I John 5:11-13 THE ESSENCE OF FAITH

I. INTRODUCTION

A As John approaches the end of the epistle, he makes a statement about eternal life

1. The word for eternal is AIONIOS

a. it means more than simply "lasting forever"

b. there is only one person to which AIONIOS can properly be applied and that is God

c. in the real sense of the term, it is God alone who possesses and inhabits eternity

2. Eternal life is, therefore, nothing other than the life of God Himself

a. what we are promised is that here and now there can be given us a share in the very life of God

b. in God, there is peace, therefore, eternal life means serenity

3. In God there is power, therefore, eternal life means the defeat of frustration

a. it means a life filled with the power of God, therefore, victorious over every foe

4. In God, there is holiness therefore eternal life means the defeat of sin

a. it means a life clothed with the purity of God

b. it means a life armed against the soiling infections of this world system

5. In God there is love, therefore eternal life means the end of bitterness and hatred

B. In God there it life, therefore eternal life means the defeat of death

1. It is a life indestructible for it has in it the indestructible of God Himself

2. It is John's conviction that such a life comes through Jesus Christ and in no other way

II. Eternal Life is Knowing God

A. If eternal life is the life of God, it means that we can possess that life only when we know God

1. The Son of God alone fully knows the Father, and therefore only He can reveal what God is like

2. John clearly states this in John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, the only begotten Son, He has made God known

B. Jesus Christ alone can bring us to God - He alone can reveal God to us

1. It is in Him that there is open to us the new and living way into the presence of God (Heb. 10:19-23).

2. Take a simple analogy

a. if we wish to meet someone who moves in a completely different circle from our own, we can only achieve that by finding someone who knows him and will introduce us to him

b. that in essence is what Jesus does for us in regard to God

C Eternal life is the life of God and we can find that life only through Jesus Christ.

III. The Basis of Prayer (5:14-15)

A. The gift of eternal life opens the line of communication with God

1. When we come to the place of knowing God through the Lord Jesus, we have established the basis of prayer or talking with God

2. The basis of prayer is the simple fact that God listens to us (5:14)

a. the word john uses for confidence is interesting

b. it is PARRESIA, originally that word meant freedom of speech

c. with God we have freedom speech. He is always listening, more ready to hear than we are to pray

d. we need never to force our way into His presence or compel Him to pay attention

3. He is waiting for us to coma

B. The Principle of Prayer

1. The principle of prayer is that to be answered, it must be in accordance with the will of God

2. Three times in his writings, John lays down what might be called the conditions of prayer

a. obedience is a condition of prayer I John 3:22

b. abiding in Christ is a condition of prayer John 15:7

c. praying in His name is a condition of prayer John 14:14

d. the ultimate test of any request is, can we say to Jesus, Give me this for your sake and in your name.

C. Prayer must be in accordance with the will of God

1. Jesus taught us to pray - They will be done

2. Jesus, in His greatest moment of agony, prayed, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt" Matt. 26:39-42

a. this is the very essence of prayer

b. Ce H. Dodd writes, "Prayer is not a device for employing the resources of omnipotence to fulfill our own desires, but a means by which our desires may be redirected according to the mind of God and made into channels for the forces of His will."

IV. Conclusion

A. We are so apt to think that prayer is asking God for what we want

1. Whereas true prayer is asking God for what He wants

2. Prayer is not only talking to God, even more, it is listening to Him

B. It is our waiting heart wanting to know His will even when that will crosses ours.

REVIEW

Eternal life is the very life of God in us.

We can only have this life through knowing God

God can only be known through Christ

He came from heaven to us to make God known

Therefore when we receive Christ as our Savior

We receive the gift of eternal life

This life becomes the means by which

we have fellow with God in prayer.