Bible Students

A. Fellowship with one another through Christ because you are walking in His light (I John 1:7).

Christian should have fellowship with one another. All Christians are in Christ together, walking the same path of sanctification. Christians must seek to help others on their path, pushing them along forward, not letting them stagnate, and not stagnant themselves. Christians all walk in the same light, and should help each other be more in the light. 

B. Love one another and be obedient to God in response to His love for you (I John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11; II John 1:5).

Overall, Christians must love one another through obedience to the Lord. The will of the Lord is to love others through obedience to Him. Love of God will naturally translate to love of other people. Christ’s love, forgiveness, and grace, which is given to the individual, will naturally bubble up and flow out to other people. When someone meditates on the love of God, they will understand the need for them to love others as well. This is not so much a felt need as it is a felt desire. Christians know their sinfulness and that they are undeserving of love from God, and so loving other people is a natural outworking of this. They have no excuse for not loving others, for they are far more undeserving of love of God.

C. Meet the needs of your brother because of God’s abiding love in you (I John 3:17).Christians first must see eachother as those who are also saved by the Lord. The Lord has saved many people, and Christians must see those who Christ has also saved as equal to them. Christians must care for those who are equal to them in the Lord. The brothers of the Christian should be given good things, and the Christian should desire ultimately the sanctification of the individual. This is because of the love of Christ in them, which springs up into love for other people. That love must be expressed through the meeting of others’ needs, very practically.