Two Simple Tests for Abiding Believers in 1 John

The tests of a true abiding believer can be distilled into two simple terms: obedience and love. This is evident in 1 John 2:3-6, where John writes that those who know God will keep His commandments, demonstrating their love for Him. A true believer is one who abides in Christ, and this abiding is marked by a deepening obedience to God's Word and a growing love for God and others.

This oneness with Christ is rooted in the believer's union with Him, where they are united to Christ by faith, and this union produces a transforming work of the Holy Spirit. As believers abide in Christ, they will bear fruit, demonstrating their obedience and love, and this fruit is a manifestation of their oneness with Christ.

Paul writes in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the good of those who love God, and this love is a fundamental aspect of the believer's relationship with Christ. The tests of a true abiding believer, therefore, are not merely external actions, but rather a reflection of their inner union with Christ, demonstrated through obedience and love, which are the natural outflow of their oneness with Him, as seen in 1 John 4:19, where it is written that "we love because He first loved us."