As He Is
As He Is
In this study of I John, we are going to look at the
significance of three words—“as he is”—which are used
five times in this epistle. The significance of “as he is”
in relation to a believer’s potential expresses marvelous
truths and thrills our hearts.
“As he is” is found early in I John 1. The first usage
is singularly significant for these words are used in their
fullest and most inclusive way.
I John 1:5-7:
This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in
him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and
walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light, as he is [as He is] in the
light,* we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin [broken fellowship].
These verses dwell on the topic fellowship. To have
fellowship with God, a person must first of all be a son.
A son has fellowship in a family only after he is born.
After being born again, our fellowship with God is indicated
by our walk as Christian believers. If we walk
in the light as He is light, we speak the words He speaks;
we believe what He would have us believe; we act as
He would have us act; we declare what He declares; we
are as He is.
Comparing the “as he is” of verse 7 with the “he is”
of verse 9 is revealing in the contrast and in the omission
of the word “as.”
I John 1:8, 9:
If we say that we have no sin [broken fellowship],
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us [in
our renewed mind].
If we confess our sins [broken fellowship], he is
[He is] faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This verse informs us that God is faithful and just.
Christians are not always faithful and just, but He is.
When we are faithful and just we are in fellowship.
God is light, so darkness is separation from fellowship
with God. It is never the will of the Father that we
should be separated in our fellowship with Him. Not God,
but the believer breaks fellowship by failing to walk in
the light as God is light. This failure to live in fellowship
on the part of a believer is sin. But God in His
foreknowledge, knowing that man would not always walk
in light, provided a way to get back into the light and in
fellowship with Him. “If we confess our sins, he is [He
is] faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all [our] unrighteousness.” Then, once again we
are in the light, we are again in perfect fellowship.
In I John 1:9 the words “he is” are used; in I John
2:6, “as he” should be observed for its significance.
I John 2:6:
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also
so to walk, even as he [as He] walked.
If a believer is abiding in Him, that Christian is walking
as he walked. Since no one except Jesus ever walked
perfectly, The Word encourages us to strive for the perfection
of Jesus Christ’s walk.
God the Father is light. His Son Jesus Christ was light
in this world for He always did the will of the Father.**
Doing the will of God, Jesus walked according to the
revealed Word. And since Jesus Christ is in us, the believers,
we can walk on The Word as we “ought so to
walk, even as he [as He] walked.” Look at this significant
truth. God is light and God was in Jesus Christ
and Christ is in us.
Did Jesus Christ declare that there is no God, that
God is dead, that there is no resurrection, no return, that
praying is psychologically good for the one praying only,
that God cannot deliver, that the Bible is full of myths,
interpolations and inaccuracies? Had Jesus stopped living
The Word because of what people said, He would not
have been our Savior. Had He been swayed by what the
neighbors said, by what the community or society said,
He never would have walked perfectly in fellowship
with His Father. So we should walk, “even as he [as
He] walked.”
The second usage of the words “as he is” is found in
I John 3:2. Let us begin reading with verse 1, noting
specifically the love which the Father has showered upon
us.
I John 3:1, 2:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons
of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and [but] it
doth not yet appear what we shall be [in the fu-
ture]: but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is [as
He is].
When are we the sons of God? Now. When we are
born again of God’s Spirit, we are His sons. Not when
we die, not some day, not a “maybe” day, but right now
in our day-by-day living we are sons of God. Our life
with Him is wonderful now, but it will be even better in
the future when we shall see him “as he is.” Being sons
of God is a guarantee in the present of seeing Him as
He is at His return.
“As he is” starts with walking in the light and thus
having fellowship. Then at Christ’s return, we shall be
as He is and shall see Him as He is. This is the completed
circle. God is light; He made known Himself, the
light, in Christ; we received this light so we are guaranteed
at Christ’s return to be as He is.
I John 3 contains the third usage of the words “as he
is.”
I John 3:3:
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself, even as he is [as He is] pure.
“This hope” is the hope just spoken of in I John 3:2:
“when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is [as He is].” The word “hope” is used in
the Bible regarding that which is available in the future,
while the word “faith” is used regarding that which is
available at the present moment. At this moment we have
not seen Him as He is for His return is yet future. Every
man who has this hope, the hope for the return of Christ,
the hope to be as He is, that believer “purifieth himself,
even as he is [as He is] pure.”
The usage of the word “pure” is enlightening. The
Greek word is hagnos, meaning “to keep lustrous” even
though living in this present tarnished world. Jesus Christ
was in the flesh in this world, but the world was not
mixed in Him to the end that He was contaminated.
Jesus was in all things tempted like we are, yet without
sin.*** “Pure,” hagnos, can be used of Jesus Christ, but
never of the purity of God, for God is katharos, pure
with no foreign mixture of any kind.
We endeavor to make ourselves pure, hagnizō, because
of Christ’s purity in us. Our manifested purity lies in
the renewing of our minds. Having the hope of Christ’s
return is the purity in our day-by-day living before Him.
The fourth reference using “as he is” is four verses
later, also in I John 3.
I John 3:7:
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
righteousness is righteous, even as he is [as He is
—God in Christ] righteous.
How righteous was Christ? As righteous as God because
God was in Him.
II Corinthians 5:19:
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
When Christ is in us, then spiritually how righteous
are we? As He (God in Christ) is righteous.
To be made righteous we must confess with our mouths
the Lord Jesus and believe in the innermost part of our
beings that God raised Christ from the dead. Then we
are righteous “even as he is [as He is] righteous.” Righ-
eousness is from God and has nothing to do with how
we feel; it has everything to do with God’s justification
of us in Christ, given to us as a free gift. II Corinthians
5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.” Righteousness is not of man’s works,
but of God’s grace. No man by his own works could
ever make himself even one iota good enough to have
the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God to
the believer is a gift beyond human comprehension given
by a Father who loves us, and not given because we
merit or even come close to meriting it.
The fifth and final record of “as he is” is I John 4:17.
Since verse 17 begins with a word referring to a previous
statement, our understanding is improved by reading
the last part of the preceding verse.
I John 4:16, 17:
. . .God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth
in God, and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment:**** because as he is
[as He is], so are we in this world.
Our love is made perfect by fellowship (“he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God”) and by sonship (“and
God in Him”). Because of our doubly established love,
we have boldness in this day of man’s judgment. We are
not reluctant, hesitant, fearful, hiding our light under a
bushel; but we have the boldness to take the greatness
of God’s Word to a sin-sick and dying people because
as He is, perfect love, so are we in this world.
Peter and John had this love and boldness for, as recorded
in Acts 4, they continued teaching the Word of
God while suffering severe persecution.
Acts 4:23-26 and 29:
And being let go, they went to their own company
[they went back among the believers], and reported
all that the chief priests and elders had said unto
them.
And when they [the people of the company of believers]
heard that [report], they lifted up their voice
to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art
God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and all that in them is:
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said,
Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine
vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were
gathered together against the Lord, and against his
Christ.
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings [this is the
first prayer that is recorded in the Christian Church]:
and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness
[not hesitancy, reluctance or fear] they may speak
thy word.
Speaking the Word of God with all boldness was the
very thing that got them into trouble; yet instead of praying,
“Lord, take the pressure off,” they prayed for more
“boldness to speak thy word.”
As He is so are we in this world and so we can walk
with both power and enthusiasm. We can witness to
people. We can help them. We can expect to succeed in
business, in shops, factories and farms, in offices and
kitchens. Wherever we are, as He is so are we. Isn’t that
tremendous!
Remember Romans 8:37—“We are more than conquerors”—
and John 10:10—“. . .I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
We do not wait to get power and abundance in
the future; we are now as He is.
I Corinthians 1:30, 31:
But of him [of God] are ye in Christ Jesus, who
[Christ Jesus] of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord, [in what the Lord accomplished
for us].
If we are going to boast of something, let us not
boast about ourselves but about what the Lord did, what
He accomplished. As He is, so are we in this world. We
are as He is now, not as He was when He was spit
upon, beaten and crucified. We are not as He was in
defeat and frustration, but as He is in all victory, glory,
power and majesty. This is why Ephesians 2:6 and 10
say, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. . .For we are
His workmanship. . . .”
In Ephesians 1:3 we note, “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed [past
tense] us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ.” And Colossians 1:13 further edifies us when
it says, “Who hath rescued us out from among the exercise
or operative influence of darkness (kingdom) and
separated us, bringing us as citizens into His kingdom
by the work of His dear Son (literal translation according
to usage).” In God’s sight the believer is already
delivered and translated even though he is yet living in
this world.
Colossians 2:6 says, “As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” As He is, so
are we in this world. Having received Christ Jesus the
Lord we are to walk in Him. We stand fast on The
Word and walk “as he walked,” and then we are not
blown about; we are not tossed around; we are not
running from this happening to that happening; we are
not listening to different men’s opinions and different
ideas. We are listening to one thing only and that is
God’s Word.
Colossians 2:7 and 10:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith
[the family faith], as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving.
And ye are complete in him. . . .
If we lacked anything, would we be complete? No,
indeed not How little of the Word of God we have accepted
and lived in our lives. Our level of existence
most of the time is far below par compared to what is
available in our sonship privileges; for as He is, so are
we. Few believers are willing to confess what The Word
says they are. Hebrews 10:23 reads, “Let us hold fast
the profession [confession] of our faith without wavering.”
That means we are to confess with boldness that
as He is, so are we in this world.
To realize the “as he is” greatness of the first epistle
of John is almost breath-taking in our day. (1) To “walk
in the light as he is light” is the fellowship of power. (2)
To be assured in the present that in the not-too-distant
future “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is,” is the fellowship of eternity. (3) Having this hope
for Christ’s return, we walk uncontaminated, purifying
ourselves “even as he is pure.” (4) Knowing that righteousness
is the believer’s cherished possession we refuse
to be deceived by any denial to the contrary, but
continue manifesting our righteousness even “as he is
righteous.” (5) Perhaps the most rewarding knowledge
is the realization that in this day of man’s judgment we
have His perfect love. We have the boldness to declare
God’s Word; we have the power to live a life more than
abundant and to be more than a conqueror, because as
He is, so are we in this world.