1 John 5
Bible Passage: 1 John 5
My first write up as a bible blog writer was on 2 John.
That was nearly a year ago..I wrote about how we should love the people of the world who yet to hear the gospel and are not saved. God’s love motivates us to share with them the good news.
I also wrote about loving our church brethren, especially those who have fallen away from church. The responsibility of steering them back to the right track rests heavily on our shoulders. In addition, we also need to reach out to the truthseekers, encourage them and make them feel at home.
Unfortunately…today, if there was a report card to show how I fared in my love for people, I would have failed miserably.
On Sunday I had dinner with a bunch of sisters and somehow the conversation was directed towards Pr Shee’s Sabbath PM sermon. One sister commented guilty the sermon made her feel. Two other sisters went on to talk about how we should extend this love to those whom we are not on good terms with.
We are so familiar with this commandment “love” as it is mentioned in the bible so many many times. Biblereadingcompanion commented the day before that in 1 John alone there were 50 references to the word “love”.
But this is precisely why we need constant reminders, to remind ourselves that we cannot grow used to, or worse, grow numb to this important commandment.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
– 1 John 5:2
We love God, and we also love others who are begotten of Him, in other words, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We love all others in God’s family and this should not be limited to our own families and cliques. Sometimes we do hear of disagreements and unhappiness among brethren..and this can be very discouraging.
However, whenever I think of the silent workers in church, motivated by the love of God and manifesting this love for others, my spirits lift a little.
What else but love motivates them to serve their fellow brothers and sisters so willingly?
Parents are exasperated, and even disgusted, when they see their children fight and seem to hate one another. How must God feel when He sees His children fight among themselves?
By this we know we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
– 1 John 5:3
I like the last part of verse 3.
Sometimes we may feel very weighed down by God’s commandments… if only we could see how wise and good His commandments are.
He tells us what to do because He knows how we work best. God’s commands are not there to bind or restrict us.
When we love someone, we would go all out to please him/her. No trouble is too much trouble.
Similarly, when we really love God, we will want to obey and please Him. We appreciate the simplicity of loving and following Him.
In conclusion, God’s commandments are very simply- Love Him, love Man.
“Love one another as I have loved you”
-John 13:34
May He guide us to love others like how He loves us.
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PS
1 John 5:6-8 is different in NKJV and the chin bible.
In NKJ 1 John 5:6-8 is as follows:
6 This is he who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
7 For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, The Word, and the Holy Spirit and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
In the chin bible, NKJV v6 is split into v6 and v7. There is no equivalent of NKJV v7 in the chin bible. NKJV v8 records that the Holy Spirit, the water and the blood bear witness on earth, the chin bible only records three bear witness, without stating that the witness is “on earth”.
RSV is similar to the chin bible.
1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Father said so, the Son said so and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee.
1 John 5:10 states it clearly: He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself…
This witness is the Holy Spirit who dwells in our heart.
Eph 1:14 describes this witness beautifully as a “guarantee”. ie a guarantee that heaven exists. When one doesn’t believe, God is made a liar (1 John 5:10). This a sin.
(Is NKJV 1 John 5:7 a basis to support trinity?)