Struggle & Triumph | What God Says I HaveSample

I Have Eternal Security

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13

“How can I know if I will have eternal life?”

It was a question I asked as a new believer in Jesus. I wanted to be sure, but I lacked confidence because I knew what was in my own life. I knew there was still sin, even if I tried hiding it from other people. Christians weren’t supposed to do those things anymore, right? And if I didn’t always live like a Christian, could I still be one? I knew Jesus had died for my sins, but now I had to uphold my part of the bargain, right? The problem was that I couldn’t.

But I was asking the wrong question. Eternal life isn’t something in the future. It’s now. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Real life, eternal life isn’t something that happens after we die. Real life is found through knowing Jesus: “this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life” (1 John 5:11,12).

In the same way that I could not earn my own forgiveness, I did not have strength within me to live the kind of life that pleased Jesus. He had to do it all. He had to hold up both sides of the bargain. It’s scandalous, really. I never wanted to need that much grace. At the same time, it’s freeing.

We have life if the Son of God lives within us through His Spirit. That same Spirit leads and strengthens us to obey Jesus. My joy is to get to know Jesus and let His Spirit do His work in me.

Application: John told us that he wrote his letter to people who believe in Jesus so they could know that they have eternal life. We can know because God’s Word says it is true. The truth of our salvation does not depend on our feelings; it depends on God’s integrity.