God has given testimony concerning the truth about His Son. What conclusions can we draw from this truth, that Jesus is the Son of God and is God come in the flesh? One conclusion we have from 5:4-5: those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are the ones who overcome the world.
But there is more than that. In the remainder of 1 John we see a summarizing
of great truths that come from what the Spirit has taught us through John.
·
5:11-13: What John said he wanted to do from the
start (1:1-4) he has done. Remember, he
wanted to tell us about Jesus, the One he knew so personally, and knew to be
real in His life on earth, the One whose life is “eternal life.” Now, in 5:11, he says “this is the testimony.” In other words, this is the reality in light
of God’s testimony about His Son. God
has, in fact, given us eternal life, and this life is bound up in the Son of
God. Therefore, He who has the Son
has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. He says this to those who have believed in
Christ, so that they will not be intimidated by those who try to deceive
them. John does not say this to call
into question our faith; he says this so that we may know that we have
eternal life. We have the life Jesus
promised.
·
5:14-17: Not only do we have personal assurance of
a relationship with Christ; we have boldness in that relationship. We can come with confidence into God’s
presence. Fellowship with the Father and
the Son is real and it is enjoyable because we know the love of God which casts
out fear. We can be confident that when we
ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Again, we are reminded of Jesus in the Upper
Room; If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you
desire, and it shall be done for you (Jn. 15:7).
This is not a “trick.” Some hear that we get whatever we want if it’s
what God wants to give us. It doesn’t
seem like much of a promise. But those
who think like this have missed the point of 1 John as well as John 15 in the
Upper Room. Think back to 1 John 2:15-17:
the world is passing away … but he who does the will of God abides forever. Prayer is not a means for us to get
the things of this world. Why would God
do that, curse us by giving us that which won’t last? Personal prayer is God’s valuable means by
which we gain what is eternal. So of
course, since we have a God who loves us, He will give us what is His
will. And we, if the words of Christ
abide in us, we will more and more seek the will of God.
John gives us an illustration in the matter of
prayer, and it involves praying for our brother in Christ. When we have a deepening love for the family
of God, it will be evident in our prayer life.
We will be more and more concerned with those around us. But then, as we pray for God’s will, we are
told not to pray if their sin is “unto death.”
We will have to await our next post to consider what this means.
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