Sermon Tone Analysis

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God....” How many of us open our Bibles hoping to read these exact words?

It’s an encouraging statement.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God....”

This is the tiniest seed of the Gospel.

But what does it mean?

Is it that Jesus is the Way for me?

That I identify with Jesus?

Partly.

But this phrase from John’s First Letter is not only meant to encourage people to think, “I am a Christian.”

It doesn’t say that everyone who says “I am a Christian has been born of God.”

It says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” It’s a more profound statement than “Christians are saved.”

It means that people who trust in Jesus as being the same person as the Christ, the anointed one who fulfills the Davidic promises about the Kingdom of God—that person has a new existence, a new reality as a gift from God.

If Jesus was the Christ, then Christ was crucified.

This means that the Christ is crucifiable.

To believe this, for a first century Jew, would mean really expanding your categories.

And the only reason to do that is because Christ rose from the dead.

So, this is a lot more than someone saying, “Here give me the piece of paper that says Jesus has a last name called Christ.

I’ll sign it.

You let me into heaven.”

But after you know what the Christ was according to Jewish tradition, and after you know what happened to Jesus, you can earnestly say “I believe that Jesus was the Christ,” then you have been born of God.

God has given you a new birth, a new life in his presence and a place in his kingdom.

Sometimes we just want to open up our Bibles and read and nothing more?

It’s important.

It’s sometimes all we have to hold on to.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God....” This is the tiniest seed of the Gospel.

But what does it mean?

Is it that Jesus is the Way for me?

Does it mean simply that I am on Team Christ?

Partly.

But this phrase from John’s First Letter is not the same as saying, “I am a Christian.”

It doesn’t say that everyone who says “I am a Christian has been born of God.”

It says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”

It means that Jesus is the same person as the Christ, the anointed one, associated with David and his offspring.

In the context of 1 John, this statement counters a heresy.

There is large scholarly agreement that there were some false teachers who said that the Son of God was different from the human Jesus, that the Son of God only came to inhabit Jesus’ body at baptism, which is heresy enough, but then ALSO that the Son of God left Jesus’ body right before he was crucified.

This and other heresies related to the particulars of how Jesus is the Son of God were addressed powerfully during church councils in the 4th and 5th centuries, but John goes ahead and addresses this heresy here, in the first century.

The Son of God is the same person as Jesus.

Jesus is the same person as the Christ.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all messianic expectation in the whole Old Testament.

He is the one anointed by God to fulfill all hopes of God being the King, against all comers.

He declares and establishes God’s kingdom on earth.

He heals the sick and proclaims good news to the poor.

Jesus is the Christ and everyone who believes this has been born of God.

This is the seed of the Gospel.

Now there were some things happening when this letter was written that makes this statement particularly important for that time and place.

There is large agreement among Biblical scholars that this letter is countering some false teachers.

And these false teachers were saying that the Son of God was different from the human Jesus, that the Son of God only came to inhabit Jesus’ body at baptism, which is heresy enough, it messes with the incarnation.

But there were some others that ALSO said that the Son of God left Jesus’ body right before he was crucified.

These and other heresies related to the particulars of how Jesus is the Son of God were addressed powerfully during church councils in the 4th and 5th centuries, but John sees their roots and addresses them here, in the first century.

The Son of God is the same person as Jesus.

Jesus is the same person as the Christ.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all messianic expectation in the whole Old Testament.

He is the one anointed by God to fulfill all hopes of God being the King, against all comers.

He declares and establishes God’s kingdom on earth.

He heals the sick and proclaims good news to the poor.

Jesus is the Christ and everyone who believes this has been born of God.

This is the seed of the Gospel.

This is the tiniest seed of the Gospel.

But what does it mean?

Is it that Jesus is the Way for me?

Does it mean simply that I am on Team Christ?

Partly.

But this phrase from John’s First Letter is not the same as saying, “I am a Christian.”

It doesn’t say that everyone who says “I am a Christian has been born of God.”

It says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”

It means that Jesus is the same person as the Christ, the anointed one, associated with David and his offspring.

In the context of 1 John, this statement counters a heresy.

There is large scholarly agreement that there were some false teachers who said that the Son of God was different from the human Jesus, that the Son of God only came to inhabit Jesus’ body at baptism, which is heresy enough, but then ALSO that the Son of God left Jesus’ body right before he was crucified.

This and other heresies related to the particulars of how Jesus is the Son of God were addressed powerfully during church councils in the 4th and 5th centuries, but John goes ahead and addresses this heresy here, in the first century.

The Son of God is the same person as Jesus.

Jesus is the same person as the Christ.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all messianic expectation in the whole Old Testament.

He is the one anointed by God to fulfill all hopes of God being the King, against all comers.

He declares and establishes God’s kingdom on earth.

He heals the sick and proclaims good news to the poor.

Jesus is the Christ and everyone who believes this has been born of God.

This is the seed of the Gospel.

The plant that grows from it is so important that we should work hard to make the soil of our hearts receptive to it.

We wouldn’t want it to fall on hard ground and get snatched away or grow too quickly and get scorched.

So how can we encourage this truth to live vigorously and be borne out in our hearts?

It’s not by closing our Bible as soon as our eyes run across it.

It’s not meant to be ripped from its context and put on our refrigerators.

John has more to say about what it means to be born of God.

He continues:

1Jn 5:1

If we’ve found the courage to complete the sentence, we begin to learn that everyone who loves the Father loves others who love the Father.

“Everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

Your first instinct might be to ask how can we even know who has been born of him?

But clearly, God does not want us to be that cautious with our love.

Just as a gardener doesn’t take time to micromanage the garden hose to avoid giving water to the weeds, the person born of God, the person we’re to love, in this passage, is the person who believes that Jesus is the Christ.”

There’s no extra detective work involved.

We’re to love other Christians, if we say we love God.

Now you may need to work out on your own how that democrat over there or that republican over there might possibly believe that Jesus is the Christ, but in the mean time, while you come to terms with that, your job is to love, not tolerate or ignore that person, that is, if you truly love and not tolerate or ignore the Father.

If they believe that Jesus is the Christ, you owe them your love.

Cover your ears and walk away

John doesn’t allow us to define love that cheaply.

Our society loves to.

If we’re going to love the children of God, we’re going to do it in God’s sight, with God in view.

Love is not encouraging someone to do whatever they want to do, as if God isn’t watching, because we’re afraid of the pushback.

If a parent loved a child in that way, it would be neglect.