So it is with carnal Christians and their knowledge of God. Verse four says that any believer who claims to know God in his experience and yet doles not keep God's commandments is lying. In other words, one who is not keeping God's commandments does not know God experientially no matter what he claims verbally. Verses five and six say that we know that we are in Christ in our experience, that our experience is Christlike, when we abide in Him and walk in a life of love just as Jesus did. Verses nine through eleven say that any believer who hates his brother is walking in the darkness and, conversely, that any believer who loves his brother is walking in the light.
Eternal salvation is all or nothing.
Either you have it completely or you don't have it at all. Belief in Christ alone occurs at a point in time and is not a process. However, fellowship with Christ, knowing Him in my experience, is not all or nothing. There are degrees of knowing Him. The word fellowship actually means sharing .