1 John 5:11 [11] “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” This verse is another one of my favorite verses in this epistle. There are several reasons why I love this verse, and I want to share them with you in our devotional for today. I believe you will agree with me, and I trust they will help you, as much as they have helped me.  The first reason is because of the start of this verse. It begins with John declaring that there is a record. This …

1 John 5:10  [10] “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” The key word in this verse is the word, “believeth”. John mentions it three times in our text. We know that Christ is the only door to heaven. He declared this truth himself in the gospel of John. In order for someone to get to heaven, they must go through the door. They must go through the Lord Jesus Christ. All …

1 John 5:9 [9] “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.” Why is it so easy for us to believe man and so difficult for us to believe God? Do you ever find yourself in this condition? We have so much faith in some people that we hardly ever second guess what they say. People will often say about others who they have confidence in, “If he tells you something, you can believe it”. They might even say something like, …

1 John 5:8 [8] “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” I want to call to the witness stand of life three earthly witnesses. These witnesses are found in the verse before us. They are the Spirit, the water and the blood. They witnessed in the life of Jesus while he was on this earth, and they witness in the life of every believer as well. The Spirit was at his baptism, and led him into the wilderness. The water proved both the birth …

1 John 5:7 [7] “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” What a blessing to know that there is unity in the Trinity. When Christ was baptized, all three individuals of the Godhead emerged. God, the Father, spoke out of heaven, God, the Son, came out of the water and God, the Spirit, descended as a dove.  Even though the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate individuals, they are still one, working together without any division. To try to explain this …

1 John 5:6 [6] “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” When Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke out of heaven saying he was well pleased. The Spirit descended from heaven, in the form of a dove, upon Jesus at his baptism, as confirmation of what the Father had spoken. The creator’s stamp of approval was both heard and seen that day. This is what John means when he says he came by …

1 John 5:5 [5] “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” There are those who ask the question, was Jesus even real? Did he really exist? Is he nothing more than a myth? While history proves that Jesus lived upon this earth, some still choose not to believe in his existence. They would rather deny the facts, and live in ignorance, than to face this reality. They fear if his existence is true, then everything else about Jesus could be true. These truths are more than some unbelievers want …

1 John 5:4 [4] “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” We cannot defeat the world and its system within ourselves. No matter who we are, or how strong we think we may be, man has proven that he is no match for the world he lives in. Education, reformation, morality, religion, riches, power and prestige have all failed. The world is simply too powerful for man. The pull of the world and the pride of life will swallow him whole every time, leaving him lifeless …

1 John 5:3 [3] “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” John’s message throughout this epistle has been dominated by love. Love is the evidence of life. A dead man knows nothing, sees nothing, hears nothing and feels nothing. When we were lost, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Because there was no life of God in us, there was no love of God in us.  This verse reveals the divinity of love, the deeds of love and the delight of love. God’s love is seen in …

1 John 5:2 [2] “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” I remember hearing a preacher tell the story about when he was younger, riding down the road with a much older, and wiser, man of God. After some time traveling, he sensed an awkward silence in the vehicle, for the older preacher was a man of few words. Being young, and wanting to make a good impression on the older man, he thought he would strike up a spiritual conversation to break the silence.  He spoke out, …