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Faith And Love
Faith and love at work in our lives draw us closer to God.
Obedience by Faith
5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep 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 he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:1-5 NKJV
BELIEVE AND CONFESS
When we believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ we are born of God or born again. Salvation has come. We are saved from our sins.
Loving Jesus, the Begotten of God, means we also love the Father Who Begot Jesus. Loving the Father and the Son makes us want to keep the commandments God gave.
ULTIMATELY OBEYING IS A JOY
God gave us commandments because He knows what will keep us on the right path throughout our earthly lives. Keeping His laws and commands is not a sad burden but a joy.
LOVE TO GOD BRINGS STRENGTH FROM GOD
Adam Clarke’s commentary on I John chapter 5 mentions that “love to God brings strength from God.”
He helps us as we love Him enough to obey Him in all things.
Clarke uses this historical quote regarding believers, “he can bring no other worship to God than love.”
That says it well. We want to please God out of our tremendous love for Him. Loving obedience is a joy and an assurance we are living the best possible life.
GOD IS GREATER
All that are born of God have the power of God to overcome the world. God is greater than the sin of the world and we are now His. We are joint heirs with Christ. Our faith in Him gives us victory over the world. Such faith and love are wonderful tools in a world of evil. It is faith that gives us victory over the world.
The one who overcomes the world is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God!
The Certainty of God’s Witness
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. 1 John 5:6-8 NKJV
WATER AND BLOOD
When Jesus was baptized in the water of Jordan by John, the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove. God’s voice was heard saying that Jesus was His beloved Son. This was the witness at water baptism that Jesus was the Son of God.
FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT
The crucifixion of Christ, whereby He sacrificed His blood, was the witness by blood. The long-ago prophecies came to pass because the Spirit is truth and it bears witness in truth. God the Father, the Word (Son), and the Holy Spirit are the three in one that bears witness in Heaven. On earth the Holy Spirit, the water and the blood bear witness. The three agree.
THE WITNESS
9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:9-13 NKJV
BELIEVING GOD OR CALLING HIM A LIAR
It is one thing to receive the witness of men but far greater to receive the witness of God because God Himself is greater than man.
God has testified of His Son as stated above at His baptism, and through prophecies fulfilled, as well as through Christ’s shedding of blood on the cross for us.
Those who do not believe in Christ do not believe in God nor in God’s witness. Such a lack of faith means that we don’t believe in God. In essence, our lack of believing in what God says means that we believe that God is lying.
ETERNAL LIFE
Furthermore, God has given us eternal life and that life was in His Son Jesus. Rejecting Jesus is also rejecting God and forgiveness and eternal life. Loss upon loss upon loss is the life of the unbeliever.
Receiving the Son means you have life. Refusing to receive Jesus as Savior means we do not have life.
John, however, has written these things to those of us who believe in the name of the Son of God. He wants us to know beyond doubt that we have eternal life, and that we CONTINUE to believe in the name of Jesus.
What a glorious blessing is given by God. He sends Jesus, forgiveness, and eternal life to believers who repent and turn from their sins to follow Him.
Confidence and Compassion in Prayer
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15 NKJV
CERTAINTY
Believers have faith and love and the certainty that their prayers will be heard and answered. We can have confidence in this. When we are His and we come to God we can ask anything IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS WILL and He will hear us. We are not to ask for anything sinful. There is no value in asking God for something against His will and purpose. Thus, asking for a date with an unbeliever, or something that would be selfish is not in His Will.
GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS IN OUR BEST INTEREST
God hears the believer and answers. Sometimes, for our own good, that prayer is answered later than we would like. Or it might be answered with a resounding “NO” instead of the hoped for “YES” we wanted. Sometimes, God is not delaying at all but asking us to wait a while before we are truly ready for the petition to be answered.
Maybe we are to witness to the doctor who is treating our ailment or share Jesus with the patient in the waiting room with us. Maybe this is why there is no instant healing in this particular case or at this time.
Trusting in Him always brings the best. We know from Scripture that All things work together for good for the believer. (See Romans 8:28)
DEALING WITH A SINFUL BROTHER
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 1 John 5:16-17 NKJV
ALL SINS ARE FORGIVEN BUT ONE
John here addresses our part in dealing with a brother in the faith who is sinning. There are sins that are forgiven and only one that is unforgivable. We are to pray for our brother and when he repents God will forgive him. John is saying that there is an unforgivable sin that leads to death. That one sin is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
PRAY
We need to realize that while all unrighteousness is sin, all sins but one, can be prayed about and from which we all can be forgiven. Therefore, pray for our offending brothers and for ourselves when we sin.
Knowing the True—Rejecting the False
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 1 John 5:18-21 NKJV
SAVED SINNERS
As believers, we know that we were all sinners, saved by grace through Christ. We know that as saved children of God we have repented, been graciously forgiven, and turned from those sins into newness of life in Christ.
DO NOTHING TO GRIEVE GOD
John tells us here that whoever is born of God does not sin. In other words, we do not want to willing do anything that would not bring glory to God. We do not want to do anything that would grieve God and the Holy Spirit within us. Because we have been born of God, we will keep ourselves out of willful sin and away from sources of evil. We have fled from the devil. Believers are in God’s hands, so the wicked one will not touch us.
We are aware that we belong to God, but we are also aware that the world itself is under the sway of the devil.
A WONDERFUL TRUTH
We know that Jesus has come and gives us an understanding that we may know GOD Who is TRUE. We are helped, through the blessed Holy Spirit within us, to understand GOD and JESUS who are TRUTH. As we live in God and in Jesus and they in us, we become more like Jesus. This is the true God and eternal life within us as believers.
KEEP YOURSELVES
Lastly, John tells us to keep ourselves from idols. Does this seem an unusual ending to this letter of First John?
Not really. Consider that John has given us a message of love throughout these five chapters. Now he is closing with a warning! Do not throw away the blessing of love from God, and a life lived in love with God, for the things of the world.
We have already learned that the world is swayed by the devil and evil abounds on the earth.
John cautions us to hold to that which is of value now and for eternity.
GOD ALONE
Do not embrace anything in the place of God.
Let no person, no job, no house, no possession, no goal, no personal desire, no leisure activity, no amount of money, no object of great wealth become your idol.
You are to worship the true and living God only.
Amen!
I hope that you can join us in the other lessons of 1st John. You can follow the links to any of the other lessons. Thank you again for joining. Click on any of these links to go to the next lesson: Jesus as John saw Him – I John Lesson 1, Knowing Him – 1 John Lesson 2, How Great Is The Love – 1 John Lesson 3, The Reason For Love – 1 John Lesson 4, and Faith And Love – 1 John Lesson 5.
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