Exhortation: Divine Habitation
I John 3:24: All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
One Puritan writer referred to I John 3 as the trial of divine habitation. It is a trial because it is conditioned by obedience to God’s commandments. If we are to abide in the Father we must live by the eternal principles of God’s authoritative word. We know that He abides in us because we produce works of righteousness; works that please the Father; works that have as its sole purpose the exaltation of our great God and the well-being of our brothers and sisters in the faith. God the Spirit abides in us. So how can darkness in any way overwhelm the light of the Spirit? The answer is that it cannot! Since the Spirit of grace abides in us, we abide in the works of the Spirit.
This Johannine exhortation is a call to be consistent with the Spirit of God, which dwells in you. When you find yourself living inconsistently with the Spirit, then you are called to live consistently with repentance. And we will do that corporately and individually as we come to confess our sins. Bring your sins to God and find comfort in the Third Person of the Trinity.
Prayer: Gracious Spirit, dwell in us and teach us to cry Abba Father.
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