1 John 5:1-8

1: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
4: For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

5: Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6: This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7: For there are three that testify: 
8: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

*** 

The one who has faith in Jesus Christ--that He is the Messiah, the Son of God--and who loves the Father, also loves other Christians. Any believer in Christ who loves God will also love other believers. As John said in 1 John 4:20--you can't love God and hate your brother. Yet it's also true that our love for God, (actually His love for us), is the basis of our love for the brethren. We love God first, and in obedience to His command we love others. We do so because we love God and want to keep His Word. It's not a burdensome word either. His commandments are not grievous. 

The reason His commandments are not burdensome is because of our faith. It's because we are born of God and overcome the world. All that is in the world that pulls at us to try and get us away from the Lord, will not gain victory over us. We who believe that Jesus is the Son of God overcome the world.

John said this Jesus is the One who came by water and blood. In John's gospel, he testified of the water and blood which came out of Jesus' side at His death (John 19:34). Jesus Himself told Nicodemus that one must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. He said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," (John 3:5-6). John said the Spirit testifies to the truth. All three--the Spirit, the water, and the blood are in agreement with the truth.

You might say that Jesus came into the world through water at His physical birth as a man. He then identified with sinful man at His baptism in water, even though He was not a sinner. He never sinned, which is why John the Baptist questioned Jesus when He came to be baptized. He asked why Jesus was coming to him to be baptized when John was the one who needed to be baptized by Him! Jesus said to do it, "to fulfill all righteousness." It was at Jesus' baptism when the Spirit of God descended upon Him, accompanied by the Voice of the Father which declared Jesus to be His Son, (Matthew 3:13-15). When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His blood, and fulfilled His role as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He didn't come by water only, but by water and blood, with the Spirit testifying. (See also John 14:25-26, Acts 2:39).



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