1John 2:19 The Perseverance of the Saints
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1John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
This is another characteristic distinguishing children of God from children of the devil. Who is John referring to as "They"? From verse 18 John is writing of antichrists. And according to verse 22,23 antichrists deny Jesus Christ the Son of God. So these people left the Christians community in the sense that they became apostates, denying the most fundamental aspect of the Christian faith - namely that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Fundamental Principle:
The Perseverance of the Saints
if they had belonged to us,Once a person is a genuine Christian, they will inevitably continue to remain so.
they would have remained with us
This is not simply saying "Once saved, Always saved", though that can be logically inferred. This is saying, "Once saved, it is inevitable that such a person will remain in the faith identifying with the Christian community". (And as such, once saved, always saved, seeing as the saved never depart from the faith)