Johnny Poppin' 13; He who has the Son has life

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
 ⁶This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷For there are three that testify: ⁸the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ~1 John 5: 1-12

His commands are not burdensome; believe and love. Is that so hard?
Jesus came to give us life. Don't take my word for it. Who is Jesus? Just another teacher? A social revolutionary?  God tells us Himself when He told Peter James and John (our author) on the mountain at Jesus transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-13, in verse 5-

"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

If we believe this, He gives us new life. He shed His blood for us. The water of baptism seals us as His own. If we believe He is who His own Father says He is, we receive the Holy Spirit too. They all constantly confirm each other.

What makes us think we know better than God the Father? At the time that John was writing this book, there were already people claiming that Jesus was merely the most self-actualized person ever, the most god-like, having come closet to God or please God- but not the actual only begotten son of God. There were people teaching that Jesus didn't really die or that if He did, that He wasn't resurrected- so that He didn't save us and can't offer us eternal life let alone a relationship with God, just an example for us to follow.

John, a first hand witness to the transfiguration, wanted to reassure his readers that Jesus is who He says He is. John makes it clear to us that if we don't believe it, if we deny it, we're making God out to be a liar.

When antisemites deny that the NAZI Holocaust really happened, they're basically saying that all of those survivors like Elie Wiesel and Victor Frankl and all the Allied veterans and General Eisenhower and his camera crews are lying about it.

There are plenty of preachers and pastors that I don't always trust, but if God Himself says that Jesus is not just a role model or a prophet, but His own son- I'm gonna believe Him. Eventually church councils were called and after debate, discussion and prayer, they established the Nicene, Apostle's and Athenasian Creeds to make clear once and for all that Jesus wasn't merely some kind of new age guru or just some prophet between Moses and Mohamed, or a great social visionary. He didn't just pretend to die so he could run off and get married and have kids with Mary Madelene.

He is God's only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Mind you, I think sometimes too many Christians limit Him to being their Savior and don't also seek Him as their Lord. I also think that way too often we Christians put Jesus in a box and don't let Him be the spiritual and philosophical example that He is and don't appreciate him as the innovative social revolutionary that He was either. But that's the subject for a different post.

Believe and obey. Here's the thing, if we believe, He makes it possible for us to obey. And if you've been reading any of the rest of these posts on First John, you know that to obey His commands means to love others. If you REALLY believe He is who He is, you'll want to do what He does and what He asks us to do- which is to love others, even those who don't love you back.

We Shall Overcome

 This Gospel hymn was used as a protest song that became a key anthem of the US civil rights movement. It became a favorite of 50's and 60's folk singers Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.Lyrics derived from Charles Tindley's gospel song "I'll Overcome Some Day" (1900), and opening and closing melody from the 19th-century spiritual "No More Auction Block for Me" (a song that dates to before the Civil War).

I tend to believe that it was originally inspired by 1 John 13: 5, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day

CHORUS:
   
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day

We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand some day

CHORUS

We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free some day

CHORUS

We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid some day

CHORUS

We are not alone
We are not alone
We are not alone some day

CHORUS

The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around some day

CHORUS

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day