Eternal Life in Jesus Christ
Beloved, 1 John 5 leads us beautifully from regeneration, faith, obedience, assurance, perseverance, and eternal life. These are not six separate roads. They are connected truths showing us what God does when He saves a sinner and how that saving work continues throughout the Christian life. God regenerates, the regenerated believe, faith produces obedience, obedience strengthens assurance, the believer perseveres because God keeps him, and all of it rests upon eternal life in Jesus Christ.
1. God Regenerates: 1 John 5:1 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” Notice the order. John does not say that everyone who believes will someday be born of God. He says the person who believes has been born of God. Before we ever reached toward Christ, God had to do something within us. A spiritually dead sinner cannot give himself spiritual life. God must give life to the dead heart. This is regeneration, the new birth, the work of God through His Holy Spirit.
2. The Regenerated Believe: The new birth produces faith. We do not believe because we were smarter than somebody else or because there was something better within us. We believe because God graciously opened our hearts and eyes to see Jesus Christ for who He truly is. God gives the new birth, and the regenerated sinner willingly comes to Christ in faith. This keeps us humble. We cannot look at another sinner and boast as if we figured something out that they did not. If we have come to Christ, it is because God first worked within us. Salvation begins with God's grace, not man's ability.
3. Faith Produces Obedience: John then connects faith with obedience. 1 John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
We must keep the order right. Our obedience does not cause our salvation. We are not saved because we keep God's commandments well enough. Obedience is not the root of salvation. It is the fruit of salvation. That does not mean Christians obey perfectly. We still struggle with sin, stumble, confess our sins, and run back to Christ. But something has changed. The believer now desires to please God. His commandments are the words of our Heavenly Father, and because we love Him, we desire to obey Him.
4. Obedience Strengthens Assurance John wants Christians to have assurance. 1 John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Notice that little word, know. John does not want God's children constantly wondering whether Christ is enough to save them. Yet Christian assurance is not arrogance. We do not say, “I know I am saved because I am such a good Christian.” Our assurance rests first upon Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished. Then we can look at the evidence of God's grace working within us. Do I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Do I love God's people? Do I desire to obey His Word? When I sin, does it trouble me and drive me back to Christ in repentance? These things do not earn salvation. They are evidence that God has done something within us. Christ is the basis of our salvation. Our growing obedience is evidence of His saving work. We must never reverse the two.
5. The Believer Perseveres Because God Keeps Him: 1 John 5:4 says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” Loved ones, the Christian life is not an easy walk. The world pulls at us, Satan tempts us, and our own flesh fights against us. Yet the one who has been born of God overcomes the world through faith in Christ. Even our perseverance rests upon something greater than our ability to hold onto Christ. We persevere because God preserves His people. The same God who gave us spiritual life continues His work within us. The grace that saves us also sustains us to the end. Some days our faith feels strong. Other days we feel as though we are barely standing. But our salvation does not rest upon the strength of our hands holding Christ. It rests upon Christ holding us. We continue because God continues His work within us.
6. Eternal Life Is in Jesus Christ: Finally, John brings everything back to its foundation. 1 John 5:11-12 says, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” There it is. Everything brings us back to Jesus Christ. Regeneration gives life to spiritually dead sinners. Faith lays hold of Christ. Obedience flows from belonging to Christ. Assurance rests upon Christ. We persevere because Christ keeps His people. Eternal life is found only in Christ.
Jesus lived the righteous life we could never live. He perfectly obeyed the Father where we have failed. He willingly went to the cross and bore the judgment our sins deserved. He truly died. He was buried, and on the third day He bodily rose from the grave victorious over sin and death. Our hope is not found in what we have done for Him, but in what He has done for us.
Brothers and Sisters, when you begin wondering whether you are strong enough to make it to the end, remember where John points us. God gave the new birth. God brought us to faith. God produces obedience. God strengthens our assurance. God preserves us so that we persevere. And God has given us eternal life in His Son. From beginning to end, our salvation rests upon Jesus Christ. The grace that saves us is the same grace that keeps us, changes us, strengthens us, and will finally bring us home. So, then Brothers and Sisters as always stay Bold in the Lord and Strong in His Word.
