Reading: 1 John 5:1–4
The Christians of the earliest centuries, along with the apostle John, teach us to confess Jesus as the only begotten Son of God (John 1). From all eternity, he is the Son, begotten not made. The Word who became flesh is absolutely unique. Yet we, who have been called sons of God (1 John 3:1), male and female, have come into the privilege of sonship by grace through the new birth. In this sense, John calls us “begotten of God” in our current passage (5:1). What does John mean when he calls us begotten of born of God?
John answers this question by pointing to two outcomes that result from being given life by God, that is, two results of being his child. First, the one who has been begotten of God believes in Jesus (5:1). Indeed, new life from God and the first cries of faith come together without an instant of separation between the two. Those who trust Christ do so because they have been begotten of God; those who are begotten of God believe.
The next result of being begotten of God is that we love (5:2). At the centre of being made new is a new set of affections. First, we come to love God, the creator of our new life, the one who rescues us from the self-destructive self-centredness we call sin. Second, the new life God has given us grants us a new love for all of those whom God has also granted this same new life. We share the same Father. We have become kindred, brothers and sisters, family. The affection and loyalty to our fellow members in God’s household is not based on their good behaviour. It’s not because we hope to get something back from them due to their social or financial capital. It’s not because of any other commonality we may have with them like university background, hometown, tribe, football team, politics, or recreational interests. Our loyalty and affection for our brothers and sisters is far more secure than any of those things because it is based on God’s work in us and in them. This group of repentant sinners, far from perfect—these ones are chosen by God to receive the glad tidings of grace in the condescending Christ.
When this new life of faith and love plays out among us, John teaches, something amazing has happened. All the world has promised, all its appeals to our eyes, all its appeals to our appetites, and all its appeals to our desire for status have lost their claim on us (2:15–17). While the world would cause us to doubt the goodness of God’s commands, the new birth grants faith to see his commands as freeing not burdensome (5:3). The obedient faith of God’s children conquers the world through love (5:4).
Find ways to display the new birth, to show that we trust that God’s commands are not burdensome, to conquer the world by loving your church family. Consider how you might extend belongingness to those on the fringes of the church. Exercise hospitality among us. Exhibit generosity. Expend energy. And expect complications! This is how our faith in the Son who became man conquers the world.