1 John 5 - So You Know
Christianity is way more than a warm, fuzzy feeling- it's the exclusive source of truth that you can know.
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1 John 5 (ESV)
1 Everyone who believes that
Jesus is the Christ
has been born of God,
and everyone
who loves the Father
loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when
we love God
and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome.
4 For everyone who
has been born of God
overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ;
not by the water only
but by the water and the blood.
And the Spirit
is the one 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 these three agree.
9 If we receive the testimony of men,
the testimony of God is greater,
for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.
Whoever does not believe God
has made him a liar,
because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
11 And this is the testimony,
that God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
12 Whoever has the Son has life;
whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things
to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you have eternal life.
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him,
that
if we
ask anything
according to his will
he hears us.
15 And
if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask,
we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
→ 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death,
he shall ask,
and God will give him life—
to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.
There is sin that leads to death;
I do not say that one should pray for that.
17 All wrongdoing is sin,
but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that
everyone who has been born of God
does not keep on sinning,
but he who was born of God protects him,
and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that
we are from God,
and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that
the Son of God
has come
and has given us understanding,
so that we may know him who is true;
and we are in him who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
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1 John 5 Summary
John does not want there to be any doubt amongst the churches about their salvation. Notice how many times in this short letter he's written something along the lines of so that you may know, including four times here in chapter 5:
v2 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
v13 - ...you may know that you have eternal life.
v19 - We know that we are from God,
v20 - And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding...
One of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other religions is that you can know and not just feel. If your salvation was based on you doing enough good things to counteract the bad things you've done, you'd never really know if you've done enough. Or if your salvation depended on how you felt about God or yourself on an ongoing basis, some days you'd be very certain of eternal life, and other days you'd be convinced you're not included.
But that's not how salvation works, and the reason that it's so important for you to read God's Word each day is so that you may know that you have eternal life (v13).
You can be certain of this knowledge, because it's based on truth. Look at the claims John makes about our Triune God:
v6 - And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
v20 - we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Dig Deeper
Verse 18 has caused many believers over the years to wonder if they truly were a Christian. It says that anyone born of God does not continue to sin, so you might be led to think that because there's still sin in your life, you're not really born of God.
As we've seen in the preceding chapters, this isn't what John means; if that were the case, there would be nobody who could claim they were born of God. What he means is that a true Christian will repent of his sin and strive to not repeat it.
To knowingly and unrepentantly continue to sin is a sign of a major problem with a person's faith. Remember that the best way to show your love and gratitude for God is to keep His commandments (v3).
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God our Father gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (v11).
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Be reminded that if you ask anything according to God's will, He hears you (v14).
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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