Verse 9
The picture in John’s mind seems to have been that of a Christian who, the false teachers said, did not have the whole truth. It is common even today for false teachers to claim that those who do not agree with them are still intellectual infants. However, John regarded that "infantile" position as proper for the Christian (cf. Matthew 10:16). If his readers advanced beyond it, they would really step out of the truth into error. John warned his readers of the danger of apostasy, namely, forsaking truth to embrace error (cf. 1 John 2:23-24).
John’s use of "abide" indicates that he spoke of a vital personal relationship with God that comes with adherence to the truth, not just dead doctrinal orthodoxy (cf. John 8:31; John 14:21-23; John 15:1-7).
The teaching "of Christ" could be the teaching that Christ gave (subjective genitive), "the standard of Christian teaching," [Note: Ibid., 6:254.] or the teaching about Christ (objective genitive). Perhaps John meant both things.
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