John wrote to his spiritual children in and around Ephesus three letters at the end of the first century. Did he know these would be prophetic words for our global community? He confronted the false teaching that threatened the churches in Asia Minor or modern Turkey; this heresy would later be titled gnosticism. Today we have the same philosophical war across the world.
As believers, we are challenged with the same denial of who Jesus is and that we do not sin. This debate brings into question eternal life. What is eternal life and who has eternal life?
These issues go to the core of what is truth and who is Jesus. As the Logos, Jesus defines universal truth and how the universe functions. As the Word of God, He defines what life is and how one receives eternal life.
These truths are more than intellectual exercises debated by philosophers and religious teachers. These truths are historical facts that teach us Jesus is God who became man to reveal to us truth. He died for our sins and rose from the dead to prove He is who He claimed to be.
John confronted the false teachings of his day with his testimony. “I knew Jesus. I know Jesus. He lived as a man on this earth. He was the Logos who became flesh. He existed before the beginning of creation. For He was the One who spoke the Word to birth all of creation.”
Anyone who denies He is the Son of God is a liar and the truth is not in him or her. They are still dead in their sin and do not have life. They are not born again. They are controlled by the anti-Christ spirit who is a liar and deceiver.
There is no middle ground in John’s witness, nor in Jesus’ words, that call us to eternal life in Him. This life is an experiential intimacy in a love relationship with God. It is not an intellectual concept that remains solely in our minds; it must be experienced in the new birth. One must be converted from death to life as a follower of Jesus through repentance and faith in who He is and what He did for us.
John lived with Jesus. He saw Him die. He saw the empty tomb. He lived with the resurrected Jesus. He saw Him ascend into heaven. He heard Him say He ruled over all of heaven and earth. He heard Him promise He would come back again. He visited Jesus in heaven and wrote the book of Revelation to tell us of the days in which we live.
John refused to deny what he spoke, even under the threat of death. No one dies for a lie. His testimony in the face of death is one powerful act that his words are true.
Those who will believe his words enter into fellowship with Jesus. They are born again from death to life. They are reconciled to God and live in this love relationship as the Spirit of God transforms their lives to become more like Jesus.
We cannot compromise or soft-peddle the truth. We have all sinned. The wages of sin is death. The only way to be reconciled to God and receive the gift of eternal life is in Jesus Christ. Those who deny their sin and deny who Jesus is will be separated from God for all eternity.
In His love for all people, God keeps reaching out to all humanity to repent and believe in His only begotten Son to receive the free gift of eternal life. That is the global call and the global war that is raging today in our world, for which we must stand and fight together as one in Christ! {eoa}
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