The Nugget:
1Jn 5:13 These things have I written to you, that ye may know that ye who believe in the name of the Son of God have everlasting life. (Noyes NT)
My Comment:
This verse, 1 John 5:13, contains some of the most important truth in the Bible that you need to know.
I made a study of the book of 1 John when I was still in high school. I used the methods I learned in Miss Ellen Groh’s “How to Study the Bible” vacation Bible school class in the summer of 1954, held at the Highland Park Baptist Church. It was Miss Ellen Groh who introduced to the class, and to me, the important Bible study tool, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. She also taught us several methods of Bible study, and I share on this site in the “How to Study the Bible” category to the right the methods she taught and more. In her class we learned to apply the Bible study methods and use the Bible study tools she introduced us to as we made a careful study of the book of 2 Timothy.
After I made a study of the book of 1 John on my own, I wrote the following notes for 1 John 5:13.
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: that ye may know….”
The term “ye” is plural in Greek, and it is argued by some that this assurance is not valid for any specific individual, but only for the group, namely, the “body of Christ,” the Church. Such a view does not accord with those Scriptures which affirm such assurance of the individual, such as Galatians 2:20 and 2 Timothy 1:12.
Note further that John states “that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” He uses the present tense, active voice, indicative mood, second person plural verb. The present tense tells us this is an ongoing, present life experience for those who truly believe in Christ. The indicative mood is the mood of reality. Not will have, or merely hope we might have, but now have in the present: such is our assurance of eternal life.
Yet, this assurance is grounded upon the individual believer possessing the marks of a true believer discussed throughout this epistle of 1 John.
A true believer lives:
(1) in constant fellowship with God, 1 John 1:8; 2:2.
(2) true to the Gospel, 1 John 2:24.
(3) with love for others, 1 John 3:18, 19. 4:7.
(4) in obedience to God, 1 John 2:3; 3:23; 5:2, 3, 4, 5.
(5) untainted by the world, 1 John 2:15, 16, 17. 5:4, 5.
(6) consistently victorious over Satan, 1 John 3:8, 9; 4:4; 5:18.
(7) concerned about souls, 1 John 5:16; see James 5:20.
(8) assured of personal salvation, 1 John 4:17; 5:13.
I trust that all who read this post will consider carefully whether the above 8 marks of a true believer are reflected in your own life.