For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3

I continue my study of 1,2,3 John using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for these books.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of 1 John 5:1-5. 

Per the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "True Christians will display evidence of being God’s children, including right beliefs about God and holy living before God."

Excerpts from the introduction:

• "Birthmarks" of being children of God include "right belief (the doctrinal mark), right love (the moral mark), and right behavior (the ethical or social mark)."
• The text today describes "six specific identifying evidences that a person is a child of God."
• John seeks to assure believers that they are "born again, that they belong to Jesus, and that they can enjoy right now the gift of eternal life (5:13)."
  

Divisions:

1. We Believe That Jesus Is the Messiah (5:1): All believers must confess that Jesus is the promised Messiah from scripture - this makes us children of God. He is the Prophet, Great High Priest (see Romans 8), and King of the Church.  "[I]f you can heartily and earnestly say, I accept Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be Prophet, Priest, and King to me because God has anointed Him to exercise those three offices....then...you have the faith of God’s elect[.]" 
   
2. We Have Been Born of God (5:1,4): "Being born of God and believing in Jesus are intertwined in the Bible and cannot be separated....In this new birth God does not just give you a new name; He gives you a new nature. He gives you the very nature of God Himself as you enter into His family.  Jesus did not come to die on a bloody cross to make us kinder and nicer persons. He came to dramatically, personally, radically, and eternally transform us and make us new people. It is by the new birth that He accomplishes this glorious work. Therefore, you must be born again."
   
3. We Love the Father and His Family (5:1-2): Nothing matters more than our love for God.  "The word “love” appears more than 30 times in 1 John 4:7–5:3. It occurs five times here in verses 1-3."  We must not only love God we must love what He loves and as such we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ.     
   
4. We Obey His Commands (5:2-3): "John is saying that in the new birth I receive a new nature. With this new nature comes new affections, passions, treasures, and values. Because I now love God instead of hating Him, I treasure and value Him above everyone and everything else. And because I treasure and value Him above everyone and everything else, I delight in obeying Him. Now I find His commands not to be a burden, but a blessing." See also Psalms 1:1-2, 35:27, 37:4, 40:8, 112:1, 119:14, 16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 143, and 174.  "Loving God rightly, therefore, is not just external behavior and outward obedience. It is a longing to do His will from the heart, out of gospel gratitude for who He is and what He has done for us in Jesus."
   
5. We Have Overcome the World (5:4): "This is a fifth authenticating mark of the children of God." Our faith is noted as "another spiritual weapon that grants us victory over the weapons of the world in our spiritual battles[.]...Overcomers, via the new birth and faith in Christ, are no longer consumed by what they don’t have (lust of the flesh and of the eyes) or what they do have (pride in lifestyle; 2:16)."  
   
6. We Believe Jesus Is the Son of God (5:5).

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus for defeating sin and death for me and for never leaving or forsaking me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.