1 John Chapter 5 Verses 1-5

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1 1 John Chapter 5 Verses 1-5 NKJV Notes by Pastor Mike Sasso Your Spiritual ID Introduction Have you ever been asked to show your ID to a police officer or an authority of some kind? There are times you need to prove who you are. And who you are makes a difference. Depending upon your age, citizenship, or class, you may be granted or denied access. There will come a day when every man, woman and child will have to present their spiritual ID to God. Your spiritual identification will determine whether you make it into heaven or not. And your spiritual identification will also affect the progress and productivity of your life here on earth. Along with your spiritual ID comes certain valuable rights and powers. Let s examine together the crucial elements of our spiritual ID that we might know and stand in our rights as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. STUDY NOTES: verses 1-5 v. 1 Whoever This is an open invitation including all who believe. It doesn t matter what prejudice you may have against a person. If they believe that Jesus is the Christ, they are born of God and they are your brother or sister. So wipe away all your preconceived qualifications for being a Christian and adjust to the truth of God s word. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God! The family of God is bigger than most people would accept. Believes This is the Greek word pisteuo. It means to put your trust in and rest your confidence upon. If a person really believes in what God says through Jesus Christ it will definitely change the way they think and act. For instance, if you believed that the building you were in was about to explode, you would quickly leave the building. If you believed that the medicine your doctor offers you would cure your terminal disease, you will take that medicine. You d probably even be willing to take every piece of advice doctor gives you for your cure. Likewise, true faith is not just something that happens in your head. It affects your heart and your actions. That Jesus is the Christ The word Christ here simply means anointed one. It was understood by every Jew to be referring to the promised Messiah. The Old Testament scriptures are full of details describing what the Messiah would be like and what He would do. Therefore, to believe that Jesus is the Christ would mean that you believed Jesus to be the person God has been promising would come. It also means that you believe that every description of the Messiah in the Old Testament applies to Jesus. Therefore, if you believe Jesus is the Christ according to the Old Testament Prophecies You believe He is virgin born, Immanuel (God with us) - Isaiah 7:14 You believe He is the sacrifice for the sins of the world Isaiah 53

2 You believe that He resurrected from the dead Psalm 16:10 You believe He is the Son of God Psalms 2:7-12 You believe He will someday rule all nations as the Mighty God Isaiah 9:6-7 You believe that He is that one, most important Prophet and that following Him is a matter of life or death Deuteronomy 18:15-19 The People s New Testament commentary makes the following comment on this verse - This belief, accepted in the heart, confessed with the mouth, and perfected by the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; James 2:22) makes one a child of God. Is Born of God - This is a phrase describing one who has not only been born of man according to the flesh, but born of the Spirit. John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. It is of utmost importance that you be born of God. Jesus said that unless you are born of God or born again you cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). For more understanding on this most important truth, see John 3:3-19 and 1 Peter 1: And Everyone Who Loves Him who Begot Begot means to be the father of. Him who begot refers to the God Father. Also Loves Him Who is Begotten of Him Everyone who truly loves the Father will also love the one begotten of the Father. This refers first of all to Jesus Christ. Secondly, it refers to all those who are born of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The NLT puts this verse this way: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. v. 2 By This We Know That We Love the Children of God - Contrary to popular belief, there is a way to tell if there is truly love in someone s heart for God and the children of God. But notice who this verse gives you the right to judge - we. This verse is not given that we might judge others. It is a verse given to judge ourselves. When We Love God and Keep His Commandments To love God is actually synonymous with keeping His commandments. John 14;21a He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me... If you are living in disobedience to God, that is evidence that you don t really love God. To claim to love God and at the same time live in open sin is contradictory. This person does not love God and is living a lie. This is a concept we should each use to check our own hearts rather than to seek to judge others with.

3 v. 3 For This is the Love of God, That We Keep His Commandments If you really want to know what love for God looks like, here it is. Again, Jesus put it this way in John 14:23a NLT All those who love Me will do what I say... And His Commandments are not Burdensome The commandments we have been reading about that come from God through Jesus are not unreasonable, extreme or grievous. Consider Jesus summation of God s commandments in Matthew 22:37-40: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Every commandment from God is based upon love. If we love God we will not use His name in vain, neglect weekly worship gatherings, worship idols, have other gods before Him, etc. If we truly love our neighbor we will not lie to him, steal from him, kill him, covet his property, etc. Therefore, if we are walking in love it is not burdensome or difficult to walk in obedience to God s commandments. On the other hand, those who do not have the love of God dwelling in them would find God s commandments burdensome, unnatural and impossible to keep. v. 4 For Whatever is Born of God Overcomes the World John is declaring here that anyone born of God, no matter how seemingly weak or vulnerable they may be, overcomes the world! The world has already been described for us in 1 John 2:16 - For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life Therefore John is saying that because of the Spirit of God who is dwelling in us through new birth we have the power to overcome every temptation. Remember what John has written us in the previous chapter. 1 John 4:4: You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. It s great to know that our secret to overcoming the world does not depend upon our not making any mistakes but upon the perfect God in whom we trust. And This is the Victory That Has Overcome the World Our Faith Remember what faith is. The word for faith used here is the Greek word pistis, which means to trust in, rely on, and cling to. If you are trusting in, relying upon, and clinging to Jesus you have victory. Failure comes when we trust in, rely upon, or cling to anything besides Jesus Christ. The key to the victorious Christian life is dependant upon our trusting and relying upon Jesus. Peter put this into perspective when he wrote who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5). v. 5 Who is He Who Overcomes the World, but He Who Believes that Jesus is the Son of God? John now summarizes what he has been saying only with one slight change of words. Instead of stressing belief in Jesus as the Christ, he now stresses belief in Jesus as the Son of God. This is an emphasis upon the divine nature of Jesus. This phrase son of God is found in the Old Testament Scriptures only once in Daniel 3:25. But the concept that God has a son is alluded to in other Old Testament texts such as Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment?

4 Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son s name, if you know? This again is a strong hint to Christ, His preexistence and His deity. Christ is divine in that He is the only one who can claim to be begotten of the Father. See John 1:14,18; 3:16,18 for further study. Jesus is the Son of God in a way that very much differs from our being sons and daughters of God. Jesus came forth from all eternity out of the very person of the Godhead. He coexisted with God in all eternity past. And He created all things (See John 1:1-3, 14-18; Colossians 1:14-17, 2:8-9; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-8). On the other hand, we were born of God out of sinful flesh and given a new nature through Christ (Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9b-10). TRUTH APPLIED: 1. What does it mean when we say that Jesus is the Christ? 2. According to this text, how can you tell if someone really loves God? Whose life should we be judging by this test? 3. What in your opinion is the most important thing taught in today s text? 4. Is there anything troubling or confusing to you in this text? If so, bring it up for discussion. 5. What does this text teach us about Jesus Christ?

5 6. Does it really matter what a person believes? Why? Support your answer with scripture. 7. What is the key to living a victorious Christian life? Explain your answer. 8. What does it mean to be born of God? Is everyone in your small group confident that they are born of God? If there are any that are uncertain you should discuss and resolve this most important issue for them. CONCLUSION: What a delight to study God s word and discover truth that sets you free! The more you study God s word, the more you appreciate Jesus! Jesus is the divine Son of God and the eternal God the Son. He is the Christ, the promised Messiah. And He is the one who brings sure salvation and victory to all who believe in Him. Glory to Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Mike Sasso