“To Know Eternal Life”

1 John 5

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-21

Memory Verse: “And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

Lesson Focus: To know that we can have eternal life through Jesus.

Activities and Crafts: Coloring page; Word search

1st & 2nd Grade: New Creation Fan

Introduction: “Eternal Life Scramble”: Divide the kids into teams of 11. On the floor scramble the letters to the words “Eternal Life.” Tell the kids that they have to each pick up a letter and try to figure out what the words spell and get them in order. The first team to get the words “eternal life” in order wins.

Tell the kids that today we are going to talk about eternal life and how we can know that we have it.

Bible Lesson:

1 John 5:1-5: “Overcomers”

God gives those that believe in Him many different titles (Christians, believers, sheep, saints, lights of the world, children, etc. ) . Each one tells us something of how God sees us and who we become in Him through Jesus Christ. Here we will see that He has given us a victory through faith in Jesus. We are the “overcomers” we are the victors! The word “overcomer” means to conquer or to defeat.

1 John 5:1

√ According to this verse who is born of God? ?” (someone who believes in Christ)

√ What does it mean to be “born of God?”

John 3:3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” There is a new birth that must take place once we believe in Jesus as our Savior. You are no longer the same person. (2 Cor. 5:17; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” To be born of God is to have the Spirit of God living inside of you.

Illustration: Use the Mason jar Illustration. Show the kids a mason jar filled with black tissue paper. Tell them that this black tissue paper illustrates the sin that we are born with that is inside of us. When we believe in Jesus and repent of the sin that is in inside of us and ask for God’s forgiveness, then the Spirit of God comes and lives inside of us. (Take the black tissue out and put the green tissue in. This green tissue represents the Spirit of God living inside of us.) We are born again and a new creation in God.

√ If we love God who else are we to love? (The children of God)

√ Why do you think God says so much about loving others?

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – talk about how love is defined in these verses.

The foundation of being an “overcomer” is our faith in Jesus. Acts 4:12

1 John 5:2:

√ What does it mean to obey? (practice or keep)

√ In what ways does God want us to obey the things written in Scripture?

√ What are God’s commandments?

  1. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
  2. Love others as your self

1 John 5:3:

√ What does it mean to be burdensome?

√ Why is keeping God’s commandments not burdensome?

Matthew 11:28-29 (read these verses to the class)

Jesus tells us to come to Him.

Jesus tells us that we labor and are weighed down with the cares of this world. We try to be good enough to get to heaven.

Jesus tells us to take “His Yoke” upon us and to learn from Him.

√ Who can tell us what a “yoke” is?

A yoke was used by farmers to attach two oxen or two cows to work together to plow a field. They were trained to work together and to follow one another to get the job done. Jesus tells us that we are to be “yoked” to Him. We are to learn from Him and follow Him as we grow in our faith. Jesus says that His yoke is easy. The “yoke” of the 613 laws that the Jewish people tried to follow was a burden that they could not keep. Jesus tells us to believe in Him and follow Him and it is a burden that He will help us carry.

1 John 5:4-5:

√ How do we overcome the world? (Our faith)

Let’s give examples of how we overcome the world through our Faith in Jesus?

  1. We overcome the world by believing in Jesus to get to heaven:

By believing in Jesus who paid the price for our sins; Romans 10:17

  1. We overcome the world by taking every temptation to God and knowing He will help us through it. 1 Corinthians 10:17
  2. We overcome the world by thinking on things that are pure and good; Philippians 4:8
  3. I overcome the world by being content with God has given to me. Philippians 4:10-13
  4. I overcome the world by being thankful; 1 Thessalonians 5:18
  5. I overcome the world by putting on the Armor of God; Ephesians 6:10-18.
  6. I overcome the world by allowing God’s Word to dwell in me; Colossians 3:16
  7. I overcome the world by controlling my tongue; Psalm 19:14;

1 John 5:6-11; The Testimony of God!

√ What is a testimony?

√ How do trials use a testimony? (They use a testimony to help them win their case. A testimony should speak to the truth of the matter.)

In the Old Testament and in the New Testament it was known that facts where to be confirmed by two to three witnesses (2 Cor. 13:1 and Deut. 19:15)

The True Testimony:

  1. Water: When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God spoke from heaven and gave testimony that “Jesus Christ was His Son in whom He was well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Spirit of God also landed on Jesus giving us a visual testimony that God was with Jesus. (Matthew 3:16)
  2. Blood: The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. The Bible tells us that at the moment that Jesus died the veil to the inner holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51a)
  3. Spirit: The Holy Spirit was involved with every part of Jesus life here on earth. Conception (Matthew 1:18; 20), baptism (Matthew 3:16); temptation (Mark 1:12). Peter told in Acts how the Holy Spirit was involved in all aspects of Jesus’ work here on earth (Acts 10:38)
  4. The Spirit is Truth
  5. The Spirit agrees with the Water and the Blood
  6. All three speak together that Jesus is the Son of God and is the only One who can forgive our sins.
  7. The Testimony of God:
  8. John 3:16 – the birth of God’s Son for our sin.
  9. Belief in God’s Son gives testimony to the fact that God alone can save us. (John 14;6)

1 John 5:12: The True Testimony “Equation”

Eternal Life through Jesus

Have Son = Eternal Life

Don’t have the Son = Do not have Eternal Life

There is no other way to Heaven except through Jesus. It is very simple and we need to only believe.

1 John 5:13;

√ Do you know that you have eternal life?

√ How do we know?

We can “know” that we have eternal life. Once we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we can “know” that we are saved.

  1. If we ask God to forgive us and tell Him that we believe He will hear us. 1 John 5:14
  2. Jesus tells us in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
  3. The Holy Spirit is given as our “pledge” to our inheritance of Eternal Life (Ephesians 1:14)
  4. Matthew 13:5-7; 20-22, tells us the parable of the rocky soil and the seed (read the parable. This parable teaches us that some receive the good news of Jesus and believe for awhile but then they turn back to the world and their hearts truly never belonged to Jesus.

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