Blessed Assurance

Skepticism was popular in the first century. But the Apostle John asserts that truth is accessible to man and may be known. He quotes Jesus who said, “If any one chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:17 And the more famous statement of our Lord, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

In the first letter of John, he closes on a note of assurance -- a triple affirmation of certainty. In I John 5:18-20, each verse starts with “We know.” Of course, he is writing to believers as he wrote in 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” NIV

I. Our Godly Character. 18

The first great certainty is, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin...” The tense of the verb is in the present tense and implies habit, will not continually practice sin. There may be lapses into sin, but he does not habitually sin, and does not enjoy it. You and I, once we accept the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior, receive a new nature. Note that we are again described as one who has been “born of God.” Our new nature has a desire for God and for the things of God, and doesn’t sin. But Christians have two natures: the old nature which is prone to wander and fall into sin, and the new nature which will not sin. At our kitchen sink, we have one handle; if I turn it to the left, hot water comes out of the faucet; if I turn it to the right, cold water comes out. We have a free will. Which way will we live? Allowing God to control us and so overcome the temptation to sin; or, give in to our natural desires and live contrary to God’s will? A person who is “born of God” is God’s child with certain privileges and obligations; one of which is not to live in sin.

The Apostle John gives the reason for this assurance (that we are delivered from the power and fascination of sin), “the One who was born of God (Christ) keeps him safe...” 18b  The subject of the verb is Christ. He is the one who keeps us safe. In the prayer of our Lord in John 17, verse 12 “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe...” Then His prayer in v. 15, “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one .” You can be sure that God the Father answers that prayer. How I love to repeat the benediction at the end of Jude, “To Him who is able to keep you from falling...”

Verse 18c “And the evil one does not touch him.” NIV  Because the Son of God keeps him, and the Christian does not continue to sin. That’s our character. Jesus taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil.” Christ has power to deliver us from the world, the flesh, and the devil. “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” I John 4:4b “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3b You are safe and secure.

II. Our Godly Condition. 19

The second great certainty is, “We know that we are children of God...” No question about it. Note that again it is in the first person plural; John associates himself with his readers. I hope this assurance thrills you, as it does me. Back in chapter 3, John starts by saying, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Norman Clayton has captured this truth in his Gospel song, “Now I Belong to Jesus.” Notice the third stanza:

Joy floods my soul, for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me;
His precious blood He gave to redeem --
Now I belong to Him!

Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

But then the sad condition of the rest of the world is given: “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” NIV “Within the devil’s embrace,” as Plummer wrote. Vernon McGee points out that the whole world lies asleep in the arms of the wicked one. Many people are dead in trespasses and sins, and don’t want to wake up. There are many Bible verses that state that this world is under the dominion of the evil one. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11. Satan is the prince of this world. Look around today, and you must agree with this statement.

Remember, though, Jesus died on the Cross and arose from the grave to deliver us from the dominion of the devil, “He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (2:2) Potentially everyone could be forgiven of their sins and given eternal life if they would turn their life over to Jesus. Everyone is either with God or with the devil. There’s no neutral ground. I hope you can say, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand -- All other ground is sinking sand.”

III. Our Godly Communion. 20

The third certainty is the grandest of all, and fundamental of all three. All these blessings come because: “We know also that the Son of God has come...” John has emphasized the importance and necessity of the Lord Jesus all the way through this letter. It is through Him alone that we are delivered from the grip and control of the evil one.

“And has given us understanding. . .“ Speaking of non-Christians, the Apostle Paul wrote “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Ephesians 4:18  In the first chapter of Ephesians 1:18, Paul prays “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order to know...”

The Lord Jesus “has given us understanding, so that we may know Him Who is true. And we are in Him Who is true -- even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” “True” is a favorite adjective of John, by which he means God is real. The adjective used suggests that His essential nature is that of truth. It is personified in Jesus. John 14:6  We can know God and also have fellowship with God! This is the way John began this letter -- 1:3 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.”

This sounds like what Jesus said in John 17:3 -- “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” Eternal life is defined in the terms of knowing God, both the Father & the Son.  I John 5:11,12  “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has (eternal) life; he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life.”

To know Jesus, is to know God. Have you invited Jesus into your life? He loves you and longs to be your Savior and Friend.

In 1960, when I moved to a church in Connecticut, the organist was a dear woman who reminded me of my Mother. A more faithful woman you couldn’t ask for, but she was not quite sure that she was good enough to know that she would go to Heaven. She had grown up in a neighboring church; faithfully attended Sunday School and church services all her life. An evangelist came to a small, rural church near her home, and he needed a pianist for the services. So each evening she played the piano for the special services. As the evangelist opened the Scriptures, she began to see that God wanted her to know for certain that she was His child. Here she was, a grown woman with a large family, and at last she had the “blessed assurance” which the Apostle John wrote about. What a wonderful truth! It gave her great joy and assurance for the rest of her life. Do you have this assurance?

A. Theodore Ekholm, March 11, 2004