March 17, 2019
Morning Service

As we begin the final chapter of the Epistle of John, this is our 10^th message from this short letter as it is packed with wonderful promises as well as powerful challenges.  Chapter 4 instructed us to “test the spirits whether they are of God” with the many people out there who say they are speaking on God’s behalf yet are not.  Their teaching must align with our Bible and they must acknowledge Jesus as both fully human and fully God (non-negotiable).  John then returned to his challenge (command) that we love our brothers as Christ has loved us.  We cannot call ourselves Christians and claim to love God if we hate our brothers.  Loving others as Christ loved us is an act that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to do; we can’t do it on our own.  He finishes the chapter by setting the table for chapter 5 by saying this:

 1Jn 4:15-16  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  (16)  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

            Our salvation is a “know so” salvation.  We know we are following Him and we follow Him because we know that He loves us.  “God is love” and it is He that loved us first as He desires a relationship with us.  John now defines how it is we can “know” that we are His.

 

1Jn 5:1-3  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.

            He begins this chapter reassuring us that those who believe and love God do indeed belong to Him.  We are His children and He our Father.  It is our faith in Him and our love for Him that then motivates us to follow Him and abide with Him.

  Just as John instructed us to “test the spirits whether they are of God,” he now gives us a measurement to “test” whether we really know, believe, and love Him.  It is simply this; are you doing what He asked you to do?  Our love and commitment to Christ will be displayed in our obedience to His Word or keeping His commands.  If we truly love God with all our heart and have a personal relationship with Him; it affects everything we do and that includes all of our relationships.  God is love and we are seeking to imitate Him so in obedience we will strive to love others in the same manner that God loves us.  If we are doing this, then we should know that we belong to Him.  The love of God and the love of our brothers walks hand in hand and we cannot truly have one without the other because we have been commanded to do so and it proves to us that we do know Him.

            Thirdly notice verse 3 where John tells us that our obedience to His commands “are not burdensome.”  We should not be following Jesus because it is a burden, duty or that it is our obligation to do so.  We follow Him because we love Him.  Jesus said this in John’s gospel

            John 14:15  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

 

 

 

It is the love for Jesus that motivates us to keep His commands and it is that fact that John says we can “test” ourselves to see if we are doing this right.  Coming to church or showing a loving act to your brother should not be burdensome to you.  That is not how God has designed you to be.  Serving God should bring the sense of joy, peace and contentment into your life as you fulfill what God designed you to be.  A great example of this is the sacrificial love a mother shows to her infant child.  The task is not easy, but she is driven to care for the child from deep within herself.  She does it out of a deep sense of love not out duty or obligation.

  If following Christ and keeping His commands seems “burdensome” to you then you really need to “examine” your own heart and see if you are withholding part of yourself from your relationship with God.  There is something not right.  Your relationship with God is designed to be the solid rock foundation that you stand on not a ball and chain that you carry.  Our relationship with Him grants us freedom from fear (I Jn. 4:18) and the freedom to follow our heart in loving our Lord. We can have victory over all the things of this world through Christ.

 

1Jn 5:4-5  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?

            We are victorious and will overcome the world through our faith!  As we mature along our journey with Christ, we grow in our faith and are able to successfully overcome areas of sin in our lives becoming victorious over them.  The victory in our journey is a virtue that like all other virtues progresses with time and experience.  We are challenged early along our walk and have to fight hard, but as we progress along we learn how to use the weapons we have been given to fight more effectively (Eph. 6) and we learn to understand that “the battle belongs to the Lord.” (I Sam. 17:47) Look back in your own lives and think of the many battles that you have fought and overcome through the years.  We all should have many stories of victories won by faith!  I am sure there are battles you are even fighting today.  Deciding to follow Jesus is not easy but by putting our faith into action, we know it will lead to victory!  I have read the end of this book and we win!  This victory comes only through believing “Jesus is the Son of God” and having the faith to know He is who He says He is.  John drives that nail home her in the next 7 verse.

 

1Jn 5:6-12  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.  (9)  If 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.

 

 

        There is a whole lot in these verses, but the point John is trying to make is that there is evidence both in heaven and on earth that Jesus is was who He said He was.  It was during Jesus’ baptism (water) that the Father spoke from heaven and the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove.  John wrote of this in his gospel, but it is not clear whether he witnessed it.  It was also at Jesus’ crucification that many miracles occurred as well as the spilling of His blood and the water than protruded from His side (Jn. 19:34).  The greatest of the witnesses however is God Himself as His Son Jesus fulfilled each and every one of the many prophecies that were revealed about Him hundreds of years before He was born of Mary.  It was through Jesus coming down to us, living a perfect life and dying a death He did not deserve that we receive the gift of eternal life.  Our faith demands that we believe the Words of God that confirm this message and explain it as well.  It all boils down to verse 12: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

            Which side of the fence do you stand on?  Having that life given to you this morning is right here within your grasp.  “Ask and you shall receive.”  Accept the offer of forgiveness and eternal life that God is offering you this morning and you will never regret it.

 

Heavenly Father thank You for loving us and offering to us the gift of salvation which came at a great cost.