II. Walking in Truth and Love (3-6)

II. Walking in Truth and Love (3-6)

3-6 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ. These blessings are available nowhere else. But note that they only come in concert with the truth and love (v. 3). To experience more of God’s grace, mercy, and peace, believers must be walking in truth. Seeing this behavior in Christians is what made John glad (v. 4). God never gives you his blessings when you contaminate his truth. We “walk in the truth”—that is, live in accordance with God’s Word—by keeping the Father’s commands. And the chief command, after loving God, is that we love one another (v. 5). What does God call us to do with our lives? Walk in love (v. 6).

The church is to be an incubator for the truth. We do not gather together to have our ears tickled but to preserve, hear, and speak the truth. The church is the family of God, and our heavenly Father has given his family a set of standards. As the family expands, there will be problems. The test of a true church is not whether or not it has problems, but whether or not it addresses those problems with God’s standard of truth. Yet, all things must be done with love. We can’t be “walking in the truth” (v. 4) if we don’t “walk in love” (v. 6). We love others when we compassionately, righteously, and responsibly seek their well-being—that which God desires for them.