1 John
1Jo 5:9-12 - God's Witness
by Joe Holder
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1Jo 5:9-12)
John reminds us in this lesson of the gravity of our faith. Unbelief should never be viewed as a badge or merit or of an excusable and understandable state of mind. At its heart unbelief constitutes rejection of God's testimony! When Jesus prepared the disciples for His departure, He told them they were to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and throughout the world. (Ac 1:8) When we initiate discussion with others regarding our faith in God, we should enter the discussion well equipped to present a credible intelligent testimony. We never reach the point at which we cannot improve the quality of our testimony, and God charges us to invest the necessary energy and spiritual disciplines to grow in our ability. But this passage deals with God's testimony, not ours. We cannot charge God with a faulty testimony. Nor can we tell Him He needs to improve His witness.
In every area of human activity every day we interact with people and accept their word for things beyond our immediate knowledge. We receive their testimony. How can we then justify rejecting God's testimony? How can we imagine that we can spurn His witness and avoid dire consequences? We cannot! God's testimony appears in Scripture and in the facts of history that correspond to the Biblical witness. It comes to us sufficiently clear and understandable that we may grasp it. It is indeed fearful when supposedly informed believers depreciate Scripture as if its truths are so beyond human comprehension that we can do no more than read it and form opinions. I read it and reach one conclusion; you read it and reach another. Your conclusion is just as valid as mine. Do you see the flaw in this reasoning? The question of authority has been shifted from Scripture, supposedly unknowable, to a human opinion about Scripture. It blatantly denies the public, repeatable and knowable revelation of Scripture. It more resembles the gnostic philosophy John rejected than John's revelation to us.
The gnostics taught that no one could know the ultimate truth of the supreme deity. Further they taught that truth is not a fixed reality, determined and revealed by God. To them, truth was relative. Each individual had his own opinion of truth, and, however contradictory or confused, "your truth" and "my truth" was equally valid. This idea comes right from the lines of ancient gnostic sentiment, as well as from contemporary New Age teaching. Christians have no reason to adopt this idea.
We should all approach our perception of Scripture's teaching with a measure of humility. No one of us can grasp absolute truth absolutely. But the ancient concept of the perspicuity of Scripture should be respected. Those things God has clearly revealed in Scripture are the important things He expects us to know and to believe. He requires that we receive His testimony! Other things not so clearly revealed in Scripture serve a valid purpose in our faith, but should not become essential issues over which we fight each other. Scripture, not anyone's opinion about Scripture, represents the rule of faith to be honored, believed and followed by all Christians.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. Consider the logical order of testimony and belief. You must have documented testimony before you have anything to believe. Rational faith, belief in the God of Biblical revelation, represents a rational response to God's testimony. The believer already has the witness within. The unbeliever stands in hostile rebellion to the God who gave public and credible testimony of His Son.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Go through all the sequences of Biblical testimony, of God's witness. What is your conclusion? John's appears in these words. God does not stand aloof from the universe as a disinterested observer. He so involves Himself that He testifies that He personally gave us eternal life. We do not have merely the prospect of life at the end. We do not have a hope that perhaps we might receive it in the end. We have it now.
Further John enlightens us as to the source of this life. It is in, by and from the Son. He gave it to us. He procured it on our behalf. Every claim we make to it must stand firmly on Him alone. This concept frames the essence of God's testimony.
When we make too much of unbelief, often citing Mr 9:24 as our justification, we overlook the hundreds of passages that command us to believe in Christ. We especially fly in the face of this passage that takes us to the profound and frightening reality. Unbelief constitutes rejection of God's testimony! It postures us in the role of gnostic allies against John and God's revealed testimony. We should never view this matter of belief in Christ as a small matter to be taken lightly. John's couching of our belief or unbelief in terms of our attitude toward God's testimony sounds an alarming solemnity to this question. For John there is no middle ground between accepting God's testimony or making God out to be a liar.
Don't forget the gnostic concept of knowledge and of their perception of deity. In earlier chapters we followed John through some rather theological points in which he marked the stark diversity between gnostic obscurity and Biblical revelation. The inconsistency of gnosticism in both these points borders on the laughable. They approached uninformed Christians with the idea that they had received a superior and secret knowledge. But as you investigate their teaching, you discover that their god remains forever remote and unknowable. Their claim of superior knowledge actually becomes a form of agnosticism, of now knowing! John repeatedly reminds us in this letter of things we know about God, Christ and His noble plan.
The gnostic god remained forever in the shadows, never willing to reveal himself or to involve himself in human affairs. The true God whom John revealed in his writings is involved in human lives at every corner and step of our existence. Although you could identify a number of significant theological truths John touches in this lesson, his primary goal is to bring the reality of this distinction home to the actual experience and knowledge of his readers. Philosophical truth should always submit to the ultimate test. Does it correspond to reality? If it fails this test, we should reject it as irrational and unworthy of acceptance. If it corresponds to reality, we should receive and honor it. We should believe it!
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. A favorite quip of modern New Age teaching, borrowed faithfully from these ancient gnostic predecessors, is that Jesus is one of many ways to God. Once again John draws a sharp contrast between his teachings and gnostic philosophy. For John there is only one way to God, Jesus Christ. If you have Christ, you have eternal life with, and from, God. If you do not have Christ, you do not have eternal life. The life of which John writes comes exclusively from Christ alone. Of the four men who wrote of Jesus' life and public ministry, John alone recorded the words of Jesus, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." (Joh 14:6-7, emphasis mine) Could any two worldviews display more contrast? One attempts to entice you with secret revelation and superior knowledge. But when you learn its inner workings you discover that its god refuses to reveal himself to any, refuses to involve himself in the lives of people, will not allow any to gain intimate personal knowledge about him and offers no prospect of more revelation in the future. What about this kind of "god" appeals to anyone?
This study should help us appreciate the amazing beauty of serving the one true and living God of the Bible. Celebrate Him daily!