Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God… Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.
1 john 4:15, 5:1
John tells us that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the Son of God.
First, Jesus is the Christ
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (5:1). The liar denies that Jesus is the Christ, but a person born of God believes and confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
Then John says, “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2). John is describing the incarnation. God became a man in Christ Jesus. “Come” points to where He was before, sharing the life of God in heaven. “Has come” indicates that His coming was a historical event. “Flesh” tells us that He shares our human nature. God is Spirit, so in taking flesh, the Son of God identified Himself fully with us.
This union of God’s nature and ours is realised in a person —Jesus Christ. And that’s why all our hope is in Him. God has promised a redeemer since the beginning of time, and God became the deliverer He promised.
Second, Jesus is God’s Son
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (4:15). Jesus is God’s Son. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). He is “the exact imprint of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).
Jesus is God in the flesh. He is one with the Father (Jn. 10:30). His words are the Father’s words, His will is the Father’s will, His work is the Father’s work. So, if you are in Christ the Son, you are in God the Father. That’s why John can say, “Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).
Who could you tell this week: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, and I believe that He is the Son of God”?
