And hereby we do know that we know him
Either the Father, with whom Christ is an advocate; not as the
God of nature, and by the light of it, nor as the lawgiver and
Judge of the whole earth, and by the law of Moses; but as the God
of all grace, as a God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and
sin, as the Father of Christ, and as in him by the Gospel; and
this not in a mere notional and speculative way, but with love
and affection; not with fear and trembling, as devils know him,
nor in theory, as formal professors and hypocrites, but with a
knowledge, joined with hearty love of him, and cheerful obedience
to him: or else Christ, the advocate and propitiation for sin;
and him also, not with a mere notional knowledge of his person
and offices, which carnal men and devils themselves have of him,
but with that which is spiritual, special, and saving, being from
the Spirit and grace of God; and regards Christ as a Saviour, as
a propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and an advocate with God the
Father; and by which he is approved as such, to the rejection of
all other savours, sacrifices, and advocates; and is trusted,
confided, and believed in as such, and affectionately loved, and
that above all others, in sincerity and truth; and is readily
obeyed in his word and ordinances; for where there is true
knowledge of Christ, there is faith in him; and where there is
faith in him, there is love to him, for faith works by love; and
where there is love to him, there will be an observance of his
commands; and this is here made the evidence of the true
knowledge of him: for it follows,
if we keep his commandments;
not the commandments of men, for the keeping of them arises from
ignorance of God, and is a proof of it; nor the commandments of
the ceremonial law, which are abolished, particularly
circumcision, which is opposed to the keeping of the commandments
of God, ( 1
Corinthians 7:19 ) ; but either those of the moral law, and
which are more particularly the commandments of God the Father;
the observance of which, though it cannot be with perfection, yet
being in faith, and from love to God, and with a view to his
glory, is an evidence of the true knowledge of him and of his
will: or else those commandments, which are more especially the
commandments of Christ Jesus; such as the ordinances of baptism
and the Lord's supper, which are peculiar to the Gospel
dispensation; and which being kept as they were delivered by
Christ, and in his name and strength, and to his glory, without
depending on them for life and salvation, is an argument and
proof of the right knowledge of him; and particularly his new
commandment of loving one another may be chiefly designed, that
being what the apostle has greatly in view throughout this
epistle; now let it be observed, that keeping of the commands of
God, or Christ, is not the knowledge of either of them itself,
for much may be done in an external way, yet neither God nor
Christ be spiritually and savingly known; nor is it the cause of
such knowledge, for that is owing to the Spirit and grace of God;
but is an effect or consequence of spiritual knowledge, and so an
evidence of it; hereby is not the knowledge itself, but the
knowledge of that knowledge, that is, that it is true and
genuine.