1 John 5:10-12 (RVR 1960):
10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life; and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
According to the apostle John, the testimony of God is this: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Likewise, John affirms that everyone who truly believes in the Son has this testimony in himself.
This remarkable truth is much more difficult to interpret than one might initially think. Even among scholars within the conservative Reformed tradition, various opinions have been put forward. Is John affirming that he who believes has accepted and internalized the testimony that God has given about His Son? Is John alluding to the internal testimony of the Spirit, who dwells within the believer? Or does it refer to the experiential testimony of the eternal life that the believer now possesses, the reality of a new kind of life that centers on an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son? Perhaps the meaning is broad enough to include them all.
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“A first mark that shows that we have truly converted is that we have accepted the testimony of God.”
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A first mark that shows that we have truly converted is that we have accepted the testimony of God, which was first communicated to us through his eyewitnesses, such as the apostles, and has since been communicated to each generation through the faithful preaching of the gospel. We know that we are Christians because we possess and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ which “was once given to the saints” (Jude 3). We have our foundation in the Scriptures and remain within the current of historical evangelical Christianity. We have not turned away from the hope of the gospel, but continue in the firmly established and unalterable faith.
1. The gospel is part of us
It is important to note that a genuine acceptance of God's testimony that results in salvation is not superficial or banal; Therefore, we little by little assimilate it into every aspect of our lives. For the true convert, Christ becomes his flesh and his drink. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). His words became the foundation, the model and the goal of life. The gospel became a part of us and the distinctive mark of who we are; It defines us and sets our course. It is within us and is part of our being. Just as we cannot divide our person and scatter it to the four corners of the globe, so we cannot separate ourselves from the gospel. From the depths of our inner being, we agree with the gospel, we delight in its beauty and long to be conformed to its precepts. Every faithful proclamation of the gospel we hear or read is further confirmation to our hearts that Christ is all and that eternal life is only in the Son !
2. The Holy Spirit witnesses to us
A second mark that shows that we are truly Christians is the internal testimony of the Spirit who dwells within us. From the Gospel of John, we learn that the Holy Spirit has been sent to testify of Christ, indwell the believer, and guide him into all truth. From the epistle of John, we learn that the Spirit works within the believer to confirm and strengthen his confidence as a son. We know that we are children of God and that we have an ongoing relationship with Christ through the Spirit He has given us. The Spirit of God bears witness to the incarnation and atoning work of Christ, and confirms its reality within our hearts.
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“The Holy Spirit and the life that flows from Him have been given to every believer as a type of firstfruits and promise of the life that is revealed in our final glorification.”
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Let us note that this teaching about the internal witness of the Holy Spirit not only occurs in the writings of John, but is essential to Paul's perspective on the Christian life. The Holy Spirit and the life that flows from Him have been given to every believer as a type of firstfruits and promise of the life that is revealed in our final glorification. Through the Holy Spirit, God's love is poured out within our hearts in a real, visible experience. The Holy Spirit removes our fear of the condemnation that enslaves us and replaces it with a strong security of our condition as children, which leads us to cry: “Abba Father.” The Spirit also guides us according to God's will and sustains us in the midst of our weakness. Finally, the Holy Spirit bears witness that we are children of God through the ongoing work of sanctification by conforming us to the image of Christ and producing the fruitful life of Christ within us.
According to John and Paul, this internal work of the Spirit will be a reality in the life of every child of God. Its manifestations will vary from believer to believer. And even in the most mature saint, there will be times of pruning, apparent aridity, and a loss or attenuation of the evident presence of God. Now, the life of every believer will show visible and practical manifestations of the work of the Spirit. This is one of the birthrights of God's children and one of the means by which we are guaranteed to know Him.
3. The testimony of the reality of eternal life
A third mark that shows that we have truly believed unto salvation is the testimony of the reality of eternal life within us. Understanding this statement requires that we remember the true nature of eternal life. It is not just an infinite number of days, but a quality of life that is founded and flows from an intimate knowledge and communion with God and His Christ. If eternal life refers only to an endless life or to a future reality in heaven, then even the most carnal and worldly person can claim to possess it, and no one can refute it. However, if eternal life is a new kind of life manifested by a real knowledge of God and communion with Him, then the confidence of the carnal and worldly person is exposed as weak at best and as totally False at worst.
A maxim that is popular and biblical exists within evangelical Christianity: “We know that we have eternal life because we believe.” However, we can also change the order of the words and create a new maxim that is equally biblical: “We know that we have believed because we have eternal life.” That is, we know that we have truly believed in Christ and that we are justified by that faith because of the permanent and visible reality of a new kind of life within us that began at conversion. We know that we have believed unto salvation because we have entered into real, vital, and permanent communion with the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. This is eternal life! Is this true of us?
