1 John 5:10: Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
1 John 5:18-20: We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
I knew what I needed to do. At least I thought I knew. It was the summer of 2011 and I was helping my father-in-law tie a boat on top of his car to take to the lake. He had shown me very carefully how to tie the knots in order to secure the boat. In my head, I had it down to the point where I could explain it to someone else. I knew about how to pull the loop, position the boat, and tie it tight. Well, I thought I knew. That day, I got humbled as the boat slid off the car due to my poor knot-tying. Turns out, there was a big difference between knowing about and actually knowing how to tie the knot. I knew in my head, but that didn’t translate to reality.
I think for a lot of us, this connects to our faith experience. We may “know” certain things about God and what it means to be a Christian. We can maybe even describe it to someone else with our words. And yet, we were designed for something more. We are invited into an intimate relationship with God. We find John stressing this truth throughout his letter. This relationship is not purely cognitive, it is transformative. It changes the way we think, speak, act, and love others. We have the testimony in us.
1 John 5:18-20 highlights this reality. John uses a series of three statements beginning with “We know…” The Greek word utilized here refers to cognitive, head knowledge. Then he comes to the climax. We know all of these wonderful truths, “so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (I John 5:20, emphasis mine). The word “know” here refers to a deep, personal, intimate, experiential type of knowing. God lives in us, we have been born of God, He has given us understanding, we have eternal life, and we are made new. The testimony we now have in us should be shared and described to others. We are people of hope and the world needs the Good News of Jesus that we have. Today, identify the three most transformative moments in your relationship with Jesus. Who could benefit from hearing your testimony? Let’s be bold to share the testimony in us with those around us.
By Billy Berglund
