1 John Chapter 5 Pt. 3 Encouragement From The Word & Confidence in Christ When We pray.

The apostle John was guided by the Spirit of God to include much assurance for the believer in Christ. 

Assurance of the sufficiency of the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Assurance of the sufficiency of the Word of God. 

Assurance of the sufficiency of the indwelling Spirit of God. Assurance of having eternal life through repentant faith in Christ.

Believing on Jesus and receiving full assurance. 

KJV 1 John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 

This particular text brings us face to face with another omission found in many modern Bibles. The last 13 words of this verse are often deleted. 

ESV 1 John 5:13  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. 

In addition to the ESV, the NASB, NIV, NRSV and many others omit that last phrase.

These words are omitted in only 2 surviving Greek New Testament manuscripts. Aleph 01 and B 03, are the only manuscripts that delete the phrase. 

The vast majority of Greek manuscripts which contain this verse, contain the whole phrase. 

The part of the verse which is omitted is a portion of encouragement. 

When Christians are going through rough times or even persecution, the Scriptures are written to assure us of eternal life, so that we do not lose heart. 

Believers in Christ are encouraged to take the Scriptures into their heart, no matter what their present predicament is. We must rest in knowing that what God says is true. 

They will be able to continue believing on the Lord Jesus, trusting that He is able to bring us through all the hard times in our life. 

The omitted words contain an essential truth from God, to keep us from becoming discouraged in our Christian walk. 

The gospel of John was written that we might believe. 

John 21:24-25  This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. 25)  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. 

The Spirit of God guided John to close his gospel by reminding us that he was a firsthand, eyewitness to all of the things that he wrote of. 

John's gospel was written that we might believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again. 

In like manner, he encourages us in our faith, because belief in Christ is connected to the assurance of our faith. 

Those who believe on Jesus will not be ashamed of Him. 

Romans 10:9-11  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11)  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 

Having full assurance of our faith and eternal life is what motivates us to be witnesses for Jesus. 

Confession of faith means telling others about Jesus Christ and sharing the gospel. If we say we believe but we do not tell others about Jesus, then something is wrong in our heart. 

Confidence in Christ when we pray. 

1 John 5:14-15  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15)  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 

The idea of being confident when we pray is that of speaking freely to our Lord when we pray. It means being open and frank when we bring our needs and concerns to God in prayer. 

When we pray in accord with the will of God revealed in the Bible, then we know that the Father hears us during our prayer.

Our prayer requests must align with God's will. 

Psalm 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

The Psalmist reminds us that Jehovah will not hold back any good thing for us when we walk uprightly, in the light of His Word. 

Thus, praying according to the will of God is connected to walking uprightly with Him. 

When we delight in the LORD as we pray, He will give us the desires of our heart, because our prayer will be aligned with His will and Word. 

Delight in Jehovah and be blessed by Him when we pray. 

Psalm 37:4-5  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5)  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 

To delight in Jehovah is to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind. To delight in Jehovah is to serve Him and give Him our best in all that we say or do. 

When we live this way, He will give us the desires of our heart. Our prayer requests will be filled with supplications for eternal things that matter. 

We will seek His help when we study His Word. Help when we pray. Help to be His witness. Help to love and serve others rather than ourselves. 

Committing our way to Jehovah means trusting Him to save us when we call upon His name for salvation. We demonstrate our trust and love for Him by being obedient to His will. 

The life of an upright man or woman is noticed by God, and He will answer our prayers. 

Jesus' promises about praying in His name. 

John 14:13-14  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14)  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 

John 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

Jesus taught His disciples that when they asked for anything in His name, He would do it. This is connected to the indwelling Spirit of God helping them as they pray for the needs of gospel ministry. 

Such prayer is a liberty of access and speech, knowing that when we ask according to His will, He will bless it. 

His word is a revelation of His will, in the things which concern the salvation of man. 

All that God has promised, we are justified in expecting, and what he has promised, we should pray for. 

Prayer is the language of the children of God. He who is begotten of God speaks this language. He calls God Abba Father, in the true spirit of supplication.

Thoughts to Ponder...

Through Christ Jesus our petitions are admitted and accepted of God. The matter of our prayer must line up with the declared will of God. 

It is not right that we should ask for anything that is contrary either to His majesty and glory, or that is detrimental to us. 

When we pray as the Lord instructs us to, we may have confidence that the prayer of faith shall be heard in heaven.

May these words of comfort from the scriptures strengthen us each day, so that we may go forward, loving and serving God as we love and serve others. 

Bob