Between Sisters Blog | Identity Defined & Defended, Part 2
In the previous post on the first half of 1 John 5, we began looking at the three birthmarks of a follower of Christ: our love, obedience, and faith. We saw that our new motto as Christians is: “I love my fellow believers, I keep God’s commandments, and I have victory over the world, because of who I am and because of whose I am.”
We also witnessed the most dramatic courtroom scene as four witnesses took the stand: the baptism of Jesus, the blood of the crucified Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Father. Let’s look at what the verdict is…
What We Possess (1 John 5:11–15)
John clearly defines, in verse 11, this testimony that the water, the blood, the Spirit, the Father, followers of Christ, and deniers of Christ, have all testified to or against—God has gifted us with eternal life through His Son! John 1:12 reminds us that the only way to get this eternal life is to receive it; you can’t earn it. And this eternal life is not just one that lasts forever, but it is an immensely better life, God’s life in us for all of eternity. God has declared it to you that Jesus is the Messiah. Regarding verse 12, Allen says, “John’s concluding argument ends with a stark, terse point: ‘Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life’ (v.12). All people on Planet Earth are headed to only one of two destinies: eternal life or eternal death… If you want this life-imparting gospel to be yours, you must receive Jesus as the Word of life. Life flows from the Father to the Son and through the Son into us when we believe the gospel. Eternal life is not about our being good but about Christ being God!”
Verse 13 presents us with the purpose of this entire letter, that we would know without a doubt that we have eternal life. John wants to put our doubts to rest, knowing that Satan likes to cripple us with them. J.C. Ryle said, “Faith is the root, and assurance the flower. Doubtless you can never have the flower, and not the root.” Assurance in our salvation actually leads us into a confidence or boldness that God will answer our prayers. Our confidence is “toward Him,” in the way that our confidence is built upon the fact that we have access to God. The lines are never busy. He is always awaiting our call, whether we call or not. Hebrews 4:16 calls us to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence so we can receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. “This is God’s promise to us. Prayer is the God-ordained way we get what we need.” Dane Ortlund points out that on one hand the Bible is an oxygen tank to inhale into our spiritually asthmatic soul, on the other hand “prayer is exhaling…We take in the life-giving words of God, and we breathe them back out to God in prayer…The gospel comes to us in the Scriptures, and in prayer we received and enjoy it.” But John gives a condition for prayer: according to God’s will. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done,” not “Your will be changed.” But what is the will of God? We discern it by the Bible and the Holy Spirit indwelling us and then we have to be willing to do it even before we know what it is. You may not know the answer right away, but God has already answered, and in His time He will reveal that answer to you when you ask according to His will. Pray boldly for His will to be done, knowing you serve a great God!