September 8, 2019

1 John 5:6-12

1. Pastor Nate reminded us that one of John’s main purposes in this writing is to give assurance about the person & work of Jesus to followers of Jesus. Why is assurance concerning Jesus so vital to persevere in the Christian faith?

2. We then looked at 6 witnesses, beginning with water in 1 John 5:6-8. We looked at Matthew 3:13-17…how does this passage highlight the fact that Jesus is truly God & truly man? Why is it so important to affirm that Jesus is both truly God & truly man?

3. We then considered the 2nd witness, blood, from 1 John 5:6-8. It was said that this refers to the crucifixion of Jesus & we looked at Psalm 22:6-8 as well as Matthew 27: 39-43, Matthew 27:45-54. How do we keep from growing numb to the truth & power of the crucifixion of Jesus?

4. The next witness is the Spirit of God from 1 John 5:6-8. Looking at John 15:26 & John 16:13-16, we see that the Spirit bears witness about Jesus for the glory & exaltation of Jesus. We also recognize that the Spirit of God is connected with truth consistently, so how do these 2 things (Spirit bearing witness & Spirit is truth) give us confidence concerning Christ?

5. We then looked at 1 John 5:9, 10b to see that God the Father is a witness as well. One of the main points from Pastor Nate was that the testimony of God the Father demands a response. How is this concept important when we think about sharing the gospel with others?

6. Next, we saw from 1 John 5:10a that internal certitude bore witness to Jesus. This internal certitude was defined in light of 1 John 3:24 as being given by the Spirit of God. What’s the difference between internal certitude as described on Sunday & simply having our own opinions or feelings about Jesus?

7. Finally, we read from 1 John 5:11-12 that eternal life is a witness to the truth of Jesus. Jesus gives eternal life because He is eternal…meaning He is God because only God is eternal. These verses connect Jesus to eternal life repeatedly…what happens when we believe that eternal life is only found in Jesus?

8. At the end of the message, Pastor Nate then described the glory of what’s to come for eternity for those in Christ…that heaven is eternal in quantity, perfect in quality. What thought from Sunday brought you the most joy about what’s to come in glory for those in Christ? (Perfect peace, perfect rule, perfect goodness, perfect health, perfect unity, perfect justice, perfect worship were a few mentioned…in case you need a refresher!)