Know You Have Eternal Life

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're going to ask, why did John even write his first epistle? Why did he write this letter? What was the whole point of everything we've been going through in the first four chapters, in the first half of chapter five? Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. I've actually got tea with me this morning, but let's have something to drink, we'll pray. Let's pray.
God, we thank you so much for this day. What a joy and a blessing it is to get to spend time in your word together. It is a huge encouragement to our souls and a blessing to us. Lord, we pray that your spirit would be working in our hearts, that we would believe your word, for only that could come by you. And so, Father, we pray that you would please let us believe in your son.
Let us be your children. Let us walk in your ways. In Jesus's name, amen. Here we go. Oh, by the way, thanks so much for putting up with me not being here the last two days. It was a busy, busy week with VBS last week, and just kind of got behind on things. And well, today was Deborah's birthday, and it's just been nuts around here. I'm going to try really hard to push and record a bunch of these, because I'm going to actually be gone for Synod, and then for speaking at a conference, and so I'm going to try to get these recorded ahead of time, but if it ends up being a little bit hit or miss, I hope that you will forgive me. So here we go. 1 John, chapter 5, beginning at verse 6.
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree as one.
For if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he has testified of his Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe, God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his Son.
And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. And this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
Well, we need to ask ourselves our three questions. A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do from these verses? So, what's this about? Well, we had seen in the very first part of chapter 7, anyone that believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. How are we made children of God or were born of God by believing in His Son. Our life is in Jesus. But how do we know these things are true?
Well, this is He who came by the water and the blood, Jesus Christ, not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. And there are three that testify that these things are truth, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And these are the ones testifying.
So we believe God, we believe the Lord, that His word is true, and that He is true. Because if we don't believe that the Son is true, then we believe that God's a liar because the Father's the one who testified about the Son. And the Son must be a liar too, because He's the one who said the Father was testifying about Him. But if you believe, if you believe this testimony, your life is hidden in Christ. That's what this is all getting about. He who believes, verse 10, he who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his Son. But we do believe the testimony that God has given of his Son. We do believe what He has said about His only begotten Son.
We trust in Him. We believe that He is Lord, that He saved us from our sins, and that He rose again from the dead. We believe these things in our hearts, and we confess them with our mouths. It says here in verse 12, verse 11 and 12. And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. That's the only hope we have.
It's that our lives are hidden in Christ. This is why Paul is able to say in Galatians chapter 2, "...as no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." This is... it's our hearts. Our lives are hidden in Christ.
Because he is alive, we have life. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Jesus was talking about. I am the way, the truth, and life. No one comes to the Father but through me. You can't have life without your life being hidden in Christ. Because apart from Christ, we're still in Adam. And if we're still in Adam, we're still in our trespasses and sins and under the curse of death. And most surely we shall die.
But why did John write all these things? Well, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. John wrote this out. He wrote this epistle so we can know that we have eternal life and that our life is dependent and found in Christ.
So that's the testimony that we have, that our life is in Him. He's our only hope. Our righteousness isn't enough. Our good works aren't enough. They certainly show the fruits of Jesus in our life. But if our life isn't hidden in Christ, we're utterly lost.
But thanks be to God that we can continue to believe and we continue to walk in His ways. So, what is this about? This whole section is about God's given testimony. The Father, the Spirit, and the Son have all borne witness, and we believe that testimony. And that testimony is in us. And because we believe, life is also hidden in Christ because He has, by His Spirit, somehow united us to His Son.
So that's verse, I have verse 13 underlined in my Bible. You might underline something else. Maybe, I think, I'd be really hard-pressed to choose between 11, 12, and 13, but maybe you would have something else. And just to let you know, there is some textual argument here. There's something called the Yohannin Kama. I'm not going to go all into that, but I think the main thrust is here, the calling.
Do you believe the testimony about Jesus Christ? Do you believe that he came in the flesh, that this John was really talking about one that they had seen with their eyes, it felt with their hands, it heard with their ears, and from his lips came the words of everlasting life, and that he is faithful and he is righteous to forgive us all of our sins?
In Him we are more than conquerors because our life is hidden in Him. Christian, continue on. Cling to that Jesus. Find hope in Him and may you be blessed. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you have hidden our life in Christ and we thank you, Lord, that the love you have poured out in us is shown in how we get to love others. Father, we pray that you would please encourage us and bless us. Lord, we pray that we would continue on in the faith until our dying breath. Lord, your spirit is the one who made us alive and it's you who will keep us saved. So Father, our life is in your hands because our life is in Christ. Thank you. Thank you for all you have done for us in your Son, by your providence, and through your Spirit. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. May you continue to hope, to rest, and to live in Christ. I'll see you next