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FIRST JOHN

The Three Tests

1 John 5:1-8

INTRODUCTION

In Mere Christianity Lewis writes that we too often reduce morality to the way we treat other people. We feel that as long as we are kind to our neighbors and do not mistreat them, then we have become fully moral. Lewis though goes on to compare people to ships. We definitely don't want our ships to run into other ships (the kind of morality we are speaking of today). Yet if a ship does not want to run into another ship, it needs to make sure that its internals are in good working order. A priest the other day accidentally ran into a crowd of parishoners. He claimed that the car's accelerator got stuck. If that is true, the car's internals hurt a lot of people. Continuing with the image of the ship, the ship doesn't get to go wherever it wants to go. It must go where its OWNER wants it to go. Morality then involves 3 elements: (1) what am I like on the inside, (2) how I treat those around me, and (3) whom do I belong to?

John actually promotes just these very elements in 1 John. For him there are three tests a person needs to pass if he is to be in a right relationship with God: (1) am I in a right relationship with God through His Son (ownership), (2) am I keeping God's commandments (internals), and (3) am I loving my brother (the way I treat others)? All THREE of these are important if a person is going to be in a right relationship with God.

John does not keep the three themes listed above separate. Rather, all three of these work together. For example, if I believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God, then I am going to keep His commandments. What is His greatest commandment? To love God and to love others. The three are inextricably interwoven.

WEAVING THE THREE THEMES TOGETHER (5:1-8)

What is true about the person who believes that historical human Jesus is the divine Christ (5:1a)?

What is true about the person who loves God the Father (5:1b)?

I have learned this principle from practical experience. One of the greatest benefits of being at First Baptist Corsicana has been the way this church has treated my children. I will never forget how dear Kathleen Reed and her cohort were towards my daughter when she was just 3 years old. Molly wore the most outlandish outfits to church (her mom and I agreed that clothes was not going to be a battlefield). One day she wore black leotards with a black stretch top, with hot pink accessories. She thought she was stunning. Kathleen and her SS class were so loving and accepting of Molly. Now why were they that way? They didn't really know Molly, but they did know me. We had a great relationship, and because of that relationship they were kind to my daughter and son. I have found the same thing operating in my own life. When I see the children of some of the men God has given to me as friends, I immediately have an kind feeling towards them. Do I know these children? No, but I do know their dads, and my relationship with their dads causes me to have warm feelings towards their children.

The same should be operating in our spiritual relationships. You say you love God? Well, if you really do, then you should naturally and immediately have a kind heart towards His sons and daughters. When I don't love His sons and daughters, then something has gone wrong in my relationship with Him.

According to verse 2 how do you know that you love the children of God?

What shows you whether or not you love God (5:3)?

According to the first part of verse 4 who overcomes the world?

According to the second part of verse 4 what gives us victory over the world?

Right now I am reading G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. In it he attacks the notion that we should believe in ourselves. Chesterton does not say we should be grovelling, snivelling little worms; however, he said that the last thing we should do is believe "in ourselves." He said that the lunatic assylums are filled with people who believe in themselves. One lunatic believes so much in himself that he believes that he is the king of England! "But," you might say, "he's not rational." But he is rational, and he can reason with you that he actually is the king of England. If the man quit focusing on himself and opened up his world to bigger possibilities, he would become mentally healthy again.

Our faith is not to be based upon ourselves. According to verse 5 who is the one who overcomes the world?

Why should we believe in Christ and not in ourselves? 1 John 5:6-8 claims that there are 3 who bear witness about Christ (and not about ourselves). What are these 3 elements?

The first 2 elements probably refer to Jesus' baptism experience. What happened at His baptism which showed that Jesus was the divine Son of God?

The last element refers to His crucifixion and death. How does this third element show that the divine Christ was also the human Jesus?