Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Two Abidings (1 John 2:24)

Two Abidings (1 John 2:24)

March 5, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - 1 John, abide, Fellowship

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father (1 John 2:24).

Do you remember everything you hear in church or in school? Does it automatically “stick”?

Not with me.

I usually have to hear something over and over again before I absorb it. I have to be diligent about learning. If not, I easily forget.

And that goes for Christian teaching, too.

John was well aware of the challenge. In 1 John 2:24-25, the Apostle referred to two kinds of abiding.

To abide (menō) means “to stay, remain, or continue.” Remain in what?

First, there is the abiding of Christian teaching in you. As John writes, “If what you heard from the beginning abides in you” (v 24a). What John’s readers heard was doctrine or teaching about Christ, e.g., that Jesus is the Christ (v 22). Some false teachers denied that, and John’s readers were exposed to their false teaching. Which teaching would stick—the truth or the lies? There was no guarantee the truth would remain with them, but John hoped it would. That’s why he says, “if.”

Second, there is the abiding of the believer in the Son and the Father. If the teaching about Christ abides in you, then something happens: “you also will abide in the Son and in the Father” (v 24b). Notice this second abiding is also conditional, depending on the first. That is, you will have fellowship with them (fellowship is the theme of 1 John). You will know them more intimately. And that makes sense, because how could you claim to know the Son and the Father intimately if you don’t even believe that Jesus is the Christ?

If you want to abide in the Son and the Father, then you need to become a student of good teaching, especially about Christ. If you stick with it, you’ll also stick with the Father and the Son.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

February 2, 2023

Romans–Part 04–The Problem

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Kathryn Wright continue this short series about Romans. Jumping to Chapter 3, they begin with...
February 2, 2023

Are Believers Today Under the New Covenant? 

A pastor friend whom I’ll call Dave has been studying the New Covenant lately. We’ve had a few excellent conversations about it. I thought I’d...
February 1, 2023

Romans–Part 03–Wrath

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are continuing their discussion of the book of Romans. How is the book...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Grace in Eclipse: A Study in Eternal Rewards (Second Edition) $15.00 $8.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube