1 John 5:1-13
Prayers & Announcements: Hand-out 2 and 3 John Overviews
Last Week: In 1 John 4:7-21 John told us that "God is love" and explained how we can apply and perfect that love in our own lives. There were five main points of application: 1. A person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. This doesn't mean that every display of 'love' in the world can only come from a Christian. Non-Christians can display human love, but human love always falls short and is flawed because it does not include God. 2. No one has seen God the Father at any time. However, as Christians, we can "see" God in the face of Jesus Christ, which reaches its full expression when Christians show love for one another, which mirrors the image of Christ. This is perfected love. 3. It isn't enough to simply know the facts about who Jesus is; we must confess the truth of who He is. We must agree with God about who Jesus is, and we can know what God says about Jesus by reading His Word. 4. All love comes ultimately from God; genuine, agapé love is never self-generated by His creatures. Moreover, John says that a person who claims to love God but hates his brother or sister is a liar. ASK: How can you say you love someone you've never seen-God-when you don't love those see around you? 5. Though love is derived from our abiding relationship with God and comes from being born of Him, there is also an essential element of our will involved. Being born of God gives us the ability to love, but it is our choice to draw upon that divine resource and give it to others. Love isn't a feeling; it's a decision.
This Week: Moving on to 1 John 5:1-13, the context hasn't changed from previous chapters. As we know, false teachers who call themselves 'prophets' are attempting to spread a false gospel that is causing divisions and confusion in many of the churches. John, a recognized apostle and respected pastor, is writing this first letter to contradict and emphatically rebut the lies about Jesus which many Christians have been hearing from these false teachers. In previous chapters, John has said much about love and obedience, but his emphasis now shifts to the topic of faith, specifically that whoever believes that Jesus, the Son of God, is the Christ, is of God, i.e., a born-again believer. Of John's ten references to "believing" in this first letter, seven are in this chapter. Let's hear what John has to say.
Read 1 John 5:1 - Whoever Believes
1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
v. 1a: " Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" - John frequently mentions being "born of God." Everyone who believes is "born of God" What this means is that faith in Jesus as the Christ is a mark of being born again, just as it is a mark of love. By saying this, John directly refutes false teachers who claimed that Jesus the man was not God in the flesh.
v. 1b: "and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him" - In short, if we love Jesus, we love all of God's children-Christians. This is the common ground of all Christians: not race, class, culture, language, or any other thing, except for our re-birth in Jesus Christ and our common Lordship in Him. If any of these things mean more to us than our common salvation, then something is seriously wrong with us. Like earthly parents, it grieves God when He sees His children fighting among themselves. Again, this effectively contradicts the attitudes of the false teachers, who were arrogant and looked-down on those that didn't observe their spiritual beliefs.
TRUTH 1. Being "born of God" is the foundation of the Christian life. You can go to church all your life, you can be religious and moral, and you can tithe money to the church, but none of those things will get you to heaven. Faith in Jesus as the Christ is the vital sign of new birth. And John tells us that faith is the result of the new birth, not the cause of it.
1 John 5:2-4 - By This We Know
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.
v. 2: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments" - You might ask what does keeping God's commandments have to do with loving the children of God. If you look at the 10 Commandments (Ex. 20:3-17), you will notice that they are divided roughly into two halves, those having to do with honoring God and those honoring other people. In Mk. 12:31, where Jesus commands us to "love your neighbor as yourself," the word used for "love" (Gr. agapao) is an action verb that calls on us to act in loving ways toward our neighbor regardless of how he or she may treat us. Therefore, when we keep God's commandments, our conduct will demonstrate that we love the children of god.
v. 3: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome" - Keeping God's commandments was difficult and burdensome under the legalism of the Pharisees and scribes. For the NT church, the commands are not necessarily light or easy to obey, but as born-again believers, we are by faith enabled by the Holy Spirit to obey them. And added to that, they are practical: if we go through life keeping God's commandments we will avoid many of the pitfalls that trap spiritually unprepared people.
v. 4: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith" - The Greek word for "overcome," nikao, means to achieve victory. This verse speaks of two aspects of victory: (1) the believer's initial victory of turning in faith from the world to God; and (2) the continuous day-to-day living of the Christian life that empowers each one of us to overcome the world. We must keep in mind that God is the source of the victory, and it will happen through God's power. Faith, John tells us, is the key to victory over a world opposed to God. As long as we have faith-keep our eyes on Jesus-we can be assured that we will overcome the world. It might happen quickly or slowly, but it will happen-that's faith!
TRUTH 2. Faith has a clearly defined object-belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God-and faith has a clearly observable result-to overcome the world. To believe that Jesus is the Son of God means He is the eternal God, the second person of the Trinity, in human flesh. The faith that God gives to us in the new birth results in a life of steady victory over the forces of evil in this world. While none of us will be completely unpolluted by all of the influences of this world, those who are born of God have the power to progressively and steadily overcome the pull of worldly attractions and values.
Read 1 John 5:5-8 - Faith Is The Victory
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
v. 5: "Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - By this, John is telling us that we can overcome the world, not because of what we do, but because of who we are in Christ. We overcome because we are born of God, and we are born of God because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Faith is more than a simple belief: it is to trust Him, be totally committed to Him, and have complete confidence in His Lordship.
v. 6: "This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth" - There has been some debate over the meaning of "water and blood" but the majority view is that "water refers to Jesus' baptism by John and "blood" refers to His death on the cross. Since this statement describes Jesus as part of a real material, flesh and blood earth, it directly refutes the Gnostic position that claimed that Jesus was merely human and not God. In the second sentence, John is saying that the Holy Spirit constantly bears witness to Jesus Christ, and a part of the Trinity, is divine truth.
v. 7-8: "For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." - From this, John is saying that the Gospel is not based only on human testimony but is verified by the "three that testify," Spirit, water, and blood. It also accords with the OT requirement that every claim must be confirmed by two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6; 19:5).
TRUTH 3. Love for God and His children and obedience to God's commandments are vital signs of new birth. Love for God and love for His children are inextricably bound together. And this love is primarily a matter of choice, not an emotion. As to God's commandments, a Christian's life should be marked by obedience out of a heart of love. John isn't saying that believers obey God perfectly-none do-but obedience to God should be the overall direction of our lives. People who claim to be born-again but aren't concerned about a lifestyle of disobedience, need to reexamine themselves.
Read 1 John 5:9-11 - This Is God's Testimony
9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
v. 9: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son" - Every day people accept the witness of other human beings as proof of various things, which is fine as long as the witness is truthful and credible. But John does not expect us to rely on blind faith; instead, our faith is based upon the most reliable testimony possible, the witness of God Himself. When we believe in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit-the Spirit of Truth-as inner confirmation of our standing before God.
v. 10: "The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son" - Believers in Jesus Christ have God's witness/testimony embedded in our being, in our hearts. That testimony is the foundation of our belief system, our values, our behavior, and our hope for the future. Conversely, the failure and refusal to believe God's testimony about His Son is the same thing as calling Him a liar.
v. 11: "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" - This is God's essential message to humankind: that eternal life is a free gift from God received by faith alone in Christ alone. It's all about Jesus, and living in Jesus is the evidence of eternal life.
TRUTH 4. Believing God's witness to His Son is the foundation for our faith. If we believe in Jesus as the Son of God, we have the testimony in ourselves-the inner witness of the Spirit of truth regarding Jesus Christ. Externally, we have the witness of the objective testimony of the New Testament-all 27 books-through the apostles which testifies to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This foundation demonstrates that Christianity is not a mere philosophy or ethical system but a belief based on unimpeachable fact. Those who refuse to believe, whether intentional or accidental, call God a liar.
Read 1 John 5:12-13 - He who Has The Son Has Eternal Life
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
v. 12: "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" - John presents us with a clear choice-a choice established not by John but by God. Those who believe in the Son have eternal life; those who don't will not have that life. The gospel is simple.
v. 13: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" - John has two purposes here: (1) to win lost people to salvation and (2) to give assurance to believers who may have been misled by false teaching. John's confidence is forceful and authoritative-he wants us to know we have eternal life
TRUTH 5. Believing God's witness to His Son gives us eternal life. John's summary of God's testimony-"that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (vv.11-12)-reveals three vital truths:
(1) Eternal life is God's gift, not something we gain through our works or efforts. It doesn't require some kind of secret knowledge, like the heretics taught. Like any gift, you need only to know about it and accept it. (2) God's gift is eternal life. Because of our sins, we were spiritually dead, separated from the life of God. But when we believe that Jesus is the son of God, God gives us as a present possession of not only unending life, but also His very life. Physical death will not rob us of eternal life with God.
Comment: In our contemporary, pluralistic society, John's message is not popular theology. Many people prefer to believe that God will honor all religious viewpoints equally, and that everyone's opinion is equally acceptable. But this is not God's testimony from His Word: Jn. 4:16: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Acts 4:12: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 1 Tim. 2:5: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Jn. 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
