God's Testimony (1 John 5:11-12)

1 John 5:11-12 (NASB)
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Our next series of verses are about assurance or inner peace and security. These are two of the best verses in the Bible about assurance of salvation. If you know these verses, you’ll never doubt being saved. This is the testimony. This is what God Himself has declared as truth. This is the record. These are the facts. The first part of God’s testimony is that eternal life is a gift from Him. It is not something earned.

It’s not just a generic promise that He has given eternal life. Life is the opposite of perishing. It is deliverance from condemnation and death. It is the stopping or cessation of decay, and corruption.

He has given us eternal life. While the whole Bible teaches that God is eternal and He bestows everlasting life on His children, it’s John who is the apostle of eternal life. He used the phrase twenty-three times in His writing. John is reminding his readers that they possess eternal life, freely given them by God. He is not calling upon them to receive that life. Rather, he is reminding believers that they have already received it. He is also reminding them of that life’s source—God.

And this life is in His Son. Jesus not only gives us life; He is the Source and Creator of life. And yet—paradox of the ages—He died to conquer death, and because He lives, we live also.

In verse 12, we can see that our eternal future depends on whether we have Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and that message should prick your heart like a needle. If you haven’t already put your trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord this verse should move you to accept Jesus as your Lord.

The second part of God’s testimony is that eternal life is found in His Son. This takes us back to the prologue wherein eternal life is found to be a person, Jesus, and not a possession. This supports Jesus’ own words wherein He identified Himself as “the resurrection and the life” to Martha (John 11:25) and “the way, the truth, and the life” to His disciples (John 14:6). Additionally, though possessing eternal life is an automatic result of regeneration, experiencing eternal life is contingent on one’s relationship with Jesus, who is eternal life itself. God’s testimony that life is in His Son speaks to two aspects of eternal life. No lost person can receive it apart from believing in His Son. No saved person can enjoy it apart from believing in His Son.

Memory Tip

(1) 1 John 5:11-12 about assurance of salvation;

(2) and 1 John 5:14-15 about assurance of answered prayer. Why not memorize verse 13, too, I have written 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 5:13) and you’ll have an entire paragraph of assurance packed away forever in your mind.