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Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd.   P.O. Box #3762   Gillette, WY  82717   (307) 686-1516

 

- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 -

 

 

 

EVIDENCES OF SAVING FAITH - 2

 (1 John 5:6-13)

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

A.    Evidences of Familial Relationship (1Jn 3:1-10)

B.    Evidences of Love - Part 2 (3:11-18)

C.    Evidences of Truth (3:19-4:6)

D.    Evidences of Love - Part 3 (4:7-21)

E.    Evidences of Faith (5:1-5)

 

1.     Saving Faith is Continuous (1a)

2.     Saving Faith Exhibits Love for the Father (1b)

3.     Saving Faith Exhibits Love for the Children of God (1c)

4.     Saving Faith Exhibits Obedience for God’s Commands (2-3)

5.     Saving Faith Overcomes the World (4-5)

 

6.     Saving Faith Believes the External Evidence of Water and Blood (6-8)

 

a)    Jesus, the “Son of God” is the object of vs. 5 and becomes the subject of vs. 6. Jesus is the “Son of God” (vs. 5), which speaks of His deity, and the “Christ” (vs. 6), which speaks of His redemptive work on the cross.

b)    John describes Jesus the Christ as the one who came by “water and blood.”

(1)   Both of these descriptions refute the false teaching of men like Cerinthus, who believed the spirit Jesus departed from the human Jesus at the cross.

(2)   “Water” (húdor) speaks with reference to the baptism of Jesus.

(a)   It was at the baptism of Jesus that the Father and the Spirit confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and Savior (Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22).

(b)   It was also at the baptism of the Son of God that He identified Himself with sinful man as their mediator (Lk 3:21).

(3)   “Blood” (haíma) speaks with reference to Jesus’ death on the cross.

(a)   The blood confirmed that Jesus, the Son of God was human and that He indeed died (Jn 19:34).

(b)   The blood also confirmed that Jesus, the Son of God was man’s sacrificial atonement on the cross (Ro 5:9; Ep 1:7).

(4)   The external evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is not by His baptism (water) only, but also by His death (blood).

(5)   The Spirit, who is “the Truth” (cp. Jn 14:6), is the One who testifies to these things (Lk 3:22 cp. Jn 1:32).

c)     1Jn 5:7-8 state that the Spirit, Baptism (water), and substitutionary death of Christ (blood) testify to the person and work of Christ.

(1)   Furthermore, these three establish sufficient credible evidence to confirm the person and work of Christ.

(2)   The KJV reads, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

(3)   External manuscript evidence, however, is against them being in the original epistle. They do not appear in any Gr. mss. dated before ca. tenth century a.d. Only 8 very late Gr. mss. contain the reading, and these contain the passage in what appears to be a translation from a late recension of the Latin Vulgate. Furthermore, 4 of those 8 mss. contain the passage as a variant reading written in the margin as a later addition to the manuscript. No Greek or Latin Father, even those involved in Trinitarian controversies, quote them; no ancient version except the Latin records them (not the Old Latin in its early form or the Vulgate). Internal evidence also militates against their presence, since they disrupt the sense of the writer’s thoughts. Most likely, the words were added much later to the text. (The MacArthur Study Bible in loc.)

 

7.     Saving Faith Believes God’s Testimony about the Son (9-11)

 

a)    John uses a “lesser to greater” argument to testify about Christ. If in human courts, we accept the testimony of man, how much greater is God’s testimony (9).

(1)   It is a great and more reliable testimony because it is the testimony of God, and God is a God of truth who does not lie (Nu 23:19; 1Sa 15:29).

(2)   God has testified and continues to testify (perfect tense from marturéō) about His Son through His Word and through believers today.

b)    There are several propositions that John makes concerning God’s testimony about His Son (10).

(1)   The one who believes God’s testimony has an internal witness of the testimony through the Holy Spirit (cp. Ro 8:16; 1Jn 4:13).

(2)   The one who does not believe God’s testimony makes God out to be a liar.

(3)   The testimony is that God has given eternal life to sinful (11).

(4)   God testifies that eternal life is found only in the Son through His substitutionary death on the cross (Jn 14:6; Ac 4:12).

 

8.     Saving Faith Embraces the Son (12)

 

a)    Based on the previous fact that eternal life is found in the Son, there are two logical and simple conclusions.

b)    Either one has the Son and has life or he does not have the Son and does not have life.

c)     The term “has” in “has the Son” is an interesting Greek word. It is the simple Greek word échō and means to have, hold or possess. In terms of having the Son, one may think of the idea of embracing Christ. The arms of one’s faith desperately take hold of the Savior for salvation.

d)    When a person embraces Christ wit saving faith, he “possesses” (same word échō) eternal life. In addition, that person continues to have eternal life échō is a present participle (cp. Jn 5:24).

e)     However, the person who does not embrace Christ is in a constant state of not having eternal life (cp. Jn 3:36).

 

9.     Saving Faith Results in Eternal Life (13)

 

a)    John reveals his purpose for writing this epistle, which was to assure his readers how they could know if they had eternal life.

b)    “These things” were written “for the purpose that” (hína) believers would “know” (oida - know by perception and induction) that they possessed eternal life.

c)     It becomes a simple syllogism:

(1)   All those who believe on Christ possess eternal life.

(2)   The believers to whom John writes believe on Christ.

(3)   Therefore, the believers to whom John writes possess eternal life.

d)    John has given his readers the principles of truth whereby then can those who are true believers from those who are false teachers.

 

10.  Applications

 

a)    Assurance of the Word

b)    Assurance of the Truth

c)     Assurance of Salvation