Episode Transcript
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
1 John 3:23–24 (NIV)
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
CONSIDER
In today’s passage, we see another use of the phrase “this is [how we know],” followed by a declarative definition. Clearly, John is operating in a confusing environment. False teaching is dividing these early Christians. Ideas have consequences. Theological ideas take consequences to the next level. When it comes to differing perspectives on biblical and theological reality, it’s all too easy to adopt a “think and let think” attitude. It’s truly devastating. John strives for simple, gut-level clarity. Before we proceed, it is worthwhile to review the (at least) seven prior occurrences of the phrase “this is.”
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this [is what] we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (1:1)
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1:5 ESV)
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (3:10)
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. (3:11 HCSB)
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and our sisters. (3:16)
This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things. (3:19–20 HCSB)
Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us. (3:23 HCSB)
This is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (3:24)
People crave certainty when it comes to faith. Something about faith and certainty don’t seem to go together. Certainty counterfeits faith and produces an appealing but powerless dogmatism. Clarity, on the other hand, flowers into faith and leads to the fruitful and often vulnerable obedience of love. In my judgment, it is far more important to have clarity than certainty. Leaning too much on certainty can result in exchanging the living God for systematic doctrine wherein one’s faith becomes anchored more in the dogma than in God. Certainty produces self-confidence in leaders. Clarity does not create self-confidence but courageous faith in God.
False teaching bullies people with its confident certainty. The truth patiently and persistently labors for courageous clarity. The Spirit is always on the side of clarity.
PRAY
Lord Jesus, thank you for making the gospel so clear. Thank you for showing me how I can know what love is and how I can know I belong to the truth and how I can know that you live in me. Save me from the temptation of seeking an easy certainty when you are calling for courageous faith. Teach me to cling to the clarity of your teaching and example and so become a clear witness to others. In your name I pray. Amen.
