DO YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE

Believers Have Eternal Life (5:11–13)

The key word in is witness, sometimes translated “record” or “testifieth.” God gave witness to His Son, but He has also given witness to His sons—to individual believers. We know that we have eternal life! Not only is there the witness of the Spirit within; but there is the witness of the Word of God. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” ( nasb).

Eternal life is a gift; it is not something that we earn (; ). But this gift is a Person—Jesus Christ. We receive eternal life not only from Christ, but in Christ. “He who has the Son has the life” ( nasb). Not just “life” but “the life”— the life “which is life indeed” ( nasb).

This gift is received by faith. God has gone on record in His Word as offering eternal life to those who will believe on Jesus Christ. Millions of Christians have proved that God’s record is true. Not to believe it is to make God a liar. And if God is a liar, nothing is certain.

God wants His children to know that they belong to Him. John was inspired by the Spirit to write his gospel to assure us that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (). He wrote this epistle so that we may be sure that we are the children of God ().

It would be helpful at this point to review the characteristics of God’s children:

• “Everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” ( nasb).

• “No one who is born of God practices sin” ( nasb).

• “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren” ( nasb).

• “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” ( nasb).

• “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” ().

If you bear these “birthmarks,” you can say with confidence that you are a child of God.

When Sir James Simpson, the discoverer of chloroform, was on his deathbed, a friend asked him, “Sir, what are your speculations?”

Simpson replied, “Speculations! I have no specula­tions! ‘For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com­mitted unto him against that day.’”

God Answers Prayer (5:14–15)

persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com­ mitted unto him against that day.’”

It is one thing to know that Jesus is God and that we are God’s children, but what about the needs and prob­lems of daily life? Jesus helped people when He was here on earth; does He still help them? Earthly fathers take care of their children; does the heavenly Father respond when His children call on Him?

Christians have confidence in prayer, just as they have confidence as they await the judgment (; ). As we have seen, the word confidence means “freedom of speech.” We can come to the Father freely and tell Him our needs.

Of course, there are conditions we must meet.

First, we must have a heart that does not condemn us (). Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle to answered prayer (). It is worth noting that differences between a Christian husband and his wife can hinder their prayers (). If there is anything between us and any other Christian, we must settle it (). And unless a believer is abiding in Christ, in love and obedience, his prayers will not be answered ().

Second, we must pray in God’s will. “Thy will be done” (). “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for get­ting God’s will done on earth,” wrote Robert Law. George Mueller, who fed thousands of orphans with food provided in answer to prayer, said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness.”

There are times when we can only pray, “Not my will but thine be done,” because we simply do not know God’s will in a matter. But most of the time we can determine God’s will by reading the Word, listen­ing to the Spirit (), and discerning the circumstances around us. Our very faith to ask God for something is often proof that He wants to give it ().

There are many promises in the Bible that we can claim in prayer. God has promised to supply our needs ()—not our greeds! If we are obeying His will and really need something, He will supply it in His way and in His time.

“But if it is God’s will for me to have a thing, then why should I pray about it?” Because prayer is the way God wants His children to get what they need. God not only ordains the end, but He also ordains the means to the end—prayer. And the more you think about it, the more wonderful this arrange­ ment becomes. Prayer is really the thermometer of the spiritual life. God has ordained that I maintain a close walk with Him if I expect Him to meet my needs.

John did not write, “we shall have the requests,” but, “we know that we have the requests” (

). The verb is present tense. We may not see the answer to a prayer immediately, but we have inner confidence that God has answered. This confidence, or faith, is “the evidence of things not seen” (). It is God witnessing to us that He has heard and answered.

What breathing is to a physical man, prayer is to a spiritual man. If we do not pray, we “faint” (). Prayer is not only the utterance of the lips; it is also the desire of the heart. “Pray without ceasing” () does not mean that a Christian is always saying an audible prayer. We are not heard for our “much speaking” (). No, “Pray without ceasing” suggests the attitude of the heart as well as the words of the lips. A Christian who has his heart fixed on Christ and is trying to glorify Him is praying constantly even when he is not con­scious of it.

Famous preacher Charles Spurgeon was working hard on a message but was unable to complete it. It grew late and his wife said, “Why don’t you go to bed. I’ll wake you up early and you can finish your sermon in the morning.”

Spurgeon dozed off and in his sleep began to preach the sermon that was giving him so much trouble! His wife wrote down what he said and the next morning gave her preacher-husband the notes.

“Why, that’s exactly what I wanted to say!” exclaimed the surprised preacher. The message had been in his heart; it had simply needed expression. So with prayer: if we are abiding in Christ, the very desires of our heart are heard by God whether we voice them or not.

The pages of the Bible and the pages of history are filled with reports of answered prayer. Prayer is not spiritual self-hypnosis. Nor do we pray because it makes us feel better. We pray because God has com­manded us to pray and because prayer is the God-appointed means for a believer to receive what God wants to give him. Prayer keeps a Christian in the will of God, and living in the will of God keeps a Christian in the place of blessing and service. We are not beggars; we are children coming to a wealthy Father who loves to give His children what they need.

Though He was God in the flesh, Jesus depended on prayer. He lived on earth, as we must, in depend­ence on the Father. He arose early in the morning to pray (), though He had been up late the night before healing the multitudes. He sometimes spent all night in prayer (). In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed with “strong crying and tears” (). On the cross He prayed three times. If the sinless Son of God needed to pray, how much more do we?

The most important thing about prayer is the will of God. We must take time to ascertain what God’s will is in a matter, especially searching in the Bible for promises or principles that apply to our situation. Once we know the will of God, we can pray with con­fidence and then wait for Him to reveal the answer.

Once we know the will of God, we can pray with con­ fidence and then wait for Him to reveal the answer.