Sonship: Test, Testimony and transgressions (chap.5)
We come now to the third test of Sonship, the test of truth. “We know” is the key phrase here given in (5: 2,15,18-20).
The test of knowing that we are born again: (5:1-5, 13-15, 18-21)
When we become a Christian (with born again experience), we become part of God’s family with fellow believers as our brothers and sisters. It is God who determines who the other family members are, not us. We are simply called to accept and love them. We can see 4-conditions fulfilled in believers life.
- He believes Jesus is the Christ: (5:1,4-5,18): Most people in the world do not know what a Christian is or how they can become Christians. They trust in religious works and good intentions, depending on the energy of the flesh. God says that a Christian is someone who has been born again. It is faith in the finished work of Christ that makes a child of disobedience into a child of God (John 1:12-13). John uses the phrase “born of God” 7-times in his first epistle. Some of the qualities we find in a born-again Christian are:
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- They practice righteousness (2:29)
- They do not practice sin (3:9)
- They love other Christians ( 4:7
- They overcome the world ( 5:4)
- They keep themselves away from Satan (5:18).
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2. He loves and obeys God: (5:2-4): John emphasizes love, obedience, and truth as the tests of true Sonship. If we have God as our Father and love Him, then surely we will also love His other children. This love will lead us into obedience (John 14:21). Where there is love, there is a willingness to serve and please others. God’s commands are not irksome to us because we love Him. There is a law in every city that parents must take care of their children, or else be put in jail. Is it a burden for parents to work and sacrifice to care for their children? Or do they care for them only because they fear this law? Neither is true! They obey the law because they love their children. The Christian who complains that God’s Word is a burden does not know the meaning of love.
Christians are not to love the world, belongings of the world, or yield to the world. They are overcomers, overcoming the world, the devil and the false teachers. They overcome by faith in God’s Word, not by their own power or wisdom.
3. His prayers are answered (5:14-15): The emphasis here is on God’s will. When we communicate with God, we don’t demand what we want. We align our prayers with His will. When we reach to that extent, the prayer we make is not simply our words, but the Holy Spirit searches words and provide for the completion and yield to God’s will as we make requests and supplications. This is high level of prayer. God will listen our prayers and give us definite answers. Such prayers give us confidence too.
4. He does not live continuously in sin: (5:18-21): “Any one born of God does not continue to sin.” Christians do fall into sin but immediately come back to God and confess before Him. God has freed believers from their slavery to Satan and He keeps them safe from Satan’s continued attacks. The rest of the world does not have the Christian’s freedom to obey God. Unless they come to Christ in faith, they have no choice but to obey Satan. There is no middle ground; people either belong to God and obey Him, or they live under Satan’s control.
We must yield to Christ in order to have victory. Believers must keep their eyes wide open because the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one. Satan is the god of this age and the prince of darkness. He has blinded millions of people spiritually and has kept them in bondage.