Bible Study Notes - 1 John 5:1-12

Bible Study Notes – 1 John 5:1-12

We continue our study in 1 John which primarily teaches disciples how to live, individually and collectively, in the “beloved community” which the “Church” personifies.  The author, the Apostle John, “the Beloved Disciple” who also wrote the Gospel of John as well as the other two epistles and the book of Revelation, instructs believers on the practicality of living in fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ (the Logos and the Life) within a community of fellow believers. 

Each person, created in the image of God, possesses an intrinsic and unique ability to share God’s love with humankind.  The Bible in this grand First Epistle of John declares “God is love.”  He graciously embodies Himself and His love in each human life.  Conceivably, enlightenment occurs in our earthly journeys when we realize we born to share divine love with family, friends and neighbors.  By divine love, John means agape, the most supreme sacrificial, selfless, redemptive, healing and empowering love.  Following Christ’s example as the biblical writers detail in the gospel of John, Acts 10:34-43, Romans, 1 Corinthians 13, Philippians 2 and other New Testament passages, disciples demonstrate His love through a lifelong commitment of service which honors and glorifies our Lord and meets the direct and practical needs of humankind.  Disciples need the encouragement and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to faithfully serve as an instrument of God’s love. 

In this week’s passage, John reiterates the necessity of believing in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ as a foundational tenet of the authentic, traditional faith he witnessed as one of the original apostles.  He argues against the prevailing heresies such as Docetism and Gnosticism which relegates God’s gift of Christ to being a great theological concept which could enhance the life of anyone who asserts it premise.  Rather, John utilizes the fifth chapter of this letter to reinforce the non-negotiable Christian principle that Christ came in the flesh and revealed God’s love.  Genuine discipleship requires faith in the Son of God whose paradoxical life of being fully divine and completely human simultaneously offers abundant and eternal life.

Consider the following ideas and questions as you study the passage.

Faith in the Son of God – 1 John 5:1-12

• The Gospel of John and the apostle’s Epistles were written primarily to assist the younger Christians in the beloved community to better understand the Lord Jesus Christ.  The last remaining disciple instructs these relatively new believers about the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith.
• John boldly asserts the impossibility of believing in God without also believing in the gift of His “One and Only Begotten Son” whom God sends as the Redeemer, Savior and Lord of humankind.  You cannot love the Father without simultaneously loving His Son.
• More specifically, disciples must believe that Jesus came in the flesh.
• John continues his exposition on “The Great Commandment” as he states our obedience of God’s commands results in our love of our fellow disciples and human beings. 
• Obedience to God’s commands is the clearest evidence of a disciple’s love of God.  In a marriage covenant, a husband and wife pledge to honor and obey each other as it relates to love, respect, support and fidelity regardless of the circumstances they experience.  Love and commitment are the primary means and motivations for obedience in marriage.  Fear of divorce, legal punishment and loss of finances, material resources and reputation ultimately will not coerce faithful obedience from a wandering and indifferent heart.  Likewise, fear of hell and divine punishment on Judgment Day is not enough to yield a lifetime of obedience to God’s precepts and directives.  Instead, we seek to please the people whom we love.  We find joy in their happiness.  If we make God our “ultimate concern,” we devote our hearts and lives to Him.  We obey Him because we wholeheartedly love Him.  We seek to please Him and honor His holy character out of our love for Him.  The gospel through God’s love and grace accomplishes a main feat which the Law and threat of divine retribution could not.  In the loving and sacrificial gift of Jesus Christ, God faithfully keeps His covenant with humankind and appeals to our hearts.  Interestingly, His love earns and yields our love.
• Where there is love, there is no burden.  Obeying God is not burdensome for a disciple who genuinely loves Him.  As we mature spiritually and more greatly desire living in right relationship with Him, the temptations of the world lose their luster in our eyes.  As a consequence, we do not primarily seek the satisfaction of our physical instincts and the fulfillments of selfish desires.  We live to honor and glory of Almighty God by faithfully and joyously obeying His commands and selfless and tirelessly serving humankind.
• Everyone who has been born again and thus of God overcomes the temptations and lure of the world.  I hasten to add this victory is a lifelong spiritual process which necessitates perfect intention and commitment as you progress daily.
• Our faith in the perfect, embodied and historical example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, equips us to triumph over the world’s system of beliefs which clash considerably with the values of Christ.  In the Gospel of John, the apostle reassures the disciples that Christ overcame the world; thus they can do.  John quotes the Lord as saying, “Be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.”
• In the end, faith in Christ will surmount any adversities or challenges of the world.
• Only people who truly believe Jesus is the Son of God will be victorious over the world.  Otherwise, they will consent inevitably to the world’s ideology. 
• As members of the Reformed Church in America, we succinctly express our belief in Christ through our adherence to the “Apostles Creed” which we recite regularly as an affirmation of our faith.
• According to Dr. Thomas L. Constable, 1 John 5:6 alludes to Christ’s baptism and crucifixion, hence His arrival by water and blood.
• The Holy Spirit leads and guides into all truth by reminding disciples of Christ’s teachings and perfect example.
• In the next verse, Constable explains the three who bear witness are the Holy Spirit, Christ’s example via baptism, crucifixion and resurrection and the apostles’ teaching.
• In the ninth verse, John reaffirms the supremacy of the Word of God over human testimony.  This is a sobering word in an era of personality driven ministry in which ministers utilize their personal testimonies to organize churches and define a vision for ministry.  We must always remember as John exhorts the members of the beloved community that the Church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  In agreement with Paul, we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ crucified.
• The failure to believe God’s testimony about His revelation of Jesus Christ equates with calling God a liar.  Moreover, a denial of God’s revelation in Christ essentially says God is powerless to perform the miracles of the Incarnation and Resurrection.  A refusal to accept the gift of God’s Son means you believe God reneges on the eternal covenant He makes with humankind.  Using legal language, this means God perjures Himself as it relates to the promises He made to us.
• John finishes this section of his letter with a bold declaration that eternal life is only available in Jesus Christ who came in the flesh.