The Epistle of 1 John – Part Fourteen

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the fourteenth part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

1 John 4:13-14

“We know that we live in him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

 

Here in these verses John shares the ninth mark of a Christian. They have the Holy Spirit within them and experience the ministry of God’s Spirit.

 

In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul tells us that when we heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior that we were marked with a seal. This seal is the indwelling within us of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guaranteed deposit that we will inherit the Kingdom of God and live in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. This passage states; “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.”

 

The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to minister to us (John 16:8) and part of this ministry is to convict us of sin. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that we can grieve the Holy Spirit when we go against His guidance. When we experience godly guilt in such situations it demonstrates that we are a Christian. If we weren’t a follower of Christ we would not have the Holy Spirit within us and we would not be aware of grieving Him in our sinful actions. As a Christian, our response to this conviction of grieving the Holy Spirit is extremely critical. If we ignore such conviction, we continue to grieve God’s Spirit within us as well as our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The other effect of ignoring sin is that it can harden our heart. If we confess our sins as a Believer we can restore our fellowship with the Spirit. So we should seek at all times to respect the Holy Spirit and listen to Him as He strives to minister to us.

 

There are many other ways the Holy Spirit ministers to us as a Believer. In Galatians 5:22-26 we see the many fruits of the Spirit that can manifest in our heart, mind and soul as we stay in step with the ministry of God’s Spirit within us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

 

As the Holy Spirit ministers to us we take on His nature and so these “fruits” of the Spirit will become a part of who we are as a person, a child of God.

 

1 John 4:15-16

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

 

Here in verses 15 and 16 we see John repeat two of his marks of a Christian. As a follower of Christ we can recognize a false teacher when we hear them deny that Jesus is God. We can also identify a false teacher when they fail to love as God loves. These same observations can be applied to us to encourage us that we are truly saved. If we are living in a manner that reflects a love and respect for Jesus because we know He is God in the flesh we verify we are a Christian. If we love others in a godly way consistently, then this also can verify we are a true follower of Christ.

 

1 John 4:17-18

“In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

John was very sensitive to the fact that Christians might at times dread the return of Christ and the judgment of God. Christians who had come out of a Jewish background knew the harshness of the Law and could possibly doubt that they had been forgiven of their sins. Followers of Christ who were Gentiles might doubt the depth of God’s love and forgiveness because it was so radical when compared to the world around them. John wanted the Christians in Asia Minor to know that as they lived in obedience to Christ and loved others appropriately they could have a confidence of their salvation. God’s perfect love for us has the ability to drive out any fear, concern or doubt if we allow ourselves to experience it through submission and obedience to the Lord. We also gain confidence in our salvation when we express this godly love towards others. We have nothing to fear as a follower of Christ because we have first hand experience with God’s perfect love being poured out on our lives. As a forgiven sinner we have been acquitted of any judgment for our sins and can stand before our Heavenly Father with a clear conscience because we not only have been saved from our sins we live our life in accordance with God’s Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we live in fear of the return of Jesus, we have either not fully understood or embraced the love of God or we have not been living in obedience as we should. May we take the encouragement in these two verses and apply them to our lives so that we can live our lives as Believers not with fear and but with love.

 

1 John 4:19-21

“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says,

 

“I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

 

Here John repeats another acid test to prove you are a true follower of Christ, if you love others because you know God loves you. If we claim to be a Christian but fail to love people in our life as we should, then John is calling us a liar. We can only love in a godly way if we know God first loved us and accept His love. John makes a very logical statement. You can’t say you love God who is invisible if you can’t love your fellow man or woman whom you can see. In our society today words are cheap and the word “love” has too many meanings. We “love” pizza. We “loved” that movie. We “love” doing fun things with our friends. We “love” to take a vacation. The love John speaks about through all these epistles is the deep godly love called “agape” love. This love is sacrificial. It puts the needs of others above our own. It does not require love to be returned or expressed. It is a selfless love that desires the best for another, seeks to fulfill the needs of another, seeks to bear burdens and hardships so others may have a better life. It does not seek reward, praise, honor, glory or payment for its expression. This is the love that Jesus Christ had for us and if He lives in us, we will express this love to all those around us.

 

1 John 5

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”

 

John is known for his constant repetition of the precepts of Christian truth and here he again repeats what we have heard before. One mark of a Christian is that they believe Jesus is born of God. Another mark is that they love God and love His children. Yet another mark is that they love God and demonstrate their love by obeying His commands.

 

Literally in the original Greek, 1 John 5:1 reads:

 

“Whoever is continuing to believe that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”

 

In other words: Continual faith is the result of new birth in Christ. Christians persevering in the faith gives evidence that they have been saved.

 

Those who permanently fall away from the faith were never really saved. Consider this truth in the parables of the soil in Matthew 13 and Mark 4. The soil that was shallow and the soil that was full of thorns would reflect those individuals who superficially believe the Truth, but fail to let it take root or let the distractions of the world choke it out. John also discussed this issue in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” John knew that even though the false teachers claimed to have a relationship with God they were not believers because of their false beliefs and failure to love others. Eventually their fake Christianity caused them to leave the local church.

 

Jesus often spoke of obedience and that it is linked directly to love for Jesus as well as love for our Heavenly Father.

 

John 14:21

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

John 14:23-24

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

 

The apostles also spoke of the importance of obeying God’s commandments out of love for Him.

 

Hebrews 5:9

“and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

 

1 Peter 1:14

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”

 

1 Peter 1:22

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

 

John states here in 1 John 5:1 that the commands of Christ are not burdensome and this is because we love God so deeply that we take joy in obeying Him. We know His commands bring us life and joy and it is not a burden to obey His wise, truthful, meaningful commands.

 

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

Psalms 119:14-16, 119:97, 103 as well as other passages speak of how God’s decrees, laws, commandments and words are a delight, sweet and enjoyable to follow and obey. Let us obey in love!