What other scriptures highlight the connection between obedience and abiding in God? Foundation Verse: 1 John 3:24 “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in them. And by this we know that He abides in us: by the Spirit He has given us.” Jesus Connects Love, Obedience, and Abiding • John 15:10 — “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” • John 14:21 — “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” • John 14:23–24 — “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words.” Echoes in 1 John • 1 John 2:3–6 — “By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments…whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.” • 1 John 5:2–3 — “By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” • 2 John 1:6 — “And this is love: that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.” Paul’s Practical Reinforcement • Romans 8:13–14 — “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” • Galatians 5:25 — “Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.” (The Spirit’s leading evidences true life in God, matching John’s test of abiding.) James and the “Doing” Faith • James 1:22 — “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” • James 1:25 — “But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does.” Old Testament Roots of Abiding Obedience • Deuteronomy 30:15–16 — “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the LORD your God may bless you…” • Psalm 15:1–2 — “LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? He who walks blamelessly and does what is righteous, who speaks truth in his heart.” • Psalm 119:1–2 — “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.” Putting It All Together • Obedience is not a pathway to earn God’s presence—it is the evidence of already abiding in Him through the Spirit. • The same Spirit who indwells (1 John 3:24) empowers the keeping of His commands (Romans 8:13–14). • From Moses to Jesus to John, the pattern is steady: those who love God will walk in His ways, and those who walk in His ways experience His nearness. |
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