The Blessings of Faith

November 30, 2025|The Blessings of Faith|1 John 5:13-15

JD Cutler

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It’s hard to believe that we have reached the final section of John’s 1st epistle. I pray that it has been a blessing to you as we have studied it together.

Beginning this morning and over the next three weeks we will look at John’s closing words to these beloved members of Christ’s body. John begins this section with words that we have referenced often throughout our study; words that clearly state John’s purpose in writing. A practice that is consistent in both of his substantial contributions to the New Testament.

In his gospel, towards the end, he writes these words… John 20:30–31“30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these 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.”

In 1st John he says, 1 John 5:13 “13 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.”

These two statements work beautifully to show why John wrote what he did. First, so that men and women would believe that Jesus is the Christ and by faith experience new life. Now, he writes to those who have believed so that they may have assurance that they possess eternal life. This reminds us that the New Testament epistles are written to the church, to believers, and they serve to instruct, warn, encourage, correct, and guide our faith and life as believers in Jesus Christ.

The question is, having believed the good news of the gospel and having placed their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savor, why did these believers need encouragement and assurance that they had eternal life?

As we have previously noted, it is very likely that early forms of gnosticism and gnostic teachers were trying to deceive these believers and likely these men and women were troubled by what they were hearing, and perhaps some were even doubting that they were in fact in the faith.

Church family, the study of 1st John is so important for us because it is not as though we ourselves do not need encouragement and assurance, that we ourselves do not face false doctrines and teachings, false teachers, and heretical individuals who would gladly try to lead us away from the truth into error, from confidence to doubt, for assurance to anxiety. Just to name a few of the influences today that would seek to undermine our assurance, the official teaching of the Catholic church is that anyone who says we are saved by faith alone is accursed, that apart from the Catholic institution, no one can be sure of their salvation. Islam says that we are deceived and that Jesus was merely another prophet. The Mormon faith says we are saved by grace, after all we can do, and that no one can be saved apart from their organization.

What are we to do in response to the myriad of threats today?

The way John approaches this problem is both informative and instructional. John doesn’t tell the church to take up arms against these men. John doesn’t spend the whole letter attacking these men or even their false teachings. Rather, John spends his time holding up the truth of God, calling these men and women to be faithful to Christ and confident in the truth of God, to hold to the gospel message in which they have believed.

I was reminded of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

John has certainly destroyed strongholds, arguments, and lofty opinions against the knowledge of God, and encouraged us to take every thought captive to obey Christ. We would do well to heed his teachings and to follow his example. To strive bring every thought captive to obey Christ. Now, having written much instruction to these believers, verse 13 serves both as a purpose statement, as we have already noted, but also a transition from teaching to application. It begins John’s closing words, it has all been building to this.

As we come to the conclusion of 1st John, we are coming to the moment, the moment we must leave his instruction and face the threats around us. Imagine being in the New Testament church and having just heard John’s letter in its entirety, now that it has been proclaimed, we have to do something with it, we have to live in response to its truths, to heed its warnings, and to engage in the battles that lay before us.

Yes and amen, but before John will let us do that, he wants to ground us in our faith, to show us what we have as we disperse from the gathering, to show us who we are and what that means for us. It is to that call we turn our attention to this morning as we look at verses 13-15 of chapter 5 of 1st John under the heading, The Blessings of Faith.

If you haven’t already please open your Bibles to 1st John chapter 5 as we read these verses together this morning.

1 John 5:13–15 ESV

13 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. 14And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

This morning, from our text, I want to show you three things our faith brings into our life. The first is…

I. FAITH IN CHRIST BRINGS ASSURANCE.

John summarizes his epistle as these things that he wrote.

Just for a moment, let’s reflect on all that has included.

While there is some debate among how to differentiate the various tests within 1st John, I find the categories of doctrinal, moral, and social to be helpful in thinking about these tests.

1. Doctrinal tests- The basis of the doctrinal tests is the question, what do you believe about Jesus? It centers on his person and his work. Do you believe in the Biblical Christ-that he is fully God, fully man, the sole atoning Savior of man as revealed in Scripture?

2. Moral tests- the basis of the moral tests is the question, does your life display obedience to Christ? It centers on the outworking of belonging to God through Christ. Does your life display a pattern of obedience consistent with God’s character and commands?

3. Social tests- the basis of the social tests is the question, do you love God’s people? It centers on our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Does my relationships with the brothers display a sacrificial, Christlike love?

So who did John write these things, these test to? To you who believe.

As we have repeatedly acknowledged, 1st John can be a difficult letter to process, and intense in its search of our hearts, but at the end of the day, John did not write this epistle so that those who belong to Christ would doubt themselves, but that having thoroughly examined themselves in light of his teaching, that they would be assured of their standing before God.

But John did not write to anyone who believers anything, he limits what we believe in to ‘those who believe in the name of the Son of God’.

He wrote these things to assure those whom had received the gospel message from the apostles and those who came after them that they might have confidence, even when they were being challenged by external or internal forces.

Believe what exactly?

For a moment let us just limit ourselves to what the apostle has said in his letter.

Jesus is the eternal, divine Son of God.

Jesus is fully human in the incarnation.

Jesus is the Messiah, the righteous one.

Jesus is the propitiation and advocate before the Father.

Jesus is victorious over sin, death, and the grave.

Jesus is both eternal life and the giver of eternal life.

Jesus is present and abiding with His people. Jesus is coming again, and will transform believers to be like he is. 

Friends, do you believe these things about Jesus? I don’t mean do you believe they are true, but have you staked your life on the fact that Christ alone is the savior, that through him and him alone can you experience forgiveness, reconciliation, and life? Then John wants you to know that you have eternal life.

This is why he has labored so diligently to help believers answer the question, do I belong to Christ, because life, literally hangs in the balance.

I want you to notice that John does not say you will have eternal life. So often our understanding of eternal life deals with something in the future, after our earthly deaths or Jesus’s triumphal return. John wants us to know that we currently, right now, as believers, possess life, and not just life, but eternal life. Do not miss that your eternal life begins at the moment you are born again. It has implications not just for the future, but for right now, today, this moment.

Why is this important, that we know we have eternal life?

Because in the words of the great GI Joe, “Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.” Seriously, think about it, what we know changes how we act, for good or for bad. Just a few examples will suffice. How many of you have ever been driving during the day and someone flashes their lights at you? What’s the first thing you do, you check your speed. Why, because they are telling you that there is a cop ahead and since you know that, you change your behavior. All of a sudden, that speed limit sign becomes something you are going to obey. How about a child who knows that their dad is waiting to catch them? They are willing to conquer any fear of jumping down from any height. When Lilly was around a year and a half old, we found out through a scary event that she had a severe allergy to peanuts, milk, soy, just to name a few. With that knowledge, our behavior and our actions changed. We began to interact with food and events differently. Friends want to meet for dinner at Roadhouse, can’t do it. You remember they used to have buckets of peanuts and peanut shells all over the floor. She would have died just walking into that place! Chic-Fil-A with church friends, no because at the time they used peanut oil. McDonalds french fries, not a chance, they have milk protein in them.

In the same way, knowing that you possess eternal life should change our behavior. Knowing who we are in Christ and that we possess eternal life at this very moment and that our life is found in Christ ought to change the way we interact with the world and the things of the world.

When we are secure in our faith, we have assurance of our life, when we have assurance of life, everything changes. Knowing that you are alive in Christ and that eternal life is yours is the single most important thing you can know.

No longer are you desperate to wring every moment out of this life, because you know that this world is not all there is.

No longer are you tempted to despair when things go wrong or when you are mistreated, because you know that in eternity all things will be set right by your Lord. Every tear will be wiped away.

No longer are you dependent on the things of this world to bring satisfaction or purpose, because you know that although this world is passing away, those who do the will of the Father will abide forever.

All of a sudden your parenting changes, what you want for your kids is not trophies, championship rings, scholarships, or accolades, but you want them to know Jesus Christ and have eternal life as well. You want to know that your spouse, your parents, your loved ones know Jesus and his life, because you know that life in Jesus is the single most precious and important thing you can have.

Knowing who we are in Christ and that we possess eternal life at this very moment and that our life is found in Christ ought to change the way we interact with the world and the things of the world.

All of that starts with knowing that you have eternal life, that you possess it now and forever more, and John says, I have written all these things so that you may know.

The word know is in the perfect tense, that you may know, once and for all, that you possess real and genuine life in Christ. Strong’s concordance defines the usage of the word life as ‘a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever.’

There are many religions that teach that you cannot really know if you are saved or not, even many that claim to be Christian. But God’s word says, that we can know, and not only can we know, we can have assurance that we know.

Not because we made a decision, not because we asked Jesus into our hearts, not because we walked an aisle, but because as we have examined our lives against scripture, we find evidence that we belong to Christ and since we belong to Christ we have assurance that we will always belong to Christ, and as John said in verse 12 (ESV) Whoever has the Son has life.

Right now, at this moment you, as a genuine believer, possess genuine life, a life that will never end.

And if that wasn’t enough, that we have eternal life, John goes further. He shows us in verse 14 that…

II. FAITH IN CHRIST BRINGS CONFIDENCE.

Verse 14 says, “14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

The idea of confidence is a free and fearless confidence, a boldness, an assurance. Why would anyone have confidence towards God? Why would anyone think that they could approach him, and not just to approach him but to ask him for anything, and to ask boldly?

Friends, don’t miss the incredible statement that John makes because we are overly familiar with the language.

What right does the created have to ask of the creator?

Further, what right does those who have been rebellious and wicked, sinning repeatedly and eagerly against his rule and reign?

You say, that’s all good and well, but I have surrendered to Him now.

This is not to your credit friend, who could possible understand who he is and who we are and not fall on his face in surrender? We surrender because we must.

We surrender because he has caused us to see his glorious greatness and our hopeless condition apart from him.

Of course you surrendered.

But why would that give you confidence?

Does a surrendered rebel, march into the throne room and confidently petition the king for anything?

No, but with having his life, he is glad to never ask the king for anything again, lest his presence remind the king of his former grievous sins and crimes against the crown.

We surrender because we must. We surrender because he has caused us to see his glorious greatness and our hopeless condition apart from him.

And yet…

The Bible tells us that we can draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Listen to these encouragements that the Bible gives those who have faith in Christ.

The aforementioned verse. Hebrews 4:16 “16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

AND

Ephesians 3:11–13 “11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.”

AND

Hebrews 10:19–22 “19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Through faith in Him, by the blood of Jesus, our great High Priest.

Now, friends, faith gives us more than assurance of eternal life, it gives us confidence that God not only welcomes us into his presence, but he hears our petitions.

We believe that he hears us because we believe what he has told us in His word to be true…

By faith we are robed in the righteousness of Christ.

By faith we are adopted into the family of God.

By faith we are indwelt by the very Spirit of God.

By faith we are children of the Most High God.

By faith we are represented by the Great High Priest.

He hears us. What a thought!

One of my favorite pictures of God in the psalms is of him leaning down to hear us. Psalm 116:2 “2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” The word inclined describes a bending down, using anthropomorphic language to describe God as one who listens intently to his children as a Father leans down to hear the quiet voice of his child. What a beautiful picture of the confidence we have by faith that God hears us!

But lest we misunderstand, John adds a modifier that too many teachers and preachers either intentionally leave out or willfully twist to suit their purposes.

John says, if we ask, according to his will.

There is a potentiality here that matters.

If we ask, according to his will, he hears us.

From this we can deduce that there are two ways in which we petition God, in accordance to his will and in discord to his will.

James describes what drives the requests that are in discord with God’s will, when he says in James 4. James 4:1–5 “… You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?”

When our petitions are driven by our sinful desires and passions, when they are rooted in love for the world rather than love for God, we should have no confidence that God hears us.

The way John uses the word hear in his writing is in the sense of having regard for.

In John 9:31 we find these words John 9:31 “31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.”

God is omniscient, and omnipresent he could no more not hear something than he could not see something in the terms of being aware of it. What John says is that God pays not attention to, he has no regard for requests that are in discord with His will. John says that if we are operating in faith, according to the will of God, we can have confidence that God pays attention to our requests. He is not just aware of them, he does not just know them, he listens like a loving father listens to the petitions of a dearly loved child.

That not one single word spoken in petition to the Father, that is asked according to His will fails to reach the ears of our loving Father.

Not only does our faith bring assurance into our life, not only does our faith bring confidence into our life, but thirdly, we see that…

III. FAITH IN CHRIST BRINGS EXPECTATION.

Verse 15 says, 1 John 5:15 “15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

John building off of his statement in 14 that God hears us, now moves to the results of God having regard for our prayers. We know that we have the requests that we have asked him.

Now, if you are like me, your Immediately response falls into one of two categories, you immediately dismiss this as not meaning what it seems to mean, maybe because you have seen it abused by prosperity preachers, or maybe even more probably, you dismiss it as not meaning what it seems to mean, because this has not been your experience as a praying individual. You have not gotten the requests you have asked of God. The second category, and probably less likely in our church is to hear this and think, why haven’t I been praying more!

But lest me treat this passage as any less inspired or as an anomaly, understand that this is something that is not just taught here in 1st John. Jesus makes a number of statements about prayer that are incredible.

John 14:12–13 “12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

John 15:7–8 “7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Matthew 21:20–22 “20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.””

John himself said something similar earlier in this letter when he said, whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Each one of these come at the issue of asking according to His will. In John 14, Jesus says whatever you ask in my name, in John 15, he says if you abide in me and my words abide in you, and in Matthew, he says if you have faith. In 1 John, it is because we keep his commandments and do what please him.

This isn’t even just a New Testament thought, Psalm 37:4 declares, “4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

How does faith in Christ bring expectation into our lives?

We know that if we are in Christ that we have life, and if we have been made alive with Christ, we know that God hears our prayers asked according to his will, and because he has not withheld his only son, we know that he will not withhold any good thing from us. (Romans 8:32)

Likely, many of our prayer requests are empty of power because they are empty of faith.

Lest, you think I am starting to sound like a name it and claim it or a blab it and grab it preacher, let me make some clarifying remarks.

Abiding in Christ and abiding in his words, keeping the commandments of God and doing what pleases him, precludes most of what these preachers encourage people to pray for.

God’s will is never revealed in scripture that his children have brand new cars, extravagant houses, and 6 figure bank accounts. God’s will is never revealed in scripture that his children can expect to have perfect health or dream jobs.

Likely, many of our prayer requests are empty of power because they are empty of faith.

As a matter of fact God’s will is revealed in scripture that each one of his children would be conformed to the image of his Son. (Romans 8:29)

So how do we pray according to God’s will?

That’s a great question.

Do you know what you personally need in order to be conformed more fully into the image of Christ?

Do you know what situation will most shape you into his image?

What struggle, what blessing, what experience?

Of course you don’t because we are finite beings contemplating the purposes of an infinite Godhead.

If we could be absolutely sure of God’s will and ourselves be absolutely submitted to it, it would be impossible for us to ask anything for the spirit or for the body which God would not perform. This is the ideal state in which John can say, we know we have the request that we have asked him.

We also know that we have been told to pray not only in faith, but with patience, in obedience, in recognition that God knows what is best in all circumstances, and in expectation.

When we say we pray with expectation, I am not saying that when you pray that God would bless you financially, you should go rack up credit card debt or buy a new car because you are going to have what you ask for.

When we say we pray with expectation, I am not saying that when you pray for a Godly spouse, you should go out a buy a tuxedo or a wedding dress and pick a date, because God is going to give you what you ask for.

When we say we pray with expectation, I am saying that we trust that in as much as we have prayed according to His will, our loving Father has heard our requests and in his way and in his time he will answer them according to His way.

We can say with confidence, that there will be no prayers asked in accordance to God’s will, by a child of God, that will not be ultimately answered when they receive what they have asked.

Our Father knows how to give good gifts, the problem we have is that from our perspective we don’t always ask for good things.

Scripture’s promise is not that God is bound to give us everything we ask for, but that we know that God will not withhold any thing from us that is good for us and that accomplishes God’s purposes in us.

When we say we pray with expectation, we know that God will answer us. He is not aloof or indifferent to his children. We do not have to doubt that when we pray according to his will, not only does he hear us but he will give us what we ask. Spurgeon uses a great example of praying with expectation verses praying without. Imagine if I walked up to you and asked a question, and then before you could answer, I walked away. Or I asked you for some food, or some money, and then immediately after asking, I turn around and walked away.

Too often I think we pray like this, we shoot off a prayer towards heaven and then we immediately walk away, in a sense, to attend to other matters. Sure, we have prayed about it, but if we are honest, we have prayed more out of a sense of duty than of dependence. Praying with expectation is, having asked God, you stay in his presence, you continue seeking him, expecting that he will answer. Genuine faith in Christ leads us to understand that every good and perfect gift comes from God and that apart from him we can do nothing and will have nothing, and it is that dependence on God, coupled with our faith in God, that makes our prayers expectant prayers.

As John reaches the conclusion of his letter, he assures his readers that those who believe in the name of the Son of God, who place their faith in Jesus Christ, have assurance of eternal life now, they have confidence in their relationship with the Father and know that he hears them, and they have assurance that they can expect God to answer those requests asked according to his will. In essence, John assures his readers that those who believe can rest assured in their standing and in their relationship with God.

As we reach the conclusion of John’s letter, let me ask you, do you have faith in the only Son of God, Jesus Christ? As we have examined ourselves in light of the doctrinal, moral, and social tests, are you certain that you have faith in Jesus Christ? If so, then you can be assured this morning that you possess eternal life, that the God in heaven hears your requests that are according to his will, and that he will answer you.

If not, if you are unsure that you have the kind of faith presented in John or that your life displays such genuine faith, then you have no such confidence. You cannot be sure that you possess eternal life, you cannot be sure that God pays attention to your prayers, and you certainly cannot be sure that he will answer.

But you can be.

You can place your trust fully and finally in the redemptive and redeeming power of Jesus Christ and in his finished work on the cross. You can surrender your life to him, repenting of living your life in service to yourself and turn your eyes and heart to worship the one true king of kings and lord of lords. You can be one of those John describes as ‘you who believe in the name of the Son of God’.

Let us pray.