Obedience: All those who truly know God obey Him. Therefore, the call to obey resounds in the teachings of our Lord (Matt. 7:21-25; Luke 6:46; John 8:31; 10:27; 14:15, 23). John makes this point crystal clear by condemning everyone who does not keep His commandments as a liar devoid of God’s truth, an unbeliever. For if the LORD is truly God, no one can say that he is reconciled to Him while living in rebellion against Him. This said, in no way does John promote a form of legalism here. There is no way for a man to attain his justified status before God through his obedience or merit. There is no way to earn His forgiveness or a righteous standing before Him. Justification is given to the believer entirely by the free gift of God’s grace.[1] But John’s point is clear, all who are justified are also sanctified. Our continual obedience to the Lord is the sure sign that we are justified and that we truly know God.[2]
Christ-likeness: Obedience is not a matter of hitting one’s own arbitrary moral target. That woefully falls short of biblical Christianity. The bullseye the Holy Spirit sets for us in salvation is likeness to Jesus. We are not done with sanctification because we have overcome a few pesky foibles. Our aim in the Christian life is to imitate Christ (2:6). This means we learn to give ourselves away in loving service to others like our Lord (2:5).[3] Our objective is to bear much fruit[4] as Jesus’ disciples (John 15:8). We are to walk as He walked (2:6).
[1] Cf. Rom. 3:24. Justification comes to us “as a gift,” or dō-re-an (δωρεάν), meaning “without cost” (cf. Matt. 10:8; Rev. 21:6; 22:17). It also comes “by His grace,” which means “without merit,” explained in Rom. 4:4.
[2] Cf. Rom. 6:22-23. “Christ justifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify. These benefits are joined together by an everlasting and indissoluble bond… we are justified not without works yet not through works… sanctification is just as much included as righteousness.” (John Calvin, Institutes [1960] 3:16:1).
[3] Cf. also 3:14, 16; 4:7-8, 11. This objective of God for His people is also articulated in Phil. 1:6, 9-10.
[4] Fruit here is best understood as Christ-likeness; it is the product of our attachment to Jesus, including love for one another (John 13:34), the greater works (John 14:21), and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).