The Nugget:
1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
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 that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
My Comment:
John who wrote the Gospel of John wrote this short letter found near the end of the New Testament called 1 John. It has just five chapters. It is a most important book to read repeatedly. John says “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” (1 John 5:9). We surely do receive the witness of men. If we did not, we could not have history. We probably could not have a news report, or our legal system, or our financial system. So we do receive the witness of men. John further declares, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son” (1 John 5:10). It is very serious business not to believe the record God has given us of His Son. If we do not believe the record, we make God a liar. Yet the Bible says God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Non-believers and unbelievers are in serious trouble. So are atheists and agnostics. God has told us that He has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life. He that has not the Son has not life. John tells us he has written these things so we can know we have eternal life. That being the case, those who teach that it is not possible to know in this life that we actually have eternal life are totally mistaken. We can know that we now have eternal life. If we have received Christ, if we believe on Him for our salvation, we have eternal life now, in this life. That is the clear testimony of the Bible. To suggest otherwise is to contradict or deny what God has plainly declared. And that is to make God a liar. We can surely rejoice that God has made it possible for us to believe on His Son, and that believing on Him gives us eternal life.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1478 for 1 John 5:11-13.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1498 or in Logos 5 Bible software for 1 John 5:11-13.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
1 John 5:11. this. ver. 7, 10. Jn 1:19, 32-34. 8:13, 14. 19:35. 3 J 12. Re 1:2. God. ver. 13. 1 J 2:25. Mt 25:46. Jn *3:15, 16, 36. 4:4, 36. 6:40, 47, 68. **10:28. 12:50. **17:2, 3. Ro *5:21. **6:23. 1 T 1:16. T +*1:2. Ju *21. eternal. Gr. aionios, Mt +18:8. this life. ver. 12, 20. 1 J 1:1-3. *4:9. Jn +*1:4. 5:21, 26. *10:28. 11:25, 26. **14:6. *17:2. Col *3:3, 4. Re 22:1.
1 John 5:12. that hath the. 1 J 2:23, 24. Jn **1:12. **3:15, 16, 36. **5:24. Ac 2:47. 1 C +*1:30. Ga +*2:20n. 2 T +*1:12. He +*3:14. 2 J +*9. hath life. Jn +*20:31. and he. Mk **16:16. Jn **3:36. the Son of God. ver. 10, 20. Jn +5:25.
1 John 5:13. have I. 1 J 1:4. 2:1, 13, 14, 21, 26. Jn **20:31. 21:24. 1 P 5:12. believe. 1 J *3:23. Jb 19:25. Jn *1:12. 2:23. **3:18. Ac 3:16. **4:12. 1 T 1:15, 16. ye. This pronoun is plural, and it is argued by some that 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 Ga 2:20n, and 2 T 1:12. may know. Gr. oida, Jn 8:55n. This is certainly one of the clearest statements in Scripture affirming that we may know in this life that we now have everlasting life—we are not left to wait until we die to discover whether we have eternal life or not. ver. 10. 1 J 1:1, 2. Jn 14:20. Ro 8:15-17. 2 C 5:1. Ga 4:6. 2 T *1:12. 2 P +*1:10, 11. Re *3:20. ye have. Present tense, active voice, indicative mode, second person plural verb. 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. A true believer lives (1) in constant fellowship with God, 1 J 1:8. 2:2. (2) true to the Gospel, 1 J 2:24. (3) with love for others, 1 J 3:18, 19. 4:7. (4) in obedience to God, 1 J +**2:3n. 3:23. 5:2-5. (5) untainted by the world, 1 J 2:15-17. 5:4, 5. (6) consistently victorious over Satan, 1 J 3:8, 9. 4:4. 5:18. (7) concerned about souls, 1 J 5:16; see Ja +*5:20. (8) assured of personal salvation, 1 J 4:17. **5:13. eternal. Gr. aionios, Mt +18:8. believe on. 1 J 3:23. Jn 1:12. 2:23. 3:18. +4:39. 9:35. the name. Jn +1:12. the Son of God. ver. 12. Jn +5:25.
1 jn 5.11-13 and this is the record, that god hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his son. vs 12 he that hath the son hath life; and he that
hath not the son of god hath not life.vs 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.
real encouraging cross refs on i jn 5.11-13.
1. rev 1.2 who bare record of the word of god, and of the testimony of
jesus christ, and of all things that he saw.
2. 3 jn 12 demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself;
yea, and we also bear record: and ye know that our record is true.
3. jn 8.13-14 the pharisees therefore said unto him, thou bearest record
of thyself; thy record is not true vs 14 jesus answered and said unto them,
though i bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for i know whence i
come, and whither i go.
4. jn 3.15 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life.
5. jn 3.16 for god so loved the world that he gave his onlybegotten son that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life
6. jn 5.24 verily,verily 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 has passed from death to life.
7. jn 3.36 he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life and he that believeth
not the son shall not see life: but the wrath of god abides on him
8. jn 6.40 and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the
son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and i will raise him up at
the last day.
9. jn 6.47 verily, verily, i say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting
life.
10 jn 6.68 then simon peter answered him, lord, to whom shall we go: thou
hast the words of eternal life.
11. jn 6.69 and we believe and are sure that thou art the christ, the son of the
living god.
12. jn 1.4 in him was life; and the life was the light of men.
13. jn 5.21 for as the father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so
the son quickeneth whom he will.
14. jn 5.26 for as the father hath life in himself: so hath he given to the son hath
life in himself.
15. jn 19.35 and he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth
that what he saith is true, that ye might believe.
16. jn 19.36 for these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, and
a bone of him shall not be broken.
17 mt 25.46 and these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous
into life eternal.
18. 1jn 2.25 and this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
19. jn 10.28 and i give unto them eternal life: and they shall not never perish,
neither shall any man pluck the out of my hand.
20. jn 10.29 and my father which i gave them me, is greater than all: and no
man is able to pluck them out of my hand.
21. rom 5.21 that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by jesus christ our lord.
22. jn 17.3 and this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true god,
and jesus christ, whom thou hast sent.
23. jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of god, looking for the mercy of our
lord jesus christ unto eternal life.
24. 1 jn 4.9 in this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that god
sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him.
25. titus 1.2 in hope of eternal life, which god, that cannot lie, promised before
the world began.
26. rom 6.23 for wages of sin is death but the gift of god is eternal life through
our lord jesus christ our lord.