Do You Have The Son? BY Malusi Skunyana

Read 1 John 5:9-13

1 JO 5:9 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 JO 5:10. 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 JO 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1 JO 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1 JO 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.

The only way to be sure of eternal life is to have Jesus in one’s life. Eternal life is a gift of God that the believer can obtain through faith in His Son Jesus. By His death and resurrection, Jesus has brought eternal life within our reach, and has given us an assurance that if we abide in Him we shall receive the reward of life.

In today’s passage, John wants to give the true believer an assurance that if they have a relationship with the Son of God they need not wonder whether they will have eternal life. He makes it clear that having Jesus is having life, and to have Him not is to have not life. John refers to God’s testimony concerning His Son as the foundation for our assurance. Because that testimony places all men in their proper place in God’s estimation; they either believe in God’s only Son, and have life, or they do not believe in God’s Son, and do not have life. In verse 9 John argues that if we receive the testimony of men, as we do so practically every day, then much more should we receive the testimony of God. For the testimony of men is less credible than that of God. Indeed the most reliable testimony possible is the testimony of God, and this is what John is presenting before us, he calls on us to receive the testimony of God.

In verse 10 John contrasts those who accept and those who reject God’s testimony. The believer not only believes but also has God’s testimony within himself through the indwelling Spirit. But those who refuse to believe in Jesus reject the testimony God has given of His Son. The one who rejects God’s testimony is claiming that God is a liar, and in fact goes a step further to say that God is a lie. God’s witness (verse 9) or testimony (verse 11) is that He has given us eternal life in His Son. This is God's essential message to the human race; that eternal life is a gift from God, received in Jesus Christ. This life is not in the first Adam, it is in the second – Jesus Christ the Son of God. Man, as born of Adam, does not possess it, and cannot acquire it except through Jesus. The human race forfeited immortality when our first parents fell in sin.

In verse 12 John clearly states that our relationship with the Son determines whether we possess eternal life. A person either has the Son – meaning He lives within the person – and thus has eternal life, or does not have the Son and in that case does not have eternal life. The only way to know for sure if we have eternal life is if our salvation rests in Jesus and not in our own works. In verse 13 John is essentially saying, “I have written these things to you who have the Son, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue believing on the name of the Son of God.” The one who believes in the Son of God has the Son; and therefore has eternal life. The guarantee of eternal life is continuing to have the Son – continuing to believe in Him. Past experiences will not suffice, and neither will once in a blue moon spiritual moments. We need to have an ongoing relationship with Jesus in the present to have the guarantee of eternal life. Our assurance of salvation is in continuing to believe in Jesus the Son of God.

Dear friend, the moment we lose the Son, the moment we no longer have Him, we lose eternal life. Our salvation depends on our present relationship with Jesus. If we accept Him as our Saviour we have life, but if we reject Him we do not have life. Lose anything and everything in this world but never lose Jesus, because without Him there is no life. May God richly bless you! Amen!