Overcoming the World Unto Eternal Life

1 John 5, verses 1-12

1 John 5:1–12

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,

and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

And this is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.

Not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.

And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree.

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.

For this is the testimony of God that He has born concerning His Son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.

Whoever does not believe, God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God is born concerning His Son.

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

Whoever has the Son has life.

Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

I read a Christianity Today article recently that noted that online evangelism ministries,

like the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Global Media Outreach, and Crew,

that they account normally for about 200 million gospel presentations on the internet per year.

But they have recently, since the onset of the pandemic, have seen an explosion of clicks on search engines.

For their ads about finding hope, overcoming fear, such things.

And they say that they've seen a 170% increase in their web traffic.

And that's because fear, which is a spiritual malady, spreads even more virulently than the virus itself.

And this presents a great opportunity for us as Christians to offer the hope of eternal life found in Jesus Christ alone.

And we as Christians do not fear suffering, because Christ our champion has already suffered.

We as Christians do not suffer death, do not fear death, because Christ our champion has already overcome death.

And because Christ suffered and died, but was raised from the dead in victory on Resurrection Sunday,

we have assurance that our suffering and our death will not end in defeat,

but it will end in victory and eternal resurrection life.

And this passage we just read in 1 John chapter 5 reminds us of this truth,

1 John 5 · chapter mention

that those who overcome the world by their faith in Jesus Christ can be assured of their new birth and eternal life.

So first we're going to talk about the new birth in verses 1 to 5,

and about eternal life in verses 6 to 12.

John begins with a reassuring statement in verse 1.

So if you've been with us through this short series in 1 John,

you know that John has been emphasizing throughout the letter that faith in Jesus Christ

and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ are the twin test,

kind of two-pronged tests of whether or not our conversion is genuine,

whether or not we really belong to God and are born of God.

And here he is referencing those two things again.

First, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

So this is the first test.

Christ is not Jesus' last name, but it's his title, which means anointed one,

referring to the fact that he is the messianic king,

the prophesied king that was to come to deliver his people.

And if you believe that Jesus is this king, the son of God, Jesus is the Christ,

then you have been born again into God's family.

And there is no exception to this.

Everyone who believes this truth, that Jesus is the Christ, has been born of God.

This is the first part of that twin test of genuine conversion.

And those who have been born of God love their heavenly father,

because that's their father.

And so in the second clause, John refers to Christians as those who love the father,

and then gives the second part of the twin test of genuine conversion.

Everyone who loves the father loves whoever has been born of him.

The word father in verse one of our translation, the English standard version,

actually isn't there in the original Greek.

The word that is there literally means the one who begets,

which of course is a reference to the father.

But this literal rendering highlights the tight connection between the one who begets

and the one who is begotten.

He's saying everyone who loves the one who begets loves whoever has been begotten of him.

And since John already told us in that first clause that it's those who believe that Jesus is the Christ

are the ones who are born of God.

Those who have been born of him that he's referencing here are fellow believers.

Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ.

And this is how we know this is the second part of the test,

how we know that we are genuinely born of God and love our heavenly father,

it's that we love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'm blessed to pastor a church that loves me and my family really well.

And one of the ways that your love for me is evident is the way you love and care for my children.

Serving them in children's ministry, smiling at them, taking interest in them,

patiently bearing with them when we are over at your house or when you're over at my house.

And that means a lot to me because I know that your love for our kids is an expression of your love for me and Hannah.

And in the same way, John is saying here,

How can you claim to love the father yet hate his children?

How can your love for your father not express itself naturally in your love for his children,

your brothers and sisters in Christ?

And so then how are we to know that we are indeed loving those who are born of God?

How do we know that we are loving one another?

Verses 2 to 3 answer that question.

By this we know that we love the children of God.

When we love God and obey his commandments.

For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments.

Now John's statement here is surprising because he reverses his usual pattern of exhortation,

saying that we know that we love God by the way we love one another.

You see how that's reversed here?

And this time he says that we know we love one another when we love God and obey his commandments.

So at first glance, then his argument seems perfectly circular, which is a logical fallacy.

But that's not what is going on here.

John is actually adding a new wrinkle to his argumentation.

He's adding that our genuine love for one another is evidence not merely in a human affinity,

a social bond that every human being, whether he is a Christian or not,

craves and creates naturally in life,

but by a love that is rooted in love for God and obedience to his commands.

In other words, it is a spiritually minded, God-oriented love.

The love for one another that proves that we belong to God's family

is not a love for men apart from God,

but a love for our brothers and sisters that is centered around the love of God.

And some people indeed join a church simply because they like the relational connections

and social engagements in much the same way that non-Christians join country clubs.

But that is no evidence that we are truly born of God.

Christian love is not a temporal human fraternity where the other people are the focal point of the relationship.

It's rather an eternal spiritual fraternity where God is the focal point of the relationship.

It's only when we are consumed and driven by our love for God

that we can rightly love one another in accordance with his purposes and priorities.

So let's ask ourselves,

is God the center of gravity in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ?

Or are we actually drawn by something else?

Someone else?

By this we know that we love the children of God

when we love God and obey his commandments.

Then John explains why he ties obedience to God's command so closely with love for God.

He says,

For this is the love of God,

that we keep his commandments.

This echoes what Jesus said in John 14 verse 21,

John 14:21

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them,

he it is who loves me.

And he who loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

Note that this is a statement, not a suggestion.

John doesn't say,

If you love God,

you should keep his commandments.

He says that the love of God consists in keeping his commandments.

They're inseparable.

Genuine love for God unfailingly finds its expression in obedience to his commands.

That's because love always shows.

It shows in the care and interest you take in another person's well-being.

Love always shows.

It shows in your desire to please that person.

It shows in the words you say and the things you do.

Likewise, those who truly love God obey his commandments.

That's why it's a fallacy to say that Christianity is about love

and that we don't need to worry so much about the do's and don'ts of Scripture.

That's like telling a husband,

Hey, your marriage is all about love.

So don't worry about pleasing your wife.

No need to pay attention to her desires and preferences.

Don't worry about what she tells you.

It's just about love.

It makes no sense.

How can you love someone without being interested in pleasing that person?

The love of God and the love of God's children cannot be near our hearts

when the concerns and commands of God are far from our hearts.

Surely at this point, some people will groan and say,

Well, so then Christianity does come down to a list of do's and don'ts, doesn't it?

How burdensome.

How painful.

But John anticipates that objection at the end of verse 3.

And his commandments are not burdensome.

And he gives the reason in verses 4 to 5.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Notice that John keeps making these comprehensive, sweeping statements

that describe every Christian without exception.

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

And everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.

And now again, everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

This is descriptive, not prescriptive.

It's not what Christians should do.

It's what all Christians do do.

Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

And by the world, John is alluding to his description of the world earlier in chapter 2, verse 16.

The desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life.

These are the things that are in the world.

The cravings for sinful, fleshly pleasure and covetousness, love of money, materialism.

But everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

This does not mean that Christians never sin.

John made that clear in chapter 1, verse 8.

And the combat words that John uses, such as overcome and victory,

imply that there is a battle being waged.

There's a struggle, an ongoing struggle.

However, when a person is born of God through faith in Jesus,

there is a fundamental shift in his allegiances.

And the believer is no longer under the dominion of sin.

He's no longer enslaved to sin.

Because he's now under the lordship of Jesus Christ,

who has overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.

This is what Paul speaks of in Romans chapter 6, verses 1 to 4.

Romans 6:1–4

After having spoken of the fact that, you know,

whenever sin increases in the life of the believer,

that God's grace abounds all the more to meet the need

and to be sufficient for all of us,

he then anticipates this question.

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

That's a good question, isn't it?

If all of my sins are forgiven,

and every one of my sins magnify God's grace all the more,

because whenever my sin increases,

God's grace abounds all the more,

then shouldn't I just enjoy life,

indulge in all the pleasures and sins,

sinful desires of this world,

and let God's grace increase?

But Paul answers this way in Romans 6,

by no means.

How can we, who died to sin,

still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us

who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into His death?

We were buried, therefore, with Him

by baptism into death,

in order that,

just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,

we too might walk in newness of life.

This is a really important doctrine.

Paul doesn't say,

well, you can keep on sinning,

but you shouldn't.

Paul doesn't say that.

He says,

we can't keep on sinning

because we have died to sin.

The true Christian never thinks to himself,

well, I wonder how much sin I can get away with

without jeopardizing my salvation.

The true Christian never says to himself,

I want to keep on sinning

because to be a Christian

is to renounce oneself

and repent of one's sins,

to turn from one's sins,

and to put one's entire trust and faith in Jesus

and follow Him.

We will have the privilege of baptizing Ivy

later this morning

and baptism in water,

which is the initiatory rite

of becoming a Christian,

signifies and seals our union with Christ

in His death and resurrection.

Our submission in water

signifies our death to sin

and our emergence from water

signifies new life in Jesus Christ.

So the thought of continuing in sin

and presuming on God's grace

is totally foreign to the Christian.

And this radical transfer of allegiances

is what John has in view

when he says,

for everyone who has been born of God

overcomes the world.

It's for this reason

that God's commandments

are not burdensome.

Christian author Dane Ortlund

puts it this way in his book,

A New Inner Relish.

Immoral people

don't want to obey,

so they don't.

Moral people

don't want to obey,

but they do.

Christians

want to obey.

To the Christian who overcomes the world,

his deepest desire

is to do the will of God.

God's commandments,

therefore,

are not burdensome.

And verse 5 tells us

that those who overcome the world

are those who believe

that Jesus is the Son of God.

And this is because

Jesus is the one who said

in John 16, verse 33,

John 16:33

Take heart,

for I have overcome the world.

In the second half of our passage,

verses 6 to 12,

John then goes into more detail

about the identity of Jesus Christ

and teaches us

that those who overcome the world

by their faith in Him

can be assured of eternal life.

He says in verse 6,

This is He who came

by water and blood,

Jesus Christ.

Not by the water only,

but by the water and the blood.

It's difficult to ascertain

what John means here

by water and blood.

There's two most likely options.

The first option is that

water represents Jesus' baptism

when He was baptized

by John the Baptist.

And the Holy Spirit

descended upon Him

and the Father spoke from heaven

saying,

This is my beloved Son

in whom I am well pleased.

And blood represents

Jesus' crucifixion.

This is the first option.

In this interpretation,

the water represents

the beginning of Jesus'

earthly ministry

and blood represents

the end of Jesus'

earthly ministry.

It's a neat, appealing option.

The second option

is that the water represents

the life-giving water

of the Spirit

that flows from Jesus.

And that blood represents

the sin-cleansing blood

poured out by Jesus.

I'm not sure

which one is right,

but I think option two

is more likely

for several reasons.

First is that

John's gospel

is the only gospel

of the four

that does not include

the account of

John the Baptist

baptizing Jesus with water.

So it would seem odd

for John to make

such a big deal

of that water baptism

and to call it water

if he's,

that's what he's referring to.

Secondly,

John's gospel,

however,

uses the image of water

far more than

any other gospels.

And it usually refers

to Jesus'

spirit-imparting ministry,

not his baptism.

So for example,

in John chapter 4,

John 4 · chapter mention

Jesus tells

the Samaritan woman

at the well,

whoever drinks

of the water

that I will give him

will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him

will become in him

a spring of water

walling up to eternal life.

And again,

Jesus says

in John chapter 7,

John 7:38

verse 38,

whoever believes in me

as the scripture has said,

out of his heart

will flow rivers

of living water.

Right?

So then water

in this second option

is a reference

to Jesus'

life-giving,

spirit-imparting ministry,

and blood

is a reference

to Jesus'

sin-cleansing,

sacrificial ministry.

And I think

this is why

in his gospel account

of Jesus' death

in John chapter 19,

John 19:34

verse 34,

he notes specifically

that when one of the soldiers

pierced Jesus

after his death

in his side

with a spear,

at once there came out

blood and water.

John is the only gospel writer

of the four

that includes that detail.

So then notice

how John emphasizes

that Jesus came

not by the water only,

but by the water

and the blood.

John seems to be addressing

the counterclaims

of the secessionists.

If you've been with us

throughout the series,

you know that

in this letter,

John is writing

to encourage

and assure early Christians

of their faith

because they were rattled

by some

who used to be

among their number

that denied Jesus Christ

and separated themselves

from the church.

And earlier in chapter 4,

verses 2 to 3,

John specifically warned

the people of God

that warned them

about those

who denied

that Jesus Christ

has come

in the flesh.

And later in 2 John,

2 John 1:7

chapter 1, verse 7,

he says again

that many deceivers

have gone out

into the world,

those who do not

confess the coming

of Jesus Christ

in the flesh.

So we can infer

from these verses

that these secessionists

were denying

the humanity

of Jesus,

denying the death

of Jesus.

The doctrine

that the Son of God,

the Christ,

the Savior of the world

became fully man

and died

a human death

was a point

of embarrassment

for some

in the first century

and it sparked

several heresies.

For example,

a prominent

first century heretic

named Serinthus

claimed that

while the Spirit

of Christ

descended upon Jesus

at his baptism

and dwelt with him

throughout his ministry,

but the Spirit

left him

before his death

so that the Christ

never died,

only human Jesus did.

And these people,

so then these people

affirmed the water

but not the blood.

they denied

that Christ

had come

in the flesh.

And these heretical

beliefs may also

have been influenced

by the fact

that in Greek mythology

the deities

have a watery

substance

instead of blood.

It's only the

half-gods

or demigods

that have both

blood and water.

And so this

would have been

a point of embarrassment

for some people

who didn't want

to believe

in Jesus' humanity.

But John here

insists

that Jesus came.

Jesus Christ came

not by the water

only

but by the water

and the blood.

Jesus not only

lived and ministered

by the power

of the Holy Spirit,

he also died

and shed

and poured out

his blood

as a human being.

The life-giving

water of the Spirit

flowed from Jesus

and the sin-cleansing

blood of Jesus

also poured out

from him.

There's a great hymn,

an 18th century hymn

entitled Rock of Ages

that puts this eloquently.

It says,

Rock of Ages

cleft for me.

Let me hide myself

in thee.

Let the water

and the blood

from thy

riven side

which flowed

be of sin

the double cure

save from wrath

and make me pure.

Not only did Jesus

come by the water

and the blood,

John adds

a third witness.

He says,

The Spirit

is the one

who testifies

because the Spirit

is the truth.

In three different places

in the Gospel of John,

Jesus promises

that after his resurrection

and ascension

that he would send

the Spirit of truth

to his followers

and that after being

empowered by the Spirit

of truth

and guided by the Spirit

of truth

that the disciples

of Jesus

will then bear witness

about Jesus.

Now,

this Spirit of truth

also testifies,

bears witness

about Jesus.

For,

John continues

in verse 7 to 8,

There are three

that testify,

the Spirit

and the water

and the blood

and these three agree.

So then,

intertwined with the water,

blood and Spirit

is Jesus' life,

death

and resurrection

and ascension

respectively.

Jesus' life-giving ministry,

his sin-cleansing death

and the Christ-testifying Spirit.

All three bear

united,

concerted witness

to the identity

of Jesus Christ

as the Son of God

and Son of Man,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

the Savior of the world.

And in both

the Old and New Testaments,

a judgment

or verdict

could be upheld

only by the testimony

of two or three witnesses.

So John's telling us here

that there are

three witnesses

that testify

concerning Jesus

and that therefore

this testimony

is dependable,

reliable.

We should believe

this testimony.

And this testimony,

the testimony of these three

should be believed

all the more

because

they are the testimony

of God.

John writes

in verse 9,

If we receive

the testimony

of men,

the testimony

of God

is greater

for this

is the testimony

of God

that he has borne

concerning his Son.

In our courts,

we believe

the testimony

of sinful men

and women

who frequently

lie even under oath.

But then,

if that's the case,

how much more

should we believe

the testimony

of God

who never lies?

God who can't

not lie.

bears witness

regarding his Son

through the water,

blood,

and the Spirit.

And John continues

in verse 10,

Whoever believes

in the Son of God

has the testimony

in himself.

Whoever does not believe

God has made him

a liar

because he has not

believed in the testimony

that God has borne

concerning his Son.

To deny

the divine testimony

through water,

blood,

and Spirit

is to make God

out to be a liar.

Then,

in verses

11 to 12,

John returns

to what it is

that God

has testified

concerning his Son.

He says,

This is the testimony

that God gave us

eternal life

and this life

is in his Son.

Whoever has the Son

has life.

Whoever does not

have the Son of God

does not have life.

Have you ever wondered

why all these Christians

who claim to have

eternal life

and offer eternal life

keep dying?

Right.

Well, it's because

when Scripture speaks

of eternal life,

it is not referring

to an unending extension

of life as we know it.

Actually, if you think about it,

it's such an interminable life

in this sinful world,

in our broken flesh,

would not be desirable

at all.

Rather,

John says,

This eternal life

is in his Son.

Whoever has the Son

has life.

This is why

later in verse 20

of this same chapter,

John says that

God's Son,

Jesus Christ,

is the true God

and eternal life.

Jesus is

the eternal life.

To possess him

is to possess

eternal life.

This is why

Jesus says

in John 11, 25,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

Our mortality

is a consequence of sin.

Physical death

is merely a symptom

of our underlying

spiritual death.

death.

We are all

by nature

objects of God's wrath

under the sentence

of eternal death.

And that is why

God the Father

sent his Son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

Jesus gave up

his breath

on the cross

as the atoning

sacrifice

for our sins.

He took upon himself

our sentence of death.

The Son of God,

eternal life.

Think about that.

Eternal life,

the word of life

descended

to the dead.

But the life

of the Son

could not be bottled up

in a tomb.

God the Father

raised him from the dead

so that whoever

believes in Jesus,

though he die,

yet may live.

This

is why Christians

do not fear death.

Resurrection Sunday

reminds us

that death

does not have

the final say

in our lives.

In his

brilliant book,

The Screwtape Letters,

many of you have read,

C.S. Lewis

writes imaginatively

of a series

of correspondences

between

Uncle Screwtape,

who is a

senior devil,

and

Nephew Wormwood,

a junior devil.

And in these letters

between them,

Screwtape

offers Wormwood

all kinds of

evil,

devilish advice

to make sure

that his nephew

Wormwood

successfully ensnares

his human subject

that they call

patient.

And the goal

is to lure

their patient

to hell.

And in one

of these letters,

Screwtape rebukes

Wormwood for

his novice

preoccupation

with death.

And he says

this to Wormwood,

When I told you

not to fill

your letters

with rubbish

about the war,

I meant,

of course,

that I did not

want to have

your rather

infantile

rhapsodies

about the death

of men

and the destruction

of cities.

Insofar as

the war

really concerns

the spiritual

state of the

patient,

I naturally

won full reports.

And on this

aspect,

you seem

singularly

obtuse.

Thus,

you tell me

with glee

that there is

reason to

expect heavy

air raids

on the town

where the

creature lives.

This is a

crying example

of something

I have

complained about

already.

Your readiness

to forget

the main point

in your

immediate

enjoyment

of human

suffering.

Do you

not know

that bombs

kill men?

Or do you

not realize

that the

patient's

death at

this moment

is precisely

what we

want to

avoid?

He has

escaped the

worldly

friends with

whom you

try to

entangle him.

He has

fallen in

love with

a very

Christian

woman and

is temporarily

immune from

your attacks

on his

chastity.

And the

various methods

of corrupting

his spiritual

life which we

have been

trying are

so far

unsuccessful.

At the

present moment

as the

full impact

of the war

draws nearer

and his

worldly

hopes take

a proportionally

lower place

in his

mind and

daily increasing

in conscious

dependence on

the enemy,

which is God

for them,

he will almost

certainly be

lost to us

if he is

killed tonight.

This is so

obvious that

I am ashamed

to write it.

I sometimes

wonder if you

young fiends

are not kept

out on

temptation duty

too long at

a time,

if you are

not in some

danger of

becoming infected

by the

sentiments and

values of the

humans among

whom you work.

They, of

course, do

tend to regard

death as the

prime evil and

survival as the

greatest good.

good.

But that is

because we

have taught

them to do

so.

Do not let

us be infected

by our own

propaganda.

Those who

overcome the

world by their

faith in Jesus

Christ can be

assured of

their new

birth and

eternal life.

in this

pandemic, it's

so easy to

be preoccupied

anxiously with

our survival,

to get caught

up in the

fear of death.

But in the

ultimate state

of things, it

is not physical

death that is

ultimate.

It is spiritual

death that is

ultimate.

And if we are

saved, if we

have eternal

life,

if we have

the Son,

then there is

nothing for us

to fear.

Because we

have been united

by faith with

the one who

was raised from

the dead.

And that

assures us that

even though our

bodies die,

they will too

be resurrected

at Christ's

return.

As 1 Corinthians

15 taunts,

death is

swallowed up in

victory.

Death, where

is your

victory?

O death,

where is

your sting?

The sting of

death is sin

and the power

of sin is the

law.

But thanks be to

God who gives

us the victory

through our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Amen.