Sermon Outline: 1 John 5:1-5

More than Surviving! We’re Thriving!

Pastor Jason Stewart

I.     Introduction:

a.   We must go from Surviving spiritually to Thriving!

b.   Romans 8:37

II.   Revelation/Application: Spiritually Thriving

Spiritually Thriving:

a.   Is the Result of trusting in Jesus (5:1)

                                              i.     Belief in this verse is “pisteuo”, and it is a word that means much more than intellectual belief. This word is a belief that fully trusts in the object of belief.

                                             ii.     It conveys the idea of our absolute “reliance” upon Jesus in our day to day lives, and in His securing our salvation throughout eternity. And for some reason it always seems easier for most of us to rely upon and fully trust Jesus to take care of us on the other side of eternity, when we get to glory. But for some reason we find it more difficult to rely upon and fully trust Jesus in our day-to-day life on this side of eternity.

                                           iii.     “Who begot, also loves him who is begotten of Him”. The Greek word for “begot” and “begotten” are both the same word that John uses when he says, whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is “born” of God. So basically the second part of this verse could just as easily say; “And everyone who loves God, Who is the one who causes them to be born again, will also love everyone else who has been born again” by God. In simple terms, if you are born of God you will naturally love those who have also been “born” of God. It is in our heavenly DNA the moment we believe in Jesus and are born again.

Spiritually Thriving:

b.   Is the Result of Obeying God’s Word (5:2-3)

                                              i.     The Bible tells us that when we love God it will be displayed by our obedience to God.

                                             ii.     The Bible tells us in John 14:21, 23-24 that Jesus equates a person’s love for Him, through their devotion to obeying His Word.

                                           iii.     When the Bible says that when we love God and “keep” His commandments (5:3), the Greek word for “keep” is a verb in the present tense. When a verb is in the present tense it means that it is an ongoing command. The Bible is telling us in this verse that obedience to God’s Word, or in essence walking with Jesus through life, is what shows that we love Jesus.

                                           iv.     Furthermore, for a follower of Jesus Christ, living in obedience to God’s Word is not meant to be a burden to us, “His commandments are not burdensome” (5:3). In fact, it has been said, “The Word of God is not over us, to condemn us, but under our feet, to be a guide for our path.”

                                            v.     The Word of God is not meant to be burdensome to God’s child, but instead it is meant to be nourishment for the soul, clarity for the journey, and purpose for all of life.

                                           vi.     Our relationship with Jesus is not meant to be a difficult burden, that places a yoke of bondage upon our lives. In fact, we know that Scripture tells us quite the opposite. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, that when we come to Him, He will take our burdens from us and give us rest for our souls.

                                         vii.     And so in (v.3) we see that the Bible tells us that Gods Word and being burdened are not synonymous, but in fact are polar opposites for the person who fully trusts Jesus as their Savior.

Spiritually Thriving:

c.    Will enable us to overcome the world (5:4-5)

                                              i.     In this passage we discover that we face a powerful opposition in this world, opposition that would want to destroy our relationship with God.

                                             ii.     In this passage we see that John begins contrasting these two different worlds that are influenced by two different beings, and appeal to two different types of people, and result in two different types of outcomes.

1.   Spiritual world vs. carnal world

2.   God’s influence vs. Satan’s influence

3.   Christians vs. unbelievers

4.   People ruled by Faith vs. people ruled by the flesh

                                           iii.     For John the world system that the Christians had to live in was a corrupt and carnal world, that appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (cf. 2:15-17).

                                           iv.     Jesus tells us in John 16:33, that we overcome the trials and tribulations in this world through our faith in Him.

                                            v.     This passage (vv.3-4) seems to be alluding to the fact that we can overcome the world, and it’s fleshly pull and desire (cf. 2:15-17), by keeping and obeying the Word of God.

III. Conclusion: How can we apply this

a.   This morning we have discovered that there are three distinct characteristics of having a thriving faith that overcomes this world:

                                              i.     Trusting Jesus (5:1a & 5:4-5)

                                             ii.     Obeying God's Word (5:1b)

                                           iii.     Overcoming the World (5:2-3)

b.   There is absolutely no way you can ever expect to begin thriving in your faith, and living life as an overcomer if you are not willing to do these things. We are saved by grace through faith, but if we don’t put our faith into action, we will never thrive, and we will never survive!