sin that separates us from Him? For the Scriptures say, ‘Your sins have separated you from your God’ (Isaiah 59:2).
How can we say we know Him if we do not care to know the things He loves and the things He hates? Did not Jesus command us, ‘Go, and sin no more’ (John 8:11)?
How then can you continue in sin with someone else, when both of you are leading one another toward destruction, instead of leading that person to Jesus and into His Kingdom?
No one who truly knows the Lord Jesus continues to live as they once lived. For when a we understands the greatness of His love, how He loved us so deeply that He was unwilling that we should perish or be separated from Him forever. We will not live the same. He stepped down from His glorious throne, humbled Himself, and wrapped Himself in flesh. He came as the Son of God to restore the sonship we lost. He carried our sins, nailed them to the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He crushed the power of sin and broke the chains of death. And He did it so that we, through Him, might have eternal life and enter His Kingdom where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more death
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