Sermon Series on First John, “Collecting Evidence of Faith”
I John 5:1-12, “Spirit, Water, Blood, Life” Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
Throughout this letter John is stressing two essentials--what we believe, and how we behave. When we’re born into the family of God by faith there’s a family resemblance. We become increasingly set apart from the non-believing world which mistakenly regards the Christian life as oppressive; in other words, no fun. Nothing could be further from the truth. People criticize our Puritan forefathers for being joyless, which reveals historical ignorance. Our obedience to God is not troublesome; because we love God, we want to live for Jesus. His yoke is easy, His burden light (Mt 11:30). In today’s passage John points out our conflict in a corrupted world, the certainty of God’s affirmation, and what all this means for us.
A corrupted world, verses 1-5…
Verses 1-5 describe our corrupt, fallen world. Eugene Peterson calls this “a pushing, shoving, intimidating, arrogant, antagonistic demanding world…but in prayer we leave the world of anxieties and enter a world of wonder. We leave an ego-centered world and enter a God-centered world. We leave a world of problems and enter a world of mystery.” We may grow accustomed to the world, but it is not our true home. The world often responds to evil as though it is uncontrollable. What can we hope to do in the face of such wickedness in our world? We can look toward our ultimate triumph.
I serve on the town’s drug task force and domestic violence coalition. Our meetings can be discouraging when we look at the problems and lack of progress. People ask me, “What do you hope to accomplish?” My answer is that it is better to attempt to pierce the darkness than to curse it. There is a Solution, if people are open to having God as the driving force of their lives. We walk with God or walk alone. This is the purpose of our “Exercising Your Spirit” walking path in town, connecting most churches. At each stop along the way is a marker with a Scripture verse describing our walk with God. Life can be a lonely journey or it can be a pilgrimage of faith, with fellowship from Above and with a family of fellow travelers.
John assures us that we can overcome the world; faith gives us victory. The Greek word for “victory” is a familiar one to us, the word Nike. When I served in the Army, every six months we had to take a physical fitness test, consisting of sit-ups, pushups, and a 2-mile timed run. I put on my Nikes and hit the pavement, but knowing that it was in God’s strength, not my own, that I would finish the course. We’re in a race, but we’re wearing God’s running shoes! Through faith we find the power to persevere and overcome the world. Our sovereign God has a plan, and the outcome has already been determined.
Do you ever watch “classic” sporting events on TV? They are interesting, but hardly nerve-wracking. We already know the final score. Let’s live life that way, because ultimately we will end up winners. When asked to cheat, we play by the rules. When discouraged, we remember our destiny. Winston Churchill observed, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” The power of God is the measure of our hope and expectation. Let’s hold fast, trusting in the Captain of our team.
Someone challenged so-called worldly wisdom this way…
“People may see the good you do as self-serving. Continue to do good.
They may see your generosity as grandstanding. Continue to be generous.
They may see your warm and caring nature as weakness. Continue to be warm & caring.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It never was between you and them anyway.”
Testimonies, verses 6-9…
God affirms the truth of Christ is affirmed in verses 6-12. Eugene Peterson declares that Jesus “experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death” (the Message). The One who came by water and blood is Jesus; when pierced on the cross, water and blood flowed from His side, atoning for our sins. Some scholars suggest the water refers to our Lord’s baptism where He was proclaimed the “Lamb of God.” The bottom-line is that our Lord Jesus lived and died for us. If Jesus had been only a man and not God, His sacrificial death would not have satisfied divine justice. We are cleansed by His blood.
Modern liberal academics seek to demote the cross and re-image Christianity, emptied of sacrifice--a Christ without a Cross. They deny the doctrine of the atonement which teaches the removal of guilt from sin by Christ’s sacrifice. They feel the world has grown beyond any use for atonement. Near the end of his life, Charles Spurgeon lamented, “I used to argue over whether the atonement was limited; now I argue over whether there was an atonement.” We need to resist attempts to redefine our faith. This is no minor issue. There is no hope for forgiveness and healing apart from the Cross. Moslems view Jesus as a prophet, but deny His sacrificial death on the Cross. An angry Moslem imam this week called Jesus “the slave of Allah.” All we can say in response to such people is simply, “Jesus loves you.”
If you’re reading from the KJV, verses 7-8 have a distinctly Trinitarian tone, in which God the Father is included with affirmation that the “Three are One.” This is certainly orthodox theology, supported elsewhere in Scripture, but not found in the earliest manuscripts of I John. The King James translators were influenced by the Latin Vulgate, which added to the original Greek text.
John then points out how courts of law respect human testimony. While one witness alone is not regarded as valid, two or more witnesses confirm an account. The Holy Spirit testifies in verse 6, the Father enters the courtroom in verse 9, and Jesus testifies on His own behalf with the evidence of His lifeblood. Lastly, there’s within us an internal affirmation, verse 10. This testimony finds a place in our hearts.
Outcome, verses 10-12…
What happens when we trust in Christ? The result is eternal “life”, verse 12. “Our faith on earth is a solemn engagement and Heaven is the marriage” (Peter Kreft). We participate in the unending life of God. We’re in the company of the resurrection.
A few months ago during “Fleet Week” my wife and I were privileged to attend a reception aboard the USS Kearsarge, a amphibious assault ship, by invitation of Command Chaplain Guy Lee. If you’ve ever been aboard a Navy ship, they’re like floating cities. A Navy Captain described what it’s like to maneuver through a storm at sea: The ship is driving through mountainous waves, and the wind is blowing hard with a torrential rainfall. The ship seems a helpless victim of the storm, caught up in the power of mighty elements raging on every side. But the Captain confidently stands on the bridge. He’s conscious of the powerful engines deep inside the hull. The storm, the wind, and the waves seem to be saying to the ship, “You’ll never make it.” But the Captain checks the status of the engines saying, “Yes, we shall, and so we do." That is how we make it to safe harbor. God hasn’t promised there won’t be storms but He has promised to energize us and assures us that we will arrive at our destination.
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (vs 12). God is not obligated to save anyone, and no one deserves Heaven, but God’s Son has purchased salvation for whoever will receive it. Those who refuse this free gift, refuse life. Heaven is made up of “whosoever will”, while Hell consists of “whosoever won’t”. “We choose Hell when we refuse Heaven and God and joy” (Kreeft). The ultimate life question is, then: “Do I have the Son?”
