Eternal Life Starts with Knowing! (I John 5:13)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

THE STUDY:

          Verses 11-12 look a lot like verse 13. It is almost as if John is repeating himself. If we look closely though we can see there is a difference. John states in verse 13 that “I write these things …. that you may know that you have eternal life. These three English words make up one Greek word, “oida” which means knowledge by observation.

          This was Johns purpose for writing this letter that ‘you may know that you have eternal life’. His readers had been disturbed by the denials and claims of the secessionists. These people denied important elements of the message the readers had embraced at the beginning. They also claimed to be recipients of special revelation through the Spirit to which the readers were not privy. The readers’ assurance had been shaken by these denials and claims, and the author’s primary reason for writing the letter was to bolster their assurance by counteracting the false teaching of the secessionists. John sought to do this by pointing out that it was his readers who had truly received eternal life, who truly knew God, not the secessionists.^[1]

                   

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that the adversary is out to seek and destroy. Seeking those who believe and destroy their faith and belief in the Son of God. John writes to combat these attacks by assuring the readers that by their observation they know they have eternal life.  

CONCLUSION:

          As a minister in the Church of the Nazarene I have encountered many believer who have doubt about their dwelling in heaving with Christ. These are good, righteous, God fearing believers who struggle with “KNOWING” for sure. It may be lies from the world or straight from hell but wherever it is coming from they believe it. John is writing this letter to those in his day as well as the world we live in today concerning the message that should be played throughout the universe: BELIEVE IN CHRIST, HAVE ETERNAL LIFE!

          Today, I hope as you embark on today’s journey you do so with a conviction and a deep-hearted belief: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” You are God’s world and He loves you. Go ahead, get out there, and know this, have a personal relationship with Christ and you have eternal life!

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John. The Pillar New Testament commentary (188–189). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

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.

I John 3:15-16 (Part 1)

View Video Blog, Right Click Link: I John 3:15-16 (Part 1)

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

THE STUDY:

Yesterday John uses the dualism of Death and Life. In this passage we read the flip side of death: one who takes life reflects what is in him (not eternal life), one who gives their life is demonstrating what is inside of him (love).

The one who “hates his brother” not only still resides in death but spreads a death-dealing spirit toward others. Love leads to life, lack of love leads to death; both are contagious. Like Jesus, who linked “angry with his brother” (Matt 5:22) to murder and consequent judgment, John warns of the danger of lost love.

When love leaks out it is often replaced by hatred. When hatred seeps in, a person opens the door to the possibility of becoming a “murderer.” This word appears only one other time in the NT where it refers to “the devil” as “a murderer” (John 8:44). This verse speaks of the spiritual condition—eternal life—that could be forfeited by hatred toward our Christian “brother” and sister.^[1]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• What we can walk away this morning is the realization of the ways and effects of hatred. To the spirit, it is a cancer that will destroy the soul if left unattended. Just as Love is a choice, hatred is a choice as well. We can either choose hatred (no eternal life) or Love.

CONCLUSION:

           I am very thankful to the fact that God loved us so much he gave us Jesus. In St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is a life-size, marble statue of Christ struggling in anguish on the cross. The statue is titled: “This is how God loved the world!”

          My prayer for us today is to love like Christ loved. Let us take up our cross daily and follow His ways. Let that way be LOVE!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (123). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.