I John 5:13


Written only to those who say they believe.

That they may know for sure they are saved.

So they can lay aside these beginning things and go on to spiritual maturity and teaching others.


I. 1:3 - Our fellowship is with Christ.

  1. Fellowship with others comes only after fellowship with Christ

  2. It is impossible to have true Christian fellowship without having fellowships with Christ first.

  1. 1:8-10 - The sin problem - Christ is the answer here.

  1. 2:4 - Willingly obey the commandments or not?

  2. The difference is willful sin and un-willful sin.

  3. Everybody sins every day, but there is a difference between a person who sins and a person who willfully sins.

  4. To willfully, continually disobey the commandments of God, when you have full knowledge of disobedience is sin.

  5. To willfully, continually disobey the commandments of God, when you have even some knowledge that you are sinning is a sign that you are not saved.

  1. Love of Brethren.

  1. 2:9-11 - If you hate your brother, you’re not saved.

  1. Love of the world.

  1. 2:15-17 - Love not the world (II Peter 3:11)

  2. 2:18-24 - The Anti-Christ is in the world.

  1. The resurrection tied with the sin problem.

  1. 3:1-10 - No hope of the resurrection for willful sinners.

  2. Verse 7 - Much confusion as lives conflict with testimony.

  3. Verse 10 - There are two assurances (so far) to prove you are saved.

  4. Verse 11-15 - Compare real love to hate causing murders.

  5. Verse 16 - Christ love for us.

  6. Verse 17-19 - The fruit of real love.

  7. Verse 22 - Result of true love is asking and receiving.

  8. Verse 23 - We keep His commandments.

  1. Believe on Him.

  2. Love one another.

  1. Verse 24 - Keeping commandments can be assured of salvation, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.


Chapter 4. The Spirit problem.

  1. Verse 1-3 - These verses tie back to 3:24 - to know that you have the Spirit of God and not the spirit of the devil.

  1. The confession of Jesus Christ is proof of whether you are of God, or of the antichrist.

  2. How do you know the difference between merely saying the words, and really knowing the difference.

  1. Jehovah Witness.

  2. Mormons.

  3. Verse 4-6 - Know the difference between false and true spirit.

  1. The spirit that doesn’t agree with the writings of us (the apostles, in the New Testament) isn’t God’s spirit.

  2. This spirit will cause us to love one another as God loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins.

  3. This is more than just “hearing”, but do you want to hear.

  4. Do you love the things of God, and know for certain that His way is the very best way for you.

  5. It is one thing to have trouble accepting what He is doing, and it is an entirely different thing to completely reject what He is doing.

3. Verse 7-21 - The inner workings of the Spirit and love (true love).

  1. Verse 10 - The test to see whether or not the love we have is from God or is from ourselves (the kind of love that the natural man has) is to see if it comes from God to us or from us to God. Is the source of our love based in what Christ has done for us on the cross, or on some other action of God, or man.

  2. Verse 13 - It is at this point that we can understand that we have the spirit of God and not the spirit of the devil.

  1. Three proofs that we are saved.

  1. We have the spirit of God, not a false spirit.

  2. We have the love of God, not a false love, or a natural love.

  3. We have a spiritual desire to serve God, not from ourselves, but from God.

  1. The desire to serve God comes from love, not fear of punishment, or judgment.

  2. This desire doesn’t come because of our relationship with friends, or family, or from family reputation, or tradition.

  3. Rom. 8:9 - Without the spirit, you are not saved.

  4. Verse 14 - A further proof that we have the right spirit is that our testimony is of Jesus Christ, who was sent by God to save sinners.

  5. There is none of this business that the world is full of today that people testify of the workings of the Spirit and say very little, if anything, about the work of God in sending Jesus Christ.

  1. Verse 15 - This verse is often pulled completely out of context as it is used to teach that if a person will just confess with their mouth (without any inward believing) they will be saved.

  2. Verse 18 - There is complete trust in God, and none of fear at all. We probably don’t understand what God has on His mind, but we understand that the very best will come to us because God is watching out for us.

  1. There is a keeping of the commandments of God.