Walk in Truth and Love

It’s time for our final study in the Love: 30 Days in 1, 2 and 3 John Scripture Plan Series! (You can find links to the rest of the study at the end of this post.) Today we cover 1 John 5:6-3 John 1:14 and I’ve titled this section Walk in Truth and Love. John has written a lot about love in his letters and always connects it to truth, now let’s find out more about what that means.

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The Spirit of Truth

In 1 John 5:6 John writes that the Spirit is truth. In John’s writings, he refers to the Spirit of Truth a number of times, and he is the only Biblical author to use this phrase:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. (John 15:26)

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13)

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:6)

and now in 1 John 5:6

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

Truth is important to John (he uses the word 37 times in the New Testament) and here he tells us that the Spirit will reveal what is truth to us because the Spirit is truth. And that truth that is revealed to us is that God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ. (1 John 5:11-12, 20)

Walk in Truth and Love

John begins his second letter with many references to the connection of love and truth. Jesus Christ will be with us in truth and in love forever. God’s love and truth never change.

John repeats his definition of love from his first letter:

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” (2 John 1:6)

We must walk in love, and we do this by walking in the truth of God. If we walk in  truth and love  (acknowledging that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and obeying his command to love others) then we are walking with God.

Hearing that his ‘children’ are doing this is something that John is very joyful for.

 Are you walking in truth and love? Are you teaching your children (physical and spiritual children) to walk in truth and love? Do you rejoice when you hear that those you have mentored are walking with God?

 As a contrast to this life of truth and love John describes the false teachers. These are people who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came, and will return, in the flesh. They do not stick to Christ’s teachings but add or take away from it. John instructs his readers not to welcome these people into their homes. 

 Sometimes truth in love means saying ‘no’.

John is not saying that we should ignore, or be unwelcoming, to those who believe differently to us. It is those who profess to be teachers of the gospel who are influencing (and deceiving) followers with their  false messages that we are to keep a distance from. If we welcome those who teach a message that is contrary to Scripture into our homes (or churches) we are sending a message that we agree with them.  

Walking in the truth is not just about what we believe but also what we say ‘no’ to.  We cannot re-think God’s truth in light of modern thinking. We cannot change Christ’s message. We need to show love to those who seek Jesus by identifying truth and error, and John gives an example of this in his third letter.

 But first, here is our memory verse for this week of the Love: 30 Days in 1, 2 & 3 John Scripture Plan. A printable version can be found at the back of the Study Guide.

what it means to walk in Truth and Love

In 3 John the writer gives a good example (which we are to imitate) and a bad example of what it means to walk in truth and love. And this seems like a good way to conclude our study on the theme of love in John’s epistles.

First the good example:

John’s third letter is addressed to Gaius, an unknown Christian. John praises him for his faithful to the truth, and for walking in the truth. Others have noticed this and testified of it to John.

 He continues his praise by pointing out the love Gaius has shown in his hospitality to people who are travelling spreading the word about Jesus. This is love in action. Supporting those who spread the gospel is seen as important work. Gaius is faithfully carrying out the work God has called him to do ‘In a manor that honors God’ (3 John 1:6).

Now for the bad example:

John rebukes Diotrephes publically because he  loves to be first, doesn’t welcome true believers, spreads malicious nonsense, and even puts those who welcome believers out of the church. He obviously has authority to influence others and is using this against others. His pride is in contrast to Gaius’ humility.

 While John is all about loving others, he does not have a problem with pointing out the errors of those who might lead us astray. This is often a problem today when we shy away from correcting others for fear of being ‘judgemental’. 

If we want to walk in truth and love we need to be willing to say ‘no’, to stand up for the truth, and to identify false or bad actions.

So, what does it mean to walk in truth and love?

• To believe and acknowledge that God has given you eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.
• To consistently live according to what you believe, with integrity, and no deceit. (See Week 1: Fellowship with God and Others for more on these first two points)
• To live as a child of God (see Week 2: What it means to be a child of God)
• To love God and others in response to what He has done for you (see Week 3: We love because he first loved us)
• To love others, faithfully carrying out the work God has called you to do.
• To say ‘no’ to false teachers and point out their errors to others who may be influenced by them.

John finishes his letter by saying he has much more to say, but will do it in person. Wouldn’t you love to be there to hear what John has to say!

I hope you have enjoyed this study on John’s epistles and have been blessed while you have journeyed through the Love: 30 Days in John’s Epistles Scripture Plan. I’d love to hear what you think so please leave a comment below!