¹³ I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. ¹⁵ And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.¹⁶ If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. ¹⁷ All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

¹⁸ We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. ¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

²¹ Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Final Remarks

I considered breaking up this passage into a number of days, however, I felt like John was trying to wrap up everything he’s written in his letter in one overall summary. It is clear from these words that John had a deep love for those who he ministered among.

Remember, John is living in Ephesus as he writes these words. He has been with these people for a few years now, but not his entire life. He has seen most of his ministry peers (Peter, Andrew, James, Matthew, etc.) put to death for their faith. He knows that he will likely follow the same fate at some point. And so, he looks out at the next generation of Christ followers, and he loves them. He encourages them to be confident in how they come to God, to hold each other accountable, and to never lose sight of the great calling to love God and love others.

I can’t think of better words to end with.

My prayer: Father, I thank you for all you have done in my life. I am reminded of the people who invested in my own spirituality. Ministers who willingly took the time to speak life into me. They challenged and encouraged and ministered to me on a regular basis. I thank you for them. I also thank you for the opportunity to speak into the lives of others. I think of those who have stepped out into full time ministry over the years. I am grateful for each of them. Thank you that all of us have the opportunity to speak into the lives of others if we choose to do so. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁶ And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. ⁷ So we have these three witnesses—⁸ the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. ⁹ Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. ¹⁰ All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

¹¹ And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

Testify

This is one of those passages that causes most people to go, “huh?!?” After all, at first glance, it’s not very clear what John is talking about. Of course, that’s the challenge for those of us who are reading these words almost 2000 years after they were first written.

You see, in order to understand what John is talking about, you have to know some of the teachings of the Gnostics. One of those teachings was that Jesus was born fully human. The Spirit of God didn’t enter Jesus until his baptism. And then, just before his death, the Spirit of God once again departed, leaving Jesus only a man at his death.

John has spent his entire letter defending the belief that Jesus was fully God and fully man at his birth and at his death. And that’s his point in this passage. Using terminology that Gnostics would fully understand (water and blood), he makes the point that both testify, along with the Spirit of God, that Jesus was the Christ: God incarnate.

My point is this: there are times when the best way to make a point is to take the very terminology most comfortable with  those in your audience and use that terminology to introduce the message of God’s love. If you’re talking to a biker, use language that a biker will understand. To a doctor, introduce God’s love using medical terminology. It may mean that others who are peaking in at the words you write (or say) may struggle to understand them (unless they understand the context), but you must be true to your target audience.

My prayer: Lord, far too often we expect our audience to understand our terminology. In many church circles, we’ve come up with language that those outside the church simply do not understand. Show me the ways in which I miss my target audience, and help me to always speak in a way that is easy for others to relate. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. ² We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. ³ Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Faith

Do you remember why John was writing this letter? He wrote it around the same time that he wrote his Gospel. During that time, a group called Gnostics were making a lot of noise. For this group, the pursuit of knowledge was more important than anything else. John’s gospel, and his letters, were a response to the gnosticism that was creeping into the church.

Gnostics would focus so much energy on gaining knowledge that they would neglect the people around them. Their spirituality was wrapped up in books, learning, and debating truth. They looked down on those who were less educated and saw them as also being less spiritual.

So, John comes along as says, “Guys, it’s rather simple. If you believe that Jesus was the Christ, you’re a child of God. And, as a child of God, all you need to do is follow his commandments. And that’s not burdensome. Because his commandments can be summed up in loving God and loving others. By the way, all of this happens through faith.”

Of course faith is having confidence in something you cannot fully see or know. In a way, it’s the opposite of gnosticism. Faith is accepting that God’s ways are beyond our ways and while we can love God with all we are, we will never fully know or understand everything there is about God. Salvation doesn’t come in knowing all about God, it comes from having faith that God knows everything about us and yet still loves us.

My prayer: Lord, you know that I love knowledge. I love to learn and discover new things. And in itself, that is not wrong. You welcome our desire to discover. In fact loving you with my mind is all about learning more. However, may my pursuit of knowledge never push away my pursuit of you. You are far greater than anything I could ever learn. Amen.

Until tomorrow.