11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:11-19 (NASB) Read 1 John 2:28-29
We will focus on in 1 John 2:28-29 through 1 John 3:1-3. This section of 1 John follows a section of chapter 2, v24-27, that is focused on a call for Christians to let truth abide in them in order to discern what is truth and what is false and deceiving in this world….
Then John moves into a call to not only let the truth abide in them, but for them to abide in Christ Himself. The word abide is translated from a Greek word that means to “dwell in” or “remain with.” This is the same word Jesus used in John 15 when He spoke of Himself as the Vine and His disciples as the branches. He said that those who abide in Him prove their genuineness by doing so and are enabled to serve Him in His power because His strengthening Joy becomes manifest in their hearts. In fact, Christians can do nothing good unless Christ empowers them to do so.
Immediately before John commands his readers to abide in Christ, he calls them “little children.” This is a term of endearment that was common for disciplers to use when talking with their students. All of God’s children are Christ’s disciples. There are none of God’s children who do not qualify as disciples. There are no pretenders. All of Christ’s disciples are God’s children. Those who are not genuine Christians, but are part of the visible church will fail the test of love and obedience that John will elaborate for us in this passage.