Well, let us turn once again
to the chapter that we were reading here at the end of that first
general epistle by John in chapter 5, and directing you this evening
to the words that we find in verse 13. 1 John, chapter 5 and
verse 13. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. And taking up the subject matter,
the theme of that eternal life in the Son of God, that eternal
life that is in the Son of God. These things have I written unto
you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus during the course of His own ministry here upon the earth
we have it recorded there in John 10 and verse 10 I am come
that they might have life says Christ and that they might have
its more abundant remarkable words that they might have life
that is more abundant what did Adam and Eve lose when they sinned,
disobeyed God and fell there in the Garden of Eden. They lost life. But in the Lord
Jesus, who is of course the last Adam, we find that we have a
life that is more abundant than that that was lost in that original
Garden of Paradise. I am come that they might have
life, says Christ, and that they might have its more abundantly,
the abundance of life, its eternal life, that is found in the person
of Christ. And we see quite clearly in the
text that such life is bound up with faith in Christ. twice we have mentioned of that
faith you that believe on and then again at the end that ye
may believe on the name of the Son of God or the importance
of faith in the Lord Jesus and in His name and all that His
name declares that revelation that God has given in in Christ
Jesus. He says in verse 11, this is
the record that God has given to us eternal life. And this
life is in His Son. We must be those then who are
ever looking to the Lord Jesus and trusting in Him and resting
all our confidence in him because of who he is the Lord Jesus Christ
the Son of the Father in truth and in love and so as we come
to consider the words of the text for a while tonight I want
to deal with two matters two headings first of all to say
something with regards to the knowledge of the Son of God and
then in the second place to consider something of the ministry of
the Holy Spirit in relation to that knowledge. First of all
then, the knowledge of the Son of God. And you will observe
that in the text we have that name mentioned twice. The beginning of the verse and
then again at the end of the verse. The name of the Son of
God. Well, who is this One who is
referred to as the Son of God? Well, when we look at the chapter
and the context of the verse, we have, of course, statements
earlier in the chapter. I admit they are very controversial
statements, but they stand here on the page of Holy Scripture
concerning the doctrine of God, the doctrine of the Trinity and
the Three. There are three that bear record
in heaven, we're told, at verse 7. The Father, the Word, and
the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood.
And these three agree in one, if we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God
which he hath testified of his Son." Oh, there is a testimony
then, a witness. And it centers in Him who is
the Son of God. The words, the Word made flesh. that dwelt amongst us, says John,
in the opening chapter of his Gospel, and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. How important it is that we have
this true knowledge of the Son of God. And to have that is to
be in possession of life, life that is more abundant, life that
is eternal. Mark here, there are three things
that we are told concerning the Lord Jesus. He is the source
of life. And then we have a life that
is manifested to man. And we see what that life is.
It's his mediatorial life. And that's the That's the division
I want to take up as we examine this first point, the knowledge
of the Son of God. Christ is clearly the source
of all life. He is that, of course, in the
sense that He is the Creator of all things. Ephesians 3 and verse 9, God
who created all things by Jesus Christ. Christ is the Creator. And Paul
makes these truths so plain in his various epistles when he
writes again to the church at Colossae, there in chapter 1. Verse 16, by Him, he's speaking
of Christ. By Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible.
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist. He's not only the Creator
of this world and man upon it, He is the Creator of all heavenly
beings, the Creator of the angels, See, what it says there in that
16th verse, things visible and invisible, whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things, all things
without any exception, He is that One who is the Creator of,
and He speaks, doesn't He, in the Old Testament. and there
in the language of Proverbs chapter 8 where we see him so clearly
as that one who is the eternal wisdom of God. And what does
he say is the wisdom of God? Verse 27 speaking of the Father
when he prepared the heavens I was there when he set a compass
upon the face of the depth when He established the clouds above,
when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He gave to
the sea His decree that the water should not pass His commandments,
when He appointed the foundations of the earth, then I was by Him
as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing
all way before Him. Oh, He is the source of life
in that He is the Creator of all life. He is there at the
beginning. It is in and through His Son
that God has made all things. By the Word of the Lord were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of
His mouth. And we're not just to think in
terms of the manner of God's creation when we read those words
in Psalm 33. It was, of course, by His Word,
by His Fears, when God said and it was done. when God spoke and
it stood fast. No, the reference is also to
Him who is the Eternal Son, the Word of God. In the beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. He is the source of life. But then what we read of here
is a life that has been manifested. And we see it in the reference
to his name. We read of the name of the Son
of God. These things I have written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may
know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. Now, think of the significance
of names as we have them here in Holy Scripture. How the name
declares something concerning a man and the character of the
man and the ministry of a man. We see it time and again in the
names that are borne by many of the prophets. And we've mentioned
this so many times. It's profitable to consider those
names and to discover the meaning of the names given to those men.
Some are so obvious really. A name like Elijah. Here is Elijah,
he's ministering at a time in Israel when there's the most
gross idolatry. And the multitudes are going
after Baal and they're worshipping the idol. And suddenly we're
confronted by this man, we know nothing of him. We're told nothing
concerning his birth or where he comes from and suddenly he's
there, Elijah. And what does his name say? Well
his name simply means Jehovah is God. Jehovah is God, the significance
of names. And here we have the name. The name of the Son of God. and
what is manifested? Well go back to what John says
there at the beginning of the epistle he tells us in verse
2 of chapter 1 the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear
witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the
Father and was manifested unto us And how was this life manifested? It's manifested, this eternal
life, in Christ. That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word
of life. And then we have that parenthesis
in verse 2, so we go straight to verse 3, that which we have
seen and heard declare unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son Jesus Christ and these things write we unto you that your joy
may be full all that fullness of joy that comes by knowledge
of the life that has been manifested which is eternal life And this
eternal life is the very antidote to what man is in his fallen
nature. Man is dead in trespasses and
sins. And man needs then the communication
of new life, of spiritual life. And he says here in verse 11,
this is a record that God has given to us eternal life. And
where is this life? This life is in His Son. This is what God has done. He has given life that resides
in the person of His only begotten Son, a life that is there for
those who are dead in trespasses and in sins. Christ comes and
He reveals God. and what a revelation is it that
the Lord Jesus gives of God or do we not in Christ see all the
goodness of God and all the grace of God that God should have that
for those who are undeserving of any favour or any blessing
all that fullness that is in Christ in him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily He is the image of the invisible
God. Oh, what is that that God has
manifested to us in the Gospel? No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is
in the bosom of the Father He hath declared Him. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten
of the Father full of grace and truth. He is the source of life,
he is the source of natural life in that he is the creator of
all things. Our very physical life has come
from Christ but there is another life manifested with his coming
into this world. And what is that life? Well in
the third place we see here there is in him what we might term
that mediatorial life. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. It's God's gift. Oh, it's the
gift of God. And now, this is the message,
isn't it, that we find the Lord Jesus proclaiming in the Gospels,
and especially that remarkable Gospel of John. Look at the words that we have
there in chapter 5. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. for
as the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself and hath given him authority to execute
judgment also because he is the Son of Man. He is the Son of
God but he's also the Son of Man. And we see both of those
truths in those verses. They that hear the voice of the
Son of God shall live. Why? Because the Father hath
given him to have life in himself and given it to him as that one
who is also the son of man. In other words, this is to be
understood not simply in terms of his deity, when we think of
him in relation to the Godhead, the one living and true God,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Now this is that that we are
to understand in terms of Him coming into this world as the
mediator of the New Covenant when we see Him as that One who
has come as the Son of Man, who has taken to Himself the nature
of those that He has come to redeem and to save. The children
were partakers of flesh and blood, He likewise takes part of the
same as we read there in Hebrews chapter 2. For as much as the
children were partakers of flesh and blood, He partakes of that
nature, their human nature. He doesn't take upon Him the
nature of angels. He's made lower than the angels.
He takes upon Him the the seed of Abraham. Who are the seed
of Abraham? They're all those who come to
believe in Him. You see, the language is that
of the covenant. And Christ is the mediator of
that covenant of grace. And as I say, we have to distinguish
these two things. Sometimes we think of Him simply
in terms of the of the Godhead the doctrine of the Trinity the
three persons but God the Son has taken to himself a human
nature and as a man here upon the earth he has fulfilled all
righteousness he was made of a woman he was made under the
law he has stood in that law place of his people and what
has he done as a man he has obeyed every commandment of God. He
has lived that sinless life, that holy life, that righteous
life, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens. We're familiar with these blessed
truths, as he honours the Lord in terms of his living, so he
honours that same Lord in terms of his dying. In His life we
see Him honouring the precepts, the commandments. In His death
we see Him honouring all the penalties, all that dreadful
punishment that must be visited on those who are the transgressors. He takes all the sins of His
people to Himself, nails those sins to the cross, and in exchange
what does He give His people? He gives His people all that
robe of righteousness. that justifying righteousness.
He is the mediator. And this is the life that is
being spoken of. This is that eternal life which
is in Him. Life eternal, He says. To know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God. that ye may
know that ye have eternal life and the force of that word that literally it's in order that
I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God in order that ye may know there's something to be known
and what is to be known that ye have eternal life and that she may believe on the
name of the Son of God. It's only by faith in this One,
the Son of God. I am come, he says, that they
might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
And remember those great I am statements that we have throughout John's Gospel. We have his his
first general epistle before us tonight but we have also the
gospel according to the same Apostle John and those remarkable
words when he says I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth
in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die believe us how this or do
you believe that? Do you believe those words of
the Lord Jesus Christ there, addressing the sisters of Lazarus? There at the tomb of Lazarus,
He's going to give life. He's going to raise Lazarus from
the dead. He's going to perform a great
miracle, but He is speaking really of something far greater than
the restoring of of natural life to a man's body. When he says the words, I am
the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, though dead in trespasses and sins, yet shall
he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? We come, you see, to die for
sinners. but he comes also to live for
sinners and to live for sinners not only as a man here upon the
earth but he lives for sinners now in heaven where he lives
in the power of an endless life Romans 5.10 if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son that's a
remarkable thing that Paul is saying we were those who were enemies
of God, alienated from God. Our natural condition as we were
born into this world, each one of us, no exceptions, every one
of us was in that dreadful state, in a state of alienation from
God, without God, without Christ, without hope in the world. And what did the Lord Jesus do
when he came to save, when we were enemies we were reconciled
by the death of his son but Paul goes on to say something more
there in Romans 5.10 much more he says being saved by his life and what is the life that he
is talking of well look at the passage it's a remarkable statement
and well worth us underlining and underscoring Much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. That's the life
that He now lives in heaven. Because I live, He says, ye shall
live also. Oh, it's a life of God, mediated
to us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's being crucified with Christ
and yet living in Christ. I am crucified with him, says
Paul. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. Oh, this is that eternal life
that comes into the soul of the sinner. It's the very life of
God mediated through the Son of God who is also the Son of
Man. But then we can't escape the
fact of the importance of faith. And so secondly I want us to
consider the ministry of the Holy Spirit here. That faith
that comes, as it were, by the Holy Spirit. John says these
things have I written unto you that ye may believe have written
unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye
may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe
on the name of the Son of God and again I want to mention three
things concerning the Holy Spirit's ministry in all of this first
of all We're reminded here of a very basic truth, aren't we?
That the Holy Spirit is the inspirer of Scripture. These things, John says, I have
written. But John is not simply writing
his own words. When Peter speaks of holy men,
he's speaking of course of the prophets of the Old Testament,
but the same truth holds with regards to the apostles of the
New Testament. There in 2 Peter 1 verse 21 we
are told that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Spirit of God. And we've remarked on previous
occasions on the force of the words that are being used. How
were they moved? Well, the word that we have there
is a very, it's a very strong verb, really. Moved in the sense
that they've been driven along. The same word is there in Acts
27, 15 and 17 when Paul is making that last journey
from Jerusalem. He's appealed to Caesar. He had
that right, of course, as a Roman citizen. The Jews were seeking
to kill him. And he is taken from Jerusalem
to Rome, and he's there, on board ship, crossing the Mediterranean. There's that great storm. Euroclodon
blows up. And the mariners, they cannot
control the ship, they simply leave it to the elements, to
the wind and to the waves. And we're told how they let the
ship drive. How it was driven. There in Acts 27, 15 and 17. And the words that we have, drive,
driven, it's exactly the same words that Peter uses. there in the opening chapter
of his second epistle, those holy men. How did they write? How did they speak? As they were
moved, as they were driven, as they were carried along by the
Spirit of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. And He's profitable. Because
it's not the word of man, it's the word of God. And this is
what John is writing here. He's not writing his own words.
They are his own words. He is the author of them. This
is the wonder of inspiration. It's a miracle. They're not Paul's
words. They're not Peter's words. They're
the words of John. But this is the word of God.
These things have I written unto you. And remember how John reminds
us, doesn't he, the reason why he wrote the gospel. He tells us there at the end
of that gospel that they've written that men might believe. That's the purpose of the writings. The end of chapter 20 in the
Gospel. Well, the previous 30th verse
as well. Many other signs truly did Jesus
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this
book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have
life through his name. This is why John is writing.
and he's writing the very words of God and so he writes of the
inspiration of the Spirit really who is moving him to write in
this fashion but as the Spirit is the one who inspires the writers
of Holy Scripture so it is the Holy Spirit who also gives this
new life The Lord says, it is the Spirit
that quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. The word that I speak
unto you is spirit and life. All the very words that the Lord
is speaking, and the Lord of course is that One who has such
an unction of the Spirit upon Him. God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto Him. We said before when he lives
his life here upon the earth as a man he lives a life that
is one that is completely and utterly dependent upon the Spirit
of God. How the Spirit is there anointing
him as he is baptizing descending upon him in the form of a dove
how the Spirit leads him into the wilderness where he is tempted
and he returns from the wilderness in the fullness of the Spirit.
and we cast out demons by the Spirit of God. Time and again
the Spirit is evident in His ministry, in the words that He
speaks. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirits and they are life. And oh, the disciples must
have had some understanding of that. In John chapter 6 where
that long chapter we have the multitudes and Christ feeding
the 5,000 and they want to make him king and then the Lord ministers
and his ministry is so sifting and searching and separating
and they begin to wander away from him. When we come to the
end of the chapter it seems that even the 12 will desert him.
And then Peter utters those words, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God. Why? He had
the words. He had the words. Well, we see it time and again
in his ministry, again, that great fifth chapter. in John's Gospel. Remember it's
the chapter in which they would stone him because he said that
God was his father making himself equal with God. Verse 24 there I say unto you, He that heareth
my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from
death unto life." Oh, it is the Holy Spirit who is the one who gives that new life, that
comes in the Word of God and by the Word of God. When he,
the Spirit of Truth, is calm, says Christ, he shall testify
of me. For he will guide you into all
truth. He shall not speak of himself,
he shall take of mine, he shall show it unto you. This is his
blessed ministry. He is the communicator of life. The man must be born of water
and of the Spirit or he cannot see the Kingdom of God. A spiritual
birth is necessary. Born from above, a sovereign
work. And the Lord uses that remarkable
illustration, doesn't he, in John 3 of the wind. And it's
interesting when we think about it because in the Old Testament
where we have the word wind and the word spirit, both are from
the very same root. The word is ruach. Sometimes
in the context it is evident that the reference is to the
wind, but then other times the context indicates that the word
is to be understood in terms of the spirit. And the Lord speaking
of a man being born again, born of the spirit, says the wind
bloweth. where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, and canst not tell whence he cometh, nor
whither he goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit of God. Or the Spirit is the one then
who comes and gives that new life, that spiritual life, that
is spoken of here in the text. And what is the consequence?
Where there is the communication of that spiritual life, there's
faith. These things have I written unto you, that believe on the
name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal
life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
I said just now, there in the middle clause, that word that
is a strong one, literally in order, that ye may know that
ye have eternal life, but then we have the same word again in
the last clause and that's literally in order that you may believe
on the name of the Son of God so where there is eternal life,
spiritual life, new life there will be faith or there will be
faith in Jesus Christ And how so? It's the work of the Spirit
of God. He gives that faith. No man can
say that Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Or you might just utter the words
in a meaningless sense, but to say it spiritually and savingly,
there must be that work of the Spirit in that heart. If any
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His. It is the Spirit who is of course
the giver of that faith that brings with it all the fullness
of that life of faith. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Again, look at the words of Christ,
John 6, 47, verily, verily. And when the Lord prefixes His
teachings in that fashion, how solemn it is. The Lord doesn't
speak idle words. But there are those times when
instead of just teaching, He will prefix His statement with
one verily, and often in John, two verilies, Truly, truly, I
say unto you, either believeth on me, hath everlasting life."
Well, where can such faith be found? It is faith of the operation
of God. It's God's operation, it's God's
gift. By grace, I say, through faith
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. or not of
works, lest any man should boast." The gift of God, the operation
of God, the work of God. This is the work of God that
you believe on Him whom He has sent. And there can be an assurance
of these things. This is what the Spirit gives. It's in order that you may know
doesn't just say in order that you may have eternal life, but
to know to know that we have that eternal life that comes
by the Spirit of God through faith in the Son of God it is
a great work, it's an experimental work it's something that is taking
place in the very depths of a man's soul Verse 10, he that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. Or do we have that
witness within? The contrary part, he that believeth
not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son. Or do we have the witness, the
witness of the Spirit in our hearts? What is the Holy Spirit? He is that One who is the Spirit
of Adoption. He is the Spirit of Adoption.
Because you are sons, Paul says to the Galatians, God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Oh, Christ is the Eternal Son,
the Son of the Father in truth and love. As we read in the second
epistle here, and at the end of verse 3, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of the Father, in truth and in love, all but when the
Spirit works His saving faith and His eternal life in the soul
of the sinner, that sinner then has the Spirit of Christ. and
can cry, Abba, Father. Again, look at what Paul says
when he writes there in Romans 8.14, As many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are the children of God. For ye have
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received
that spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Lord, do
we know that? Can we address God in all the
fullness of His glorious triune being, the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost? Can we really pray to that God
and address Him even as Christ instructs us and say, Our Father? Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Oh, is that the name that we
want to sing? Honored magnified and glorified
that first petition of the pattern prayer do we pray it hallowed
be thy name we want God's name to be holy his name to be holy
in our lives this is the name these things have I written unto
you to believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know
that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name
of the Son of God. Oh, that name, friends. As I
said, it's the name manifested. It's the revelation of God in
the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. God grant that
we might be those who know that great blessing, that our faith centers in Him,
in His person, and in His work. Well, the Lord bless His word
to us tonight. Amen.