A reflection on 1 John 5:1-5.
How do we know who has been born of God? It is not the use of the term “born again Christian.” It is not church attendance. It is belief that Jesus is the Christ. This is not a matter of intellectual assent. It is about understanding what it means for Jesus to be the Christ and what that means for those who put themselves under that authority.
Again John ties how we feel about God to how we treat people. If we truly love the Father, we must love other Christians. This does not mean that we hate non-Christians but we must start with Christians. The image is that of family. We must love our Father and our brothers and our sisters.
Having started with the love of God and moving to the love for Christians, John brings it back to God. Loving Christians means loving God and obeying his commandments. How is obedience to God related to loving Christians? Obedience is not about following rules for religion’s sake. The commandments of God are designed to shape our lives into that which honours God and other people. Notice that the Ten Commandments include commands both toward God and other people. Both must be included in the life of the Christian.
Christians desire to overcome the world. But how does that happen? It is not by accumulating political power. John makes it clear that it is by faith. Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God overcome the world. Having already defined the nature of the world, it is only by living in Christ that we overcome the world. When we follow Jesus, he transforms our desires so that we are no longer slaves to worldly desires.
- 1 John
- John
