1 John 5:6-13

[6] This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [7] For there are three that testify: [8] the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. [9] If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. [10] Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. [11] And this is the testimony, that God gave 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.

[13] 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.

John does not want anyone living in doubt. Jesus Christ is Messiah. He is the Son of God. Witness to Jesus is given by the Spirit, the water, and the blood (1Jn 5:6-7). We can debate exactly what that means, but one thing is clear. That witness is equated with eternal life. Verse 10 says that we have the testimony in us if we believe in the Son of God. Verse 11 clarifies, “This is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life.” The witness John refers to is eternal life John’s goal is that his readers will believe in Jesus, and that as a result, they will have full assurance of eternal life.

Faith is never alone. Faith results in love for God and love for others. John makes that point clear throughout this letter. But, he is just as clear that it is faith, not obedience, that saves. Over and over again in this chapter John references faith. He starts the chapter with these words, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (1Jn 5:1). He ends with a statement of certainty. “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1Jn 5:20). We know the truth of Jesus so that we may know him. Knowing him, we are in him. In him is eternal life because he is God. John wants to leave no doubt. There is a surety and a certainty to his writing.

So why do we often find ourselves living in doubt? The simple answer is that we are looking at the wrong evidence. Certainty of salvation is found in the person of Christ. We are often looking at ourselves and trying to measure our level of holiness, commitment, purity, etc. But certainty of life is not found by looking in the mirror. It is found by looking at Jesus. He is our certainty. We need to stop looking at what other people think of us. We need to stop incessant self-examination. We need to look to Jesus.

Yes, Paul did write, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” (2Cor 13:5). So how does one test to see whether he/she is in the faith? I believe Paul’s answer is the same as John’s. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (1Jn 5:1). Ultimately the question is not, “How good am I now?” The question is, “What do I believe and whom do I trust?”

Let us stop looking in the mirror. Let us stop looking at the assessment of other people. Let us look to Jesus and keep our eyes fixed on him. For, in him we have eternal life.