1 John 5 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ⁶ This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. ¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

¹³ 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. ¹⁴ This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that. ¹⁷ All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

¹⁸ We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. ¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹ Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  Today’s text says: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Our victory, our overcoming the trials and tribulation of the world comes through believing in Christ. Believing not just who He was or is, but fully believing, having faith in what He did. By faith we believe that on the cross Jesus said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”(Luke 23:34) By faith we believe that He also said: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) By faith we believe that Jesus fully accomplished everything that is needed to be done for us to overcome all of the tribulation the world might bring against us. We are forgiven, redeemed from sin. We are reconciled to God and restored to His image and likeness. There is nothing more we need to do but to have faith and believe.

In John 14:12-15 Jesus says: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” We cannot walk in the fullness of the redemption, reconciliation and restoration of the cross, if we are unwilling to keep the commandments of Christ. As the text says: His commandments are not burdensome. Far from it, in Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” We can rest when we walk and work with Jesus, believing in Him and doing what He says to do, because He will do the work that needs to be done in us and through us. It will be easy because in truth, it is already finished, fully accomplished in the cross.

The text ends saying: We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. There is a difference between know and believing. It has been said that in many ways the longest journey of a Christian is the 18 inches from the head to the heart. Romans 10:9-10 says: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  Along with redemption, reconciliation and restoration, we need to truly believe in the resurrection. It is by the power of the resurrection that we are able to walk in the righteousness of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The work was finished by Jesus on the cross, but it in manifested in us through the power of the resurrection, not that He died for us, but that because He lives, we can live in Him.

It is important that we understand that when we are warned to guard ourselves against idols, we recognize that idols are not only statues or images. Idols can be people or things. An idol is anything that we place before God in our minds or our hearts. So, idols can even be made from our thoughts, feelings and emotions.  We need to recognize that fear can become an idol if we place it over faith in God. Fear is believing more in the things we don’t want than in the good things that God wants for us. Fear is placing the tribulation that we face above the God who has already overcome every trial tribulation.

Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Through His love demonstrated on the cross, we have already overcome whatever stands against us if we believe. May Romans 8:31-39 be our confession today: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Just as it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.