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Dr. Ron Hall, professor and pastor, and Peter Englert, pastor, help you delve into 1 John. Understand the context and background while applying this practical book of the Bible to your life.
1 John - 5-1-5.mov
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Peter Englert
00:00 - 00:14
Welcome to the Reading 1 John podcast. We are coming through the homestretch. Today we're gonna be looking through 1 John 5, 1-5. Ron, before I read this passage, I think this would be really helpful.
Peter Englert
00:14 - 00:24
There's really four questions to think about as you read this passage. Why don't we talk about those four questions and then read the passage? Okay.
Ron Hall
00:25 - 00:46
All right, it's structured so well around these four. Who is born of God? And the term born again is overused among Christian circles, because we're looking for John 3.16 and whether you're born again. But it's really not used that frequently within Scripture.
Ron Hall
00:47 - 01:05
Instead, it's used more frequently as a follower of Jesus. And are we taking up the cross and following after him? So John is going to respond to who is really born of God. And it's going to be connected with what we do with Jesus Christ that we were dealing with already back in chapter 4.
Ron Hall
01:06 - 01:19
And it's been reinforced again and again in each chapter of the letter. And then how can we know we love God's children? Well, it's going to be reflected on whether we obey God. John's idea of love is not emotional.
Ron Hall
01:20 - 01:29
It is instead an act of obedience. So what is love for God? That's the third question. Are we walking in obedience?
Ron Hall
01:29 - 01:41
Are we doing what he says? Some of you might recall 1 Samuel chapter 15 and verse 23. In rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. To obey is better than sacrifice.
Ron Hall
01:41 - 01:56
So we don't like this in American culture about obeying, because we would rather pick and choose. But with John, it comes down to it, are we going to obey? Are we going to take up the cross and follow him, do what he says? And then who overcomes the world?
Ron Hall
01:57 - 02:07
Well, that's the one we'll land on to climax our time together. And the one who overcomes God, the world is going to be the one who's embracing God and obeying him and following his ways.
Peter Englert
02:09 - 02:17
So real quick, before I read, recap, that was a great intro. Who is born of God? Question number one. How can we know we love God's children?
Peter Englert
02:18 - 02:33
What is love for God and who overcomes the world? Let's read it together. First John 5, one through five. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well.
Peter Englert
02:33 - 02:56
This is how we know that we love the children of God, by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is the love for God to obey his commands, and his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world?
Peter Englert
02:57 - 03:21
Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. So before we jump into these questions, I would encourage you just to pause your podcast and write those four questions. you know, by your Bible, or if you have notes on your app, I just think it's good because as we go through it, I think you're going to get the frame. So verse five, one really deals with who's born of God.
Peter Englert
03:21 - 03:22
Why don't we start there, Ron?
Ron Hall
03:24 - 03:40
First of all, we want to take that word, believe, that's significant. As a matter of fact, it's one of the key words that John uses in his gospel, and then it's reinforced. It's not a trite belief. It's not wishful thinking.
Ron Hall
03:40 - 04:02
It's locked in a true, genuine belief of what do we think of Jesus Christ, and who is he? Because if Jesus is not God, then he can't be our Savior. If he's just a man, he's just another person who attained this superior righteousness, and that means someone else could do it. But no one else can do it.
Ron Hall
04:02 - 04:19
So this is biblical belief. And it matters what we believe. We live in a culture, and especially in American culture, where people do not have a locked-in faith of how they follow after the Lord. But for John, it's locked into Jesus Christ.
Ron Hall
04:20 - 04:32
So I define belief as a means to place confidence in, to trust its reliance upon, rather than a mere credence to. Do we follow wholeheartedly?
Peter Englert
04:35 - 05:00
Well, and that leads to being born of God. And I just want to give one example of of what we believe versus like what we believe as maybe Americans and maybe what John's actually talking about. The USA is never really made it big in soccer. And there was one World Cup here where they kept on saying, we believe that we will win.
Peter Englert
05:01 - 05:31
And just spoiler alert, they didn't win the World Cup. And so I think even what you're saying, this belief that leads into being born of God, it's it's very deeper. And I think the cliche example is You know, Ron, you and I, people who might not be able to see us, we're sitting in chairs like there's this belief that if I sit in the chair, it's going to support me. I'm not even like thinking about that.
Peter Englert
05:31 - 05:49
So even your definition of belief to being born of God, this isn't just some, you know, I believe that I can win. You know, I believe that I can, you know, make a million dollars like, no, this is stake my life on it. Changes the way that I live changes the way that I think. Yeah.
Ron Hall
05:50 - 06:13
And we've got to remember that it's not a nonchalant belief, or it's not you believe what you want to believe, or half-hearted belief. John is after something that is lock, stock, and barrel. It is a radical belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It focuses on the person of Christ.
Ron Hall
06:13 - 06:29
And as we learned in chapter 4, if we don't get it right with who Jesus is, then we don't get Christianity right. So it's that identification. And then the belief is proven by our we obeying Him.
Peter Englert
06:32 - 06:47
So that's a good point to move on. So John makes this connection that those who believe in God are born of God. Why don't you kind of cross that bridge with us? Again, I want to reinforce this idea of born again.
Ron Hall
06:48 - 07:09
We overuse it, and people think if they're at sporting events and they have that they're born again that everyone understands it, who's watching and thinking, this is a great testimony. But that doesn't tell the story. Again, the term born again is not used frequently in scripture. It's used in the Gospel of John.
Ron Hall
07:10 - 07:28
It is used in 1 Peter. It is reinforced here in 1 John, but it's repeated in different ways in chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5. And so what constitutes being born of God? It's belief, placing this total trust in Jesus.
Ron Hall
07:29 - 07:43
so that when we are convicted of our sins, we confess our sins, we accept that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that's what secures what we call being born again.
Peter Englert
07:46 - 07:53
Okay. Do you have anything else that you want to cover with that question, or do you want to move on to the next question?
Ron Hall
07:54 - 07:57
We can move on as to what genuine belief results in.
Peter Englert
07:57 - 07:59
Okay, go ahead, why don't you share more about that?
Ron Hall
08:01 - 08:31
Well, if we are genuinely a Christian, the overflowing impact and result will be love. Christianity enables us to love in ways we never otherwise could. It is where when Christ saves us, when Christ redeems us, when Christ transforms us from the inside, the response is to want to love people. You can love people that you couldn't love before.
Ron Hall
08:32 - 08:51
The conflicts you had within your family, they then take on a whole different approach because of this reality of Christ within you. You experience conviction about things that you did not experience conviction before. So believing, John says, results in genuine loving of other people.
Peter Englert
08:53 - 09:32
Well, and I think that that's important, even as we start heading to our second question, which, I mean, there's two questions about love. And this might be maybe an unfair tension, but I think sometimes we put knowledge versus love or doctrine versus relationship. And what John is painting in at least this first question is your belief in Jesus and not heresy should actually turn into the next two questions, which is loving other people and ultimately loving God.
Ron Hall
09:33 - 09:52
Yeah. And it's back to how can we say we love God that we have not seen from chapter four if we can't love our brothers and sisters that we have seen? It's a whole sobering thing when we realize that love is a verb. It's not a noun for 1 John.
Ron Hall
09:53 - 10:18
It is a verb that is action. So if we say we love God, but then we can't love people, then we don't have genuine conversion within our lives. This is back to, Peter, the black and white we've been talking about. And the story that you shared some sessions back about the gentleman that wondered, is he really a Christian, getting to the end of 1 John, because it is so black and white.
Ron Hall
10:19 - 10:42
You're in or out, you're for or against, you're on the broad road or you're on the narrow road. Those kind of concepts that are very tightly knit together. But to say that we really love God and we love people is going to be shown by walking in obedience to God's commands. And there's an important part we have to make of that.
Peter Englert
10:43 - 11:22
Well, in that case, we can come back to some of that, but let's talk about how can we know the love of God? So this is verse two, and again, we've kind of hinted towards that, that believing those that are born of God, and then verse two says, this is how we love the children of God, by loving God and carrying out his commands. So there's a connection between the commands of God, which sometimes we think of maybe legalism, But I think the commands of God here are even more the fruit of the Spirit. You know, how are you directing your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness to others?
Peter Englert
11:22 - 11:24
Because that's what God has given you.
Ron Hall
11:25 - 11:45
Yes, and it's within the gospel picture, taking up our cross and following Him. You know, what's the chief end of man? To loving God, it's obeying Him. You know, and again, that doesn't set well in our Western culture, because we want to pick and choose.
Ron Hall
11:45 - 12:09
And instead, John comes along and says, look it, genuine love for God, genuine conversion of being born again, results in carrying out God's commands. And I love what is added on by the way this theme is reinforced in the Gospel of John. If you love me, you'll obey me. And his commandments, John says, are not burdensome.
Ron Hall
12:10 - 12:21
They're not cumbersome. They don't weigh us down. In other words, a Christian should willfully and joyfully say yes to God and obey him.
Peter Englert
12:23 - 12:41
So the obedience, and again, we're building on the logic of this passage, is loving others and carrying out his commands. And so you have a literal translation that I think might be helpful. Why don't you share that and explain that?
Ron Hall
12:42 - 13:05
And it says, whenever we keep on loving God and whenever we keep doing his commands, That's what it really is. Are we continuing to love God, and are we continuing to keep his commands? That is similar to walking in the light as he is in the light back in chapter 1. It's this ongoing process.
Ron Hall
13:06 - 13:12
It's the habitual practice. That doesn't mean we're perfect. We mess up. We make mistakes.
Ron Hall
13:13 - 13:34
That's back to 1 John. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, to cleanse us from all sin. But is the pattern of our lives of loving God focused on doing what he says? It's kind of one of those things, get up in the morning and we're in relationship with God, but, you know, Father, I want to obey you today.
Ron Hall
13:35 - 13:38
May your spirit lead and guide me and enable me to do that.
Peter Englert
13:41 - 14:07
Well, and kind of as we kind of close this question, we can kind of come back to it. I love how the passage, it's, you know, I think of two things, obeying God, but then, you know, how can we love God's people? These commands, it's not, God is not this micromanaging despot. Because I think about this, let's take the alternative.
Peter Englert
14:08 - 14:39
To take revenge on someone, It's actually not as great as people think it is. It never goes the way it's supposed to go to to live in bitterness. It might feel great in some degrees, but it's always going to leave you wanting more. And so even to to love others, God is actually asking us to obey, to experience the life that he's called us to live.
Peter Englert
14:39 - 15:16
It's life giving. I don't want to talk too much about elderly people, but I've heard in a retirement home that will remain nameless with ministers in it, that there's certain retired missionaries and ministers that they've lost their capacity and they actually cuss and swear. And that's what they did back then. And then there's other ministers and missionaries that they actually freely, you know, are loving, even though the dementia has come in.
Peter Englert
15:17 - 15:43
I look at that picture that that's what the commands of God does, is that the more that we hold on to the bitterness, hate and resentment, the more difficult we're going to be versus experiencing God's love, experiencing God's grace, living with the commands that these are actually commands of obedience that give us life and ultimately allows us to live with other people in a way that we can look back 20 or 30 years from now.
Ron Hall
15:45 - 16:06
And it's doing it with joy. that to obey God, obedience is better than sacrifice. Back to 1 Samuel 15, and here it's marked of something that we should count with joy. God, what is it you want me to do?
Ron Hall
16:07 - 16:27
And that's why John says these commandments are not burdensome. And I'm thinking of John 14. And there's a whole string in chapter 15 about this idea, if you love me, you'll obey me, you'll walk after me. And this is what John's saying.
Ron Hall
16:27 - 16:42
This is genuine Christianity. It's not a democracy with God. It's a theocracy. He's the top, he's the one in charge, and then we become followers after what he wants us to do.
Peter Englert
16:45 - 16:57
Well, that's a good time. Let's look at the third question, which is, what is love for God? And again, that's going back to verse 3. This is love for God to obey his commands, and his commands are not burdensome.
Peter Englert
16:57 - 17:02
So you kind of hinted at it, but why don't we explain this question? Yeah.
Ron Hall
17:03 - 17:18
Well, what is love for God? Let's first of all identify this is something that's not ongoing. And it's not whisper sweet nothings, Jesus, I love you. Some of the songs that we sing are trite.
Ron Hall
17:18 - 17:38
They really don't have meaning. And the song years ago about to embrace him and turning it all into emotional, this is not what this is. To love for God is back to obedience, doing what he says. And that shouldn't be restrictive.
Ron Hall
17:39 - 17:48
Again, that's back to the idea that his commandments are not burdensome. They're not weighing on us. It's not something that heavy. It's not a pharisaical law that we are bound by.
Ron Hall
17:49 - 18:07
But instead, it's a sense that with joy, we do what God wants us to do. That was the Westminster Confession. The chief end of man, women, is to glorify God. And the way that we glorify God is by obeying Him.
Ron Hall
18:08 - 18:22
In my Old Testament devotions, I'm still in Jeremiah. And Jeremiah, over and over again, tried to drive home to the people, do what God says. And instead, they gave way to their idolatry. They didn't want to obey God.
Ron Hall
18:23 - 18:35
So Jeremiah said, you will reap the consequences of it. So what John is, is showing us a healthy way to go ahead and live. You show your love for God by doing what he says.
Peter Englert
18:36 - 19:18
So I want to throw one question out because I could anticipate maybe some of our listeners, you know, you and I have done, you know, kind of pastoral counseling for marriages, you know, and sometimes there's a spouse that says, if you love me, you'll do this now. Sometimes that's even bad things, but you know, other times it's if you love me, you know, you'll actually do the laundry when it's done. And, you know, I've heard of, you know, counseling sessions where one spouse brings in the list. And so my question to you is, how how is God's love?
Peter Englert
19:19 - 19:36
for God different than the love we even talk about there? Because even what we're talking about, it's a very hard balance or harmony of legalism versus relationship, and how do we balance that?
Ron Hall
19:37 - 20:02
Well, we're not bound by the laws of all the Pharisaical laws, the things that they try to keep. Instead, we're bound by the ultimate. That love for God means I'm going to do what he says, which is believe on Jesus, and we're going to follow after that. We're going to follow in his footsteps, walking where he's going, so that it's not a burden.
Ron Hall
20:02 - 20:17
Fight your example of a couple and having the list. Then we turn Christianity into a bunch of do's and don'ts. That's not what John is after, do's and don'ts. That a genuine faith will result in a genuine transformation.
Ron Hall
20:18 - 20:21
of how we willingly surrender ourselves to obey the Lord.
Peter Englert
20:24 - 21:02
Yeah, and I think one little thing I would add before we get to the last question is, you know, God is not giving us this command because he needs something from us. You know, God is giving this command because, like what we said in previous questions and the previous parts of this passage, he wants to give us life. And so I think sometimes we conflate love for God and love for others in difficult ways. And at the end of the day, whether you're married or you have a friend, you know, love will cost you something for that relationship.
Peter Englert
21:02 - 21:12
It will cost you time. It'll cost you being inconvenienced listening. But, you know, the point is, is that you're working towards closeness. So.
Peter Englert
21:13 - 21:33
Yeah, let's let's jump to the last question, then we can maybe even sum up some more. But who overcomes the world? Now, for some people, I can get the belief I can get the love for others and get the love for God. OK, we're coming back to this born overcomes the world.
Peter Englert
21:34 - 21:39
Why do you think John is logically landing here? And, you know, why is this question important to us?
Ron Hall
21:40 - 21:57
Well, first of all, he's showing a separation. There is the distinction between those that are genuine believers and those that are in the world. And if there's no difference, how do you distinguish a believer? Then Christianity hasn't had an impact at all.
Ron Hall
21:58 - 22:16
So the overcomers are the ones that are, and he reinforces it in verse four, who is the one who overcomes? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. And again, that's not just saying it, it's being lived out in our actions. And what does it look like?
Ron Hall
22:17 - 22:40
If I genuinely love God, and we need to parallel this with 1 John 2, love not the world, neither the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. The lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, the pride of life, they don't belong to the Father, but they belong to the world. So who's going to pass away?
Ron Hall
22:40 - 23:02
Those who follow after the world. So here John shows it's a demarcation line. Those that are genuine and those that aren't. So if we want to overcome, in the language of Revelation, how they overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, it's reinforced in those letters to the seven churches.
Ron Hall
23:02 - 23:12
These are the overcomers. It boils down to genuine belief in who Jesus is and then our lives being ordered according to that.
Peter Englert
23:13 - 23:47
So one thing I want to point out, I want to back up all the way back to our introduction. John is not writing this book as a young man. We believe that John is probably writing this book as a very, very old man. And I actually think that that's really important, because even what he's saying here is, you know, whether you want to call it the last lecture or the last letter, you know, this is someone that's that's saying this based on his belief and years of knowing Jesus.
Peter Englert
23:48 - 24:03
and most likely being the last disciple. And I I think that that kind of gives it more power that he's talking about. Hey, believe in God, be born of him, love other people. That's how you overcome the world, not by power, force or control.
Peter Englert
24:04 - 24:11
And I think it just paints a powerful picture of not only who Jesus is, but how John experienced Jesus.
Ron Hall
24:11 - 24:25
Mm hmm. Yes, and it's powerful because it brings perspective. How can I be strong internally and overcome the world? It's going to be through the bonding of that relationship internally with the Lord.
Ron Hall
24:26 - 24:35
But if there's no obedience, if there's no belief in the genuineness of who Christ is as the Son of God, there's not going to be any overcoming.
Peter Englert
24:39 - 24:58
Well, let's kind of before we kind of close up with those four questions, maybe let's take some time either if you want to hit something that maybe felt like we should have hit or how does how do these first five versus how do we live this out in our life as we're listening to this podcast?
Ron Hall
24:59 - 25:14
That's the challenge you have to build. You have to build it upon what's preceded these this chapter. because there were people that were in rebellion. Back to chapter one, they're denying sin.
Ron Hall
25:15 - 25:29
They're wanting to walk in their own ways. John said you can't do that. You can't be a denier of sin. Chapter 2, he's reinforcing there were those that claimed to be believers, but by their actions showed they did not.
Ron Hall
25:29 - 25:45
Chapter 3, he reinforces that, that the reality of Christ is what's going to bond you to true Christianity. And then chapter 4, he's back to this reinforcing of love. And he can't let up on it. He's relentless to drive home.
Ron Hall
25:45 - 25:57
the importance of this love for God. So I love the way he says, this is the victory that will overcome the world. Even our faith, and what's that faith? That faith is in the person of Jesus Christ.
Peter Englert
26:00 - 26:46
You know, and I love what you're saying here, because even as he's repeating it, You know, I think sometimes we look at newer Christians and newer followers of Jesus and they have this zeal where they'll share anything with anybody, but there's not necessarily a depth there. And I think for those of us that have followed Jesus for a long time, we need some of that zeal. But the vision of this passage is the maturity, the maturity to actually live, live out the gospel and love people. And that might not always be as visible and as out front, but it's still really, really powerful.
Ron Hall
26:47 - 27:13
Yeah. You know, I tied it together with Romans 8, that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and gave himself for us. So Romans deals with the same type of issue, that we are conquerors through Christ, through his love that embraces us. And we're back to, again, if we don't have that right, we don't have Christianity right.
Peter Englert
27:16 - 27:27
Well, that's really good. Well, Ron, I'll give you the last word before we head out. Is there anything last you want to say? That was fun going through those four questions, and I think it really illuminated the passage.
Ron Hall
27:28 - 27:39
Yeah. Process the issue of obedience. And when the Lord is prompting your heart, ask the Lord, how can I obey? How can I follow after?
Ron Hall
27:39 - 27:45
Not in a legalistic way, but in a living reality of Christianity in your daily life.
Peter Englert
27:48 - 27:55
It's a great place to start and we're coming to the home stretch. We'll see you next time on the Reading First John podcast.