6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify:8 the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:1-12
Have you ever met someone who’s just embodies Jesus? Their presence changes the room and you feel drawn to them? They have a gravitas and confidence in who they are and what they believe. They are rooted and spiritually healthy. This is the life that John says that you can have.
The Church that John was writing to was struggling with their faith. They were surrounded by false teachers, there was pressure on them from the Jews to denounce Jesus and to compromise their faith. John wants to encourage them to be people who embody Jesus, to be faithful until the end and to recognise that they are overcomers or conquerors. In this passage he gives us three keys to being someone who transforms the world around them:
Obey God
In verses 1-5, he explains that overcomers are those who practice joyful obedience. To be more like Christ, it makes sense that we would do what he did, which was to obey the Father. If you want to be spiritually powerful, you must be humble. Pride is the greatest barrier to spiritual growth.
Love God
Earlier in his letter he says that we love God by loving each other. Here, he reverses that teaching and says that to love each other well, we must love God. We can not be pulled to the left or right by the pressures of community or the zeitgeist of culture. Our eyes are fixed on Christ above all, for he is the wellspring of eternal life. You can only be as strong as your foundations and ours are built on worship. Priorities set your trajectory: what you prioritise will grow.
Trust God
A while ago I felt incredibly distant from God. I was trying to work out what had happened and I felt the Holy Spirit say to me that I had stopped praying because I no longer trusted God to answer my prayers in a way that I wanted them to be answered. I no longer believed that He would be there for me. Pain had broken the trust that I once had. I started to pray and say sorry. It was hard because I still had no guarantees that God would do what I wanted him to do but I knew that a life without trusting in him was leading me to darkness and isolation.
A strong and mature version of you is a gift to those around you. You become an anchor for your friends and family in hard times. You become a presence of life and joy. When your connection with God is right, it changes everything else in your life. It affects your relationships, your work, your mental health, your purpose, your appetites. Life flows from your deepest places and so having a healthy connection with God is the key to overcoming in every other area of life.
Reflect
- Which of these three areas do you think needs the most attention?
- What would be a practical habit or discipline that would help you to grow in that connection to God?
Respond
Choose one response:
Obey: Is there an area in your life that you know God is not pleased with? It could be something that you are doing which you shouldn’t or it could be something that you are not doing that you should. Take a moment and ask God to reveal a course correction and then… do it.
Love: Spend some time in prayer. Think of everything that you know about God and who he is. Remember stories and testimonies. Say five prayers that start with ‘I love you because…’
Trust: Broken trust almost always stems from hurt or disappointment. Ask God to reveal if anything has caused you pain which is preventing you from trusting. Ask God to help you to heal and to restore the trust that leads you to flourishing life.
