Tara-Leigh Cobble

John calls them to live out what they know.

Loving Jesus pushes out our love for worldly things, because those two are at odds.

Jesus is the clear winner anyway, because what the world offers is temporary, and life with Jesus is eternal.

Missionary martyr Jim Elliott said it like this,

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

John reminds them that there will be false messiahs.

Jesus has already warned his followers about this in Mark 13 and Matthew 24.

People, possibly even from within the church, will show up and claim to be Jesus and deny that Jesus is who he says he was.

In the midst of all this, there will be division in the church.

In 2.19, John says, "...they went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us."

But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

He says that those who walk away from the faith were never really in the faith to begin with.

They were in the church visible, but not the church invisible.

Now, God, who has known their hearts all along, has revealed their hearts to everyone through their walking away.

On the other hand, those who are truly in the faith will persevere in the faith, even amidst these false teachers.

He encourages them with this in the following verse.

It says, "...but you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge."

The presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives is evidence they know and follow the truth, so he calls them to abide in the truth.

These warnings about falling away and the reminders to abide are almost always followed by encouragement that they are in the faith, so they will abide.

In chapter 3, John reminds them that Jesus hasn't returned yet, which is one of the lies the false teachers have been spreading.