1 John 5:9–15

⁹If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. ¹⁰Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³I 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. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

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Some two-thousand years ago, the Apostle John contradicted the testimony of men that says, there is no God, and the Bible is a big man-made fairy tale.  He makes the distinction between the “testimony of men” and the “testimony of God.”  Man says sin is simply an archaic idea introduced to control people.  And there are those who try to pass off their testimony as being from God.   The teaching of self-proclaimed prophets sow seeds of doubt, falsehood, and confusion on purpose.  We see it in the press, on college campuses, social media, and religion as well.  Their testimony calls God an outright liar as they try to confuse by dismissing and twisting God’s Holy Word.  

The devil, “the father of lies,” (cf. John :44) is willing to share his time-tested tactics with all, and they work!  We live amid a dangerous situation in which the truth of Jesus clashes with the culture of the world, it puts all believers at odds with friends and even family when the topic comes up.  It may seem like we are the seed that grew up only to be choked by weeds (cf. Matthew 13).  One of the problems is that these purveyors of fake news are much more willing to talk about their beliefs than we are.  The reality for us as Christians and as parents, is that we must realize what we are up against when it comes to talking about, learning about, and instructing our children about the testimony of God.  If we do not do it, somebody else is eager to engage them in the testimony of men, “fake news.”  So, John makes the clear statement, “the testimony of God is greater!” (9).  

God’s greater testimony is completely opposite of the testimony of confusion and darkness which brings nothing but eternal death.  John points to the truth God’s testimony that “gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”  And “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (11-12).  As believers in the Son of God, we have the testimony of life in Him placed in our hearts in our Baptism.  All who bear the name of Christ Jesus, are God’s children and possess eternal life by the work of the crucified Son of God, who delivered us from death to life through His resurrection victory.

You have God’s promise “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.”  So, whether you know whole chapters of the Bible or simply know Jesus died for sinners and rose again, you can testify to God’s great deeds knowing it is not the testimony of men, but the testimony of God.   When you share the Good News of the God who created you, redeemed you, and calls you by name, it is not your testimony, but God’s testimony regarding His Son.  And we cannot do better than what God has already done in Christ Jesus.

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