How to Know We Have Eternal Life

1 John 5:11-13 ESV

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Now, this is going to be a prime example of why we should not interpret the meaning of Scripture verses outside their context. For we are going to look closely at the context of these few verses here and we should be able to see not only how they have been traditionally taught outside their context, but hopefully we are going to see the true meaning behind them. For when I was growing up in the gatherings of the church I was taught these Scriptures as proof that I could just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and that I could know that I had eternal life in Him, not contingent on how I live.

So, we are going to take a walk through the book of 1 John here:

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7 ESV

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:3-6 ESV

“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” 1 John 3:7-10 ESV

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:20-21 ESV

So, what is this all saying? 

It is saying to us that if we claim to be in fellowship (in union, in partnership, in relationship) with Jesus Christ, but sin is what we practice, for it is our habit, our go to, then we are liars in what we claim. For we need to be those who walk (in conduct, in practice) in the light (in Christ, in righteousness and in holiness and in obedience to our Lord), and then we are in genuine fellowship with the Lord and with others who are also in fellowship with Christ, and then the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

It is also saying that if we profess to know God/Christ, to be in relationship with him, but we do not keep (obey) our Lord's commandments (New Covenant), in practice, then we are liars and the truth is not in us. For it is whoever is keeping (obeying) the Word of the Lord and his commandments (New Covenant) who truly know the Lord and who are in genuine fellowship with Christ. For by this we can be sure that we are in Christ if we abide in (obey, follow, conform to, remain in) him, and if we walk in like manner as he walked (conducted his life on this earth).

And it is saying that those who are righteous in the sight of God are those who make the righteousness of God their practice, and who do not make sinning against the Lord their practice, their habit. For no one who is truly born of God is going to keep on (habitually and deliberately) sinning against the Lord Jesus. For if they do, they are of the devil, instead. Now this is not saying that we will never sin (1 John 2:1-2) but that sin should not be our practice if we are truly born of God. And then this adds to this that if we hate one another, we are not born of God.

Therefore, when we read 1 John 5:11-13, we have to interpret these three verses in light of the whole of the teaching in 1 John, only part of which I quoted. And even those other parts not quoted need to also be taken in light of the whole of 1 John. In other words, we need to interpret each part of 1 John in the whole of the teaching of 1 John to get the correct understanding of what 1 John is teaching us with regard to who truly knows God/Christ, who has forgiveness of and salvation of sins, and who has eternal life with God. And reading the whole of the New Testament should give us additional insight which should then agree with what John taught here, too.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263