Got Jesus, Got Life! (I John 5:11-12)

Got Jesus, Got Life! (I John 5:11-12)

And this is the testimony, that God gave 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.

THE STUDY:

          Again, John uses the contrast between two things: life and death. This is characteristic in John’s writings. The word "life" is found 135 times in the NT. Almost half of those occurrences (66) are found in John’s writings (Gospel of John, 1-2-3 John and Revelations). In these two verses alone the word "LIFE" is found 4 times. John states that through God’s testimony we have ETERNAL life. That life is found in Christ! John does not state the content of God’s testimony concerning his Son but the result of that testimony, which is nothing other than “eternal life.” Therefore “the question whether we accept God’s testimony or not is not a merely academic one. Our answer to it will determine whether or not we participate in eternal life.”

          John uses verse 12 as a concluding point to verses 9-11, Whoever has the Son has life. Ultimately, what matters is our relationship to the Son. This life is not something only to be received in the future but is a present possession (“has,” echei = present tense). It should be noted that eternal life is not earned or merited, but rather it is a gift that is given by God to those who have the Son.^[1]

                   

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding of the importance of Christ. He is not someone we are to “just know about.” He is someone we are to encounter, accept, believe, trust, love, and build a relationship with. This relationship is something to “have.” To have eternal life is to have Jesus.

CONCLUSION:

          I find as I get older I think more about the afterlife. I think about my time coming to an end on this earth. Nothing wrong with these thoughts. I rather enjoy it because I know that when tomorrow comes, I will be stepping into eternity because I have Jesus today.

          According to a tradition current among the natives of Puerto Rico, there was an island of the Bahamas group which had upon it a marvelous fountain, whose waters produced perpetual youth. For this elixir of eternal life, Juan Ponce de Leon, the Spanish navigator, sought long and hard, yet in vain.

          Let us not live for a perpetual youth here on earth. Let us live in Christ so we can have eternal life with the Father in Heaven.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Akin, D. L. (2001). Vol. 38: 1, 2, 3 John (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (202). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.