καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐγνώκαμεν αὐτόν ἐὰν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρῶμεν ὁ λέγων ὅτι ἔγνωκα αὐτόν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ μὴ τηρῶν ψεύστης ἐστίν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς δ’ ἂν τηρῇ αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον ἀληθῶς ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ τετελείωται ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐσμεν

But since Jesus represents the whole world, how can we be sure that he cares about us?  It’s simple.  He always knows the ones who obey his teachings.  Obviously, if someone says. “I follow Jesus,” but doesn’t actually live it out, they’re even farther from the truth than before!  Whoever lives out the “word” gets perfected inside and out through God’s budding love within them.  This inner growth is the confirmation that we, too, are sprouting within God!