The Way to Love and Life
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Key Verse: “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Selected Scripture: |
DEVOTED INDIVIDUALS who believe that Jesus is the Christ, and commit their lives to serving his cause, are recognized as children of God, whose commandments they keep as an evidence of their love for the Creator.—I John 5:1-3
Each saint will confidently look to the Lord for grace and strength to deal with the various difficulties he may encounter in his Christian walk. “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”—vss. 4,5
It requires prayer, scriptural meditation, fellowship with other believers, and determination to steadfastly resist the spirit of the world and to develop a victorious faith during the present time of evil, when selfishness, greed, and haughtiness are so prevalent.
The Master became the world’s Redeemer not merely by consecrating his life, as symbolized by water baptism, but also through the shedding of his blood at Calvary as he paid the price for man’s sin. The Holy Spirit bore witness to the fact that Jesus was God’s well-beloved Son around whom his wondrous plan of salvation was centered. “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ … And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.”—vs. 6
“There are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” (I John 5:7,8, New International Version) Unlike the rendering of these two verses in the King James Translation, they follow the same thought as recorded in verses five and six, that the Spirit, the water, and the blood confirm that Jesus is the Son of the one God, the Father.—I Cor. 8:5,6
God’s testimony is given to us in the Bible. The basis for our faith comes from the Divine revelation as provided through the words of Christ, the apostles, and the prophets. Any doctrine promulgated that contradicts the Scriptures must be set aside, because God’s witness is far superior to that of man. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and has provided the redemption price by which the opportunity for salvation is offered to all mankind, we have the witness of the Spirit within our hearts.—I John 5:9,10
Our Key Verse summarizes the great hope of eternal life that believers may entertain because of their present relationship to God and his precious Son. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”—Col. 3:4
Those who have entered into a covenant relationship with Christ are presently New Creatures and, if faithful unto death, will receive the crowning life of immortality. (II Tim. 4:8) For others who have never entered into a covenant of sacrifice with Christ, there awaits the opportunity of receiving him in his glorious kingdom that lies ahead. (Rev. 22:17) Only those who refuse to heed that wonderful offer, and continue in disobedience, will fail to attain everlasting life. (Acts 3:23) Hallelujah, what a Savior!