A Special Possession

Turn with me to 1 John 5.

Read 1 John 5:9-13.

We are going to focus primarily on verse 12 as we talk about a special possession. John tells us several things in this verse. The first is …

I. We have a Special Relationship with Jesus.

John writes, “He who has the Son has the life.” These eight words say a lot to us. What do they mean? There are three things involved in our Special Relationship with Jesus.

A. We have a Realizing Faith in him.

What does that mean? There are three aspects of our realizing faith in him.

1. We have a realizing faith in his Existence.

This is a faith in more than his historical character. Jesus is more than a character in history. He is more than someone who comes to life on the pages of a history book like George Washington. When we speak of Jesus we use the word is not was. He is living, now in the 21st century. Last week I mentioned that Jesus is often classed with the so-called great teachers of history. The reality is that they are dead. Jesus is alive. You could go and find the graves of those guys. You could find their bones. Jesus is not dead, he is alive and well. No one has ever proven that Jesus is still dead. Some people have come up with some wild theories. When you examine those theories, it takes more faith to believe them.

2. We have a realizing faith in his Perfection.

To believe in Jesus as anything less than perfect is to make him a mere man. Jesus is more than just a really great man. Even the greatest most wonderful Christian has flaws. Billy Graham, James Dobson and others are imperfect. To say that Jesus is imperfect is to say that He could not be God. In the five verses we read this morning, Jesus is called directly the “Son of God” three times. Three times he is called “His Son.” One other time he is called “the Son,” with the implication he is the Son of God. We have read in the book of 1 John that we are to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to put my trust in an ordinary man for my salvation. To believe in the perfection of Jesus is to believe that he is God. It is also to believe that he is the One who can take away our sin.

3. We have a realizing faith in his Interest In Us.

The fact that we may have faith in his existence and his perfection means little without realizing that he cares about us. Jesus desires to save us. He died for the sins of the world. He cares enough for each one of us individually. Jesus would have died if only one person needed salvation. He didn’t die for the human race as a whole, he died for each individual member of the human race.

This realizing faith acts in three ways. We must use our intelligence, our heart and our will. God did not create us to be robots. He gave each of us a brain to use. Our intelligence tells that Jesus is who he says he is. Our heart is where our allegiance is. When we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we place our hand over our heart. It is with all our allegiance that we have faith in Jesus. It is also a matter of our will. Jesus isn’t going to save us against our will. It is of our own free will that we come to him. Jesus isn’t going to kick in the door of our heart. He is going to wait patiently for us to open the door and invite him in. The second aspect of our special relationship is that …

B. We are Accepting of his teaching.

When we have Jesus, we accept his teaching. We study him, his life and teaching and apply that to our own life.

Think about an art student who studies under the master painter. The student observes all that the master painter does. He watches how he holds the brush. He watches how he mixes the paint. He notes the choice of canvass. He does his best to imitate the master painter. He does more than just observe. The student spends time with the master painter. He talks with him. He listens to him. He absorbs the knowledge of the master painter. The student buys into all that is said. When the student matures, he still has all that the master painter instilled in him. As long as the student lives, the teachings of the master painter are still with him. They are a part of his mind and thinking and the way he goes about his life in art. In a sense, he has a part of the master painter with him. When we have the Son, we are devoted to his teaching. We look at the Scripture to see how Jesus lived and how he interacted with people. We observe his life. We look at what he taught while he was on earth. We spend time getting to know him. We talk with him. We listen to him. We listen for his will for us. As we grow in him, we get the mind of Jesus. He is the Master Teacher. When we grow in him, we will have him. The third aspect of our special relationship is that …