Podcast: Play in new window | Download (15.6MB)

We Know We Are Born Of God If We Believe That Yeshua Is The Messiah And The Son of God And We If Love Him and Our Brothers And Sisters And Keep God’s Commands; The Three Witnesses That Testify About Yeshua; We Must Believe God’s Testimony About His Son; If We Do, We Have The Son And Eternal Life

John wrote to believers, to followers of Messiah, to Christians and Messianic Jews, to encourage them have fellowship with the Father and the Son, which means share the life and the values of the Father and the Son. God raises up men to lead and teach the people in Messiah’s Community. To have fellowship with God we must have fellowship with the true spiritual leaders who teach the truth. We must not follow any of the antichrists, those who oppose the Messiah – the false teachers, false prophets and false messiahs who lead people astray.

And to have fellowship with God, we must be born again. We must be born by God. We must receive a new nature like God’s nature. If we are born by God, we will think like God thinks; value what God values; act like God acts; love what God loves. Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well. The people of this fallen world, who have a fallen nature, are not born again. They do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah – believe in a way that matters; believe by knowing that Yeshua is the Messiah and living according to that belief. No, the world ignores Yeshua, rejects Yeshua, opposes Yeshua, denies Yeshua, dishonors Yeshua. The world certainly does not live according to the truth that Yeshua is the Messiah.

So, if we really believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and our belief is not mere intellectual belief, like the belief of the demons – who believe that Yeshua is the Messiah but oppose Him – that indicates that we have been born by God. Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God. Do you believe that Yeshua is the Messiah? Is your belief real enough so that it deeply affects your life? Your choices, your values, your priorities? If it doesn’t, you may not really believe. You may not be born of God.

Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well. A father loves his child and want others to love his child. If we love a man, we will love his child. If we love a man’s child, it shows we love the man. If we don’t love his child, we don’t love the man.

When Martha and I lived in Southfield, a couple of neighbors didn’t like us because of our faith; and because they didn’t like us, they didn’t like our children. They refused to allow their children to play with Ari and Aliza. Their rejection of our children hurt Ari and Aliza and hurt us – and made it very clear that these neighbors didn’t like us.

In a similar way, God the Father loves His Son and wants everyone to love His Son. So, if we truly love God, the Father, we will love His Son. If we don’t love Yeshua, we don’t love His Father – God. And the Son shares the nature of His Father. The Son is just like the Father. So, if we love the Father, we will love His Son who shares His nature and is just like Him.

Do you love the Son of God? Do you love Yeshua? It’s easy to say yes. Talk is cheap. Do you love Him enough to rearrange Your priorities? To make His priorities your priorities? To serve Him? If not, you probably don’t love Him.

If we love God, meaning the Father, we will not only love the Son of God, but we will love all the other sons and daughters of God. How do we know if we love God’s children? John told us: This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. How do we know we love the children of God? By loving God enough to keep His commands, especially His command to love our brothers and sisters; to care for them; to help them. If we love God, whom we can’t see, we must love His children whom we can see.

When you love someone who greater than you, and who is in a position of authority over you and has the right to give you commands, you will obey his commands. If we love God, who is so much greater than us, we will keep His commands, especially His command to love our brothers and sisters.

Love for God and keeping His commands are inseparable. They are joined at the hip. There can be no love for God without obedience to God’s commands. We must keep God’s commands.

When John referred to God’s commands, he absolutely, for sure, for certain, no question about it, did not mean the commands of the Sinai Covenant. He did not mean the summary of the 613 commands – meaning the 10 commandments. He absolutely, for sure, for certain, no question about it meant the commands of the New Covenant.

What are those commands? Believe in Yeshua. Believe that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Be loyal to Him. Be devoted to Him. Serve Him and His interests before your own. Lay down your life for Him. Love God with all your heart and soul. Love people, especially the children of God. Be an active member of Messiah’s community and show your love for your brothers and sister in practical ways by doing things to help them. Be kind and gracious and very forgiving. Be holy. Be pure. Continue Messiah’s mission of world evangelism. Proclaim the Gospel to everyone and bring them into the Community of Salvation.

What are not included in God’s commands? Keeping the Sabbath. Observing holidays and dietary laws – except for the law about not eating blood. Those are not New Covenant commands. They are individual preferences.

It’s part of the fallen human nature to rebel against commands, especially ones that are burdensome. John wanted us to know that God’s commands for us are not burdensome. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. Commands are burdensome if they go against our nature. For example, if we have a sin nature that is in rebellion against God, and the Lord gives us a command to be holy as He is holy, we will find the command to be burdensome. If we have a sin nature that likes to rebel, and it does, if we are commanded to drive 55 mph, we will find that command to be burdensome. Something in us will want to go 60 or 65 or 70.

However, if we are born of God; if we are born again; if we have received a new nature that is like God’s nature – and if we are commanded to believe in Yeshua; commanded to believe that He is the Messiah and the Son of God; commanded be loyal to Him; devoted to Him; commanded to serve Him and put His interests before our own; commanded to love God with all our heart and soul; commanded to love people, especially our brothers and sisters; commanded to be active, involved members of Messiah’s community and show our love for our brothers and sister in practical ways by doing things to help them; commanded to be kind and gracious and forgiving and holy and pure; commanded to continue Messiah’s mission of world evangelism and proclaim the Good News about Messiah to everyone and bring them into the Community of Salvation – we will not find those commands to be burdensome.

Not only are God’s commands not burdensome, they are designed to bless us, to benefit us, to help us overcome the world. And who does not want to overcome the world? And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. The world, meaning the people of the world, is under the control of the god of this world. The world will share the future of the god of this world – destruction. Believe me when I tell you that you want to overcome the world. Human beings are in the world and of the world and part of the world – and it’s impossible for them to overcome the world – unless they are born of God.

Those born of God have faith. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. To overcome the world, we need faith – but not any faith. It must be “our faith.” Our faith includes believing the right things and living according to the things, especially the believing the truth about Yeshua.

To emphasize that there is only one kind of person who overcomes the world, John asked and answered a question. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God. Do you believe that Yeshua is the Son of God? Does your life reflect that belief?

Believing that Yeshua is the Son of God, and then living according to that belief is so necessary, so essential to salvation and righteousness and life, that God gave us three powerful witnesses which help us believe Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God. This is the one who came by water and blood – Messiah Yeshua. 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.

The water is Yeshua’s baptism. The blood is Yeshua’s death. Yeshua was baptized in water at the beginning of His ministry. Yeshua died with blood at the end of His ministry. Yeshua’s baptism made it clear that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. As soon as Yeshua was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and settled on Yeshua. And God’s voice from Heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

And Yeshua’s death made it clear that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. While Yeshua was being crucified, from noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. The moment He died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. These events were so unusual and so powerful and so obviously divine that the centurion and those with him who were him were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely He was the Son of God!”

And it’s not just the water and the blood that testify that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God. The Spirit also testifies. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit appeared as a dove and settled on Yeshua at His baptism. The Spirit was testifying that Yeshua is the Messiah and God’s Son. And the Spirit filled Yeshua throughout His ministry, blessing Him with wisdom and grace and enabling Yeshua to do unparalleled miracles. The Spirit of God was testifying Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God.

And the Spirit of God continues to testify. The Spirit points people to Yeshua; directs people to Yeshua. He communicates to people about the reality of Yeshua, by influencing their minds and hearts to help them know that Yeshua is the Son of God, and the risen Messiah and Lord. So, when we read or hear truth about Yeshua, the Holy Spirit helps us be drawn to that truth, think about that truth, understand that truth and believe that truth about Yeshua.

And what the Spirit testifies about is the truth, pure truth because the Spirit is the truth. One good teacher observed: The Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and truth itself; He is essentially truth; His testimony is most true, and firmly to be believed.

According to the Torah, two need to testify for something to be established as true. We have three. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. Yeshua’s baptism, and His Spirit-filled ministry, and His death give powerful, divine testimony that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God. Do you believe the testimony of the Spirit, the water and the blood?

John reasoned that if we accept testimony from reliable human beings about important subjects, how much more should we accept the testimony of God, who is greater than us, about the most important subject of all? We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

The almighty, all wise, holy, infinite and eternal God has given testimony about His Son – by water, blood and by His Spirit, and in other ways. It is wise and right and God-honoring to believe His testimony. It is foolish and wrong and insulting to God to reject His testimony. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. Wretched, puny, insignificant, sinful mortal – you dare ignore the testimony of God Almighty, or contradict His testimony about His Son and thereby call Him a liar? We’ll see how well that works out for you.

God has testified that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God. And more testimony has been given. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. The Word of God, the prophets of God, the Son of God, the apostles of God and God the Father Himself have spoken. They have given testimony. They have made it clear God has given eternal life to those who have the Son, who is the source of eternal life. Those who have the Son – and they have the Son when they believe in Him with real faith, faith that manifests itself in loyalty to Yeshua and His teachings, have eternal life.

And the opposite is true: whoever does not have the Son does not have eternal life. Everyone who ignores Yeshua, rejects Yeshua, does not live according to the reality of Yeshua, does not have eternal life.

Atheists, agnostics, followers of non-Messianic Judaism, Islam and the other non-Christian religions, and many nominal Christians and Messianic Jews do not have the Son and do not have eternal life.

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

It would be horrible to live in a state of uncertainty, unsure if God accepts us or not; if we are saved or not; if we have eternal life or not. John wanted believers to know they have eternal life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This means that we can know that we are saved, that we are headed to Heaven, not Hell.

Is that you? Are you sure you have eternal life? Do you believe in the name of the Son of God, which means believe in the Son of God Himself – really believe so that your life, your values, your priorities reflect your belief? If you don’t believe in Yeshua, try to. You have His promise: Seek, and you will find.

If you know you have eternal life, won’t you make it a priority to tell others who don’t have the Son, that they need to have the Son so they too can have eternal life?

Let’s pray:

Father, we want to have fellowship with You and Your Son. We want to be born again and live forever. Help us truly believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and help us live according to that belief.

Help us love Your Son the way we should.

Help us love the other children of God the way we should.

Father, love for You and keeping Your commands are connected. Help us keep Your commands, the commands of the New Covenant. Help us not be Old Testament Command Centered, but New Testament Command Centered.

Thank You that Your commands for us are not burdensome, but beneficial.

Thank You that our faith gives us the victory to overcome the world. Fill us to fullness with our faith.

Thank You for the water and the blood and the Spirit which testify to the reality of Yeshua, so that our faith can be strong.

Than You that You have given us eternal life, and this life is in Your Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Thank You that we can know that we are saved, that we are headed to Heaven, not Hell.

Now help us do our part, and testify to the world around us, about the reality of Your Son.