Our portion from God's Word this morning is 1 John 5, verses 6-12. That's 1 John 5, 6-12, calling this the testimony of God. As you're turning there, Just a reminder that one of the things that will make this message easy, hopefully, is that we already know what a testimony is. Testimony is when you speak the truth about what you saw. That's a true testimony. Of course, there can be a false testimony that you could give, but if you see a car accident, You're an eyewitness. That situation goes to court. In court, you're called as a witness and you're called to give your testimony. What did you see? What was your vantage point? Today we're talking about the testimony of God. What has God said is the case. What has God spoken? What testimony has God given? 1 John 5, 6-12. The testimony of God, by the way, also, we know how important testimony is, not just what it is, but how important it is, the critical role. If the judge will get it right, if the jurors will get it right, if the people will know what happened, we need testimony. See if this language of the testimony of God flies out off the page from this passage this morning. Verse six and first John, chapter five. This is he. who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not by water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood. And these three agree. 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. 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 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. So whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Now, just in case there are any of you out there, and I don't know if there are or are not, If you have a King James Bible, your verse 7 and verse 8 are different. I'll make some remarks about that when we get to that within the message, but I want to at least mention that just so you're not distracted by that on the front end. If you don't have a King James with you, don't worry about that at all. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, I pray that You would guard the preaching of Your Word. I pray that by Your faithfulness, and power, and grace, that You would enable true preaching to occur. That there would be, in these moments that we share together, that there would be true, Spirit-filled, biblical preaching. And Father, we also pray that it would be received by faith. We pray that Your Spirit would internalize these things, that You would ingrain these truths in our mind, that You would reshape our hearts by this Word from this passage for these people today, that we would receive Your Word by faith. Father, I pray that You would work mighty works this morning in each one of us for Your name and for Your glory, that Your Word would go forth in power. It's in Christ we ask. Amen. Upon what foundation do all of our hopes rest? Brethren, all our hopes rest upon this foundation, that God has provided salvation and that He has spoken to us about it. God has provided salvation. and that He has spoken to us about it. It would do us no good if God provided salvation but never communicated that to us in such a way that we could come to share in that salvation. And what good would it be to communicate a salvation or to speak to us about a salvation that was never accomplished? all of our hopes for forgiveness, all of our hopes for eternal life now and into eternity, rest, beloved of God, on this foundation. God has provided salvation, and He's spoken to us about it. And by His Spirit, He's enabled us to believe in Christ to receive that salvation. Look at verse 11. This is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Your whole house rests on a foundation. If someone were to somehow rip that foundation out from under your house, the whole house is gone. It may happen instantaneously, or it's just a matter of time. If you take out the foundation, that which rests upon it is doomed. Here's our foundation. This is the testimony God gave us eternal life. What we're going to talk about this morning is the testimony of God. The testimony of God. We're going to talk about the fact that God has testified. That's number one. And then we're going to talk about how God has testified. That's number two. That's specifically the testimony that John will refer to in this passage. Of course, there's a whole litany of testimonies that God has given throughout history and in his word that he talks about. But in this passage, there's a specific how God has testified. So number one is what? that God has testified. Number two is how God has testified. And number three, what God has testified. That's why I'm fronting verse 11. That's the answer to the what. What is God's testimony? God gave us eternal life and this life is in his son. So the that and the how and the what of the testimony of God. First of all, the that. And here we're simply proving that this message is about the fact that God has spoken His testimony in the world and to the world. That's our first point. Just proving that that's what the passage is about. That God has testified. Look at v. 9. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that He is born concerning His Son." Do you see it in there? Hopefully it's just leaping right off the page twice. What are we talking about? We're talking about the testimony of God, specifically the testimony of God regarding His Son. We can talk about the testimony of God regarding us. God tells us the truth about ourselves. Amen? So we don't believe the lies of the world. So we don't believe the lies of the pride that dwells within us. But that's not what this passage is about. This passage is about God's testimony concerning His Son. The testimony of God. But not only verse 9, also verse 10b, which means the second part of verse 10. Because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne. The testimony that God has borne. God has spoken. God has taken the stand in the world and to the world. and beloved of God for the benefit of the world, not for His own benefit, for His own glory, but it's for the improving of the situation of people in the world. God has borne testimony. Testimony is so important if you want to know the truth. If you have multiple children, or if you've ever been in charge of multiple children in any situation, and if you're not present when something goes wrong, and there are tears, and maybe more than tears, maybe somebody got pushed, maybe somebody got injured, you need to know what really happened. It's the first thing you say, right? Tell me what happened. What happened? You need to know the testimony. There's nothing more important than this. The testimony of God. Now, one more here, because verse 9, two times. Verse 10, B, once. Also verse 11, A, which just means the first part of 11. This is the testimony And then it says, that God dot, dot, dot. So the testimony of God, the testimony of God, the testimony that God has borne. And this is the testimony. Clearly, we know what the passage is about. The passage is about the testimony of God regarding his son. God has provided salvation and God has spoken to us about that salvation. It's a really interesting and really helpful, encouraging phrase in verse nine. Notice what John says about God's testimony. The testimony of God is greater. The testimony of God is greater. And if you read the first, the whole first half of verse nine, you see what he's comparing it to. He's comparing it to the testimony of men. Here's what people say. Here's what God says. Now, whose testimony is better? Whose testimony is greater? Whose testimony is more reliable? God's testimony is greater. Every day we're bombarded by the testimony of man. Every day we're bombarded with the devil's deceptions that come to us through the lies in the world around us, even from within us, or our own sinful flesh will try to deceive us and take us off on a path that's not pleasing to God. But God's testimony is reliable. Human testimony can be warped by our selfishness. Human testimony can be warped by our greed, our self-serving greed. If your friend is on trial or if it's something concerning someone in your family, you might be tempted and maybe even give in to that temptation to twist your testimony to serve your friend or to serve your loved one. You twist things. Probably find a way to rationalize it where it's not really wrong. Instead of just telling the straightforward, objective truth and giving right testimony, you might give a false testimony. God's testimony is reliable. God's testimony is the only testimony given that has a 100% perfect ethical foundation, where he will always tell the truth. He will always speak what's right. God has the right knowledge base for the testimony that He gives. Sometimes even when our motives are right, we just don't know enough to give the proper testimony. And even when we do know what we're testifying about, we don't have an infinite knowledge of things. We don't look at, for instance, the car accident that you witnessed and you're called to testify about. Well, you had one vantage point. You didn't see everything. You may have the right motive, and what you speak on the stand may be perfectly true from your vantage point. But there was someone on the other side of the intersection, and they saw about seven things that you didn't see. So, even on our best day, in the best case, our testimony is lacking, but not God's testimony. He sees everything, He knows everything, and God tells us everything exactly the way we need to hear it for the right purpose. God's testimony is greater, it's reliable, And God's testimony is spiritual. It means God is talking to us about spiritual things. We can testify about things in the world. We can testify about the natural. We can't give testimony about the supernatural unless it comes to us by way of revelation from God. We can testify about material things, about temporal things that we experience, that we see. But if we're to have a true knowledge of the spiritual, a true knowledge of the invisible, of the eternal, for one example, the nature of the human soul, this kind of testimony, brethren, this kind of testimony must come from God. His testimony is greater. It's reliable. It's spiritual. And of course, it's supernatural. Please don't ever, ever take for granted the fact that you know God. That alone is our joy. That alone is our contentment, that we know God. On our own, we could never, ever discover God and come to a knowledge of God and enter a relationship with God, never. in a trillion eternities on our own strength, in our own experience, with our own wisdom and knowledge, we could never attain to God. But praise God that He's revealed Himself. God broke through to us. You'd have a better chance of flying to the sun, landing, and setting up camp than you do of discovering God in your own strength and wisdom. God has revealed Himself to us, to the world, to mankind in a supernatural way that's reliable and that communicates to us spiritual truth. Where would we be without God's revelation? Answer, without God's revelation, we'd be without God. God has revealed Himself to us. He's not left Himself without a witness. All our hopes rest on this fact that God has spoken. He's spoken a word of grace. He's spoken a word of forgiveness. And this grace and forgiveness and the power of grace and the power of forgiveness come to us through the Son, Jesus Christ. God has testified. God has taken the stand. Through revelation, God has entered into the world and spoken in the world and to the world and for the world and for you and to you. that He's provided salvation. Again, verse 9, if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. This is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. So, we've dealt with the that God has testified. Hopefully, we've proven That's the topic of this passage. That's what John is concerned about. What are you writing about, John? The testimony of God. Secondly, how has God testified? In other words, what specific testimony is this passage about? So, turn your thinking cap on, alright? Because there's some language here that's unique in Scripture. And there's, if you look this up in a study Bible or a commentary, there's different views. So I'm not gonna go through all of the different views and interpretations. That would just be distracting and that's not good for a sermon. But thinking cap time, and we'll try to crystallize this, the basic point in a simple way. The basic point here, I believe, is much easier than you would imagine. What specific testimony is this passage about? Now, this is coming from verses 6 through 8. Alright, verses 6 through 8. Ultimately, we're headed to this. The incarnation of the Son of God. Number one, the incarnation of the Son of God. And number two, the illumination of the Spirit of God. Alright? The illumination of the Spirit of God. This is how God has testified to the world, testified to us, of His salvation. The incarnation of the Son, and the illumination of the Spirit. And those two things together, Child of God, those two things together, the message of Christ incarnate and His work, and the speaking, the illuminating of the Spirit within your heart, those two things together are the very things that have created saving faith within you. As the truth of Christ came into your heart, and the Spirit birthed new life. So that's where we're headed. The incarnation of the Son, the illumination of the Spirit. Let's look together at verses 6-8. This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify. The Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree. That means they're not speaking different messages. They these testimonies complement one another John mentions three specific witnesses regarding Christ. What are they? All right hundred percent the water the blood and the spirit now I did promise you I A few remarks on the King James translation here. Verses 7 and 8 from the King James. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father and the Word and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, the water and the blood. And these three agree in one. Now, I'm not going to get into the entire historical debate. This morning, but the reason there's a difference is because There are different Greek Manuscript evidence used for the King James and used for newer translations after the King James was published Right after it was published new ancient manuscripts were discovered that predate the King James and interpretation or the King James translation. There's just an ongoing debate of which ones are the original text. Were these verses, was that rendering of the verse in John's writing originally and then removed? Or was it originally not there and then later added on? Well, I did say I'm not going to get into this, but you should be aware that that's a debate in biblical interpretation. There's different manuscript evidence, different manuscripts discovered after the King James was published, and there's an ongoing debate. Was this section added, or was this section taken away? Well, the part that is either added or taken away doesn't change the teaching. The main point of the teaching is God's testimony on earth to people that God has borne testimony of his son to sinners on earth. So this what's added is about a testimony that's given in heaven. There are three that bear record in heaven, the father, the word and the Holy Ghost. That's the father, son, spirit. And these three are one. But that's testimony given in heaven. You're not in heaven. You're on earth. You need testimony given on earth. You need testimony that you can understand, that comes to you while you're living so that you can be saved by God's testimony. So the either added or taken away portion, doesn't change the main point of the passage. John is talking about how God has given testimony regarding His Son on earth, and His testimony is reliable that Jesus alone is the source of salvation. Now, let's get to the fun part, the water and the blood, all right? Let's first deal with the testimony of the water and the blood. The basic meaning of this is easier than we might think initially, because there are two really, really, really good clues in the text of what this is talking about. Clue number one The testimony of water and blood has to do with the nature of Christ's coming into the world. So look at the very beginning of verse 6, and you'll see this small, blank, if you blank you'll miss it, clue, but very, very helpful clue, that this is what John is talking about. Verse 6, this is He who came by. Just stop right there, that's your clue. That's language that John talks about when he's dealing with the nature of the Incarnation. John's talking about the nature of Christ's coming. He who came by. Based on clue number one alone, we know that the testimony of water and blood is about the reality of the incarnation. In other words, we know Jesus is truly God and truly man. Not half and half. Not one or the other. Not truly man and appeared to be God. Not truly God and appeared to be man. Truly God, truly man, the incarnate Son of God. The nature of Christ's coming. In the context, that makes perfect sense also. This is what makes this clue really strong because this is a major pastoral issue for John in his writings. Look earlier in chapter 4 at verse 2. He's talking about how you can spot antichrists. By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. False teachers and Antichrists can mangle all kinds of doctrine. But in that situation, at that time, for these people, the Antichrists were denying the nature of the Incarnation. They were denying the Incarnation. Denying that Jesus came in the flesh, the nature of His coming. Now go backwards into chapter 2, verse 22. Chapter 2, verse 22 and 23. who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ, is the Christ. This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. Now flip forward to 2 John 7. Again, it's denying the identity of Jesus as the Christ, as truly incarnate. 2 John 7. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, such one is the deceiver and the antichrist." You can go back to 1 John 4. That's your first clue. Came by. To accept the testimony of water and blood. is to accept the reality of the incarnation, that Jesus is God and man. Clue number two. Clue number two is something that's very interesting. Again, if you blink, you'll miss it. But you see in verse 6 also that there were some people that accepted that Jesus came by water. However, they rejected that He came by blood. In other words, they accepted something, something in some form of the truth of Jesus Christ, but they rejected a hugely important part of the doctrine of Christ. Some did accept that He came by water, and this is why John says, middle of verse 6, not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And then verse 8, the Spirit and the water and the blood, they all agree. Now, one of the Antichrists, one of the deceivers in John's day was a man named Serenthus. C-E-R-I-N-T-H-U-S. Serenthus. And we know about Serenthus from a pastor, Irenaeus, in his book, Against Heresies. And Serenthus taught that Jesus was merely a man. Wrap your head around this. He was a popular false teacher in this time. He told that Jesus was merely a man. At his baptism, water, At His baptism, this mere man, Jesus, received the Christ Spirit. He received a divine power. But then, in His agony in the garden, before suffering and before dying on the cross, that Spirit of Christ left this mere man, Jesus. By the way, there are still false teachers today that teach this. If you watch, hopefully you don't watch false teachers on TV, but if you watch false teachers on TV long enough, you'll hear this doctrine taught that Jesus was the son of God from his baptism to his agony in the garden. But before his suffering and his death, that spirit of Christ, that divine power left him. So there was an acceptance that there was acceptance of God's testimony in Christ's baptism. Do you remember when Christ was baptized? That was a public testimony of His identity as the Christ, the Son of God. The Spirit descended from heaven, a visible testimony, and the Father spoke from heaven, an audible testimony that this One is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. In a counterfeit sense, that would have been accepted. it would have rejected, you can reject God's testimony regarding Christ's blood. This is probably the more debated issue in this passage. What does it mean that the blood testifies? Well, I take it that from His conception, this man, is God in flesh and blood. This man is God in flesh and blood. Not just that he's a mere man that received a divine power, but that he's a divine person who came as a man. That makes all the difference. If we reject the doctrine of the incarnation, we lose the whole gospel. Not a mere man that received a divine power, but a divine person that truly came as a man. But there's a third testimony. There's a third testimony. If you take the water and blood together, I believe that's a testimony of the reality of the Incarnation, which is a foundational doctrine in the Gospel. But the third testimony is the testimony of the Spirit. The end of verse 6, the Spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. And then verse 8, the Spirit and the water and the blood, in these three agree. There's three that testify, verse 7. Three that testify. And here you go again, in this beloved passage, something that's debated and has multiple views. Okay, I think there's two possible or two plausible views on what testimony of the Spirit is John referring to here. I think it could either be the day of Pentecost, where the Spirit was poured out on the apostles, and also through their preaching poured out and starting the church. That's testimony of the Spirit that was prophesied and promised by Jesus and was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. But I believe in the context of John, the testimony of the Spirit is the Spirit's testimony in our hearts that we are children of God. John has already mentioned this twice. You can back up to verse 13 in chapter 4. I told you to get your thinking caps on, all right? Verse 13 in chapter 4. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit. You see that? The role of the Spirit in testifying to us and confirming the fact that we belong to God. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, which is a way of saying this is how we know we have a relationship with God. This is how we know that Christ lives within us, because He has given us His Spirit. You back up even further. Well, it's probably on the same page. Chapter 3, verse 24, at the end, And by this we know that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us. There's the Spirit in our hearts testifying to the truth of Jesus Christ. It's the Spirit within us testifying that we are children of God through faith in Christ. It's the inner illuminating work of the Holy Spirit that testifies to us. So you have the testimony of God, of the truth of the incarnation, that Jesus is God and man, and you have the testimony of God internally, the Spirit of God illuminating our hearts, illuminating our minds to the truth of Jesus Christ, and that we are children of God. That's where our assurance comes from. The testimony within us of the Holy Spirit. There's a parallel verse, or at least a parallel doctrine in Romans 8, 15, and 16. Paul writes, "...but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father." In Romans 8, verse 16. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Spirit Himself bears witness, which is just another way of saying the Spirit gives testimony, the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit. The inner testimony of the Holy Spirit is such an important part of Christian living. This is where we'll find comfort in our darkest hour. This is where we'll find the strength to persevere when we want to give up, when things are getting difficult. The inner testimony of the Spirit, that we are children of God, and that Christ is with us, and that Christ lives in us. The inner testimony of the Holy Spirit is a critical component of walking with God, and of growing in the faith. We've seen that God has testified. We've seen, in a general sense, how God has given testimony. I know there's a lot there, but you've got to deal with what's in the text. At least you've got to try to deal with what's in the text, and not just race over it like it's not there. Some more difficult things in that passage, but in a general sense, the point is this. God has testified to us of His salvation by sending His Son and by giving His Spirit. He sent the Son, the eternal Son of God, truly in human flesh. Not a mere man, but the incarnation of the Son and the inner work of the Spirit. He sent the Son. He gave the Spirit. He sent the Son to save us. And He gave the Spirit that we would receive that salvation. This is God's testimony. And it's glorious. It's the reason we have hope. It's the reason we're being sanctified. God has testified. How has He testified? The incarnation of the Son. The illumination of the Spirit. When we pray for our friends, we should pray for the inner work of the Spirit in their hearts and minds. We should pray that God in His providence would bring the Word of God to the ear. And we should pray that God, by His power and mercy, as that Word of God comes into the ear, that the Spirit of God would open the mind. That the Spirit of God would change the heart. There's multiple ways we can pray for the lost. Pray that they hear the Word of God, they hear the Gospel, and pray for the Holy Spirit of God to transform that heart from dead in sin to alive in Christ. The final section is the what, and this is My favorite section, not that it has to be your favorite section, but this is my favorite section. The what God testifies verses 11 and 12. This is the testimony. So this is what the. What's the person in court who transcribes, what are they called? The recorder. So here, this is the testament. This is what they record. This is what they're typing down. Real fast. Alright? This is the testimony that God gave us eternal life and this life is in His Son. And then immediately the implication of that. Verse 12. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. And that's not physical life, that's spiritual life. That's being alive unto God. That's no longer being dead in trespasses and sin. That's no longer being alienated from God. That's no longer loving sin, but rather grieving sin and loving God. That's being changed by the Gospel. That's being born again. You must be born again to receive this salvation. In fact, being born again is the receiving of the salvation. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. This is the testimony, Jesus is able to save your soul. Jesus is able to save your soul for all eternity. This is the promise of the Gospel. This is the message of our church. This is the core message of the Bible, that Jesus is able to save the souls of weak, unworthy sinners who've rebelled against God and live for themselves, and Jesus has mercy to forgive. Jesus is able to save your soul. This is the testimony of God. So take to heart the gift of God. Because look at what it says in verse 11. This is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. If you're into this thing, circle the phrase, gave us. We're talking about a gift that God has given. We're talking about a gift to be received. It's a free gift of infinite love. A free gift of divine love to receive. Not to work for. It's not wages. Salvation is not wages. Wages are worked for. Wages are earned. Wages are what you deserve. Salvation is not wages. Salvation is a gift to be received by faith. I receive your gift. I believe in Jesus Christ. That's how salvation is received. Take to heart the gift of God. You can receive it today by believing in Jesus Christ. Don't I have to go and fix my life first and then come back? Absolutely not. That could never happen and God does not require that. God does not require, are you awake today? Raise your hand if you're awake today. Even if you're already saved, we all need to know this. to properly represent the gospel and evangelize out in the world. God does not require you to go out and prove yourself and prove a changed life first and then think of yourself as one who's received salvation or as one who can receive salvation. God never says that in his word. He says, on the spot, as a sinner with no hope and no ability to save yourself or help yourself, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. There's no preparatory work of good works or religion or morality of fixing yourself up to prove yourself worthy. Be very, very careful in our evangelism. Let's be very, very careful in our evangelism that we're not adding steps to receiving salvation that God has not added. God has one step, turn and believe in Christ and you'll be saved for all eternity. So easy, so tempting to want to put our man-made standards and rules on things. But brothers and sisters, I have no shame in saying this, salvation is a free gift. It's a free gift, 100%. And no one can work for it. No one can earn it. No one has to prove themselves worthy. That makes no sense. It's for the unworthy. How could you go out and prove yourself worthy of a message that by definition, this message is for the unworthy? Faith is accepting the fact and admitting the fact that I am unworthy, but by Your grace, I receive this salvation. That's what Christianity is. This is the definition of what we profess and of what we preach. Free grace. So take to heart the gift of God. And take to heart that you can receive this gift through faith in Christ. This life is in His Son. End of verse 11. Beginning of verse 12. This life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life. I think I said this, Dave. I forget if I said this 10 minutes ago or not. But what this life is spiritual life. I know I said that. But I forget if I said this or not. A summary way to think about that. Spiritual life is life in communion with God. That's life. That's eternal life. Knowing God. Spiritual life is life in communion with God. So here's Matt, before Jesus saved me, life alienated from God. Life not caring about God's glory. Now here's Matt, after being saved by Jesus, life in communion with God. reconciled to God, grieving my sin instead of reveling in it, and pursuing obedience by the work of the Holy Spirit. From death to life, from alienation to communion with God for time and eternity. It's better than food, it's better than sports, it's better than music, it's better than movies, it's better than anything. And I'm not talking about sinful things, I'm talking about anything, anything at all good things. Sometimes, you know, sometimes, most times, many times, we think that more money will bring us more joy. We think that more things will bring us more peace. We think that a better reputation and people thinking more highly of us will give us the peace and security and fulfillment that we want or that we need. It won't. It absolutely will not. The only thing that can help us in these things is life in communion with God. God is our only hope. God is our only chance at true peace. God is our only chance at true inner rest and a sense of meaning and fulfillment. God alone, God alone is our hope. God is the answer. God has provided salvation. And God has spoken to us about His salvation. And by God's grace, we've received His salvation. And by God's grace, today you can receive His salvation through faith in Christ. Oh, won't you come to Him? Won't you leave behind the old life and come to Christ for salvation and life and communion with God? Because God has spoken of this salvation. 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. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for this great salvation. Oh, I pray we never get bored of it, but in fact, grow more and more in our affection for You and for Christ. That we grow more and more in our daily dependence, moment by moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. God, I pray you would increase within us a zeal to preach your gospel, to teach your gospel, to share your gospel, to disseminate your gospel, to talk about your gospel. For your glory, for the salvation of the lost, for the strengthening of your church, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.