Knowing the Difference and the True God

I’d begin this morning by reminding us that one of the most important themes of this letter is to reassure the disciples of Jesus Christ by reminding them of the reality of the incarnation, that the son of God came to earth in the form of a man. The final three verses of this letter highlight that very fact by also reminding us of the difference between the followers of Christ and the world as well as a final warning. Let’s stand together out of reverence for God’s word.

Read 1 John 5:19-21

In these three verses, we see the apostle close with three verses that can be boiled down to three pretty simple statements. First,

We know the difference

John closes this letter with three declarations in verses 18, 19, and 20 that each begin with “we know that”. Verse 18, that we looked over two weeks ago, stated that the one who has been born of God does not continue to sin. Verse 19 is still looking at the one who has been born of God but rather than making a statement about the disciple of Christ, it is a comparison between those that are of God and those who lie in the power of the evil one.

Here is where, once again, we observe that there are just two groups at the end of the day: those who belong to God are born again and those who are not. It is fitting that we have watched four young people today follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. In taking that action, they are proclaiming before us and the world who they have been born again of.

But there is a difference here between the two groups that needs to be examined carefully. The description of “lies in the power” is interesting compared to being from God. It may not seem much but I think there are is one important thing that we can gather from the description of those who have not believed: they are shackled under the power of the evil one. To lie in the power of Satan is to be held down with no ability to do whatever you will. The person who has not yet confessed that Jesus is Lord is still weighed down by fleshly desires and unable to make any progress forward.

On the other hand, those of us who have been born again and are God’s children now possess His power which comes to us in the form of the Holy Spirit rather than being under His power. Rather than being overpowered, you and I are empowered! Rather than being weighed down by the flesh, we are lifted up and equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit for Kingdom work.

This is a wonderful difference. But this knowledge of the difference ought to motivate us. We should look at the power of the evil on on the lives of others and look forward to the day when they will forsake lingering in the wickedness of the world and embrace the love that Jesus has for them displayed by His death on the cross.

So, ask yourself, are you empowered by Christ or in the power of the evil one?

As we move to verse 20, we observe that

We know the truth of Jesus Christ

There are several things that can be said about a person who believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and one of those is that you and I have come to know God the Father through the coming of Jesus Christ. In order to have a strong grasp on this, I want to read two verses of scripture for you.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 3:16 ESV

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

We are able to know the love that God has for the world when we recognize the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross. Who of you would sacrifice your own child for the life of someone who you know will continually sin against you? Not a person in here. We would hardly do that for a good person! Yet, we know the love of God because Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead.

What comes next is helpful for us. John makes a statement in order that those who deny that God is real would be cast to the side. We know not just any old God. Instead we know the God that is true! This is worth rejoicing in! Furthermore, we are in Him that is true. Because we have been born again, we are heirs to the great fortune that is eternity in heaven with God!

The last sentence was an attempt to disprove the false teachers of the day who denied that Jesus was God. There is still a teaching today that would say that Jesus was just a good man or a prophet but that He is not actually God. To make such a statement is to deny what scripture states about Him. To say that Jesus is not God is an attempt to discredit His death and resurrection. Because He is the promised Messiah, it then makes sense that He is both 100% God as well as 100% man. And we exist now, being molded through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, as a result of this great love.

The last two words, eternal life, ought to remind us of the reward that we have in store. Jesus is God but He is the only source of eternal life! It is because of Him that heaven is possible for the sinner.

We came to the final verse in 1 John. When you are writing a letter, most often you want the final thing you say to matter and to stick with the person that you are writing to. What does John want to stick with us as we have completed the study of this letter?

We must keep ourselves from idols

Now, I must remind us that the idols being referred to here are not the little Buddha figurines that we typically think of. What I believe John is referring to here is the idea of God that was being passed along by the false prophets of the day. This is still a needed warning. Afterall, when John begins with “little children”, he was writing to all believers and thus to you and me today.

There are dangerous understandings of who God is out there. One one hand, there are many who have understood the love of God to be the type that would never banish anyone to hell. On the other side of the spectrum there are many others who only speak of the vengeful and justice-seeking aspect of God and fail to recognize His mercy and grace.

When we adopt one aspect of God’s character of God without recognizing the others, we form a God that is not true to what the Bible tells us of Him and it becomes an idol.

There is a lot more to say about idolatry that will be upcoming in a sermon series at some point soon. Needless to say, we should keep ourselves from such an understanding of who God is that does not reflect what His word says of Him.

I want to end by talking about the word “keep”. The idea here is continuous guarding. When we are aware of these dangers, we allow ourselves to stay near the true God, the one from whom we have come from. The same God who has empowered us. The same God who has saved us. And the same God that is deserving of our worship!

This morning as you respond, consider the empowerment of God.

Do you belong to Him or are you still lying in the power of the evil one?

Do you know the truth of who Jesus is and therefore know the Father?

What idols in your life do you need to keep yourself from?