God’s Testimony Must Be In Us

This probably needs to be said right here at the beginning. I have tried to encourage that our church never divide; there would not be disunity among us over Bible translations. I will never try to pry the old King James Version out of anybody's hands. I am preaching to you today from the English Standard Version. I could probably recommend four or five translations that I believe are good translations. Some might be more excellent than others. Obviously, anybody that knows anything about textual criticism knows that 1 John 5:7 is a highly debated and highly contested text. I do not mean to preach today at all about that controversy. I believe that even for those of you that are here that may have the old King James, the New King James - you will see that what I want to emphasize from this text is emphasized equally by your Bible. I firmly believe in the Trinity. And I do not for a second believe that the English Standard Version or the New American Standard versions or the Holman Christian - I do not believe that they deny the Trinity. I do not believe that they attack the Trinity. I could show you numerous passages where the Trinity is very much supported. But I would just say this, if you're holding a New King James or an old King James in your hand today, what I am going to emphasize is equally emphasized in your Bibles. You may want to make a case for there being more witnesses to this fact, than what I'm going to talk about this morning, but nevertheless, I'm talking about what is being witnessed to, not so much how many witnesses there are. Although, I am going to talk about some of the witnesses. Certainly, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost attest and affirm what I am going to say in these minutes ahead. So, I've entitled my sermon, "God's Testimony Must Be in Us." And I hope to bring this title to life as we consider these verses together. So, let's read them. And I am reading from the English Standard Version. "Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" Brethren, remember the big picture of 1 John. Antichrist, deceivers, those who had gone out from among us. They were denying that Jesus is the Christ. They were denying that Jesus came in the flesh. They were denying the Son. We've seen this as we've gone through 1 John. They're denying the very thing that you have to believe if you would be saved. Who overcomes except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? You remember this: When Jesus declared Himself to be the Son of God, the Jews said that warranted His death. Remember what they said to Pilate? We have a law. He's declaring Himself to be the Son of God. By our law, He deserves to die. When He declared to be the Son, and He declared that God was His Father, He was declaring Himself to be equal with God. Make no mistake about that. Son of God means God the Son. It means that He shares divinity with the Father and the Spirit. Verse 6 - now watch this. This is the issue that's on the table here. Jesus is the Son of God. That is how you overcome. "This is He Who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ." Not just "Jesus," but "Jesus Christ." He is the Christ. The Christ is that which points us to His being the Son; to His being the anointed. "...not by the water only, but by the water and the blood." You say, what's that? Well, we're going to look at that. "And the Spirit is the One Who testifies;" That's bear's witness. "...because the Spirit is the Truth. For there are three that testify: (or bear witness) The Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony (or the witness) of men; the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. Whoever believes (here it is again) Whoever believes in the Son of God..." That's the issue. This is all about believing that Jesus is the Son of God - believing in the Son of God. They have this testimony in himself. That's where my title comes from. God's testimony must be in us. "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. And this is the testimony, that God gave 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." You see what's at stake. Life. Life and death. "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." So my title: God's Testimony Must Be in Us. Now, it's very helpful when we study Scripture to notice repetition. Why? I mean, when you find repetition, that is a good indicator that we have something the author is seeking to emphasize. Look, why does anybody repeatedly talk about the same thing over and over and over again? Repetition. Because he has something that he deems important that he wants to give you a lot of information about and he wants to bring clarity about. Repetition means emphasis. Emphasis and repetition point to importance. There's something important happening here. Let me tell you this. In the space of six verses, "testimony" or "witness" - either in the noun form or the verb form is used ten times. Notice it again. Look at v. 6. "The Spirit is the One Who testifies..." Or your Bible may say "bears witness." Same thing. To testify is to bear witness. You see it again in v. 7. "There are three that testify." You see it in v. 9. "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that He has born..." In the ESV, "borne" is testified or witnessed to concerning His Son. "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made God a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified (or borne) concerning His Son. And this is the testimony..." You saw all ten of them right there. Six verses. Ten times. Testimony. Ok, what do we think of? David, what do you think of when you think of testimony or witness? Speaking the truth about something. And I'm asking David because he's an attorney. When you think about a witness, somebody is going to give testimony, we think of in a trial; we think of a courtroom situation. Facts presented in a court. That would be the idea: the evidence is being given. Someone is trying to prove a case. A witness is one who goes up on the stand, and he provides information about what he knows about the case or about an individual or about certain circumstances that surround an event, right? That's what a witness is. Well, let's ask ourselves this. This term is used ten times. Well, who is bearing testimony to what? Let's ask that question. Look at v. 10. What sort of testimony is it that John's all worked up about? And obviously, if you're going to use that word: bang, bang, bang, bang... ten times, he has something to say about testimony. It matters. And listen, if for no other reason that we would conclude that it matters is because he says it has to do with eternal life. It has to do with life and death. You either have this testimony in you or you don't, and if you don't, you call God a liar, and if you don't, you don't have the Son; and if you don't have the Son, you don't have life. This is not a small matter. Now, who's bearing testimony to what? Notice v. 10. "Whoever 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 (notice this) believed in the testimony that God has testified to (or borne witness to) concerning His Son." Do you see that? It is God Who bears witness to the Son. (incomplete thought) Think about this. If you consider a courtroom situation, who's on the witness stand? Who's bearing witness? The Father. He's bearing witness about who? About the Son. God is bearing testimony. It creates this image of facts being presented in a courtroom. It's like God Himself takes the witness stand. Why? What is He bearing witness to? Who's on trial? It's as though God allows His Son to be put on trial. Do you know that's what 1 John is about? Charges are being brought against the Son. Do you know what those charges are? What are the charges being leveled against the Son? He's an imposter. He's not the Christ. Brethren, that's always the issue. It's been the issue - people who call into question who Christ is. Charges about who He is; about what His character's like, the nature of His work. Brethren, you think about the big picture here in 1 John. Do you remember back in chapter 2? Listen, 1 John 2:19. "They went out from us..." Who are these people that go out from us? Well, they're not of us. "If they had been with us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, that it might become plain that they're not of us." And what are they like? "Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" They didn't deny Jesus as a historical figure, but they denied certain realities about Him. "This is the antichrist - he who denies the Father and the Son." They were denying the Son. "No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also." You go down to v. 26 of chapter 2. "I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you." You know what? Many false prophets, John says in this epistle, have gone out into the world. You know what you've got? You've got a lot of people out there: deceivers. They are running all around. And you know what they do? They claim to be witnesses for Christ. "Let me tell you about Christ." Some of them are even so bold to take that name: Jehovah's Witnesses. (incomplete thought) They show up at your door. Jehovah's Witnesses. "We're the 'witnesses.' We're here to witness to you about who God is, but let me tell you this: Jesus is not God." See, that's what we have in this world. People who are bringing accusation against Christ; against who He says He is in Scripture. Charges being brought against Him by men. And you know what? They bring these charges - they bring this witness, that's contrary to the witness of the apostles. We have it today. Brethren, you know what I see in all this? I see a fantastic picture of just the mercy of God. Why? Brethren, do you know back there 2,000 years ago, those Jewish leaders, they called Jesus an imposter. You remember that? "This imposter said that He was going to rise after three days." They put Him on trial. They said, "If You're the Son of God, You tell us." And you know when they went to Pilate, they said we have a law. He did claim to be the Son of God. "Tell us if You're the Messiah." He says, "I've told you. You won't believe." You said it, guys. You know what God allowed? God allowed His Son to be put on trial. God allowed His Son to have accusations brought against Him. But you know what's amazing to me? God has allowed His Son to be put on trial every day since then right up until today. God actually allows this world to be filled with many false witnesses who bring charges and bring accusations and who seek to witness about who Christ is, and they're false and they're liars. He allows Christ to be put on trial and to have His character called out and tested. And God condescends in the sight of you and me to take the witness stand and let us sit on the jury to hear the facts; to hear the evidence, and to come to a conclusion about this matter. And I'll tell you what, you know what's amazing about it? Is a lot of us who He allows to sit in that jury to hear the evidence, we're the very mockers; we're the very fault-finders. What's amazing to me is that God doesn't put us immediately on trial; find us guilty and just snuff us out. Instead, like I say, brethren, He stoops to say, you're hearing all these accusations. You're hearing what the deceivers say. You're hearing the false witnesses. But I'm going to declare to you the facts about My Son. And hear these. And brethren, all we have to do is side with God in these facts and He says, "you have eternal life." That's what He says. Hear My testimony of My Son. And you believe that testimony, and you will have life. He mercifully lets us hear His own testimony concerning His Son. Receive it. Embrace it. And what we're going to look at: Internalize it. A testimony needs to be in you. And you have life. But, as v. 10 says, if we refuse to believe God's testimony about His Son, we make God out to be a liar. You know what that tells us? Sometimes we can view unbelief as ignorance. We can view unbelief as just some kind of weakness to be pitied. But do you see what John says here? John doesn't let us do that. If we refuse God's testimony about His Son - you must understand this, unbelief - it's an attack on the very character of God. It questions His honesty. Unbelief is criminal. Unbelief is a sin to be deplored, to be hated, to be abominated. It's wicked. That's what we're being shown here. So, here's what I want to ask you. What is the content of God's testimony that He bears about His Son? What does He actually have to say about the Son? When God takes that witness stand, what does He testify to? That's the question. Notice this. Notice the flow of v. 7,8, and 9. If you've got the King James, they're moved around a little bit, but you get the same flow. Notice this, "there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree." Now, notice that. We've been talking about God bringing testimony about His Son. But, notice this, "there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree." Now, notice how he just very naturally, very fluidly flows into v. 9. "If 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." You see what He says? This is the testimony of God. What? Well, these three that agree. Their testimony: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. This is the testimony of God. I mean, he just so smoothly transitions from the testimony of the Spirit, the water and the blood, right into talking about the testimony of God, because what the Spirit says and what the water says and what the blood says is what God says. This is the testimony. What these three have to say is precisely what the Father has to say. All three of these testimonies are in agreement. All of them agree. You know what that means? What the Spirit says is in agreement with what the water and the blood say. What the water says is in agreement with the Spirit and the blood. What the blood says in agreement with the first two, and all of those are God bearing testimony about His Son. They all are in agreement with God's testimony. They all perfectly agree. What do all three testify to individually that is in agreement collectively? That's what we have to ask ourselves. If we want to know, ok, what is it that God is saying about His Son? Then, we have to ask this: What is it that the Spirit says? What is it that the water says? And what it is that the blood says that they each say individually, but when you compare them, they all agree collectively? Well, you know what? To figure that out, we've got to figure out what the water is and what the blood is. Look, I can't tell what somebody is saying unless I know who it is that I need to go listen to. Tell me what the water's saying. Well, if you don't know where to find this water or what the water is, you're not going to know what it's saying. You're not going to know who to listen to, right? So, I think we have a good idea about Who the Spirit is. If you've got the King James Bible, you have idea about Who the Father is. You have a good idea about Who the Word is; Who the Holy Ghost is. We have an idea about the Spirit. Blood - I would suppose that's easier than the water. But, let's think about these. What is John talking about here? Listen, eternal life is at stake. So we want to hear what the water and the blood have to say, but we've got to figure out who they are so that we can listen to them. Because what they have to say has to do with life. Ok, let's talk about this. Water and blood. I know - you've all read this, and you've probably thought, what is that? I have. And you might flip something open and look at a commentary or something. I don't know. How many of you have ever read that and thought I wonder what that means? Just a few? Ok, let me tell you some theories historically. And I want to go through them, because I want you to wrestle through these things. Here are some of the theories. One, this is speaking of natural birth. Some say this has to do with the Incarnation and Jesus being born of a virgin because in natural birth, the amniotic fluid - the water breaks. We talk about that. There's your water. And then there's typically blood. Why? Because women sometimes tear and the placenta detaches and so some have said that. That's what John has in mind. Others have said this is not birth - this is humanity itself, because man is just basically water and blood. That one doesn't even sound convincing, but some have thought that. Now, one that is very obviously going to come into people's minds is the spear thrust in Jesus' side. And out came blood and water. John himself actually mentions that over in his Gospel in chapter 19. Some have believed that the water is baptism, and the blood points to the Lord's Supper. And so you have the two ordinances, or if you're in certain circles, the two sacraments. So some have thought that. Others have thought that water, because of Ephesians 5 - washing of the water of the Word, that this has to do with the Spirit and with Scripture and with the cross. Ian Paisley believes that and he preaches from this text and preaches about revival. And even though I might not agree with how he's interpreted it, I would probably recommend his message on that. Some have looked at this and said the water refers to Jesus' baptizing ministry. He baptized people. And others believe that this deals with Jesus Himself being baptized by John the Baptist, and then the blood deals with the cross. That's what I believe that this is talking about. Let me show you why. First, I want you to notice the text. Notice v. 5. "Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came..." Notice the word "came." Scott picked a song today: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Come... to ransomed Israel. Come. You know what? Whatever the water and the blood is, it describes the manner of His coming. That you can see. Brethren, this idea of coming - it was captured in that song. Come. Come. Listen to John 11:27. "Martha said to Jesus, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ; the Son of God, Who is coming into the world.'" The verb tense there is interesting. "...Who is coming." Why not just all-said-and-done past tense? I believe You came. Why talk this way? "...Who is coming." Maybe because coming doesn't have so much to do with His birth in the beginning as much as His ministry as a whole. John 6:14 "When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, 'This is indeed the Prophet Who is to come into the world.'" Matthew 11:3 - You remember, John the Baptist finds himself in jail, prison by Herod, and what does he say? He sends his disciples to Jesus and he says, "Are You the One Who is to come, or should we be looking for another?" The One Who is to come. How about 1 John 5:20? Right as we're wrapping up this epistle. "We know that the Son of God has come." Well, here's the thing, if water and blood describe something about the manner in which Jesus comes, it probably rules out baptism and the Lord's Supper right off. It probably rules out the fact that water is speaking about Scripture. But here's something else I want you to notice. Look at v. 6. "This is He Who came by water and blood." So it describes the manner of His coming, but notice this as well. "Jesus Christ - not by the water only, but by the water and the blood." Why would somebody say something this way? I mean, if you're talking to somebody else and you want to substantiate that two things happened - two separate things. And you say, look, I want you to know, it wasn't only this, it was this and this. That seems like it's speaking about two separate things. Now listen. There's a courtroom scene here. God is bearing testimony by the water and the blood against the false witness. You know why you talk this way? If you're John, you talk this way because those who are in opposition to you affirm the one, but not the other. That's why you talk that way. Those who are in opposition may be affirming whatever the water means, but not the blood. That's why you say, He came not just by the water, He came by the water and the blood. You want to drive that blood home because that is what is being contested. I suspect that these are two separate things. One is being somewhat acknowledged by the deceivers. The other is being rejected. And if they're two separate things, it would eliminate all these theories that the two seem to indicate one thing, like the spear in the side or birth and the fluid and the blood. I really believe that what we have here is we have two distinct events. I believe that what John has in mind here is Jesus' water baptism and His bloody death on the cross. And here's why I think that this is what John means. First, it just works. That wouldn't be my only reason, but it works, right? I mean, when you think about baptism, there's water. When you think about the cross, there's blood. It works that way. It's not off in left field. Here's the second thing. The second thing is that water and blood validate the manner of Jesus' coming. "This is He Who came by the water and the blood." Now when you think of the Son of God coming, you know what the baptism and the cross are? They're like bookends. To what? His ministry. It's like the start and the end. He came. He came as the Messiah. This is pointing to His very earthly ministry - the public ministry of our Lord. You've got baptism at the commencement of His ministry, and the blood brings in the consummation of His saving ministry there on the cross. Water and blood seem to serve to sum up Christ's redemptive mission. The inauguration, the consummation of the public ministry of the Incarnate Christ. But here's another thing, brethren, think with me here. You know the thing that John is wanting to drive home? Is that Jesus is the Christ. It is Jesus is the Son of God. Let me ask you this. What happened at the baptism? Listen, we're talking about the testimony of the water and the testimony of the blood. What do they speak? Is there anything that happened at the baptism of Christ that speaks to Him being the Son of God? Because that is the issue on the table here. Is there anything at His baptism? That speaks of Him being the Son of God? Brethren, when He was baptized a voice from Heaven said - brethren, listen to this. This is what we find concerning the water in John 1. John says this in John 1:31: "I myself did not know Him, but for this purpose I came baptizing." Now, notice this. Why did John come baptizing with water? He says, "that He might be revealed to Israel." This is the revelation. And notice this: "John bore witness. 'I saw the Spirit descend from Heaven like a dove and it remained on Him. I myself did not know Him, but He Who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on Whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.'" You see, that baptism was the bookend. It was the beginning. It was the inauguration of His earthly ministry. His rescuing of sinners. This is where He comes on the scene. And when He does, and when He goes in that water, John says I knew it. Why? The Spirit of God came on Him. He says I knew that was the Son of God. And if that's not enough, that voice spoke from Heaven. "This is My Son." The water - that baptism - it declares Him as the Son of God. The Spirit is one with the testimony in all of this. The Spirit came upon Him; identified Him. Brethren, if we go to the blood, I'll tell you this. "Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness." We know this, that Jesus Christ, He was manifested in the flesh. God manifested in the flesh. And He was vindicated by the Spirit. Vindicated. How was He vindicated? Brethren, when He shed blood, how was He vindicated? You know what Romans 1:4 says? Let me read it to you. "He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord." I'll tell you this. At the baptism, the Spirit testified by coming upon Him. John the Baptist said this is the Son of God. It's proven. The voice from Heaven: "This is My Son." When you go to His death on the cross, vindicated. The Spirit of God raises Him from the dead. This declares Him, Paul says, to be the Son of God. Brethren, just look at what's being said here by John in 1 John. "Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" Look at v. 10. "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony." Notice what it says in 5:12-13. "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 that you may know that you have eternal life." What is it that John's making a case for? Jesus as the Son of God. He is the Christ. What is it that the water bears witness to? That fact. What is it that the blood bears witness to? That fact. He comes. He identifes with our sin. Brethren, that baptism - you think about it. It was a baptism of repentance. It was a baptism where people confess their sins. Jesus had none to confess, but He identifies with us. He identifies with us in that baptism. He identifies with us at the cross. He becomes sin for us at that cross. He makes atonement for us. He satisfies the wrath of God. These two bookend His public ministry. They both at the beginning and at the end, they boldly declare and they are one with the testimony of the Spirit, that He is the Son of God. That is what's being put on the table here. Brethren, there's another reason. This one has more to do with history. But we know that in John's day, there was a gnostic heretic by the name of Cerinthus. And he was saying that the eternal Christ came upon the man Jesus Christ at the baptism. But that eternal Christ left the man Jesus prior to the cross. It would make perfect sense why John would say, not the water only - the water and the blood. Christ was there in the water and in the blood. And He is One. He is the Christ. You have to see that in v. 6. He plants that right in there. Jesus Christ. You see, we don't experience a lot of the attacks on Christ's person like they did then. They're different. They tend to morph. But you know what? In every age it's the same. It's an attack on Christ. And what God testifies to when He takes the witness stand and He bears witness to is what is true about His Son. And what is true about Him? God came. Immanuel. God with us. God came and God identified with sinners as a man Himself. And He was baptized; He was declared to be the Son of God. He did these miracles. He publicly displayed Himself. And these works attested to Him. And He comes all the way to the end, and the Spirit vindicates Him and raises Him from the dead, and shows that the shedding of His blood was acceptable to the Father. The grave could not hold Him. And in that, He is declared to be the Son of God. That's what Scripture says to us. Now, folks, here's the thing. The whole basis of my overcoming this world; the whole basis for my eternal life is what? V. 5 says it: The basis of my overcoming the world is that I believe He's the Son of God. The basis for my eternal life we find in v. 11-13. It is that I have the Son. It is that I believe in the Son of God. I believe that He is the Son of God. Brethren, if the whole basis of my overcoming and the whole basis of my life is in Christ as the Son of God, God the Son - if I am to look there; if my only hope is to be there, if I am to rely on Him; if I am to rest on Him; if it's absolutely essential that I know that I have this life or that I'm going to overcome, it's got to be that I, brethren, it's only going to be that if you believe in Jesus Christ. If you're supposed to believe in Jesus Christ to have this life and to overcome, I'll tell you this, brethren, it is absolutely essential that you know that you can believe in Him. That's the issue. That's why God takes the stand. He takes the stand to say, "Sinner, I'm not here just to tell you that He's like this, but I'm here to tell you He's like this to know that you can put your faith in Him." That's what this is all about. He is the One Who came from glory. He is the One Who could suffer in the place of a multitude of sinners, because He isn't man only. Oh yes, He became like man. He came like man. He came in the likeness of man. He came fully man; in every respect man, yes, like the offspring of Abraham. Yes, He did and He had to. He had to be man. And He had to fulfill the law as a man. And He had to die as a man. But He was more than man. He is the God-man. And that will be attacked all the time. And He was the God-man when He came. He was the God-man there when He was baptized. He was the God-man when He died; when He hung His head and He said, "It is finished." And He gave up His spirit. Brethren, and He was vindicated. What He did, He did as the Son of God, and He was declared to be so. You have to recognize this. His coming out of the grave vindicated that He was indeed the Son of God. Because if He was merely a man, He would have never come out of the grave. Because one man cannot pay the sins of a whole multitude of men. No way. There's nothing just about that. He actually had to have the ability to pay what all of us owed. And the fact that He came out of that grave, showed that it was paid. Brethren, if I am to rely on Him; if I am to rest on Him; it is absolutely essential that I know that I can rely on Him. And John says you can know. There is a testimony. Brethren, men will come to you and they will say all sorts of things. Men will tell you what they know, what they've heard, what their opinion is. But what we're told here is that there is a greater testimony. This is not just the testimony of a mere man. This is the revelation of God Himself. You must know God stepped in. He had this book written. He's given it to us. The testimony is here, brethren, of Who Christ is, and the fact that you can rest on Him. This is a much greater testimony than any man can give. This is the greater testimony. Now, here's the thing, brethren. Here is the thing. Here's were my title comes in. This revelation does not simply mean I look at some external fact and I say, oh, well, that's nice. I can read that. I see it. He's the Son of God. What John says in v. 10, "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself." Make sure you don't miss that. John says that for the true believer, God's testimony is internalized. What does that mean? What does that mean to have God's testimony in you? Well, I'll tell you this, it's no longer just an external fact to you. It's something that finds a place within you. Certainly, it means that what God has testified to concerning His Son is not just out there, or in here. It's in here. It means it's mine. It's inside. I've internalized it. It means the truth concerning Christ resonates in me. It's like a plant that has roots that go into the ground. This goes into me with roots that go down deep inside. The testimony of God is in me. I feel it in myself. My whole outlook on life, on death, is controlled by this. I view everything by the testimony of God about His Son. I hope, I rely, I find my confidence there. Brethren, don't you want this? Don't you want it? Don't you want that resonating within you where you look at Christ and you say, I know it. I know this inside. It regulates. It motivates. It constrains me. Everything I do, my conscience - everything that's within us. What's within you? Your will, your conscience, your memory, your desires. Brethren, when it's in you, all those things that are in you find rest there; find confidence there. All your hopes, all your faith, that's the foundation. This is that which rules us. It motivates us. God's greater testimony must be in us. I must know for certain that it's within me. Brethren, do you know that? Oh, brethren, there was a day in my life, I can remember, Christ - He was kind of out there. He was, yes, He was the Son of God; He wasn't God. He was somehow inferior. I had these low views. Really, it didn't motivate my life. It didn't resonate in here. It wasn't in my mind all the time. Brethren, if you've got something inside you, it's going to be something you think about. To be inside you means it fills you. It fills your mind. It fills your memory. It fills your thoughts. It fills your hopes. It fills your faith. Suddenly, when I came to Christ, everything changed. Everything. The place. It was in me. It was something that I thought about. It was where my hopes are. I could feel it. I could feel that. There was a resting there. There was what God said about His Son was mine. I possessed it. And it takes hold of you. But here's the thing, you find this in v. 11. "This is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life..." You see, the life is in His Son. This testimony is this: it's about who the Son is and about the fact that if you've internalized it, you have eternal life. But remember, part of the testimony is eternal life. The testimony is in us. Do you remember how Jesus defines eternal life? It's to know the only God, and to know His Christ. You see what it's saying? If that's what eternal life is, and eternal life is part of the testimony, and that testimony has to be in us, then guess what? You know what's in you? You know what grabs you? I know God. Brethren, can you say that? Can you say that? Because it's in you? Can you say, "I know God." I know Him. He's revealed Himself to me. I know Him in that family like David was talking about. I know He's my Father. I know it. Brethren, that's the thing that blew me away. That floored me after I got saved. God was real to me. I knew Him! I loved Him. I found a beauty in Him. I found a desire in Him. That's what's being said. This has to be internalized. You get to v. 13, and John is saying, look, I'm writing these things to you that those of you that believe in the Son of God, you may know that you have eternal life. Brethren, it's internal. It's been internalized. V. 11 is saying this testimony that God gave us eternal life. Life in His Son. That's in us. If you believed in the Son, you have the testimony of God in you. And that testimony of eternal life is that you know Him. Brethren, can you say that? Do you know God? Look, I'm not asking you whether you come to church. I know you're all sitting in church today. This isn't just about whether you pray or whether you've ever read your Bible. I'm asking you. Can you sit there and say with confidence, because that testimony of God has resonated in your own soul? Jesus Christ is not like any other man. He is God come down and He has done such things as satisfied God on my behalf. And I know my only hope and my only confidence is in Him as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. I know He is the One Who is to come and I know He's come. And I know what did has satisfied God on my behalf. And that is where my hope is. And I know Him, and He has made Himself real. And He has spoken peace to my soul. He has said, "I love you." And you've heard it. You are my son. I've laid down my blood for you. Brethren, can you say that? Because that's what's being said here. You know, whether you've experienced this or not, you know that's what you want. Any other kind of religion, it's a sham. It's shallow. Because any kind of religion that doesn't have this testimony of God resonating within you, it's no good. I want the real thing. I want the fullness of the real thing. You say, pastor, I haven't had that happen. What do I do? I'll tell you what you do, is if that's true of you, it's offered to you nonetheless. And God says to you, "Hear My testimony concerning My Son." You confess your sins to God. You call upon Him to save you. You call upon Him to give you real salvation. True salvation. With hope in nothing else. Hope in nothing else, except this One Who is the Son of God - Jesus the Christ. Oh, brethren, do you know that He's yours? Can you say, God is my Abba Father? I know it. I know it. That's what it is to have the testimony in you. God's testimony must be in us. This is for you. I died for you. I went to that bloody cross and I poured out My soul for you, that you might have life; that you might know Me. Father, oh, I want it to be a reality among all of us. Thank You for the redemption that we have in Christ Jesus. Amen.