“Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.”

The Apostle John is pressing the Christians in the early church, and also us as the later church, to stay closely tied to the teachings of the Apostles of God, which are recorded in the Scripture for us. They are the concrete evidence of the Word of God and we hold fast to them in the face of opposition, error and many heresies. We never deviate from the exact words and we embrace the truths even if they are a mystery to us, as are doctrines like the trinity. There is so much we do not understand, but we can learn and trust God that His word is true. We let the Word remain in us and follow and obey it.

If we will obey and believe the truth set down for us, we will also remain in God and remain true to Him to the very end of our life.

“But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.”

Matthew 24:13

We must walk the way of Christ and witness to Him right to the very end of our life. We must persevere in faith and hope and love and follow the Lord Jesus wherever He leads us. He is our portion if we remain in Him and that mean sticking by the Word of God and rejecting all additions and subtractions.

“If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.”

Revelation 22:19

There are many false teachers and leaders today who would lead us away from holiness of life and earnest witness for the Lord, but we stay away from them and keep our way pure. We must know the Scripture ourselves and be able to discern truth from error. Only then will we listen to those who teach us rightly according to the truth of God laid down in Scripture. If we stay close to our Saviour Jesus then we will remain in fellowship with God the Father and live in His love.