1 John 5:1-12
Notes
Transcript
Background
Last week we finished up 1 John 4, and talked about the objective standard for love: God. The overall theme of the book is knowing who God is, believing in His Son Jesus Christ, and having assurance of eternal life.
1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
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.
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
John begins to wrap up his epistle with a concept that he has been preaching throughout this letter: believing in Jesus Christ.
This is one of the 3 main themes and is essential to the gospel.
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Last week we saw that those who confess Christ abides in God.
14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
This week we see that those who confess Christ are born (“begotten”) of God.
What does it mean to be “born of God”? Only John uses the phrase.
29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
So what do we learn? Those born of God practice righteousness, do not practice sin, and love.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
What do we learn here? Those who are born of God are the ones who received Jesus Christ and believe in Him, the Word of God, and are given the right to become children of God.
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Belief results in righteousness, which those who are born of God practice. Belief precedes righteousness.
Belief results in righteousness, which those who are born of God practice. Belief precedes righteousness.
Jesus is the “only begotten” of the Father, even though we are “born of God.”
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Loving the Father is the same as loving His children.
20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
As we’ve seen before, loving God means keeping his commandments.
21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
We learn one more thing about those who are born of God: they overcome the world.
Back in ch. 2, the “young men” overcame the evil one.
Look at what is the victory over the world - faith.
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Lots of promises in Revelation 2-3 for those who overcome.
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.
This section is unique in that it expounds upon a topic that is discussed by Jesus in John 3.
In order to be born of God, one must be born again.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
There is a lot of debate as to what this means, but essentially “water” can be interpreted in 2 ways: baptism or human birth.
Many want to point to Christ’s baptism as Him being “born of water” in an effort to point to the beginning of His earthly ministry and to combat Gnosticism.
The second view does a better job.
v. 6, Jesus “came” by water and blood.
One must be “born again,” of water and the Spirit.
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
But what of the blood? Jesus died on the cross, His blood was shed.
11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
The topic we were just looking at was overcoming the world by the blood of the Lamb.
24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Our old life dies with Christ, and we are “born again” through the Spirit.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The Spirit testifies that Jesus came in the flesh and died.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
This joins us nicely with the last section we’ll look at today.
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.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
We already saw how God has testified about Jesus. We see that those who believe in Jesus also testify about Him.
If God has testified about Jesus, and someone does not believe God’s testimony, they are calling God a liar.
This is very important - people don’t get to call Jesus a “good teacher.” He never claimed to be that.
God has given us eternal life through His Son Jesus.
God has given us eternal life through His Son Jesus.
Our old life has been put to death, and we have received a new life.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Belief results in righteousness, which those who are born of God practice. Belief precedes righteousness.
God has given us eternal life through His Son Jesus.
Next week, we will conclude 1 John.