We Can Know

We wrapped up our time in 1 John this Sunday. Chapter 5. The landing. The place where John tells us plainly: you can know.

Three movements carried us through.

First, faith overcomes. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. Not someday. Now. His commandments aren’t burdensome because the new birth changes what feels natural. Obedience stops being a checklist and starts being a family resemblance.

Second, God testifies. The Spirit, the water, and the blood all agree. Jesus is who he says he is. And whoever has the Son has life. Not later. Already. Present tense. That’s the ground of assurance.

Third, confidence holds. John states his purpose out loud: “that you may know that you have eternal life.” From that knowing flows confidence in prayer, clarity about sin and grace, and the power to guard against idols. Anything that steals hope from Christ. Anything that quietly takes his place.

Regeneration comes first. Then rehabilitation. God adopts first. The cleaning comes after. The new birth is the starting line, not the finish line.

Something to sit with this week:

What does it change in your daily life to know, not just hope, that you have eternal life?