Podcast: 1 John: We Are in Him

This is a transcript of one of our recent podcasts. To subscribe to the podcast using iTunes, please click here. To listen to the podcast without iTunes, please follow this link.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
-1 John 5:18-20

Welcome to the Christian Pilgrimage Podcast; I’m your host, Paul Lytle.

So last time we talked about the sin that leads to death, and it may be our temptation to get a little freaked out when we hear things like, “There is a sin that leads to death.” Immediately, the thoughts that will probably jump to mind are, “Well, what is that sin? What if I accidently commit it? I’m just walking down the street and BOOM, I commit that sin and it’s too late? What if I have already committed it? Am I doomed to hell now? Is there anything I can do?”

It’s the natural reaction whenever we speak of a sin that will not be forgiven. But that’s exactly the opposite reaction that John intends for us, because he is writing the letter to encourage us. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). In other words, he is writing this letter to be encouraging!

And it’s the fault of teachers like me on why it isn’t. There is a very natural break in the text there between those verses and these verses, and so we split up our messages, just like I did. We put them a week apart, and that’s a week to dwell on the sin unto death without the relief herein. My apologies. Hopefully you’ve spent the week in repentance and prayer.

John tells us why true Christians should not be afraid of this sin. It’s because true Christians do not continue in sin. You have to continue in sin to be guilty of the sin that leads to death, because that sin is a continual rejection of the Gospel. Christians are protected from that. John tells us, “he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” Now, “he who was born of God” could refer to Jesus, because John has already told us “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Jesus is the only begotten of God. So John has already explained how we are protected in that way. But John has also spoken of how we are of God, adopted children, if we truly believe.

And that would make sense here too, based on everything that John has been telling us. So much of this letter speaks of the fruit of repentance. It talks about the love and righteousness that comes about in us if we are truly saved. It is not that this love saves us, but is the result of salvation.

John tells us first that we are all sinners. We do not deserve the life that God offers, but it is offered because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus bore the punishment we deserve for our sin. For those who will be saved, the Spirit of God prompts in them repentance, a turning away from sin. Over time, we become repulsed by our own wickedness, our selfishness, lust, and greed. We turn from our sin and toward God.

In faith we are justified, forgiven of that sin and granted eternal life in Jesus. We are given the Holy Spirit to indwell us, conforming us more into the image of Christ. So we begin to love more. We begin to desire to follow God and His commandments – not out of obligation, but out of love. God, to borrow the phrase from Ezekiel, takes away our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh.

Now tell me. If you have come to a knowledge of the wickedness and filthiness of your own sin; if you have come to realize that only by Jesus’ death on the Cross do you even have a chance; if you have come to know, by the power of the Spirit, the sweetness of the grace of God; and if you have come to turn from your sin and bow before God for mercy; if you have been given the indwelling of the Spirit to guide you; if you have begun to grow in love and righteousness – if all of these things are true, and they are true not just by our human efforts, but by the efforts and security of an infinite God, then how is it possible that you would turn, abandon all of that, and live the rest of your life refusing to repent?

Our own hearts will no longer allow such sin! We have been reborn in Christ! To walk away now is unimaginable, and impossible. John tells us that those who walk away from this never really knew it in the first place.

The knowledge that keeps us to this narrow path is not our own, but given by Jesus through the power of the Spirit. We know it as a part of our justification. It is part of that Grace that has been granted us. That is why we will not fall away into the sin unto death – because we are supernaturally secured. The world may belong to the evil one, but we belong to one far stronger, and He will not let go!

The understanding that the Son gives to us brings us to the Father and to truth. These are all wrapped into one – the way, the truth, and the life. These are the words Jesus said of Himself. Only through Him is there hope for eternal life, because He is that life. He is that truth, and we are in Him who is true, both the Father and the Son. How can we fall away?

Be assured of your salvation, my brothers and sisters. Be assured. The Spirit is at work in you, if you are in Christ, and will not let you go. If by the Spirit you no longer remain in sin, you are assured of your election. I do not say, “if you do not sin,” for we still sin. But if the Spirit is turning you from sin and toward God, then you can be confident in your salvation.

We can be confident not because of ourselves, but because of Him. “He is the true God and eternal life.” This passage interests me, because it is not clear whether this speaks of the Father or the Son. The ESV renders the subject “He,” but the Greek says “This.” Still, the “this” clearly refers to either Jesus or the Father. Jesus was the last to be mentioned, so perhaps Jesus is the true God and eternal life. Perhaps it is the Father, for the Father was prominent also in the previous sentence. The pronoun may be a little unclear, yet it is true either way. The previous sentence says that God the Father is the truth, but also did Jesus tell us of Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

This is the true God, and no one member of the Trinity claims that distinction over the others. God the Father is true, as is the Son, as is the Spirit. If you are in the Son, then you are in the Father, and you have the Spirit indwelling. You are secured for eternity by their power and efforts. God the Father elected you, the Son bought you, and the Spirit leads you. You are His. Thus can you know that you have eternal life!