Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begat also loves Him and who is begotten of Him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (4) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. (5) Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

First John was written by John the apostle, brother of James who were known as the sons of Zebedee. John lived a long life and when he wrote this letter was the sole remaining apostolic survivor who had intimate eyewitness association with Jesus throughout His ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. . He wrote 3 epistles and the fourth gospel and the book of Revelation – his testimony was highly authoritative among the churches. John writes of new life, its source annd issue. As a result of the sin of the first Adam, man is spiritually dead and unable to turn to God. So, the work of salvation must begin with God – a divine operation that will enable him/her to believe. This is regeneration – communication of divine life. The salvation of God begins with God.

If we love God, we love the children of God also. Our mothers, fathers and siblings are those who have faith in that Jesus is the Christ and all who trust in Him enter into this relationship. There is no use talking about loving the Father if we do not love the father’s children. In our verses today, the apostle John subscribed to moral tests for true spiritual life. All true spiritual experiences is evident to men or at the very least to God alone. But rebirth is always evidenced, with the stress on holiness of life, humility, obedience to the principles of the word of God. Testing our claim to spiritual life is simple and direct ; we must know the Lord God and keep His commandments. There were those unfortunates who thought they could know God by intellectual argument but God is known by divine revelation. And faith. And grace. Jesus warned that there will be many who call Him Lord but don’t have saving faith – at judgment He will say, “ I never knew you, depart from me , you who practice lawlessness “.
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When truth, love, righteousness show up in a Christian it authenticates this person as a true Christian. Our verses today are a clear statement in Scripture of what a person has to do to be saved. They have to believe that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed One) whom God promised to provide as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world. Faith, not good works define the Christian. Genuine love for God will result in obedience to His commandments. With rebirth comes power and grace from God and no one can overcome the world unless he/she believes Jesus is the Son of God. Let’s go to c.s.lewis and Mere Christianity to close: “ And now we begin to see what it is that the New Testament is always talking about. It talks about Christians “being born again”, it talks about them “putting on Christ”, about Christ “being formed in us”, about our coming to “have the mind of Christ”……… They mean that a real person, Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man, still as much a man as you are, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self, killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first only for moments . Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing, into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge and eternity. “