That You May Know

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. [...] We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:13, 18-20

In addition to John’s three epistles [letters - I John, 2 John, and 3 John], he also wrote the Gospel of John. The letters, including this one, I John, were written for established churches and people who had been Christians for a while. The Gospel of John was written for non-Christians and new Christians. Yet the letters and the Gospel have much the same purpose. John 20:31 says, “these [stories about Jesus] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Here in I John, he writes that he has written to give us confidence in eternal life.
Here at the end of the letter, John reminds us of his main points, the reasons we have confidence in eternal life. He mentions three points:
1. That we do not keep on sinning.
2. That we are part of God’s family, not part of the world, which belongs to the devil.
3. That Jesus came to show us the truth about God.
Point three is the same purpose he had in writing his gospel, and it underlines the message he wrote in I John 2, that he was a witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and John has been preaching the same gospel message from the beginning. John has had only one point in all of his writing, and that is to point to Jesus.

Questions for reflection and discussion
1. What have you learned from John's letter?
2. How do the things you have learned change how,you act or think?

Dear God, help us, like John, to point to Jesus in everything we do. Thank You for teaching us the way of salvation in Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.