(Audio version; Music: "How Deep The Father's Love" and "More And More Of You" by: WorshipMob)
Introduction
I don’t know how well
versed you are on entertainment icons but this week one of those icons passed
away after a long battle with cancer. David Robert Jones better known as David
Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, painter and
actor. Bowie battled cancer for eighteen months but died on January 10th
at the age of 69. I wasn’t a huge fan even though I am quite familiar with his
various works. However, many people in the entertainment industry considered
him to be a brilliant and amazingly talented artist and performer. Bowie
released twenty-six albums and had acting roles in twenty-two films. He
received fourteen prestigious music awards and was nominated for fifty-two
more. Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he has a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he was made a commander of the France’s Order of
Arts and Letters, he received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of
Music, he evidently declined the honor of Britain’s Commander of the Order of
the British Empire, and he was officially conferred knighthood. Bowie was
inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and, finally, an
asteroid and a spider were named in his honor. Is it possible for someone with
that list of accomplishments to have left something unfinished? It hardly seems
possible but Bowie neglected to pursue the only thing that ultimately matters.
Before he died, he left us with a quote that has been widely circulated and
applauded by the world as his last great contribution to our society. Bowie
said, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I promise it won’t be boring.” What
many saw as a final inspiration, left me feeling sad and sorry for a man who
had accomplished so much but failed to accomplish the most important thing in
life—to Know Where You’re Going.
Subject Text
1 John 5:1-13
1Everyone
who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves
the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we
love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This
is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for
everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome
the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only
he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 6This is the one who
came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by
water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the
truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit,
the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept
man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of
God, which he has given about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the
Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has
made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has
given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I
write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you
may know that you have eternal life.
Context
At this point, John is
an old man—perhaps the oldest surviving apostle. This letter wasn’t written to
anyone or any church in particular but was intended to be circulated throughout
the Christian community. The purpose of the letter was to encourage
faithfulness and combat false teachings within the Church. Given the high
Christology of John’s gospel, it is interesting to note that John’s focus
changes somewhat from his gospel. John’s gospel focuses heavily on the divine
nature of Jesus Christ and rightly so. John communicates very clearly in his
gospel, unlike the other gospel writers, that Jesus is God. And the most famous
verse in his gospel, or perhaps in all the Bible, is found in John 3:16 when he
says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John’s first letter
expanded on the question of why God would go to such extremes to save us. In
the chapter immediately preceding our Subject
Text, John reveals God’s motive for why He would allow His only Son to be
killed on our behalf—because He loves us deeply. John says that God loves us
deeply because “God is love (1 Jn 4:16).” John’s emphasis has a specific
trajectory that begins with God’s love for us that leads to our love for Him
that leads to our belief in His Son that ultimately leads to eternal life.
God’s love opens the door for us to receive eternal life.
Text Analysis
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This
is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out
his commands.
There is considerable
theology that is assumed in vv. 1-2 that
may not be immediately obvious so let me try and fill in some of the blanks. Very
early in John’s gospel he records Jesus clearing the temple of merchants and
money-changers. The Jews demanded that He show them some kind of miracle to
demonstrate His authority over matters concerning God’s temple. Jesus said that
if the Temple is destroyed, He would raise it in three days. The Jews reminded
Him that it took forty-six years to build the temple, which made His claim to
rebuild it in three days inconceivable. Jesus was, of course, referring to
Himself as the Temple and His resurrection after three days as the culmination
of rebuilding the Temple. This only made sense to the apostles after He rose
from the dead. The other Jews, especially the religious leaders, dismissed His
claims. Except, that is, for one of the religious leaders—Nicodemus. Later that
day, under cover of night, Nicodemus visited Jesus where He was staying to
learn more from Jesus—Nicodemus was captivated by Jesus. Nicodemus’ encounter
with Jesus is where we learn about being born again. There in John 3:1-8 is
where we get the theology of being a born-again Christian. Jesus tells
Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to the flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the
spirit…You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its
sounds, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is
with everyone born of the Spirit.” And there is the tie-in to v. 1a of our Subject Text. Since the Holy Spirit is God, being “born of the
Spirit” from Jn 3:8 and “born of God” from our Subject Text are saying the same thing.
When we read v. 1b, we wrongly assume that John is
talking about God the Father and His Son when he references “the father and his
child.” In a sense he is, but I don’t believe John is referring to Jesus when
he refers to the father’s child. I believe he is referring to us—to believers. Again,
John tells us in his gospel, “To all who received him [Jesus], to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born
not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (Jn 1:12).” There is, or at least
there should be, two natural consequences of being followers of Jesus—To love
God and love one another (Mt 22:37-40). Jesus said that the world would know we
are His disciples because of our love for one another (Jn 13:34-35). And that
is the link to v. 1b.
Finally, like all
healthy relationships, we have a duty to act in a certain way and v. 2 tells us that if we love God then
we will do what He says we should do or not do what He says we shouldn’t. As I
noted previously, one of God’s commands to us is to love one another. Jesus
tells us exactly this in John’s gospel when He says to His disciples, “If you
love Me, keep My commandments (Jn 14:15).” And this is where v. 2 of our Subject Text ties in.
So you see that there is
a significant amount of presumed theology in these two short verses—we are
born-again by the power of God the Spirit (cf. Jn 3:3; 1 Jn 5:1a); as born-again believers in Jesus we are children of God
(cf. Jn 1:12; 1 Jn 5:1b); as
born-again children of God, we demonstrate our love for Him by being obedient
to Him (cf. Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 5:2). “These
verses present the opposite of what we expect—that we know that we love the
children of God by loving God and carrying out his commands. We expect to hear
that we demonstrate our love for God by loving our brothers. The opposite
appears. This demonstrates that love is a central characteristic. As a genuine
mark of a born-again heart, it goes both ways: toward God and toward our
brothers.”[1]
3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his
commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who
is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God.
There is again a
considerable amount of theology buried in vv.
3-5. There is also evidence of some Rabbinic practice hinted at in v. 3. Specifically, the reference to
burdensome commands hints at the Rabbinic practice. During Jesus’ time, Rabbis,
or teachers, had students that would follow them around and do the same things
their teachers would do. Their daily tasks of studying and memorizing the
Scriptures as well as all the ritual practices were tedious and tiresome—you
might even say they were burdensome. Jesus, on the other hand, told his
followers that His demands as a teacher were different—His demands weren’t
burdensome at all (Mt 11:30). And what does Jesus demand? To love God and love
one another. We love God by being obedient to the Scriptures and we love one
another by pointing others toward Jesus. And here’s the interesting correlation
to vv. 4-5: The world will hate us
because of our faith in and obedience to Jesus. Jesus warns us that we will be
hated and have trouble in the world but that we can take comfort in knowing
that He has overcome the world (Jn 16:33). Consequently, it is a logical
progression that if we are born-again then we are able to overcome the world
because Jesus has overcome the world.
“ ‘The fact that we hold
the true faith from our hearts is the means whereby the power of the new world
operates in us and enables us to overcome the world.’ The particular nature of
the victory is variously understood. It could refer to (1) Christ’s
once-for-all victory on the cross over Satan, sin, and the world; (2) the
believers’ victory over the heretics; or (3) the victory that occurs at the
conversion of the individual believer. ‘[There is] no way to be certain as to
which past action John means here.’ Ultimately, these three elements are all
included in the final victory. The ground of our victory is Christ’s death and
resurrection. From that work believers will have victory over all that is in
opposition to God. Daily victory is also granted to the individual believer,
but he must exercise faith in Christ and be active in his pursuit of God.”[2]
6This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus
Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the
Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there
are three that testify: 8the Spirit, the water and the blood; and
the three are in agreement. 9We accept man’s testimony, but God’s
testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given
about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this
testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be
a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
John is doing something
very important for us in vv. 6-10.
He is giving us the basis for Jesus’ humanity and His divinity. There is
probably nothing more important than our belief that Jesus is both fully God
and fully man. He could not have accomplished His task of salvation any other
way. You see, as a man He is able to empathize with humanity. He understands
our struggles with a sinful world. He understands the joy of human life and He
understands the sorrow of human life. He also understands the damage that sin
has caused. Jesus understood that sins against an eternal God are eternal sins
that could not be atoned for with the blood of animals. Instead, Jesus knew
that only an eternal sacrifice would atone for eternal sins against an eternal
God. That’s why Jesus’ divinity is so important. Jesus was able to atone for
the eternal sins created by humanity because Jesus is the eternal God.
To say that Jesus came
by water and blood is to say that Jesus was born through a natural human birth.
To say that the Spirit testifies to who He is reminds us of the events
surrounding Jesus’ baptism when the Spirit descended on Him like a dove and God
announced that Jesus was His Son that He loves (Mt 3:13-17) that reveals Jesus’
divine relationship to God. This is also why it is important to recognize the
importance of being born of God by the Spirit. The Spirit of God is our direct
connection with Jesus.
Unbelievers who reject
the testimony about Jesus haven’t been born-again by the Spirit so they
naturally reject our testimony about Jesus. “When people believe in the Son of
God, they know that everything the apostles taught about him is true. They know
without any doubt because the Spirit who regenerated them gives them an inner
witness to the fact that everything Jesus said and did was true. In fact, that
is the primary function of the Spirit—to testify and reveal Jesus to every
believer.
Those who don’t believe
the testimony that God has given concerning His son should realize that by
rejecting what God has so plainly said, they are calling God a liar. John was
blasting the false teachers who claimed to know God but did not believe what
God himself had said concerning his Son. This was logically impossible and
amounted to calling God a liar.”[3]
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he
who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these
things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know
that you have eternal life.
The Scriptures;
everything written in the Scriptures point to this revelation: That Jesus came
so we would have the chance to spend eternity with God. Jesus came so that we
would have a chance to know God and spend eternity with Him. When we have been
born-again by the Spirit, we possess within us a certainty of our future beyond
this life—a kind of promise or deposit we have received from Spirit (Eph
1:13-14). We don’t know everything about what it means to have eternal life but
those of us who know and love Jesus know we will spend eternity with Him after
this life. That’s what John is saying in vv.
11-13, if you believe in God’s testimony about His Son and you have been
born-again by the Spirit then you can live with the certainty in this life that
you will spend eternity with God in heaven, you Know Where You’re Going.
“Because God’s gift of
eternal life is given ‘in his Son’, it follows that he who has the Son has
life. What it means to ‘have the Son’ is closely related to believing in the
Son…Believing in the Son is closely connected with accepting the proclamation.
But the question remains: Is the expression ‘having the Son’ a synonym for
‘believing in the Son’? Or does ‘having’ the Son involve something more than
this? We get some help from the ‘abiding’ language of [John’s] Gospel. As far
as it relates to abiding in Christ, it denotes continuing loyalty and obedience
to Christ, but it is not exhausted by this. There is an ontological dimension
to it as well…
Allowing ourselves to be
guided by the relevant material in [John’s] Gospel, we may say that to ‘have
the Son’ means to be indwelt by the Son, something which, when viewed from the
human perspective, takes place when people believe in him. To have the Son is
to have eternal life because the Son himself is the eternal life that was with
the Father. He has eternal life in himself, and he gives eternal life to those
who believe in him.”[4]
Application
A few weeks ago, I
talked about the uncertainty of life and the importance of seeking God’s will
for direction and guidance. There are very few things we can know for certain
in life. David Bowie couldn’t have known for sure that he would have been so
wildly successful in the music and entertainment business. There are countless
talented people in the world who probably work just as hard as David Bowie did
but are not even remotely as successful. Even with tremendous talent and hard
work, nothing is for certain.
If you were to stop for
just a moment and think about it, what would be on your list of certainties? Your
career? Are you certain that you could never be replaced? Your good looks? Are
you certain your looks won’t fade with age? Your money? Are you certain that
you couldn’t lose your money? Your good health? Are you certain that you won’t
get sick and die? If you think long and hard, there are few things for certain
and that can be very disconcerting if we ponder it for too long. Taken to its
extreme, we could be driven to extreme insecurity and neurosis. Is it any
wonder that there are so many people, at least here in America, who suffer from
some form of mental health problems. It can be hard traveling through life
lost and with so much uncertainty swirling around us at all times.
There is one particular certainty that can soothe the angst and anguish of all other uncertainties in our lives. It is the certainty of God unfailing love for us and the certainty that we will spend eternity in heaven with Him if we put our trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When your money runs out, when your looks fade, when your health fails, when your career comes to a premature end, when your marriage ends in divorce, when your children turn their backs on you, God's love for you will be the one certainty in your life. David Bowie had everything a person could possibly want yet at the end of his life he didn't know where he was going. You see, fame and fortune can't buy your eternal certainty. And eternity is really all that matters because do you know how much fame and fortune David Bowie took with him when he died? None! And guess what? you won't take any of the things with you into eternity that you think give you security and certainty in this life. For those of you who have already put your faith in Jesus, I hope this lesson has served to dispel any lingering doubts you may have had about your eternal destiny. I wrote this lesson for the same reason that John wrote his pastoral letter--so you could be certain that as a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, you are going to spend eternity with Him when you die. For those of you who continue to reject God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, do you Know Where You're Going when you die?
[1]
David Walls and Max Anders, I & II
Peter, I, II, & III John, Jude—Holman New Testament Commentary,
(Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1999), p. 222.
[2]
Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John—The New
American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2001), p. 193.
[3]
Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary,
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 1167.
[4]
Colin G. Kruse, The Letters of John—The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2000), pp. 182-183.
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