FIRST JOHN
Conclusion (Part 1)
1 John 5:9-13
THE WITNESS OF GOD (5:9-13)
In the first 8 verses of chapter 5 John wrote that the faith which overcomes the world is our faith in Jesus, not just faith in general and certainly not faith in ourselves. The true faith which overcomes the world is faith in Jesus as God the Son. Next, John went on to list three witnesses to the fact that the human Jesus IS the divine Christ: the Spirit and water (His baptism), and blood (death on the cross). In this section John points to an even greater witness that Jesus is truly God the Son. Whose witness does John appeal to in 5:9 as proof that Jesus is truly God the Son?
John bases this upon the teaching of Jesus Himself. Jesus claimed that although John the Baptist witnessed to Him, God the Father was an even greater witness (Gospel of John 5:36-38). Look at the verses from the Gospel of John below and show how God did bear witness to the truth that Jesus is God the Son.
According to verse 10, the person who believes in Jesus as God the Son has what in himself?
Although John does not come right out and say it, he is probably referring to the Holy Spirit. In 2:27 he had already spoken about the "anointing" being present in the one who believed in Jesus. That "anointing" refers to the Holy Spirit. According to Paul what is one of the main functions of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:16)?
There have been times in my adult life in which I struggled in my relationship with the Lord. In spite of those struggles I never once lost the awareness that I was God's son. In fact that awareness played a large part in getting me through those dark times. I might not have felt like I was worthy to be God's son; nevertheless I was still His son. If you don't have that awareness, you probably need to check your relationship with the Lord. It is one of the major ways God confirms to us that we are saved.
There are 2 common beliefs running rampant in western society today: (1) we all worship the same God and (2) there are many paths to God. John, the author of the gospel and letter of love, claims that these are not true. According to John the person who has rejected God's witness about Jesus has made Him out to be a what?
I think it would be difficult to have a positive relationship with God once you've made Him out to be this. A rejection of Jesus the Son is nothing less than a rejection of God the Father.
Moreover, I think you need to understand what else is happening alongside these 2 common beliefs. Now some, even a Roman archbishop in Europe, claim that in order for us all to get along that we should all just start calling God "Allah." This is just the very heresy C. S. Lewis claimed would erupt before the end of time actually occurred ("The Last Battle"). (To find out just how much we don't all believe in the same God, ask a Muslim to help us all get along by calling Allah "Jesus." In order to get along, Christians will just simply have to stop being CHRISTians.)
Although WE don't reject Jesus, I think we need to ask ourselves: "Do we IGNORE Jesus?" Today the new Reformed movement says the chief goal of man is to "glorify God." I just want to know what major Bible verses this movement is appealing to. I know which Christian documents they are referring to (the writings of Calvin and the Westminster Confession), but I don't know which Bible passages they are referring to. The whole message of the NT is that our goal is to submit ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ (Matt. 18:18-20). Unfortunately the way many of us practice the Christian life may be nothing more than the way the Jew practices life--and he rejects Jesus! If the goal you promote and teach is a goal a Jew who has rejected Jesus can live by, then it is not a CHRISTian goal.
According to verse 11 what has God borne witness concerning His Son? (There are 2 parts to this witness).
According to v. 13 why has John written these verses?
The Gnostics had claimed that they had knowledge. (In fact their very name is based upon the Greek word gnosis which means "knowledge.") They claimed they had secret codes which helped them escape this dreary evil world so that they could fly to a new celestial existence. John claims though that he has the true knowledge, the knowledge about Jesus Christ and that this knowledge leads to eternal life. In fact this knowledge is the only path to eternal life.