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  ‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (9) [1 John 5:13-21]        In today's text, 1 John 5:18, the Apostle John says: “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.” Here, the one who is born of God that the Apostle John refers to refers to one who has been born again or regenerated from God, as we have already learned in 1 John 5:1, 5. The Bible 1 John 5:1 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” In other words, it means that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born again/regenerated by God. And in 1 John 5:4-5, the Apostle John said, “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” The modern Korean Bible translates ‘those who are born of God’ as ‘children of God.’ In...

  ‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (8) [1 John 5:13-21]         The third assurance is the assurance of victory. In other words, it is the victorious assurance that we are victorious in our fight against sin and Satan.         Look at 1 John 5:18 – “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.” Among the 5 Assurances to learn in the foundation of discipleship is “Assurance of Victory.” The Bible verse for the assurance of that victory is 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” The ‘temptation” here does not refer to God’s test in Genesis 22, when God told Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and g...

  ‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (7) [1 John 5:13-21]         The Apostle John clearly shows an illustration of praying according to the will of God in 1 John 5:16-17: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” In this example, the Apostle John exhorts that if anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray to God (‘ask God for forgiveness’). Here, what is the sin that does not lead to death? (vv. 16, 17) I believe that one of the sins that does not lead to death is the sin of not loving one's brother. My thought is based on 1 John 3:14 – “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does ...

‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (6) [1 John 5:13-21]         The second assurance is the assurance of answering prayer. In other words, it is the assurance that God will hear our prayers if we only ask according to God's will.         When you pray to God, are you confident that your prayers will be answered? On November 8, 2020, while meditating on the words of Psalm 55:16-17, I would like to share what I wrote under the title ‘Why am I not sure of answers to my prayers?’: Why am I not sure of answers to prayers? Why am I praying to God, but not convinced that God will hear me? Perhaps the reason is because I am being led by a situation when I am praying to God. So, when the situation seems to be getting better for me, I seem to have confidence in my prayer in the thought that God is hearing my prayer. But if the situation is getting worse in my opinion, I cannot have confidence in prayer. Maybe that's because right now ...

‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (5) [1 John 5:13-21]         In today's text 1 John 5:13, the Apostle John explains the purpose of why he is writing this letter to the recipients.   Its purpose is that “you who believe” in Jesus Christ, “the Son of God,” may “know that you have eternal life” (v. 13).   Interestingly, in John 20:31, written by the same author, the Apostle John, the Apostle John explains the purpose of why he wrote the Gospel of John: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”   Here, the Apostle John is talking about the twofold purpose of writing the Gospel of John: (1) “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”, and (2) “by believing you may have (eternal) life in his (Jesus’) name.   However, the Apostle John explains why he wrote the book of 1 John in 1 John 5:13 and the purpose is that those who belie...

‘You may know that you have eternal life.” (4) [1 John 5:13-21]         In today's text, 1 John 5:13, the Bible says this: “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.” Focusing on this verse, I want to meditate on the five assurances (John MacArthur) in 1 John 5:13-21 under the title of ‘You may know that you have eternal life’, and want to receive the lessons that he Lord gives us:         The first assurance is the assurance of salvation. In other words, it is the assurance that those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have eternal life.         Look at 1 John 5:13 again: “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.” The Apostle John, in writing the letter to 1 John, considers why he is writing this letter to his recipients for six purposes: (1) Look at 1 Jo...