Slides: We Know (1 John 5)

God’s children know

• “children of God” (6x)
• “born of God” (5x)
• “know” (29x)

I write … so that you may know that you have eternal life… We know that we are children of God. (5:13, 19)

We know!

We know that we have come to know him. (2:3) We know we are in him. (2:5) You have known the Father. (2:13) All of you know the truth. (2:20) We know that when he appears, we shall be like him. (3:2) You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. (3:5) We know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. (3:10) We know that we have passed from death to life. (3:14) We know that we belong to the truth. (3:19) We know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (3:24) Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (4:7) We know the love God has for us. God is love. (4:16) I write these things … so that you may know that you have eternal life. (5:13) We know that we have what we asked of him. (5:15)

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also 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—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (5:18-20)

We know

• Tests (5:1-5)
• Testimony (5:6-12)
• Trust (5:13-21)

Tests

 ^5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.  (1 John 5:3-5)

We know

• Tests (5:1-5)
• Testimony (5:6-12)
• Trust (5:13-21)

 
⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: 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.

Testimony

• Witnesses: water, blood, Spirit
• Credibility: truthfulness of God
• Content: God’s gift of his Son
• Response: believe or call God liar
• Result: eternal life or death

FAQ

• Is faith in Jesus really knowledge?
• Is it arrogant to be certain of God?
• Is it hateful to know Jesus is the way and unbelievers are wrong?
• Is it rational to discount contrary data?

We know Jesus!

Jesus is the Life (1:2), the Christ (5:1), the Son of God (4:15), without sin (3:5). He came in the flesh (1:1, 4:2) to suffer the penalty for our sins (2:2, 4:10), to take away our sins (3:5), and to destroy the devil’s work (3:8). He is the true God and eternal life (5:20).

We know

• Tests (5:1-5)
• Testimony (5:6-12)
• Trust (5:13-21)

Trust

• Certain of eternal life (5:13)
• Confident in prayer (5:14-17)
• Praying God’s will (5:14-15)
• Pleading for sinners (5:16-17)
• Guarded by God (5:18-20)
• Guard against idols (5:21)

Certain of
 eternal life

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 21)

FAQ

• Can you be sure of eternal life?
• Can you be saved if you’re not sure?
• Is knowledge ever unclear or unsure?

Praying God’s will

¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Pleading for sinners

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. ¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

Guarded by God

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

¹⁹ We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (5:18-19) ²⁰ We know also 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—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. ²¹ Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Guard against idols

• Pagan gods and goddesses
• Worshiping emperor/government
• False ideas about the one God
• Different Jesus than God-man who saves by blood and resurrection
• Anything we fear, want, love, or trust more than God

Trust

• Certain of eternal life (5:13)
• Confident in prayer
• Praying God’s will (5:14-15)
• Pleading for sinners (5:16-17)
• Guarded by God (5:18-20)
• Guard against idols (5:21)

We know

• Tests (5:1-5)
• Testimony (5:6-12)
• Trust (5:13-21)