1 John 5:1-5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (ESV)
Main Idea:
The new birth in Jesus Christ produces three interlocking evidences: Faith in Christ, love for God and His people, and victory over the world, which serve as the grounds of Christian assurance, since regeneration precedes and empowers faith, which inevitably produces love, which results in victory.
1. Faith
1.1 Its Subjects: Everyone who believes
1.2 Its Object: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
1.3 Its Ground: The new birth
2. Love
2.1 Its Wellspring: Love for the Father (who first loved us)
2.2 Its Confirmation: Love for the brethren (the children of God, those born of the Father whom, and whose children, we love)
2.3 Its Expression: Keeping God’s commandments (love and law, the Great Commandment)
2.4 Its Spontaneity: It is not burdensome
3. Victory in Overcoming the World
3.1 The Reality of Victory
3.2 The Realm of Victory