1 JOHN 5 :6-21
1 John : 6 -21 • Sermon • Submitted
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WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE?
Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin wrote those words in 1789. Of course, a wise man like Franklin knew that many other
things are also certain. The Christian also knows that there are many certainties. Of spiritual truth, Christians are not afraid to say, “We know!” In fact, the word know occurs thirty-nine times in John’s brief letter, eight times in this closing chapter.
Man has a deep desire for certainty, and he will even dabble in the occult in his effort to find out something for sure. A businessman having dinner with his pastor said to him, “Do you see those offices across the street? In them sit some of the most influential business lead ers in this town. Many of them used to come over here regularly to consult a fortune-teller. She isn’t here any more, but a few years ago you could count up the millions of dollars in this room as men waited to con sult her.”
The life that is real is built on the divine certain ties that are found in Jesus Christ. The world may accuse the Christian of being proud and dogmatic, but this does not keep him from saying, “I know!” In these closing verses of John’s letter we find five Christian certainties on which we can build our lives with confidence.
Jesus Is God (5:6–10)
In , emphasis is placed on trusting Jesus Christ. A person who trusts Christ is born of God and is able to overcome the world. To believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is basic to Christian experience.
But how do we know that Jesus Christ is God? Some of His contemporaries called Him a liar and a deceiver (). Others have suggested He was a religious fanatic, a madman, or perhaps a Jewish patriot who was sincere but sadly mistaken. The people to whom John was writing were exposed to a popular false teaching that Jesus was merely a man on whom “the Christ” had come when Jesus was baptized. On the cross, “the Christ” left Jesus (“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”), and so He died like any other human being.
But how do we know that Jesus Christ is God? Some of His contemporaries called Him a liar and a deceiver (). Others have suggested He was a religious fanatic, a madman, or perhaps a Jewish patriot who was sincere but sadly mistaken. The people to whom John was writing were exposed to a popular false teaching that Jesus was merely a man on whom “the Christ” had come when Jesus was baptized. On the cross, “the Christ” left Jesus (“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”), and so He died like any other human being.
John’s epistle refutes this false teaching. It presents three infallible witnesses to prove that Jesus is God.
First witness—the water. Jesus came “by water and blood.” The water refers to His baptism in Jordan, when the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (). At the same time the Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Him. This was the Father’s attestation of His Son at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
First witness—the water. Jesus came “by water and blood.” The water refers to His baptism in Jordan, when the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (). At the same time the Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Him. This was the Father’s attestation of His Son at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Second witness—the blood. But the Father gave further witness as the time drew near for Jesus to die. He spoke audibly to Jesus from heaven, and said, “I have both glorified it [My name], and will glorify it again” (). Furthermore, the Father wit nessed in miracle power when Jesus was on the cross: the supernatural darkness, the earthquake, and the rending of the temple veil (, ). No wonder the centurion cried out, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ()
Jesus did not receive “the Christ” at His baptism and lose it at the cross. On both occasions, the Father witnessed to the deity of His Son.
Third witness—the Spirit. The Spirit was given to bear witness to Christ (; ). We can trust the Spirit’s witness because “the Spirit is truth.” We were not present at the baptism of Christ or at His death, but the Holy Spirit was present. The Holy Spirit is the only Person active on earth today who was present when Christ was ministering here. The witness of the Father is past history, but the witness of the Spirit is present experience. The first is external, the second is internal—and both agree.
How does the Spirit witness within the heart of a believer? “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” ( nasb). His witness is our inner confidence that we belong to Christ—not a confidence that we “work up” for ourselves, but a confidence that God gives us.
The Spirit also witnesses to us through the Word. As we read God’s Word, He speaks to us and teaches us. This is not true of an unsaved man (); it is true only of a believer.
A Christian feels “at home” with God’s people because the Spirit dwells in him. This is another way the Spirit bears witness.
The law required two or three witnesses for a mat ter to be settled (). The Father witnessed at the baptism and at the cross, and the Spirit witnesses today within the believer. The Spirit, the water, and the blood settle the matter: Jesus is God.
(Most scholars agree that of the Authorized Version does not belong in the letter, but omitting it does not affect the teaching at all.)
We receive the witness of men, so why should we reject the witness of God?
People often say, “I wish I could have faith!” But everybody lives by faith! All day long, people trust one another. They trust the doctor and the pharmacist; they trust the cook in the restaurant; they even trust the fellow driving in the other lane on the highway. If we can trust men, why can we not trust God? And not to trust Him is to make Him a liar!
Jesus is God: this is the first Christian certainty, and it is foundational to everything else.
Believers Have Eternal Life (5:11–13)
The key word in is witness, sometimes translated “record” or “testifieth.” God gave witness to His Son, but He has also given witness to His sons—to individual believers. We know that we have eternal life! Not only is there the witness of the Spirit within; but there is the witness of the Word of God. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eter nal life” ( nasb).
Eternal life is a gift; it is not something that we earn (; ). But this gift is a Person—Jesus Christ. We receive eternal life not only from Christ, but in Christ. “He who has the Son has the life” ( nasb). Not just “life” but “the life”— the life “which is life indeed” ( nasb).
This gift is received by faith. God has gone on record in His Word as offering eternal life to those who will believe on Jesus Christ. Millions of Christians have proved that God’s record is true. Not to believe it is to make God a liar. And if God is a liar, nothing is certain.
God wants His children to know that they belong to Him. John was inspired by the Spirit to write his gospel to assure us that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (). He wrote this epistle so that we may be sure that we are the children of God ().
It would be helpful at this point to review the char acteristics of God’s children:
• “Everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” ( nasb).
• “No one who is born of God practices sin” ( nasb).
• “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren” ( nasb).
• “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” ( nasb).
• “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” ().
If you bear these “birthmarks,” you can say with confidence that you are a child of God.
When Sir James Simpson, the discoverer of chloro form, was on his deathbed, a friend asked him, “Sir, what are your speculations?”
Simpson replied, “Speculations! I have no speculations! ‘For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.’
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com mitted unto him against that day.’