The fourth thing worth knowing we find in verse twenty-four: “And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” We can tell what kind of Spirit we have if we possess the Spirit of Christ—a Christ-like spirit—not the same in degree, but the same in kind. If I am meek, gentle, and forgiving; if I have a spirit filled with peace and joy; if I am long-suffering and gentle, like the Son of God—that is a test: and in that way we are to tell whether we have eternal life or not.
The fifth thing worth knowing, and the best of all, is “Beloved, now .” Notice the word “ Now .” It does not say when you come to die. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear; we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
But some will say, “Well, I believe all that; but then I have sinned since I became a Christian.” Is there a man or a woman on the face of the earth who has not sinned since becoming a Christian? Not one! There never has been, and never will be, a soul on this earth who has not sinned, or who will not sin, at some time of their Christian experience. But God has made provision for believers’ sins. We are not to make provision for them; but God has. Bear that in mind.
Turn to 1 John 2:1: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” He is here writing to the righteous. “If any man sin, we ”—John put himself in—“we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” What an Advocate! He attends to our interests at the very best place—the throne of God. He said,