{1 John 2:5} But whoever keeps his word, God's love has most certainly been perfected in him. -- RLIV.
The two key aspects of the above appear to be obedience and love. If we love the Lord Jesus, we will obey his words. In context, the special obedience that appears to be spoken of is that related to love itself. All who belong to Christ are at various degrees in developing the pure quality of love; very few have attained the perfection of love that is being spoken of, and need constantly to go before the throne of grace. (Hebrews 4:16; 1 John 1:1) We know from the Bible that God is love (1 John 4:8,16), and as we study about Jesus we see that Jesus is the witness that his Father is indeed "love." Jesus, however, is more than simply a witness of that love; Jesus is the channel by which God's love is received by those whom receive Jesus as an abiding power in their hearts. (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 2:2; 2 Thessalonians 3:5) But we fall short of obedience if we view God's love to be only related to forgiveness of our sins. We should realize that in obedience to Jesus, we are to develop God's love -- through Christ -- to perfection.
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