Verses to review today: 1 John 2:11-27
New Verse: 1 John 2:28

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. (ESV)

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. (KJV)

Greek: Καὶ νῦν, τεκνία, μένετε ἐν αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐὰν φανερωθῇ σχῶμεν παρρησίαν καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθῶμεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ.

Transliterated Greek: Kai nyn, teknia, menete en autō, hina ean phanerōthē schōmen parrēsian kai mē aischynthōmen ap’ autou en tē parousia autou.

Literal Word for Word Translation: and now, little children, remain in him, so that whenever he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

Vocab: τεκνία, teknia, little child; φανερωθῇ, phanerōthē, he should appear; παρρησίαν, parrēsian, confidence; αἰσχυνθῶμεν, παρουσίᾳ, aischynthōmen, we should be made ashamed; parousia, to come into presence.

Commentary: John moves from discussion about abiding in the light, the truth, the word, the Son, and the Father, to a discussion about Christ’s return. Verse 28 provides the transition. This is leading to the promise that we look forward to – His return. Why abide now if He is not returning? For one, it can’t be helped if one is a believer in Christ and anointed by the Spirit. It doesn’t make sense that one can put their abiding in Christ to the side just because Jesus might not be coming soon. But on the other hand, it is His return that we look forward to and we should always be ready. There is nothing more embarrassing that to have been following Christ all along and decide to plunge into the darkness for a moment and it end up being that very moment that He does return! We don’t want to be like the foolish virgins. Even if His return might not be today or tomorrow, but a week away or more, our own removal from this world could be any minute. Our calling home could be in the midst of something that would shame us before our Lord. And even if we live for many days to come, it isn’t like the Lord doesn’t know what we are up to. To know the Lord means He knows us. We are to walk in the way in which He walked and always be aware that nothing goes unnoticed.