Walk By Faith - Bible Study

WALK BY FAITH

1 John 5:1-21

"Life" and "death" are key words in John's Gospel as well as in his epistles. They are not, however, just words about our future. They are terms describing the present experience of human beings.

A person who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has experienced a new birth, and has eternal life now. A person without that very personal relationship which is established by faith is spiritually and eternally dead, even while physical life persists.

In this last chapter of John's pastoral first letter, he wrote about life, eager that believers should know that they have life now.

The very brief letters of 2 and 3 John reflect themes seen in all John's writings. There are love, obedience, truth, warnings, and notes of joy.

How clearly the pastoral concerns of John shine through, giving us an example as we too share God's living Word.

1 John 5 contains three passages over which theologians’ debate. The three disputed passages are:

·        1 John 5:6-7: Jesus came "by water and by blood.

·        1 John 5:14: We are to pray and ask "according to His will."

·        1 John 5:16-17: There is a sin that "leads to death."

"I can hardly wait to die so I can live." This rather strange statement actually reflects the attitude of some misinformed Christians, who suppose that eternal life is something we inherit only after death. Such people, who look at their present lives with despair, and think that only eternity holds hope, need to hear John's concluding thoughts. "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life (5:11-12). Eternal life is ours, and we are to enjoy it now.

Faith: 1 John 5:1-12

The core meaning of "faith" is a personal relationship established by trust and trustworthiness. For a Christian to say, "I believe in Jesus," is not so much a statement affirming certain beliefs about Jesus as it is an affirmation of trust. It is a confession that the Person, Jesus Christ, about whom I learn in the Bible, has become more than a historical figure to me. I have recognized Him as a real and living Person, and I have not drawn back in fear. Instead, I have confidently placed all I am and all I hope to be in His hands. Faith is abandoning ourselves and our efforts and resting in Jesus' promise of forgiveness and transformation.

John's special emphasis within this core of meaning is this: Jesus' claim to be true and trustworthy has been authenticated by God.

Only faith will receive the testimony about Jesus. John wants us to know that faith brings life. As we respond in faith to Jesus, we become one of a great company who have eternal life, now.

Faith's focus (1 John 5:1-5). John makes it clear that new birth, through which we receive life from God, comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. This first verse says literally, "Everyone believing 'Jesus is the Christ' is born of God." John went on to point out that believing is a trust response and that there can be no relationship with God except through Jesus.

Faith's initial act of trust ushers us into a new world in which we love God and demonstrate that love by obedience. The presence of eternal life now means that we will be able to overcome problems that trouble us. We will be strengthened by the eternal life that has taken root within our personalities. The things that are impossible for us today will become possible tomorrow.

Faith's testimony (1 John 5:6-12). The meaning of verse 6 is obscure, and is the subject of much debate. The verse identifies Jesus as "the One who came by water and blood" not by water only. Did John mean "came into the world"? Or "came into our lives"? Or perhaps he simply meant "presented Himself to us." Does the water speak of the bag of waters in the mother, that breaks just before the child is born? If so, John referred to the Incarnation, and affirmed the fact that Jesus, God's Son, entered the world as a Human Being to live in space and time and history. His presence was verified by men, and recorded for all generations to come.

Or does the water refer to Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan River, the initiation of His public ministry?

Does the blood refer to the sacrificial death through which Jesus freed us? Certainly, this is the central New Testament usage of the term.

Or did John use both terms in a very specific way, to echo what he wrote in his Gospel that on Golgotha "one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water"? (John 19:34)

Whatever John may have in mind for the first two sources of testimony, he added a third that is very clear. God the Holy Spirit gives a testimony to each believer that is in harmony with the other two. History tells us of Jesus' birth as a Man. Scripture records His death and resurrection and explains the meaning of those events. As we hear the Gospel story, God's own Holy Spirit confirms its truth within us. These three witnesses provide a unified testimony to Jesus that we can accept, for God's testimony is sure. When we hear and believe, we know; God the Spirit confirms the truth within our hearts (1 John 5:10).

What of those who hear the Gospel promise of life and prefer to seek God in someone or something other than Jesus? John's answer was clear and unequivocal. Such a person has made God out "to be a liar because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son" (v. 10). Since eternal life is only in the Son, "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life' (v. 12).

The claim that Jesus is the only way to God angered the people of the first century. They wanted to search for God in their own ways. They wanted their philosophies, their gods and goddesses who embodied human passions and reflected the image of man. Today too people demand the right to do their own thing in morals and religion. They reject the idea of an absolute.

But John was not concerned with what people want to believe about God. John was concerned with reality. The fact is that God has spoken. He has said that only in Jesus can life be found. You or I may reject what He says, but our rejection will not change reality.

It's important for us to grasp the implications of the unchangeable nature of God's Word. Conferences and councils may meet and announce changes in doctrine and practice. Those who claim to represent the church may announce that homosexuality is now acceptable, but that will not change the fact that God condemns that lifestyle. Some who claim to represent the church can announce that as we evangelize, we must respect the good in other religions, and never suggest that their traditional faith might not lead to God. But God says that life can be found only in Jesus.

Today, as in John’s Day, we need to communicate to a hopeless world not the acceptable illusion people desire, but the reality they need. Jesus, God's Son, is the promise of victory and the only way to God.

John's concluding remarks summarize and apply his teaching. John helps us to realize how great a gift we have received in Jesus, and in each other.

Prayer (1 John 5:13-15). Our whole attitude toward prayer is changed when we know we possess eternal life now. We are not probationers, waiting uncertainly just outside the door until death ushers into life. No, John wrote so that we who believe "may know that you have eternal life" (v. 13). How does such knowledge affect our prayers? John explained that it gives us "assurance...in approaching God" (v.14).

Will God accept us? Have our failures made Him angry? Will God turn His back on us because of some inner attitudes that lurk, still unchanged, in our personalities?

Or will He ignore us because of some habits we are not yet able to break? Such fears keep us from praying with confidence.

But John's letter has quieted these fears.

There have been failures, but the blood of Christ cleanses. Sin, confessed, forgiven, and forgotten is no barrier to fellowship with God. Is an inner attitude still warped?

Are aspects of my lifestyle still unchanged?

John told us we have eternal life through faith in Jesus. We will see His life in us overcome our shortcomings.

With such concerns laid to rest, what should be our major prayer concern? Only that what we ask what we desire, be what God wants too. Whatever we ask that fits His will, we can be sure we will have.

It does not usually refer to God's decree or unalterable plan, but what God desires to happen. We might say that praying in God's will means harmonizing our wishes and desires with God's.

How is such a harmony possible? First, God reveals His values, attitudes, plans, purposes, and intentions to us. We know, for instance, that the pride of possessions that motivates people of the world is rejected by God. He values persons, not things. It follows then that a request to God expressing a prideful desire for possessions is not according to His will. We can expect such a request to be refused. But we can expect a request that is in harmony with God's own deep concern for persons to be heard and granted. So, understanding and adopting God's values helps us pray in His will.

It is also possible for us to pray according to God's will because the Holy Spirit lives within us. His voice is heard by believers. He can lead us to desire and pray for those things God wants for us.

It's important to realize that John is not stating a "condition" we must meet before we can expect God to answer prayer. Just the opposite! With our relationship to God established in Christ, we can approach God with confidence. As God the Spirit works within us, our prayers will more and more harmonize with God's will. We can look forward to answered prayer as a daily experience in our Christian lives.