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A "Beloved" Excerpt

As John, the Beloved, closes out his first letter to the churches, he circles back around to the beginning of his letter, returning to the theme of witness and testimony. In chapter 1 of his first letter, John reminds his readers that he, in fact, is an eyewitness to the Messiah, Jesus Christ; being one of his closest disciples and friends, John observed everything regarding Jesus and therefore, speaks directly and credibly as to who He was. But now, in Ch. 5, John names another, even more credible witness of Jesus: none other than God Himself.


God understands the importance of the eyewitness. He even set up the eyewitness as an important part of resolving disputes in His Old Testament Law (see Deuteronomy 17:2-7). And, so with that in mind, John asks the question,


“If we’re going to believe the word of human eyewitnesses, how much more should we believe the testimony of God Himself?” Check out I John 5:9-11,


Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about His Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about His Son. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.


Two things jump out at me, regarding this passage:


1. God is, in fact, NOT A LIAR! If we believe that God is indeed, inherently good, that means there is nothing bad in Him. At all. And, that includes falsehood. God cannot and will not EVER lie! Here are a couple of strong verses, proving this wonderful truth about God’s character:

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?


Hebrews 6:18 So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.


What a wonderful truth! When God speaks, when He promises, when He testifies, we can be assured that, simply because of who He is, He is speaking the truth! Wow, we can’t say that about everyone in our lives, right?


Maybe you’re in a position today where you need to believe in something bigger than yourself. Maybe you’ve been lied to, manipulated, jerked around like a gigantic wave in the ocean and need to hear some truth. Believe God! Believe that what He says is always and forever true. Get into God’s Word and check out what He thinks about you and what He promises you. It will make such a difference.


2. When we see Jesus, we see God. Now this one is a mystery, I’ll tell you the truth. Don’t ask me how this all works, because I have no idea. But the Bible tells us, and God testifies that while Jesus was here on earth, He was fully God and fully man. He operated as a real human being, like us, and He operated like God and submitted His will to that of God’s. It’s a mind-bender for sure. So way back before creation, God put a plan in place to save us from ourselves – He knew we would make bad choices and need to be rescued. Jesus giving His life for ours, wiping away our sin, was always the plan. Always. God decided that He wanted to spend eternity with us, regardless of how many mistakes we make or how many times we go our own way. So He offers eternal life to ALL who believe in Jesus. That’s the only requirement, because as John tells us in verse 11 of Ch. 5, God has offered us eternal life and that life is in Jesus, His Son. Eternal life for the humans has always been on God’s mind and in His heart and it’s the same for Jesus. When we look at Christ’s great love, humility, compassion, and faithfulness, we are seeing a mirror image of God Himself, because they are one. So, when we see Jesus, we’ve seen the Father, and vice versa.


So, I John Ch. 5 is an important one, where we see God Himself as an eyewitness. The question is, do we believe Him?



Ch. 5 Discussion Questions


  1. Have you ever been an eyewitness to something or read an account of an eyewitness? Why should the account of an eyewitness be considered important evidence?

  2. What are some of your favorite characteristics of Jesus? When you think of those, do you remember that they are also characteristics of God, the Father? Why or why not?

  3. Although most of us would agree that God is not a liar, we still find it difficult sometimes to believe God’s promises or take God at His Word. Why?

  4. John ends this letter by encouraging his readers to “keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” We may not worship little statues in our homes, but we can certainly be distracted by other things vying for first place in our lives. What are some things in your life that could easily take God’s place? How will you keep God in first place in your life?


A note from the Bible Nerd team:

We are proud to announce that Sherra has stepped out in faith to create a first-of-its-kind gorgeous and fun Bible Study based on Bible Nerd's "just taking one chapter a week and digging in" to discover God’s heart. We could not be more excited! We love to celebrate what God is doing around us. We will be hosting a BOOK RELEASE PARTY and we want YOU to come celebrate with us. This event will be Thursday, November 16th, at 6:30 pm in Beaumont, Texas at Be308.

Space is limited, so please register (see button below).


$25 Registration will cover: - your very own copy of Sherra's book

- a verse-mapping workshop

- free coffee and refreshments - and prizes! You can help us spread the word by sharing this very blog post!

Thank you for cheering on our team member and for helping us spread the exciting news!



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