Indisputable Facts

We finally come to the end of 1 John. What a wonderful study it has been. John is a great encourager. As he closes the epistle he encourages us even more. He uses the phrase “we know” six times in these passages. John shows believers that we can be certain about our relationship with Christ. He reminds us of five indisputable facts we can cling to. Let’s consider each of those facts.

We know we have eternal life. Look at verse 13. Notice at the beginning of the verse John says “These things have I written unto you… that ye may know that ye have eternal life”. John gives us a twofold purpose for writing this letter. In 1:4 he says he wrote the letter so that our joy would be full (see also John 20:31). Nothing gives us joy like knowing that we have eternal life. The certainty of salvation brings us great joy. The phrase “These things” refers back to all that he has written in the letter so far. John has told us that we can know for certain we are saved because we walk in the light (1:7), keep God’s commandments (2:3), love one another (2:10) and continue in the church (2:19). This epistle serves almost like a check list for a person that wants to conduct a spiritual inventory on themselves. John’s purpose is to encourage us in our salvation. If we are saved we will know it because our salvation will lead us to righteous behavior.

John’s hearers were assaulted by false teachers. False teachers often threaten a person at the point of their salvation. John wants those he is writing to know that they are saved. They have eternal life. Eternal life has been given to them because they “believe on the name of the Son of God”. Salvation is extended to us by grace through our faith (Eph. 2:8). As believer’s our salvation is a fact. We are saved. We don’t possess a “maybe -so” salvation. We have a “know -so “salvation. As believer’s we can know that we have eternal life.

We know that God will hear our prayers. Look at verse 14. John says that we have a confidence in God that enables us to petition Him in prayer. The Greek word for confidence here literally means “a freedom in speaking”. We have a freedom to come to God and speak with Him. We can be open and honest with him without any fear. Let’s look at a couple of truths we get from this.

Prayer must be according to the will of God. In order for a prayer to be according to the will of God some things must be understood:

1) Unbelievers should not expect their prayers to be answered. God may answer them, but He is not obligated in any way to the unbeliever (John 15:7). So if we want our prayers answered we should first be a believer.

2) We should not expect God to answer our prayers if we are living in sin. Sin greatly hinders our prayer life (Ps. 66:18, 1 Peter 3:7).

3) We should pray in Jesus name (John 14:13-14). If we pray in Jesus name then the goal of our prayer should ultimately be to bring Him glory. Therefore we would not pray for anything that is not consistent with His will or purpose in our lives.

John tells us that God will always answer the prayer that is in accordance with His will. Look at verse 15. That’s a great verse. When our desires are God’s desire and we bring them before Him, we can expect God to answer our prayers. The key is getting to the place in our lives where our desires are God’s desires. I don’t think that is as difficult to do as we would like to think it is. It just involves surrender and seeking on our part.

Look at verses 16-17. They fit into what John is talking about. They relate to prayer. John gives an example of what it means to pray outside of God’s will. John says that if we see a brother sin a sin that is not unto death we should pray for that brother. Of course we would be praying for his restoration and for God to begin blessing him once again. To put it into the exact context, I think John is saying that we should pray that God heals the brother. Then he says that if we see a brother sin a sin unto death that we should not pray for that brother.

John seems to be making a reference to person that has serious discipline of God in their life. God is disciplining this person through physical illness. A good example of this would be 1 Corinthians 11:30. Paul tells the Corinthians that some of the people have actually lost their lives because of God’s discipline. A person can get so far away from God that He uses extreme measure to keep them from going any further away from Him. In those circumstances there is no reason for us to pray and ask God to spare the person. God is determined to discipline the person by taking their physical life. That is God’s will. For us to pray anything else would be against His will.

Not all sin results in God taking away the life of the sinner. Thank the Lord for that. In verse 17 John tells us that all unrighteousness is sin. However, some sin leads to physical death. Just a note to interject, this verse proves that there are degrees of sin as well. When a person is living in sin and the discipline of God leads that personal to physical illness, it is appropriate for us to pray for them. John says if we do the Lord will hear us and restore his life to him.

John uses this example to teach us that discernment in prayer is necessary. There are some things that just aren’t going to happen because they are outside of God’s will. John says that we should not even pray for such things. Sometimes it’s difficult to know when those times are. John isn’t suggesting that we are sinning when we pray for someone to be healed that God is not going to heal. He is just saying that the pray will not be answered. God’s will can be very mysterious. We need to seek His face to know it. Nevertheless, John is teaching us in these passages that we can know that God hears our prayers.

We know that true believers don’t live in sin. Look at verse 18. As we have said earlier, John is not talking about sinless perfection here. He has already told us that we all sin (1:8). He has also told us that we have an Advocate that continues to cleanse us from our sin. We need an Advocate because we sin, even as believers (2:1). Believers are “born of God”, we are new creatures. Ye we are not in our perfect and glorified state yet (3:2). John makes a clear distinction between sinning and living in sin in this letter. To “live in sin” would describe an unbroken continual pattern of rebellion to God’s commandment couple with a lack of love toward God and the people of God. As believers we will continue to pursue righteousness, love God and love others.

In the second half of this verse John tells us how we know we will not continue to live in sin as believers. John says “He that is begotten of God keepeth himself”. There are two ways this verse is interpreted. Let’s consider each interpretation.

The KJV seems to suggest that the one “begotten” is the believer and that the believer keeps himself from the wicked one. It is true that the believer has a responsibility to resist the devil and live for the Lord. The Bible says we are to “keep ourselves pure” (1 Tim. 5:22), keep the commandments of God (1 John 3:22), keep the faith (2 Tim. 4:7), keep ourselves unspotted from the world (James 1:27), keep ourselves from idols (1 John 5:21), keep God’s word (1 John 2:5), and keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).

Other translations suggest that the “One begotten” is the Lord Jesus (Col. 1:18). Therefore, Christ is the One that keeps believers from the wicked one. There is a lot of evidence in Scripture that proves this point. Phil. 1:6 tells us that what God starts in us He will complete. Jesus tells us in John 10:28 that He gives us eternal life and we shall never perish. In John 6:37 Jesus says that He will cast out no one that comes to Him. In John 6:39 He said that of all the people the Father gives Him He will not even lose one. In fact Jesus prays to the Father that all that belong to Him will be with the Lord in heaven for eternity (John 17:24). The wicked one will come and try to snatch us away. But our Great High Priest will never let that happen. Satan can tempt us but he can never take us! We are kept by the One that saved us.

There are truths in the Bible that we can draw regardless of our translation of the verse. Both truths are consistent with Scripture. True believers are kept by Christ. True believers also take their salvation seriously. No verses describe this truth better than Philippians 2:12-13 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”.

We know that we belong to God. John tells us that in verse 19. He also tells us that the whole world lies in wickedness. In other words, the world is under the power of Satan himself. Scripture teaches that Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). In John 12:31 Jesus called him the prince of this world. Satan has powerful influence over this world and every unsaved person in it. The Bible calls the unsaved “children of the devil” (John 8:44) and “children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).

Galatians 1:4 tells us that Christ has delivered us from this present evil world. We are now sons and daughters of the most High God (John 1:12). We don’t belong to the world anymore. We belong to God. There are only two families in the world. There is the family of God and the children of the devil. That doesn’t sound like anything we hear in our world today. Nevertheless, it’s what the Bible teaches. Believer’s can rejoice in that we belong to God. We are a part of His family.

We know that Jesus is the True God. We see this in verses 20-21. Let’s look at verse 21 first. John says “Little children keep yourselves from idols”. The false teachers of John’s day had reinvented Jesus. They changed Him. He was no longer God in the flesh (4:3). Therefore they had created an idol. An idol is a false god. It is a god of the imagination. John wants the believers to turn away from the false Christ offered by the false teachers.

In verse 20 John gives a beautiful description of Christ. John is going to tell us the truth about Jesus. Notice that John uses the word “true” three times in verse 20. Let’s draw some truths about Jesus out of this verse.

Jesus is the One that reveals God to us. John says that the Son of God has come and given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true. We know who God is because Christ has come. No one can know God without Jesus. Acts 4:12 says that there is salvation in other name than the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is the only way to the Father. No matter how enlightened a person may seem to be, no matter how sincere they appear, without Christ God cannot be known.

Believers are united to God through Christ. John says “and we are in Him that is true”. Many Scriptures teach us that we are “in Christ”. Romans 8:1 says we have no condemnation because we are in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says we have righteousness, sanctification and redemption because we are in Jesus. 2 Cor. 5:17 says we are new creatures because we are in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 5:14 says we have peace because we are in Christ Jesus. The blessings of God are in our lives because we are in Christ and therefore in God.

Jesus is the One True God. John says we are in Jesus Christ. Then he says “This is the true God” He is saying that Jesus is the True God! That’s nothing new for John. He wrote one of the most exhaustive passages of Scripture declaring Jesus deity in the first chapter of the gospel of John. Because Jesus is the One True God, to worship any other is idolatry. To reject Him is to reject God.

Jesus is eternal life. Because Jesus is God He possesses life within Himself. He alone has eternal life. If we do not have Christ, we do not have eternal life (5:11-12). Christ gives life to those who receive Him (John 5:26, 10:28). Believers have Christ, therefore we have eternal life.

John closes the letter by reminding us just how much we know as believers. In a world of doubt we can be assured. We can know we have eternal life. We can know God hears our prayers. We can know we have victory over sin. We can know we belong to God. And finally, we can know that Jesus is the One True God. These are indisputable facts that should encourage us to press on toward the goal.