““He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

How do we “Have the Son”?

John 1:12 reads, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”.

Receiving Jesus into our life is an essential part of believing in him. When we believe and accept him as our Lord and Savior we receive the gift of Jesus living within us.

By Jesus alone

5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

When friends and family whom we love make it clear they do not believe, it is painful to think of the consequences for them, especially if we think of them as being very good people. But we do not have God’s insight into the hearts of people, nor do we comprehend His perfect justice, we simply rely on His perfect mercy and wisdom. But this does spur us to do all we can to share our understanding of the gospel, and to pray that their hearts may be moved.

Has (Eternal) Life

11 … God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

By being reconciled to God through Jesus, we are freed from the slavery to sin which turns earthly life into an unreal and superficial existence. One aspect of “eternal” is being real or true life. It transforms our lives here and now to live as God’s children, in complete dependence upon Him as we live in and by His presence. The second aspect is this true life is not subject to death and decay, it is secure in God beyond space and time.

He who believes (By Faith alone)

Romans 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Our verse captures the unique and fundamental basis of Christian belief, that we are saved from death and judgment not by what we have done or did not do, but by the grace of God through the free gift of forgiveness through Jesus, received simply by faith or believing in Him and what He has done for us.
Our human mind finds this hard to accept, it’s too easy, but that is because we want to put ourselves and our way of thinking at the centre instead of God. The bible reveals that all of mankind’s efforts lead only to destruction, and we can only be reconciled to God by what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

Personal Application

God brings all sorts of people into our lives in various ways, and we need to understand their interests, concerns and joys, in order to show compassion and understanding and share God’s love. But those interests, concerns, and joys do not become our entire world as it seems to for unbelievers. Faith in Jesus allows us to be fully involved in the cares of this world without being brought down by them. Instead, God equips us to bring His love and the ways of His kingdom to those around us, which turns the usual ways of the world (like one-upmanship) upside down. When we are freed from greed and the desire to win against other people, and released from the bitterness of past wrongs, that gives us far greater power than this world can know or understand. That power is shown through the desire not to win against people, but to win them over to Jesus.

Praise God for his free gift of forgiveness through Jesus.