1 John 5:13-17
We live in a world of many gods, but there is only one true and living God. Do you know the true God as your personal Saviour?
The Bible says in 1 John 5:13-17, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”
Our God is the true God. He and He alone is the true God. The Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New Testament are one and the same.
The Bible says in Isaiah 45:18-23, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else…I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right…Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save…Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me…Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else…I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
God says of Himself, “I am God, and there is none else.” It is wonderful that as John comes to the conclusion of this epistle, the Spirit of God leads him to pen this expression concerning the true God. John was a most privileged man to be in such intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. John was the man privileged to be the human penman for five books of the New Testament. As we come to the conclusion of this book, in these last verses, John brings us to the true God. The true God gives assurance that we have eternal life.
He is the God who cannot lie. The true God says that we can know that we have eternal life. The Bible says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Notice He says, “These things…” We must read through the entire epistle and mark “these things” as we find them. When “these things” are found in one’s life, the they give evidence of eternal life.
As we take this book as a whole, we find that there are specific birthmarks, spiritual birthmarks that identify the true believer in Jesus Christ. These are evidences of our salvation. They speak loudly of the fact that we have “passed form death unto life,” and that eternal life, the life of the Eternal One, is a present possession for each child of God.
The first birthmark is the birthmark of obedience. do you have an obedient heart? Obedience is a wonderful birthmark. 1 John 2:3-4 says, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments…He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
The second birthmark is he birthmark of love. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” Here God speaks of loving others with the love of Christ. Love is not a word; love is a deed. It is a commitment. It is one of the identifying birthmarks of a believer.
The third birthmark is the birthmark of truth. Remember that 1 John 4:6 says, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” If there has ever been a day when people want to talk about God without talking about the Lord Jesus Christ being God, this is the day. Almost everyone talks about God. They say, “We need to trust God. We need God in our lives. We need to pray to God.”
If you are a Christian, do not express yourself this way. Use the title, “The Lord Jesus Christ.” Express your faith in Jesus Christ and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be clearly identified by the birthmark of the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
The fourth birthmark is the birthmark of the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 4:13 the Bible says, “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is a Person. Just like you know people and you can call them by name and can become well-acquainted with some of them, you need to be acquainted with the Person of the Holy Spirit. Do you know the Holy Spirit? This is a birthmark of the believer. His indwelling presence is a birthmark of a true believer.
The fifth birthmark is the birthmark of the witness within. Consider 1 John 5:9-10,
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son…He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” Romans 8:16