Let’s start with a plausible, but fictitious, story. Leonidas was born into a wealthy Greek home in the year 85 AD. Contrary to rational explanation, his mother, Sophia, was convicted to repent before Jehovah, the God of the Jews, and to trust the Jewish Messiah who had died on a cross outside of Jerusalem, Judea. But Leonidas’ father, Cerinthus, said that he’d never surrender to that Christian foolishness. He was one of those Greeks who spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new philosophy. In his foolish quest for “gnosis,” Cerinthus took his family to Alexandria, Egypt, in order to study in its great library, before settling down in the Asian city of Ephesus. So in this mixed and mixed up family, Leonidas was taught the doctrines of both Christianity and Gnosticism.
His mother had learned that out of pure grace, Jehovah had sent His only begotten Son into the world by way of a human body. The eternal God became incarnate. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were the law, that sinners might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4). She saw in the Greek New Testament that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ; sinless and undefiled. She also saw that Jesus willingly permitted wicked Jews, in league with wicked Romans, to crucify Him. But three days later, as was prophesied by both Old Testament prophets and Christ Himself, He arose from the grave, and then after a little more than a month He ascended into Heaven. Leonidas learned the message of the gospel growing up at the foot of his Christian mother. And of course he believed what she told him, because she was his mother. He received the witness of men, or in this case, he received the witness of his mother ( I John 5:9).
But at the same time, his father, steeped in the pride of intellect, was just as convinced that what the Bible declared about Christ was false. He didn’t believe there was anything special about the conception and birth of Jesus of Nazareth. But when Jesus was about thirty years of age, the God of Jews immersed him in His spirit, and he became the Christ. That Christhood, enabled the Nazarene to become an exceptionally wise and helpful religious philosopher. But after only a few short years, things went haywire; Jesus’ Christness departed, and he was crucified by the Romans as a social and political troublemaker. But thankfully, said Cerinthus, that Christ will some day return to earth and establish a wonderful kingdom filled with wealth, opulence and sensual pleasure. Cerinthus was a popular man about Ephesus, and over time his ideas became an accepted opinion among the semi-christians in the area.
Before his father began to teach his wild, Gnostic conclusions, Leonidas believed what his mother told him about Christ. As a ten-year-old he surrendered to a powerful conviction he felt within his heart. He told his mother, and her elderly pastor, John, that he was trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Despite the frown of his father, he was immersed as a testimony of his faith in Christ. And for a time he became a faithful attendee at John’s church in Ephesus. But then the busyness of teenage life, the temptations and sins of hedonistic Ephesus, and the enthusiastic teaching of his father began to eat away at his faith and assurance. He began to question whether or not he was a child of God.
Leonidas was not the only member of John’s church who was facing the onslaught of Cerinthianism and other false doctrines. And he was not the only one to have doubts about his eternal soul. So John wrote this epistle, laying out tests to use in the examination of hearts. Part of which are the four verses before us this morning: “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God, hath made him (God) a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
In order for me to understand the scriptures which are next in line to be studied, I often turn to my library. Some of the commentaries I consult are short and concise, but some of them are long and tedious. I was surprised in the case of these four verses even the most verbose experts have very little to add. It says what it says, and even though we might dress it up and emphasize it, the message is simple. You probably don’t really need me this morning, but I still have a commission from God to examine this scripture. To do that, I’ll chop this up into three things: Leonidas, are you beginning to wonder whether or not you are a saint? Here is what you need to do: Believe God, believe the Son of God, and believe the testimony of the Spirit of God.
Believe what God has said, because to believe not is to call Him a liar.
\The Psalmist correctly said, Jehovah “keepeth truth for ever.” And Moses said, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he.” It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). But lying is what unbelievers and disbelievers accuse of God, whether or not they actually express it. For example, “if we say that we have no sin, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (I John 1:10). The truth is: we are all sinners in the sight of the holy God. To deny that fact is suggest that God’s Word is fiction and Holy Spirit is a liar. But“God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19).
God the Father has said many things about Christ the Saviour, and about His work of salvation. For example, He spoke from Heaven at the time of Jesus’ baptism: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…” slapping in the face those recently devised heresies held by the Gnostics. And when God repeated Himself at Jesus’ transfiguration, He reiterated the special relationship between the Father and the Son. We remember that to hear the actual voice of God was a rarity, but the Father has spoken in other ways. Over and over again, God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…” Every answered prayer of Christ, every miracle and every time sinners tried but failed to murder Him… Each of these were the voice of Jehovah. And every new believer and disciple were all testimonies of the Father to the honor of Christ the Son.
I’m sure that whenever Sophia spoke to her son about the crucifixion, Cerinthus laughed declaring that death, in itself, was proof that Jesus was not the Christ. And then when his wife brought up that Jesus’ resurrection was another voice of God, he just scoffed. But when she quoted Romans 1, his scoffing turned sour. “Jesus Christ, our Lord” and God’s Son, “which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead… by Him we have received grace…” God spoke from heaven so LOUDLY at Jesus’ baptism that people could hardly understand what was said, but God SHOUTED from heaven when Christ came out of that grave. No one should have doubted the message: “Here is my eternal Son, given to the world to die as the perfect sacrifice for sin.” “I approve of this ad. I approve of the sacrifice and accept His blood as an atonement for sin.”
Cerinthus and billions of people since have refused to believe God’s testimony about His Son. But when a simple ten-year-old, like Leonidas, puts his ear to his heart, listening for the echo of God’s voice… When he hears it, and he still concurs with what God said, he has God’s testimony that he is a child of God.
Throughout this passage, hiding in the weeds of the Greek languag,e there is an interesting play on words. Do you see the word “witness” there in verse 10? It is the Greek word “marturia” from “martus.” Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John used that word often in his writing. “Marturia” is translated “witness,” “testimony” “record” and “report.” Verse 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. 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. And this is the RECORD, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” John often used this word in Revelation, but it took a life of its own after Revelation 6:9: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the TESTIMONY which they held…” The Greek word “martus” is the source for the English word “martyr.” And according to Webster’s Dictionary a martyr is “one who, by his death bears witness to the truth of the gospel.” It is not too much of a stretch to say that these records, testimonies and witnesses of the Father, Son and Spirit are so true and important that they are worthy of our death in their defense.
When someone believes the testimony and record of God, they have something on which to hang the assurance of their salvation. Verse 11: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” The words “given to us” remind us that eternal life is a gift from the Lord; it is not something we can earn. Also, as God’s gift, eternal life is not something that can be lost once it is given. I am told that the Greek verb tense says that God’s gift is a once for all blessing. “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 5:5).
This is the testimony of God, and when believed and received it supplies and offers assurance of our salvation. It is not pride which enables someone to say, “I know that I shall spend eternity with God in glory.” It is not arrogance to have confidence in what God has declared in His Word. But it is not just faith in GOD’S testimony that is important.
There is also the testimony which springs from our faith in Christ, the Son.
Verse 11 once again: “This is the record, that God hath give to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” The two words “his Son” remind us that this is the Father’s record and testimony. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Leonidas, if you have the Son you have eternal life. But how is that? What ties together the Son of God and eternal life? Creation ties together Christ and life.
It is sometimes thought that the hypothesis of evolution is something new; devised by Charles Darwin in the late 19th century. Actually the idea of the formation of physical matter without any god is ancient. Darwin only helped to codify and to make it sound “scientific.” Some Greeks held to that idea four hundred years before Christ. So it is quite likely that there were Grecian evolutionists in the days when John’s letter was being written.
In today’s world, evolution is being used to destroy man’s dependence upon God the Creator. The creation of the universe and salvation of the sinner meld together at a single point: life. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and into that physical environment, He created and placed life – something which had not existed before. Physical life is not just dependent upon God; life is an extension of the ever-living God. Just as Christ said, “Lazarus come forth,” and Lazarus lived, long before that He said to a great number of lifeless objects “live,” and those things which had no life lived. The oceans and lakes were empty until the Son of God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly.” And the dry land was quiet until God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind.”
In the same way, God says to souls that are spiritually dead, “live” and those souls begin to live. They don’t just begin to live, they begin to live abundantly for ETERNITY. John has said, “This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life” (I John 2:15). And he will say: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” John heard the Lord Jesus say, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” And he heard Jesus say, “I give unto (my sheep) eternal life, and they shall never perish…” The promise and testimony of God the Son is eternal life to those whom He saves. Almost verbatim, John the Apostle repeated what John the Baptist once said: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
If the Apostle had an opportunity to talk to Leonidas he might have asked, “Do you believe that what Christ Jesus has said is the truth?” The answer might have been, “I think so.” If that was the answer, John might have replied, “Then surrender to and trust what the Lord said.” Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” “Leonidas, have you placed your soul’s dependence on Christ?” “Are you trusting what Christ Jesus did on the cross? Not leaning on anything else?” “Then you should have assurance that you have eternal life, based on the testimony of the Saviour.” “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Much earlier, in the first chapter of his Gospel, John wrote: Christ, the Word of God, “was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto own, and his own receive him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name; Which were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” When the Holy Spirit regenerates the lifeless spirit of a sinner, he prepares that spirit to receive not only the testimony of Christ, but the Saviour Himself. And since Christ is life, to possess the Lord is to possess eternal life. “Leonidas, did you, in full surrender to His testimony, receive the Son of God as your Lord and Saviour?” “Then upon the authority of God and His Word, you should possess assurance of your eternal life.”
After that, once again, we come back to the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the Christian’s heart.
John has never said that you can trust your heart, because you shouldn’t. “The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.” But you can trust what the Spirit says to your heart. And what does the Holy Spirit tell you? “He that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself.” And “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and these three are one.” Paul said in Romans 8: “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
One of the problems twenty-year-old version of Leonidas might have had is in listening to his heart more than to the three witnesses John describes. And that is a problem of the 21st century. If the professing Christian is looking to some feeling or emotion for proof of his spiritual life, he is looking in the wrong place. If he is mentally holding up his feeble prayer life as the measurement of his salvation, he will again come up short. Salvation is no more a collection of religious feelings or accomplishments than it is of baptisms and an innumerable number of Hail Marys. Deliverance from sin and peace with God is not the result of anything in us or anything we might do.
What is declaration of God? What is the promise found in the Bible? What has Christ Jesus said, and what is the testimony of the Holy Spirit? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Do you believe what has been said by the Father, the Son and Spirit? And have you rested your soul on those promises? Is your faith in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross? Then you may have confidence in your eternal life in Christ.