1 John 5:1-12
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
This is the one who came by water and blood —Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Devotion
In chapter five, John writes concerning our fellowship with God in this life. John will declare that the relationship between the life of God and the love of God is self-evident. This is also true concerning the life of God and the light of God. From this reality comes the true nature of biblical Christianity. It is always about life! In his summary of this text, theologian G. Campbell Morgan writes, “Fellowship with the light of God is not possible to those who are alienated from His life. The experience and activity of His love never come to those abiding in spiritual death.”
In the first five verses of this chapter, John writes about victory for the believer over the world. John makes it clear that the believer can have victory in this world because of what Jesus has done. We see from the beginning of this chapter that God is life. When we are born of God, we enter into His life in all its fullness. To be born of God means to be born from above or to be born again. This is what Jesus talked with Nicodemus about in the Gospel of John chapter three. Only those who are born of God and have experienced His life can properly love others who have also been born of God.
In verses two through three, we see a direct correlation between love and obedience. John makes the point that Jesus’ commandments are not burdensome or heavy. This does not mean that they are not difficult to keep, but rather that they do not impose a burden when they are kept. The true child of God wants to keep His commandments. John’s point is that they impose no burden on us because we are keeping them through love.
In verses four and five, John writes about the victory that comes because of our faith in Jesus. We are saved by faith, and we walk by faith. We are born of God as a result of our faith. Faith is the only way we can overcome the evil of this world. When we genuinely trust Christ, it is not a question of our own power. We are kept by the power of God through faith. We have faith in Christ in the here-and-now and in the future.
John closes out this section by writing about the assurance of salvation. He reminds us that it is God who has given us eternal life. This life comes through faith in Jesus, His Son. The point here is that eternal life is to have Christ and the Father. Jesus is God’s only provision for salvation! Jesus is our only hope of being reconciled to God. Once we have Jesus, we have life! This is one of the reasons why John emphasizes the deity of Christ. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He is the only One who can save us. He was the only One qualified to be an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Because He is the only begotten Son of God, our salvation is secure in Him.
Questions to Ponder
Have you been born of God? Do you love all believers? Love, obedience, and truth are marks of a true child of God. Does your life reflect these important values? Are you overcoming the world through your faith? Are you trusting in Christ in such a way that nothing on earth or in heaven can shake your confidence in Him? Do you have Christ? Does He have you? Anything that stands between Christ and the believer is an idol. Are there any idols you need to cast down today?
Prayer Points
- Praise the Lord as Your Savior, Redeemer, Hope of Glory, and Victorious Warrior.
- Confess any sin, any idol. Allow some time for the Holy Spirit to reveal any to You. Tell the Lord you are sorry.
- Thank Him for His forgiveness. Thank Him for His power and that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ.
- Pray for yourself and others, for God’s love to overflow from our lives in tangible ways.
- Pray we will listen to Him and obey and walk in the truth and light.
Suggested Prayer
Father in Heaven, thank You for the way You love me and others so perfectly! Thank You for the victory I have in Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your protection. Abba, I lift up myself and my brothers and sisters to You, and I ask that You would enable us to yield to Your Spirit throughout the day. Renew, refresh, infill us with Your Holy spirit so we can serve others, forgive, bless, and love out of a genuine heart, because You, Lord, are at the center. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask. Amen.