These Things Are Written
The first thing we have to ask when we see this verse starting out “These things” is “What things?” Primarily John 5:4-12, in 4-5 4 For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. It is faith that overcomes the world, and leads to eternal life—faith in Jesus the Christ, as revealed in the scriptures. It is persisting in our faith in the Jesus of the Bible, despite what the world says, and what the world wants us to believe. Understanding His sacrifice for us should motivate us to love Him, and therefore obey Him. Then we will overcome the evil influences of the world, and give us victory, as we understand the person and work of Jesus.
Continuing John’s evidence in 1 John 5:9b-10a for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; We have this witness, the Holy Spirit, within ourselves concerning the Truth of Jesus as Son of God, and Son of Man; both Lord and Savior. God witnesses that Jesus is His Son. The life that Jesus has given us is also the witness of the Father that we are born again. In 1st John 11-12a 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life. We can look at the evidence of our spirit bearing witness, of our conscience agreeing, and our conduct toward other believers in love bearing witness that our relationship with Jesus is real; that we are in Christ, abiding with Him, and He with us in the communion of the Holy Spirit with our spirit.
We should be able to look back to a time when God has conducted a supernatural work to remove that old heart of stone, and give us a new, soft, pliable heart of flesh that He can work with. John relates his understanding of eternal life, as a life in relationship with the living Savior who gives us eternal life, because He Himself is Himself eternal life and gives eternal life to all who believe in Him. Belief in Jesus isn’t a simple acknowledgment of Him, but abiding in relationship with Him.
That You May Know You have Eternal Life
John has written these things, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for a purpose; so that we may Know that we have eternal life. He’s pointed to the witness of the Holy Spirit, and the witness of God the Father. And both here, and in his gospels, John continually describing Jesus as the Word of Life. In the Gospel of John chapter 1 vs. 1 and 4 saying In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. and 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. Compare this to 1st John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. Jesus describes His mission as showing us the Way to Life. Jesus’ identified Himself as to His disciples in this way in John 14:6 saying Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. John’s purpose in writing the preceding section was so that we may know that we have eternal life. The word here for “know” is oida knowledge by instruction, that rings true by intuition. So John’s urging them to listen to what he’s just taught them, reminded them of. He’s urging them to think back to what he’s been teaching them throughout this epistle, and how his other stated purposes in writing fit with believing in Jesus as the source of eternal life. This is something that can be known independent of what we may think about it on a particular day. There are days in which we fail, we sin, we give in to temptation—and we’re going to think that God is shaking His head with His hands on His hips. We’re going to think that Jesus is wondering why He ever went to that cross for someone like us! We’re going to think that we’ve grieved the Holy Spirit so badly with our repeated mistakes that we’re disqualified from salvation. But, then we can look outside ourselves, and outside our behavior and our works and turn our eyes upon Jesus. The basis of assurance of salvation is belief in God’s Word and in His Son, as revealed in Scripture. Everyone who has placed his or her faith in Christ can know without a doubt that we have eternal life. We know, not because of any fruit in their lives, but because God says we do. Without this confidence, we don’t get to enjoy the gift God that has given nor experience the relationship with Christ that we should have based on that assurance.
To Those Believing in the Name of the Son of God
John is making sure that we understand that eternal life is only for those who believe in the name of the Son of God; those who have trusted in Jesus for our salvation. These are the only ones who are assured by God of eternal life, and these are the only ones that we should be assuring of eternal life. Because He loves us, God gave His son, so that we can be saved from our sins, and have eternal life as His Children. 1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. And who are the Children of God who have eternal life? 1st John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. John is writing to us “and so that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” John is trying to motivate us to continue to trust in Jesus. To keep on believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, despite circumstances. We can’t do that without continually putting our trust in Him. As Jesus said in John 15:4-5 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. We cannot live the life that Jesus came to give us without abiding in Him, and continuing to place our faith in Him. Life in Christ is all about abiding in Him. It is not the fruit-producing that matters so much, it is the abiding in Christ. This is what the Christian life is all about. We think about the product, the fruit, but forget the source: The fruit comes from the Vine; the branches are only the fruit bearers. To be an abiding branch is to be a faithful branch. The fruit will come. Our role is to be attached to the Vine, to fit into our place—to abide. This union with Him, the experience of His daily and hourly presence and keeping is what we urgently need at all times, and especially in times of trial. Abiding in a reciprocal relationship – He abides in us and we abide in Him. Jesus promised in John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” To abide in Jesus is an ever deepening, joyful, vital personal fellowship with Him. We are at home with Christ, in Him, and He in us, comfortable with His leading of our lives, enjoying unbroken fellowship, being open, honest and transparent. Abiding means maintaining a clean conscience. Abiding means we confess our sins quickly and seek repentance earnestly, always eager to return to our first love Jesus.
To abide in Christ is centering our lives in Him every day and all day for what we need, desire, and hope for. To be a follower of Jesus—the Word made flesh—is to abide (to live in, to dwell in, to make your home in) His Word. When we fail to abide in Jesus’ love, and so fail to keep His commandments, then we do not have the fullness of joy He promises to those who do abide in His love and obedience… It can never be found except by abiding in God’s word and being Jesus’ disciple. Charles Spurgeon said: “You are to take care that you abide in Christ as much as if all depended upon yourself; and yet you can look to the promise of the covenant, and see that the real reason for your abiding in Christ lies in the operation of his unchanging love and grace.”
God has already given us eternal life in Jesus, and so we need to live as those who enjoy abiding relationship with Him now, and will someday abide with Him in Heaven eternally. We walk in continual loving relationship with Jesus, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. John is reminding us to walk in the eternal life that we already possess by putting our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.