1 John
1Jo 5:1-3 - Faith, Assurance and New Birth
by Joe Holder
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1Jo 5:1-3)
Normally in studying a passage we start at the beginning and move through the ideas presented. In this lesson we will start at the end and work our way back through the ideas. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. This sentence reinforces the repeated point of this study, that loving God refers to how we live, keeping God's commandments, living according to His model of conduct, not our own. We may at times in moments of vanity question why God would require a certain thing of us, but the faithful believer trusts God to teach him truly and correctly. Therefore, whatever God teaches is not grievous, not burdensome or heavy, as the Greek word translates.
What is the last commandment we read in this context? Look to the last verse of the fourth chapter, "And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." So what commandment might John have in mind as he wrote these words? The command to love God stands at the top of the list. And immediately beside it we discover that we cannot love God apart from loving our brother/sister. Take a moment to look up the Ten Commandments. (Ex 20:1-17) The first four commandments refer exclusively to our service and worship of God. The remaining six commandments refer to the way we treat our fellowman. Loving God then refers to living according to these four commandments, and loving our fellowman refers to living according to the remaining six. But lest we think minimally that we need only to do these things, read the Sermon on the Mount from Jesus' own words. He specifically interpreted the Ten Commandments and applied them to our life. There is no way to respect and keep the Sermon on the Mount with a minimalist's attitude. The only way to keep His commandments is to pour all of our life into following God wholly in everything we think and do. (Mt 22:37-40) Then alone can we approach the idea Jesus taught and John here confirmed in this simple statement. Only as we live by this ethical model do we give credible evidence that we love God and keep His commandments. And only when we make this our honest and chief aim in life do we enter the task freely and joyfully. Otherwise we will view it as an odious task; we will think the commandments are grievous. You see John's challenge to us involves more than minimally keeping a moral code. It involves a transforming lifestyle that begins in our minds and works its way throughout our whole being. Then we will understand that His commandments are not grievous.
How do you know you love God? If you base your idea of love on how you feel, buckle your seatbelt! One day you will love God and the next day you may not love Him at all. And your sense of assurance and stable faith will go up and down like a wild roller coaster ride. Is that what you want in your faith? Is that what the Bible teaches as the model of faith? No, Biblical faith's primary characteristic appears to be its constancy. Then you might think you know you love God by how you feel toward other believers. If you live with your emotions leading your life, you will find a worse situation than before. John earlier in this letter reminds us that we know, have assurance of, our salvation because we love the brothers. But if you love your brother today and despise him tomorrow, how do you gauge your love for God? John constantly reminds us that the two go together. On the day you despise your brother you will not comfortably believe that you truly love God. And you will be right!
John gives us the only constant and reliable measure of our love to God. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. If loving the children of God measures our love for God, then we should begin with an assessment of our love toward them. But what do you do when they do not act in a lovable manner? You do what God did toward us when we did not act lovable! If our love for them stands on the same ground as God's love for us, moral and ethical obligation, then we will maintain a godly and gracious attitude toward them, regardless of how they act. We will treat them with kindness because God teaches us it is the right thing to do, whether we feel like it or not. It is right, and God teaches us to do it, so we will do it. Since God's commandments build on our honoring each other with moral and ethical grace, we know we love God when we love (in the Biblical sense) others. And when we treat them with that steady moral and ethical integrity that God commands us, we will also know that we love God. You see, moral and ethical norms do not change based on how we feel on a particular day. They remain fixed because they reflect God's fixed moral values. If one day I awaken and feel unloving toward my spouse, God's commandment that I remain faithful to her and to my marriage vow is just as binding as the day we go to a nice restaurant and celebrate our anniversary. Moral and ethical values do not change on the basis of how we feel. Neither does Biblical love! It actually stands on the same fixed foundation as God's moral and ethical commandments. If you look up the Greek word most commonly translated love in the New Testament, particularly when it refers to God's love, you will discover this truth. Strong's definition is "to love in a social or moral sense."
Rather than robbing us of something special, this whole Biblical idea of love that is so different from our dominant Western idea actually elevates God's love, and ours, to a new height and to a new stability. It remains constant through all our mood swings and our emotional cycles. You awaken one morning on top of the world and think God never loved you more. You are right! But on another day you awaken to bad news, gloomy prospects in the day's agenda, complicated by an equally dismal mood, and you think God must not love you at all. With this Biblical idea you have a solid basis to take charge of your emotions and remember that God loves you just as much today as he did yesterday! God doesn't measure His love for you on the fickle thermometer of your emotions. So with that reminder of God's constant love, you can turn your whole life and worldview around. Emotions make a good caboose in the train of your life, but they make a terrible engine! With this view of God's love you can put God and His moral and ethical outlook at the leading power position in your life. Then other things follow in line. And, yes, a few things that don't really belong in your life will drop by the wayside and your life will be better for the change. Does this whole idea rattle your cage and cause you to rethink your whole way of looking at life? I hope it does! For if it does, then you have started down a pathway that puts God at the helm of your life. It will revolutionize your whole way of thinking and reacting to others. It will transform your method of dealing with difficulties. God, not you, will be the most important thing in your life! All the pieces necessary for a wholesome contented life will suddenly fall into place. Limelight and praise for what you do, who needs it? Your main goal now seeks the limelight on Him! If something about your life shines more brightly on Him, you celebrate and thank Him for the honor of the service.
Now, finally after a rather robust struggle with self and with the many magnets that pull us in so many directions, we can move forward to the grand conclusion of this whole amazing cycle. Do we need the mystical knowledge of the gnostic to assure us of God and of a healthy relationship with Him? No indeed, we have it already. Do we need the self-absorbed lifestyle that seeks pseudo-deity for self? No, He alone has earned the title of God. We have no desire to compete with Him for deity!
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. Do you believe this truth about Jesus? If you didn't, you certainly would have never submitted to His lordship in all the issues of your life. You have rejected the shallow "easy-believism" of pretentious religionists and you have embraced robust and authentic Christianity. What assurance do you discover within? God is your Father! And you are His child! This is a present and secure eternal reality. Celebrate Him and His glory!