To have the Son is to have life

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 NLT

God wants His children to be assured that in Christ they have life and life eternal. This is John’s concluding thought so that Christians will not have misunderstanding about their relationship with the Son of God. By faith, we have received the eternal life. As soon as we have surrendered our lives to Christ, we have His life in us. John does not want Christians to be mistaken in their understanding about this for they and the Lord Jesus Christ are inseparable. Daily, we meet people who advise us what we should know, do, or need. Much of this informative advice we take for granted and even ignore. Intellectually we may accept advice, but it does not become part of us until we are fully convinced of its validity. We generally regard advice concerning our physical well-being, because it concerns the quality of our life. Someone informs us that the weather outside is cold and windy. However, we will not know how cold it is, until we have stepped outdoors to feel the temperature and experience the cold weather. Then we respond appropriately by wearing clothing that is adequate to keep us physically comfortable and warm. When John says that we believe God’s testimony about His Son, we should not doubt it if we have made the decision to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we believe this in our heart, God’s testimony becomes part of us because of our personal relationship with Jesus. We experience His nearness and His presence. We know that His help is just a prayer away. We gain comfort in knowing that His love is within us for we have fellowship with Him and the Father. Consequently, we are able to testify that God’s testimony is in our hearts. The opposite is true: “whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life” (1 John 5:12). Eternal life is a gift. it is not something that we earn. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ promised to those who believe Him. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me (John 10:28–29, see also Ephesians 2:8–9). But this gift is in the Person of Jesus Christ. We receive eternal life not only from Christ, but in Christ, “Whoever has the Son has the life”

Blessings,