The Evidence of Real Faith

The Real Thing collection of talks concludes with Ben Stuart teaching 1 John 5. Join us as he gives us the evidence, substance, and benefits of the real faith we have found in Jesus.

John wrote this letter to a group of churches that he loved. He wanted them to know that when it comes to faith in God and truly knowing Him, they have the real deal. He wrote so they “would know they have eternal life” and spent the letter giving them a list of evidence to give them confidence.

In 1 John 5:1-5, John gives them the evidence of faith. He’s gone over these before, but now He’s putting them together. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, then you have been born of God. John begins and ends this paragraph with the belief in Jesus because that’s where our lives begin and end. John’s first evidence that they belong to God is their belief, and if they do believe that, they’ve been born of God.

John moved from believing to loving. Everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. If you believe in Jesus and love God, you are in God’s family. Therefore, you love your spiritual siblings. He has already expanded this evidence in chapter 4. How do you know you’re God’s? You love Him and you love others. You cannot love God and keep His commands without loving His kids. The reverse is also true.

How can John say that God’s commands are not burdensome? We must remember from chapter 2 that when John talks about the world, he means the internal forces of temptation that prevent obedience. The world is where the enemy rules. Pride and list rule the day, but God’s commands aren’t burdensome because you switched families. God transferred you out of the Kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of His Son, so the power over you is different and allows you to do things you couldn’t do before. The reason we can love selflessly is that Jesus changed something in us. We didn’t accomplish it; Jesus did. So, how do we overcome the world? We believe in Jesus, who holds the victory.

Next, John starts talking about the substance of real faith in 1 John 5:6-12. What does he mean when he says Jesus came by the water and the blood?

John was fighting an early form of Gnosticism, which taught that when Jesus was baptized, the spirit came upon him and he did and taught wonderful things, but then the spirit left him and he got himself killed. Therefore, they honored the teachings after his baptism as an inspired man through the point that the spirit left. Apart from that, Jesus was an ordinary man, and his death meant nothing. John shoots this false teaching down and corrects them for taking the Church’s words and redefining them. John reminds them that Jesus was the Christ from the beginning, and when He came to His baptism, the Spirit testified along with the Father that the identity of Jesus is the Christ as His ministry began. Then at His death, He came by the blood with His death on the Cross. His blood purified us from our sin as our propitiation. Therefore, the Cross is everything because it transferred us from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God. The same Jesus that got baptized and identified as God’s Son is the same Jesus who died on the Cross. God testified to all this by the earth breaking open, the darkened sky, and the Temple curtain being torn in two. The Spirit of God resurrected Him from the dead. The water, the blood, and the Spirit all agree - all are the testimony of God. John reasons that if you call Jesus something else, then you call God a liar.

Last, John moves to the benefits in 1 John 5:13-21. We are assured that we have eternal life, that He hears anything we ask for according to His will, and He will give it. God is giving us confidence in prayer. He wants to hear from us. He won’t give you everything you want because no parent does. However, when you ask according to His will, He’ll give you what you need because He’s a good and loving Father.

As you come in confidence in prayer, pray for your brother or sister who is struggling in sin. God doesn’t take away salvation, so you can pray for them and trust God will give them life. Believers do sin, but they don’t continue in it because God has gone to work in them. However, if someone rejects Jesus, that is the sin that leads to death. John isn’t saying don’t pray for non-Christians. He’s saying that you don’t have to keep chasing those who continually reject and oppose Jesus.

We know that we won’t keep sinning. We know we are from God. We know Jesus came and gave us understanding so that we may know Him who is true. We are in Him, and He is real. So, don’t settle for anything less.