As we come to the last chapter of 1 John, the apostle brings several concurrent themes to their conclusion. And they all are elements of the predominant theme of the epistle, which is how to know that you have eternal life. John states that in vs 13 which is the key verse, or the purpose of the epistle; “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 eternal life.”
Now eternal life is not just talking about living forever. It’s a reference to spiritual life which is from God, whereby we have fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ from the point of spiritual birth through eternity. Jesus, praying to the Father in the Upper Room before His crucifixion said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” To know is the have communion, to have intimacy with, to be in the presence of God, to have fellowship with the source of life. That is eternal life. It’s not just a time frame, it’s not just a place. It’s not just what we think of when we think of heaven. It begins at spiritual conception when we become born of God, and it continues in life with God forever.
You know, it’s possible to want to go to heaven when you die, and yet want nothing to do with God. To have no interest in God, to not care very much about a relationship with God or Jesus Christ. It’s possible to want heaven, but not want God. But the fact is, that to be in the presence of God IS heaven. And so if you don’t love God, and desire God, then you will not be happy in heaven. Because the goal of heaven is not a mansion, or streets of gold or any of those things, but the goal of heaven is to be in the presence of Almighty God, by whom all things exist and have their being, in whom is pure light, and there is no darkness at all, and in whom is Life, and life everlasting. To be in the presence of God is the object and the source of eternal life.
So John gives us several principles by which we may know that we have eternal life. And we’re going to just look at a few of them here this morning, up to verse five. Many of these principles he has already introduced to us in the previous chapters. But now he is restating them, cycling back over the same principles of our salvation again, but adding additional information in each cycle.
The first principle by which you may know that you have eternal life is to believe in Jesus Christ. John says in vs 1 that to have eternal life you must be born again, born of God, born of the Spirit. The Bible teaches that the natural man is born spiritually dead. So to have eternal life, which is spiritual life, we must be born again of God. John says in vs 1, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…”
To believe and to have faith are the same thing. But lets be sure we understand what it means to believe. First of all, you must believe in Jesus Christ. Notice John says whoever believes that Jesus IS the Christ. Christ is the Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah. See, the problem for Jews especially during that time wasn’t that they didn’t believe that Jesus lived and died on the cross. Everyone who was alive when Jesus was alive believed that He was a real person, that He was alive, and then when He was crucified they believed that He died on the cross. But simply that intellectual assent to the historicity of Jesus is not the means by which they were born again. That recognition that Jesus was a real man who lived and died during that time is not what John is talking about when he says you must believe.
John says it’s believing that Jesus is the Christ. It’s believing that Jesus is the Messiah that’s the difficulty. Because if Jesus was the Messiah, that means He is the anointed One of God. He is the Promised One in Isaiah 9:6 of whom it says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Ok then, this Messiah is no ordinary man. For this man Jesus to be the Messiah He must also be the “mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Now that’s what it means to believe that Jesus is the Christ. He is the Savior of the world. He is God incarnate in human flesh and He died on the cross as our representative, as our substitute, as the One who takes away our sin. And John says that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. That’s how we receive spiritual life from God. Believing in all it means for Jesus to be the Messiah is the means by which we are born of God. We are born again by faith in who Christ is, and what He has accomplished on our behalf through His death and resurrection.
There is another element to knowing we have eternal life. And John says that it’s known by a love for the Father and a love for the child born of Him. “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” John is not saying is that if you somehow conjure up a love for God and a love for His children then as a result you will be born again. But what he’s saying is that you will know that you have eternal life by your love for the Father and for the child born of Him. That’s is a big difference.
The former is a means of work, whereby by our love we earn our salvation. The latter is that having born again by faith in Christ, we are given a new nature, and that nature is characterized by a love for the Father and a love for the child born of Him. In other words, it’s like the way a child naturally loves his parents and his siblings. That family love comes from the fact that they are born into that family. It’s part of their nature. And if we are born of God, then it will be part of our new nature to have a love for God and a love for his children, who are our spiritual brothers and sisters. You will know they are Christians by their love. Jesus said you will know they are my disciples by their love. Love is the new characteristic of our new nature.
Back in chapter 4 vs 20, John said the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. So in vs 2, John makes it clear that his emphasis is on loving your neighbor as the evidence of our salvation. He says in vs 2, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.”
John’s guilty of what is to some degree circular reasoning here. He says you can know you love God by loving the children of God, and that you know you love the children of God because you love the Father. They cannot be separated. You cannot love God and not love His children. But the thing most easily seen is the love for the children. God is not visible. His children are visible. And so if you love His children, then your love for God will be visible.
Now that sounds great, and no one can argue that love for others is a noble and good thing. But I can’t help but wonder if John didn’t recognize that if you have the wrong idea about what constitutes love, then you may have the wrong confidence about your salvation. John recognizes that love may need some explanation. So thankfully, in vs 3 he tells us what constitutes love for God. You know a lot of people claim to love God, but other than the fact that they may wave their hands around during a song or something, there is scant evidence of it in their life.
Real love for God is not based on attraction, or emotion, or feelings. But love for God as John describes it is evidenced by obedience. Vs. 3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” That’s an echo of what Jesus said in John 14:15; “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” So love for God is keeping His commandments. Oh boy. That took the fun out of love, didn’t it? It’s all joy when we can say we love God but have no responsibilities, no obligations, no commandments to keep. Many people are all for a doctrine of love, but a love without any constraints. They want a love without limitations.
You know, back when my wife and I were dating, if she had said “O Roy, I love you so much!” But then she also said the same thing to every other Tom, Dick and Harry that came along, I would have had some serious doubt about her love for me. Love for me is love for me exclusively. And love for God must be exclusive, and that exclusivity is defined by the commandments.
Jesus said that all the commandments were summarized in two commandments. The first was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and strength. And the second was like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, when you keep those commandments completely, you will find that you keep the commandments of God.
John adds that His commandments are not a burden. Jesus said in Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
What does that mean, my burden is light? It means that when we obey God, the Spirit of God in us enables us and empowers us to do His will. To keep His commandments may be difficult to the natural man, but it is by the Spirit that we walk after Christ. We have a new nature, and that new nature is spiritual, governed by the Holy Spirit, and so we find our desires have changed and we have a Helper who strengthens us. It’s sort of like, if you have to go to work to a job you hate, then it is a burden. You dread going to work. Every hour seems to drag on. But if your work is something you love, then it doesn’t feel like you’re working at all. The key then to keeping the commandments of God is that we have a new spirit, a new heart, that desires to keep the commandments of God and we have the Helper to give us the power to keep the commandments.
Ezekiel speaks of this change of heart as being the key to keeping the commandments. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” That’s what it means to walk by the Spirit, so that you will do the will of God. It’s only possible when you have a new spirit, and a new heart.
The next evidence by which John says that we know that we have eternal life is because we overcome the world. Vs4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.”
The question that I never find answered in all the commentaries I read about this verse, is what does it mean to overcome the world? How do you overcome the world? Well, I believe to overcome the world doesn’t mean that you somehow become successful in spite of obstacles in your life. Maybe you had certain disadvantages growing up but you had faith in God to help you crawl up the ladder of success and by golly, you finally make it! You become a famous singer or entertainer or athlete, or business owner. You have overcome the world! I think that’s the common misinterpretation of this verse.
But I don’t think John's talking about anything remotely similar to that. I believe he’s talking about the world system, which has been designed and engineered by Satan, to entrap and ensnare and enslave mankind in sin and death. There is a great passage which speaks of the damning system of this world and how we are able to overcome it which is found in Eph. 2:1-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
There is an interesting word he uses there in reference to this world, he says “the course of this world.” What that speaks of is like a river that runs in it’s course, carrying everything along in it’s current. Satan has devised a system of lies and deception that sin is fun and rewarding and not harmful, and it causes man to fall into the trap of this world, the current of this world, so that they are not even aware that they are being swept along with everyone else to their destruction.
So how do we overcome the world system that has been orchestrated to capture us and destroy us? John says it is our faith. Our faith; faith is not the power of positive thinking, it’s not believing whatever we want to be true really, really sincerely, but faith is believing in Christ, in who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised. And John says our faith is the victory. Our faith in Christ is the victorious means by which we are delivered, saved, rescued from the kingdom of darkness, the raging current of this world, and given a new life and a new way to live, which is by the power of the Spirit.
Our faith is the means by which we are born of God, and thus we are delivered from the condemnation of death. The punishment for our sins was placed on Jesus Christ, and He died the death that we deserved to die, and He rose from the grave in victory so that we too might have life and victory over death. By faith in what Christ did for us as our representative, we are forgiven, we are given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we are given the Spirit of God to dwell in us, and we are given a new spirit, which will never die, and will have eternal fellowship and companionship with God.
As our representative, Jesus was victorious over sin and death. That’s the great significance of His resurrection. That He has triumphed over sin and death, and by extension, we have triumphed with Him. Paul tells us in Eph 1:20-23 “which [God] brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places,] far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
So we, as in the church of Christ, are raised up in the train of His glory, and share in His victory. As Jesus has overcomed the world, so we also are overcomers, because we have been rescued from the condemnation of the world. Our faith is the victory, our faith by which we are born of God. We that are born of God are overcomers. That’s all that really means. We have been saved, born of God. We are overcomers.
And being an overcomer is the last evidence that we have eternal life. John says in vs 5, “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Notice back in verse one John says that we who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God. Now in vs 5 he says that we that believe that Jesus is the Son of God are overcomers. So we can see that to be born of God and to be an overcomer is synonymous. It’s speaking of the same thing.
But John does add something in that statement of vs 5 to our theology. And that is that the Messiah is the Son of God. We’ve already alluded to that. But it’s important to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He is of the same nature and essence as God. He is not a man in whom dwelled the Spirit of God for a time between His baptism and death. That was the belief of the Gnostics who were the false teachers of John’s day. And it’s a common belief of some of the cults today. But Jesus is the Son of God, and He was with God in the beginning before the world began, and He was sent by the Father to become flesh.
When Jesus prayed with the disciples in the Upper Room before His crucifixion, He speaks much of going back to be with the Father. And in John 17:5 He says, ”Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” There He clearly states that He was with God the Father before the world began. Now that is the claim of Jesus Christ, that He was with God the Father before creation. That means He was equal to God in divinity, but subjected to the Father in position. He humbled Himself to take on human form, leaving His glory in heaven for our sake. And as He considered His crucifixion, He looked forward to returning to the Father and to His glory which He had before the world began. Now that is either the claim of God, or the claim of a madman. We either have to believe that Jesus is God or that He was a liar.
John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” We that believe in Him, in who He is, and what He accomplished for us, are given life by God, so that we are born of God, a child of God, and are overcomers with Christ. We are overcomers by faith in Jesus Christ.
This idea of being an overcomer is such an important principle I could devote an entire message to it. But I want to close this morning by seeing what Jesus said about being an overcomer. In the book of Revelation which John also wrote, Jesus gives seven messages to seven churches. And in each of the messages, Jesus concludes by giving a promise to those that are overcomers. And all of these promises are given to us who make up the church of Christ. To the church in Ephesus He says in Rev 2:7 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” Jesus promises to give eternal life to the overcomer.
To the church of Smryna Jesus says in ch 2 vs 11 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.” Jesus promises victory over death to the overcomer.
To the church of Pergamum, He says in chapter 2 vs 17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give [some] of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” Jesus promises to give the bread of life, and write your name in stone to them that overcome.
To the church of Thyatira Jesus says, in ch 2vs 26 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS.” The overcomers shall rule and reign with Christ. To the church of Sardis, Jesus says in chapter 3 vs 5 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Overcomers receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and Christ will say that we belong to Him. Listen, that is the basis for how we enter into heaven. Because we can say, I belong to Him. He paid for my entrance. I’ve been made a child of God by faith in Christ and He will never forsake me.
To the church of Philadelphia Jesus says in ch 3 vs 12 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” I can’t really be certain of how all of this will look, but in effect Jesus is saying you will have the Father’s name and His name and heaven’s name written on you. That’s like being triple certified. Full assurance.
And to the church of Laodecia Jesus says in ch 3 vs 21 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Again, Jesus promises that we will reign with Him, seated next to Him on thrones. Amazing promise that as He has overcome the world, so shall we overcome the world through Him.
I pray that you are an overcomer. That you have been born of God into eternal life, and will live with God forever. You know what is required to be born of God. Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God, and He will give you life in the spirit, that you may be a child of God and that you may overcome the enslavement and condemnation of this world.
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