SERIES: The Letters of John
TEXT: 1 John 5:1-12
MESSAGE: “Living as the Beloved”
MAIN POINT: Those who are confident in Jesus’ love them…
1. Walk in God’s ways (vv. 1-5)
“1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” — 1 John 5:1-5
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” — Matthew 16:16b
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or “from above”) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” — John 3:3b
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” — Matthew 22:37b-40
“[Obeying the command to love one another] will be a joy and delight because the new birth will make it the natural thing to do. And our love for the Father inspires and motivates us to love those He loves and to love them as He loves us… John is saying that in the new birth, I receive a new nature. With this new nature comes new affections, passions, treasures, and values. Because I now love God instead of hating Him, I treasure and value Him above everyone and everything else. And because I treasure and value Him above everyone and everything else, I delight in obeying Him. Now I find His commands not to be a burden, but a blessing. They are not drudgery, they are a delight.” — Daniel Akin
“Is not the exercise of duty a noble thing? Don’t we honor those we dutifully serve? Not much. Not if there is no heart in it. Dutiful roses are a contradiction in terms. If I am not moved by a spontaneous affection for her as a person, the roses do not honor her. In fact, they belittle her. They are a very thin covering for the fact that she does not have the worth or beauty in my eyes to kindle affection.” — John Piper
“…the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life…” — 1 John 2:16b
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33
“Faith sees that Jesus is better. That is why faith conquers the world. The world held us in bondage by the power of its desires. But now our eyes have been opened by the new birth to see the superior desirability of Jesus. Jesus is better than the desires of the flesh, and better than the desires of the eyes, and better than the riches that strangle us with greed and pride.” — John Piper
2. Rest in God’s work (vv. 6-12)
“6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one 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 these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” — 1 John 5:6-12
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:16-17
“[Jesus] no more belongs at a baptism for repentance than He does on a cross for sinners. In both events He identifies Himself with the sinners He came to save… The work of our Savior was initiated at His baptism and it was finished by His bloody death on the cross. Jesus, Himself, said from the cross in John 19:30, ‘It is finished!’” — Daniel Akin
TAKEAWAYS: John makes three invitations…
Accept our belovedness in Jesus’ eyes
“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.” — 1 John 5:10
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” — Timothy Keller
Express our belovedness in gospel community
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” — Psalm 8:1a
Come gaze upon His glory
Come receive His love and mercy
His grace declares His glory
You are loved, forever wholly
—
All helpless, all secure
All hopeful and all broken
All thankless and all poor
All peaceful and all violent
All fearless, all afraid
All angry, all rejoicing
All doubting, all assured
All joyful and all mourning
— Citizens – Majestic
“…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” — Ephesians 5:18b-21
Share our belovedness in the world
“As you come to [Jesus], a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” — 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10