God is Life
Notes
Transcript
Preliminary & Review:
Preliminary & Review:
Please turn with me to 1 John 5
We have been looking at 1 John the Apostle John’s epistles
We have talked about some of the theological statements about God that John makes:
God is Light 1 John 1:5
God is Love 1 John 4:16 , 1 John 4:8
Tonight I want to cover the third statment of John about God;
God is Eternal Life 1 John 5:13 , 1 John 5:20
Now this section 1 John 5:6-12 deals with the “Testimony Concerning The Son of God” it is the witness to the truth about Jesus.
we are also taking a couple of verses from the next setion 1 John 5:13-21 which deals with the idea “That You May Know” Our witness to the truth of Knowing or being in a relationship with Jesus.
Read: 1 John 5:11-13
Read: 1 John 5:11-13
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 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.
then I’d also like to read 1 John 5:20
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
All of this is making a profound theological statement about God:
GOD IS LIFE!
Introduction:
Introduction:
The First Letter of John begins and ends on the note of eternal life (1 John 1:1–2; 5:20), and the theme of eternal life pervades throughout. At one point the author describes the purpose of his letter to be that his readers might know that they have eternal life (5:13). The expressions ‘life’ and ‘eternal life’ are used interchangeably. In 1 John eternal life almost always refers to a present experience as far as believers are concerned. (Eternal life as a future experience that may be lost may possibly be implied in 1 John 5:16–17.)1
1 Colin G. Kruse, The Letters of John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos, 2000), 184.
Eternal life has ever been one of man's deepest concerns. Job voiced this universal quest in one of his darkest moments thus: "If a man dies, will he live again?" (Job 14:14, nasb; cf. Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25). Pascal observed: "The immortality of the soul is a thing so important that only those who have lost all feeling can rest indifferent to it."1
1 Beacon Theological Dictionary, n.d.
It’s A Revealed Life: 1 John 1:1-2
It’s A Revealed Life: 1 John 1:1-2
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Listen to these verses from the fourth Gospel (The Gospel of John) talk about this manifested or revealed life
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
These passages show us that Jesus Christ is eternal life because, just as God the Father has life in himself, so he has given Jesus Christ to have life in himself.
It’s a Shared Life
It’s a Shared Life
Eternal life doesn’t begin when we die or when we get to heaven or sometime in the future.
The classic passage on Eternal life is found in John 17:3
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The meaning of eternal life focuses upon three words in this statement:
Life
Eternal
Know
We are told in 1 John that God has promised us eternal life
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
We find later 1 JOhn 5:11-13 that promised eternal life is only realized with a relationship with Jesus Christ
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 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.
Its An Abiding Life
Its An Abiding Life
What do I mean by that? Well It seems that you have eternal life only as you are in Christ. If you leave Christ or forfeit your relationship with Him you are leaving your eternal life as well.
This is taken from several passages
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
SO we see the revealed life
The Shared Life
The Abiding life
There is no reason for a Christian to be unsure about their salvation and possesion of eternal life. John gives us at least thirty “knows” in this little epsitle. We can base our life of faith on the fact of God’s Word.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: It’s Real! (1 John 1:1–4)
Years ago a traveling entertainer billed himself as “The Human Fly.” He would climb up the sides of buildings or monuments without the aid of ropes or the protection of nets. Usually the whole neighborhood would turn out to watch him.
During one performance, the Human Fly came to a point on the wall of the building and paused as though he didn’t know what to do next. Then he reached with his right arm to take hold of a piece of mortar to lift himself higher. But instead of moving higher, he fell back with a scream and was killed on the pavement below.
When the police opened his right hand, it did not contain a piece of mortar. It contained a handful of dirty cobwebs! The Fly had tried to climb on cobwebs, and it just didn’t work.
Jesus warned against such false assurance in the passage which we have already quoted. Many who profess to be Christians will be rejected in the day of God’s judgment.
John is saying in his letter, “I want you to be sure that you have eternal life.”
Don’t be like the fly guy - be the know-so guy
God is life eternal and we that are in Him ppossess that eternal life.
