How Our Eternal Life Is Assured – 1 John 5:13-15

Eternal life is to know God and to live in His presence. Many of us think eternal life pertains only to our future state in heaven, but in this part of Apostle John’s letter we learn that eternal life is here for us now to fully enjoy, taste, and rejoice in. How can we be assured of this eternal life that is here, yet not fully established?

By faith. Eternal life can be experienced by saving faith alone. Apostle John wrote his letter so believers would have no doubt of their eternal life. Through all the trials and sufferings of life, believers can count eternal life as their untarnished hope and most precious possession. (Phil 3:8) Saving faith has these three elements-

– The right source. (v.13) The only source of eternal life is Jesus Christ, and Christ is only known through the gospel. The entirety of Scripture contains the gospel, its essence in Jesus’ death and resurrection. (Jn 20:30-31) God came to the world in human flesh to die in our place. His love, hope, and forgiveness is wrapped up in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and offered to undeserving sinners by His grace alone. Jesus Christ is the right and only source of eternal life. (Rom 10:9, 17; Jn 1:11-12)

– The right response. (v.13) Faith is not merely an intellectual assent, but it is a total trust and dependence on Christ alone. Faith involves repentance- a turning away from sin and turning into Christ- which cultivates your heart to receive forgiveness through the gospel. (Matt 3:1-3) It brings about transformation as faith operates in your heart, bearing the fruit of love for God and for the church.

– The right object. (v.13) Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the only object of saving faith. He alone was fully God and fully man, able to stand as man’s sinless substitute to bear the infinite weight of God’s wrath in His divinity. (Jn 1:1-3) He alone conquered sin and death forever by His resurrection. We must depend on Christ alone for our justification. Do you believe and live in the gospel? By faith alone, you can be assured of eternal life.

By prayer. Prayer is the first proof of those who have eternal life. It is the expression of faith, the foundation of the Christian’s every act and belief. Those who are kept from falling away are those with genuine faith, whose lives are marked by prayer. Jesus prayed unceasingly throughout His earthly ministry, up to His very last moments on the cross. Those who have eternal life pray unceasingly because of the confidence they have before God. (v.14) Sin severed communion between man and God, but Jesus restored and reconciled man to God to give him the confidence to approach God without fear. (Gen 3:8-10; Heb 4:16) Believers are now able to pray according to God’s will, knowing they have the requests they have made to God. Every answer to every prayer is from God, and we can be assured He will answer in His sovereign Will and timing. (Phil 4:6-7)

As you mediate and ponder on eternal life, may it be a settled reality and great source of peace in your heart. The more we are convinced of the eternal life we have in Christ Jesus by faith and by prayer, the more we will proclaim Christ in confidence to those around us.