Don’t Stop Believing

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth... He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. — 1 John 5:5–13

God Himself has testified that Jesus is the divine Son of God—so don't stop believing.

A Word About the "Johannine Comma"

As we read, some of you may have noticed that I skipped a portion of Scripture. If you read from the New King James or King James Version, you'll see a few words between verses 7 and 8 that I did not read. Scholars and theologians have for many years called this the "Johannine Comma." This portion is contested by virtually all scholars as to whether it belongs to John's original letter, and by nearly all accounts it does not.

The best scholarly guess is that it began as a marginal note by a scribe and eventually worked its way into a manuscript. It does not appear in any New Testament documents until the 15th century AD—quite a long time after John wrote. This troubles some people because the doctrine that seems to be drawn from this contested text is the doctrine of the Trinity, which is central to the Christian faith.

But because the doctrine of the Trinity—that God is one God existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is built up across the whole breadth of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, the absence of these words is not a big deal. There's no real way to demonstrate from the manuscript evidence that those words are original, so I'm not going to spend much time on them. There's plenty in John's letter to occupy us. That's why my plan to teach this letter in eight weeks became twenty.

The Transformation of Peter and John

As I meditated on these five chapters, what stood out to me most was the transformation that took place in the lives of Peter and John as they were connected with Jesus. John is believed to be the youngest of the disciples, likely becoming a follower of Jesus around age fifteen. When he writes this letter some sixty years later, he has been walking with Jesus a very long time.

Peter and John were friends from boyhood. Living around the Sea of Galilee, they took on the trade of their fathers—fishing—as their fathers and grandfathers likely had for many generations. Then a rabbi from Nazareth, twice John's age, came and said, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They probably didn't fully understand what that meant, but they forsook everything to follow Him.

For more than three years they sat at His feet, learned His teaching, and watched His pattern of life. They saw Him rise early to pray, heal the sick, walk on water, and even raise the dead. They saw the very glory of God in and through Jesus, and it radically transformed everything about who they were. This reveals what God can do in a person's life when they truly come into contact with Him.

Why John Wrote

By the end of John's life—around AD 92 to 95—his brother James had been dead for more than fifty years, Peter and Andrew for more than twenty. John was the last living apostle who had been with Jesus from the beginning. Before this letter he had written the Gospel of John, after Matthew, Mark, and Luke had already circulated for more than twenty years.

John doesn't follow the same outline as the synoptic Gospels. He fills in gaps and shares stories that reveal more of Jesus's life and ministry. He tells us why he wrote:

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. — John 20:30–31

John built his Gospel around seven "I am" statements and seven miracles of Jesus—the bread of life, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, the good shepherd. These were written so that you would believe Jesus is the Son of God and have life in His name—the abundant, eternal life Jesus promised in John 10:10.

Written That You May Continue to Believe

John's purpose in this letter parallels the Gospel:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. — 1 John 5:13

In the Gospel he wrote so people would believe; here he writes to those who already believe, that they would have assurance—and that they would continue. That phrase makes us wonder: was there a problem with people no longer believing in John's day? Apparently yes. A counterfeit gospel was coming into the church through false prophets and teachers, leading people away from trusting that Jesus is the Son of God. The same thing is happening twenty centuries later.

Eternal Life Is Received by Faith and Revealed by Works

This brings us to our first point: eternal life is received by faith—and it is revealed by works. Some people religiously think they earn a position with God and the promises of the afterlife by good works, but that's not what the New Testament teaches.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:8–10

This theme runs from the earliest New Testament writings to the latest. James, the half-brother of Jesus, says it early:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?... You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!... Faith without works is dead. — James 2

A profession of faith is important—"with the mouth confession is made" (Romans 10)—but that declaration must be followed by the activity of a transformed life. True faith in Jesus begets fruit. And what is the fruit? "The fruit of the Spirit is love" (Galatians 5:22). John has spent much of this letter developing what God's love looks like worked out in us—not mushy sentimentality, but love expressed in patience, kindness, and humility, the love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7.

A Perplexing Passage: The Water, the Blood, and the Spirit

This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. — 1 John 5:6

Many commentators regard this as one of the most perplexing passages in the letter. Go read Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli on it and you'll find a passage of twenty words generating fifteen pages of commentary—a sure sign of a challenging text. What is John saying when he claims Jesus is proven to be the Son of God by the water, the blood, and the Spirit?

There are three primary views. Some think John speaks of the sacraments—the water of baptism and the blood of communion. Others think he refers to what happened at the cross, where a spear pierced Jesus's side and out flowed blood and water, proving His death. But neither seems to fit the context.

Only a Fully Divine Jesus Can Make Us Overcomers

John concluded the previous paragraph by establishing that Jesus is God incarnate. "Son of God" is a title declaring that this man—who performed miracles, died by Roman crucifixion, and rose three days later—has the very nature of God. The false teachers of John's day were attacking this. They didn't believe Jesus was a mere man (that's more of a 20th- and 21st-century view); these early heretics believed He merely appeared to be here, an apparition, God only seeming to take flesh.

Why does this matter? Our second point: only a fully divine Jesus can make us overcomers in this world. If Jesus was just a man, He has no power to enable us to overcome the brokenness of sin. And if He was not truly a man—only an apparition—then His death on the cross has no power to save us. So He is fully God and fully man. This has been the church's teaching for twenty centuries.

I believe the most likely interpretation is that the water refers to Jesus's baptism and the blood refers to His death on the cross. These two events bookend His earthly ministry—its beginning and its finishing work. The Spirit of Truth witnesses to the full divinity of Jesus from the beginning of His ministry at His baptism until its finality at His crucifixion, and throughout everything Jesus said and did in between.

God Himself Testifies That Jesus Is Divine

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. — 1 John 5:9

John is saying that he and the other apostles—Peter, James, Thomas, Andrew, Paul—all declared that Jesus is the Son of God. That is human testimony. But Jesus has a greater witness than the voices of men: the witness of the Spirit of God, who is outside time and space and reveals that Jesus is the Son of God. As one teacher put it, the reasonableness of belief rests largely on the validity of the testimony given—and here the one giving testimony is God Himself.

This is our third point: God by His Spirit has testified that Jesus is divine. When and how did God do this? I can think of at least five ways.

First, the baptism of Jesus. When He came up out of the water, the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove—not perched on His shoulder, but descending like a dove—and a voice came from heaven: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3).

Second, the Transfiguration. On a mountaintop, Peter, James, and John fell asleep while Jesus prayed (you're in good company if you've done that). They woke to see Him transfigured and glorified, with Moses and Elijah beside Him. Peter, the spokesman, blurted out that it was good to be there and offered to build three tents. Then a cloud overshadowed them and the voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him" (Matthew 17). Those last two words were a divine "Shush, Peter."

Third, the miracles of Jesus. The signs were written "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ" (John 20:30–31). Jesus said the same: "I have a greater witness than John's—the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me that the Father has sent Me" (John 5:36).

Fourth, the Scriptures. Jesus told the skeptics, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). The Law and the Prophets point to Him.

Fifth, and greatest, the resurrection. Jesus predicted at least three times that He would be crucified and rise on the third day. Anyone can say "I'll rise from the dead"—those are just words. But when you back it up and actually rise, people realize there's something different about you. The risen Jesus was seen by more than five hundred people. "Jesus Christ our Lord... declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4).

The Presence or Absence of Faith Has Consequences

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. — 1 John 5:10–11

When you believe in the Son of God, God works in you and that work becomes visible through the fruit of the Spirit, love. But if God has at least five times declared that Jesus is divine, and you say He is not, you are calling God a liar. That is not a good plan.

This is our fourth point: the presence or absence of faith has significant consequences. The one with faith has the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit and eternal life in Christ. The one without faith effectively proclaims God a liar—the same God who "cannot lie" and "promised eternal life" only through Jesus (Titus 1:2).

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. — 1 John 5:12

At the beginning of his Gospel John wrote, "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12). Receiving Jesus, we are born again—not by the will of the flesh but by the will of God—made new creations. Throughout these five chapters John draws a stark contrast: life and death, light and darkness, born of the Spirit or of the antichrist. He gives these pointed words so we can know where we stand.

Don't Stop Believing

Our fifth point: assurance of life belongs to those who trust in the Son of God—and don't stop believing. Some of you already have a song looping in your head. Those last three words trouble people because they imply that some do stop. But that is exactly John's concern: "that you may continue to believe." It implies that some don't continue, and that makes us uncomfortable.

Is there really a danger? Apparently it was a problem twenty centuries ago, or John would not have written it—and it's still a problem today. In the last month, two prominent Christian leaders have publicly walked away. Joshua Harris, who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye and later became a pastor, announced on Instagram that he and his wife were separating, and days later said, "By all measures that I have, I'm no longer a Christian." Marty Sampson, a longtime Hillsong worship leader whose songs we sing in our own church, likewise said he is no longer a Christian.

These two come from entirely different camps—Harris from a strong Reformed tradition, Sampson from a far more charismatic one—yet both walked away. I want to suggest it has to do with their view of God and their understanding of theology. Harris's theology made little room for the challenges of this world; he held a strong fatalistic determinism in which God predetermines everything—therefore predetermines every death, every rape—and when confronted with that, he was shaken because he lacked enough ballast for the storm. The other came from a place with a lower regard for Scripture and could not stand against the questions of a materialistic, progressive mindset. Neither had enough ballast to handle even a small wind.

The Lesson of the Vasa

This reminds me of something I saw last year. My wife and I were in Stockholm, Sweden, where friends sent us to the Vasa Museum. There stands an unbelievable 172-foot, three-masted wooden ship from 1628 in dry dock—beautiful and massive. It had a crew of 445, sixty-four guns, and launched on August 10, 1628. Three hours into its maiden voyage, as the king and crowds watched, it sank in the harbor in a five-knot wind. Why? It didn't have enough ballast—enough weight in the body of the ship to hold it in the water. It listed, took on water through its gun ports, and sank.

I want to suggest that Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson did not have enough ballast to endure the winds of challenge and difficulty. So I don't care what your theology is on whether or not you can lose your salvation—that's not the issue today. The issue is John's command: don't stop believing. We need to add to our faith and draw near to Christ, so that the winds we go through in this life drive us closer to Him rather than cause us to sink.

We can debate eternal security all day—that conversation has gone on for four hundred years. But I know this for certain: you are eternally secure as you abide in Christ and draw near to Him. That was John's intent and nearly his final word—draw near to Jesus. He pastored the church at Ephesus, the church to which Jesus wrote in Revelation: a church with many doctrinal strengths that had left its first love. "Repent—come back, and get back in line with that first love."

Closing Prayer

Lord, in the finality of this, I think it's only right to pray for Joshua Harris and for Marty Sampson, because the story's not over. We believe You are still actively working, seeking to draw people to Yourself—even those who go through challenging times and don't know how to navigate the storms of this life. I pray You would draw them with Your lovingkindness—not the challenges on Twitter and Instagram of well-meaning Christians yelling at them, but Your lovingkindness drawing them and many others to Yourself. We thank You, God, that You loved us when we were unlovely, and that You desire Your love to pour through us. Do a work in us of Your grace. We ask this in Jesus's name. Amen.