1 John 5 Bible Study

Page 1

www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk

The First Epistle of John Chapter 5 1Jn 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. By being born again through faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we have become children of God, and it is an evidence of the new birth that we love not only the father, with whom we now have a relationship, but that we should love our brothers and sisters as well, our relationship with God has brought us into relationship with each other as members of the same family. So John is not so much here giving a command as stating a fact: love for God’s people is present in the hearts of all the genuinely redeemed. 1Jn 5:2-3By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, Our love for each other is demonstrated by and inseparably linked to our love for God. The closer we are to God and the more we love him, the closer we will be to each other and the more we will love each other. To love God, as John has already stated (1 John 2:3-4) is to obey Him – obedience is no burden to us, for the greatest delight of God’s children is to do their father’s will (e.g. John 5:30). 1Jn 5:4because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith. Before Christ came, we were under bondage to the law. The Ten Commandments told us to keep God’s standards perfectly, but since we could not do this, for we are all sinners, obeying God was like a heavy burden. Men worked to be right with God and yet could not succeed (Rom. 3:20). But now, since we have been made righteous with God in Christ, obeying God is no longer a chore or burden, for he has given us a new heart (Ezek. 36:26) and written his law in our hearts (Jer. 31:33). It is no chore to do something you love! And since we are right with God because of what Christ has done for us (in his death and resurrection) nothing in the entire world can overcome us. Sin cannot overcome us, for this has been forgiven by Christ (Heb. 8:12), the law cannot overcome us, for this has been fulfilled by Christ (Rom. 8:3-4), death cannot overcome us for this has been defeated by


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.