Jim Peters

1 John 5:13-21

¹³ I have written this to you, who completely trust in the name of God’s Son, so that you will know that you have everlasting life. ¹⁴ This is the confidence that we have before him – if we ask for something according to (what) he wants, he hears us. ¹⁵ If we know he hears whatever we ask, we know we have the request that we asked for.

¹⁶ If anyone sees their brother committing[1] a sin (that doesn’t lead) to death, they are to ask and (God) will give life those who committed the sin (that didn’t lead) to death.  There is a sin (that leads) to death and I don’t say that they should ask (about) this.

¹⁸ We know that no one born to God sins, but (the One who) is born to God guards him and the evil (one can’t) touch him. ¹⁹ We know we are God’s (but)[2] that the whole world rests on the evil (one). ²⁰ We know God’s Son has come and given us understanding so that we (can) know (the One who is) true.  We are in (the One who is) true.  (We are) in His Son Jesus the Christ.  This is the true God and everlasting life.

²¹Little children, guard yourself from false gods.

Application

If John’s purpose in writing was so that people would have assurance of everlasting life, then surely one of my objectives must be to give that same assurance.  However, John makes it clear that there can be no assurance unless a person completely trusts in God’s Son, Jesus, is obeying God’s commands and unconditionally loving other people.

The assurance, however, is great.  God will give me everything that I ask for according to his will – i.e. God will give me everything I ask for if it lines up with what he wants.  This even extends to forgiveness for other people’s sins that don’t lead to death (whatever that means[1]).

If only verse 18 was always true in my life.  “We know that no one born of God sins…”  It’s followed by a reference to Jesus protecting me and that the evil one then can’t touch me.  I can only assume that as long as I am consciously living in Christ and he in me, that the devil can’t do anything to me and I therefore can be completely free from sin.  I have noticed that I seem to struggle less and less with most sin, but I need this constant protection and power to be free from it.  It must be possible to get to a place where pride, worry, bad temper, saying the wrong thing, etc. no longer have any place in my life.

Jesus is here so that I can know the God who is true and who is truth.  I am in him and he is everlasting life.  Why would I turn to anything else?

Prayer

Father, please change my heart and keep me in your presence so that I am free from all sin.  Help me to live out of the relationship that I have with you instead of the reactions that come from the flesh.  Show me how and lead me in a life of integrity filled with the Holy Spirit.

IJN Amen

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1 John 5:1-12

¹ Everyone (who) completely trusts that Jesus is the Christ[1] (which means the anointed[2] One) is born to God.  And everyone who unconditionally loves the Father loves those who are born to him. ² This is how we know that we unconditionally love God’s children – when we unconditionally love God and do (what) he commands. ³ This is God’s unconditional love – keep his commands and his commands aren’t heavy. ⁴ Everyone born to God conquers the world and this is the victory that has conquered the world – our complete trust.

⁵ Who conquered the world (except the person) that completely trusts that Jesus the Christ is God’s Son? ⁶ This (is the One who) came by water and by blood – Jesus the Christ.  (He didn’t) only (come) by water but with water and blood.  The Spirit is a witness because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ There are three witnesses: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood – and the three are one (meaning they agree).

⁹ If we accept[3] people’s testimony, God’s is greater.  This is God’s testimony – He has testified about his Son. ¹⁰ (Anyone who) completely trusts in God’s Son has this testimony in themself.  (Anyone who) doesn’t believe God has made him a liar because they haven’t completely trusted the testimony that God gave about his Son. ¹¹ This is the testimony: God has given us everlasting life and this life is in his Son. ¹²(Anyone who) has the Son has life but (anyone who) doesn’t have the Son doesn’t have life.

Application

A prerequisite for being born again, or born to God, is that I completely trust that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the One who God selected to come and save his people.  To be born to God, I need to unconditionally love the Father, but I can only unconditionally love the Father if I obey his commands.  The thing is that obeying God’s commands shouldn’t be hard.  The only time obeying God’s commands will be unpleasant is when I want to do my own thing instead of what he says.  This is the world tugging on my strings and I have conquered the world.  Most people think of conquering the world in the way Hitler did, where he wanted to rule everything.  However, God sees conquering the world as letting all the desires of the flesh go so that I can enjoy the life that God has for me.  Obeying God’s commands will end up being a joy if I overcome the world, and I have already overcome it in Christ.

God has given his own testimony about his Son and, if I believe people, I should certainly place much more value on what God says.  If I don’t believe in Jesus, I am calling God a liar because I don’t believe his word.  What God has said is that he gives me life, and life is found only in Jesus.  Anyone who has Jesus has life, but anyone who doesn’t have Jesus has no life at all.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the life that you give me in Jesus.  Thank you that in him I have overcome the world and all its enticements.  I choose to follow you, obey your commands and be all that you have called me to be.

Please fill me Holy Spirit and equip me to serve you with everything I am and have.

IJN Amen

© & ℗ IJN Publishing & Production 2010 – All rights reserved – This material may not be copied or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher

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1 John 4:12-21

¹² No one has ever seen God.  But, if you unconditionally love one another, God remains in you and unconditional love is complete. ¹³ This is how we know that we remain in him – He has given us his Spirit. ¹⁴ We’ve seen and we are witnesses (that) the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ (Anyone) who[1] freely speaks about Jesus as God’s Son (has) God remaining in them and they (remain) in God. ¹⁶ We know and believe in the unconditional love that God has for us.  God is unconditional love and (anyone one who) continues in unconditional love remains in God and God (remains) in them. ¹⁷ Love is completed in us by this (so that) we will have confidence on the judgement day because we are also in this world, as he is.

¹⁸ (There is) no fear in unconditional love.  Complete love does away with fear because fear has punishment (attached to it) and (the person who) fears is not completed in unconditional love. ¹⁹ We love unconditionally because he first loved us unconditionally.

²⁰ If someone says, “I love God unconditionally.” but hates their brother they’re a liar[2].  (Anyone who) doesn’t unconditionally love their brother who they’ve see cannot love God who they haven’t seen. ²¹This is the command we have from him: “Love God unconditionally and love your brother unconditionally, too.”

Application

One of the traits of God is that he is unconditional love.  Unconditional love isn’t something he does but who he is.  Unconditional love is the outward sign that I live in God and that he lives in me.

When I love unconditionally, not when I like someone, have romantic inclinations towards a person or put up with those who are slightly irritating (or worse), but when I sacrifice myself for people, I am displaying the character of God.  When I have Jesus as my Saviour and love God and other people unconditionally, then God lives in me.  This would be defined by my eager willingness to freely speak about Jesus everywhere I go and by me giving up my own rights and my own desires so that other people benefit.  How easy it is to be selfish and to look only to my own or my family’s needs!

If I don’t exercise unconditional love then there’s an excellent chance that God isn’t living in me and I’m not living in him.  Not only that, but right here in the Bible, John warns me that without unconditional love my life will be filled with fear.

There’s no fear for those who live in unconditional love and no judgement either.  But I mustn’t deceive myself.  It’s absolutely no good to say that I love God, if I hate someone else.  God has forgiven me and I need to forgive other people and give myself up for them as Jesus willingly gave himself up for me.

Prayer

Thank you God that you came as unconditional love to give your own life up for me, dying in the form of a man, God’s own Son, to take my sin and to remove the power that hate and unforgiveness have had over my life.  Please teach me how to love all people unconditionally so that I will be truly be able to love you.

IJN Amen

© & ℗ IJN Publishing & Production 2010 – All rights reserved – This material may not be copied or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher

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