1 John 5
1 John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
We are coming to an end of 1 John
In 1 John, John has taught us three key things when it comes to what real faith and trust in Jesus is
He told us it takes believing, obeying, and loving
If you truly believe in Jesus then these three things should be true of your life:
You will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who came to save us from our sins
You will obey Him, though you cannot do it perfectly your life will be characterized by growing love for and obedience to God’s commands
You will love other believers as God loved you
These three things are littered all through out 1 John as a constant reminder of what a true believer looks like
What we are called to act like
How would should be
What we know
What we know
The problem though is that doubt can creep in and cause us to not fully believe things
Or worse yet, cause us to think that the opposite is true
Because of this reality, John ends 1 John by telling us five things that we can know for certain are true
We have eternal life
We have eternal life
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. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
The first thing is this:
We have eternal life
John is telling us that the whole reason he wrote 1 John was so that we can know for certain that we have eternal life
That Jesus has forgiven us
That we will not go to hell
That if we believe in Him we will be saved
John elsewhere told us that Jesus said this:
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
We can be certain that we have eternal life
God hears and answers prayers
God hears and answers prayers
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Here’s the second thing we can know for certain:
God hears and answers our prayers
John wanted us to know for certain that not only do we have eternal life, but that God hears and answers our prayers
It’s not enough for us to know that God hears our prayers
I hear bad things all the time
I hear problems all the time
Kasey tells me problems she has at work, with people all the time
She knows that I hear them
The sad reality though is that most of the time I can do nothing about them
I can’t solve them
John tells us that not only does God hear our prayers, but that He answers them
He cares about what you have to say, and He has the power to answer them
Satan has no power over you
Satan has no power over you
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
John then tells us this:
Satan has no power over you
Satan has no power to touch you
He cannot force you to do anything
He cannot beat you
He cannot hurt you
He has no power over you because Jesus defeated Him
We see in the book of Job how Satan is powerless against those who believe in the name of Jesus
To do anything to Job, Satan had to go and personally receive permission from God
Even during all of this God doesn’t allow Satan to kill Job
John is telling us that yes Satan is real, and has power, but that we He cannot defeat us
There’s a Spiritual war happening
There’s a Spiritual war happening
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
John continues this thought with the fourth thing we can know for certain:
There’s a Spiritual war happening
John tells us that we are from God, but the whole world is in the power of the evil one
That even though we are from God, Satan still has power and is in control of the world
That we are in a constant spiritual battle
While John told us that Satan can’t beat us, he can beat those who don’t believe in Jesus
That we are in a constant Spiritual battle for peoples souls
Constantly fighting to save those we love and care about
Paul tells us this:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
There is a war going on all the time, Paul tells us that we are not wrestling and fighting with people, but we are fighting Satan the ruler of this world
John in 1 John 5 is telling us to realize that there is a war, we can know this for certain, and that we need to do something about it
John is telling us that the world is controlled by Satan and we must start fighting back against him
We do this by reaching out to those who are far from God and need saving
Jesus gives us wisdom
Jesus gives us wisdom
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The last thing that John tells us is this:
Jesus gives us wisdom
John tells us that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to earth and gives us understanding
That He gives us the answers to the questions we ask
He gives us the guidance when we are lost
He shows us where we are to go, and what we are to do
That Jesus is the one that gives all wisdom and understanding
All we have to do is ask for it and He gives is freely
Conclusion
Conclusion
John tells us that he wrote 1 John so that we can know that we have eternal life
He tells us that we can know God hears and answers our prayers
We can know that Satan has no power over us
We can know that there is a battle happening all around us
And we can know that Jesus is the one that gives wisdom
So how are we to respond to this?
John tells us
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
We are to keep ourselves from idols
We are to flee from sin, and anything that is pulling us away from God
We are to chase after Him and seek Him
Because of everything John told us in chapters 1-5 we are to not let anything take His place in our lives
We must submit to Him and follow Him
Flee from sin