Series Introduction

This devotional series focuses on the theme of being born of God from 1 John 5:1-5, highlighting the inherited characteristics that believers receive as part of this new birth. As you read, we will take time to reflect on three of these birth characteristics: obedience, love, and faith.

Reflection:

The apostle Johns’s letter is written for many people to read, but John’s emphasis here is that this decision of faith must be personal. While most translations say, “Everyone who believes” the sense of the Greek is “Each one who believes”. In other words, each person must make the decision of faith for themselves. Your family cannot do this for you. Your friends cannot do this for you.  Each one must do this for themselves.

I know a family in which the father is a lecturer. His father and two uncles were famous lecturers. His son is a lecturer. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Kids inherit characteristics from their parents.

In this family, is the son a lecturer by nature or nurture? Did he have the predisposition and gifting to be a lecturer, or is it how he was raised and how he applied himself? I think it’s both. I was friends with him and know how diligently he studied.

From Scripture, we know that those who believe are born of God! It means the very person, presence, and power of God lives inside of us. This is extraordinary and means many wonderful things. Today, we’ll consider two.

First, we read that those born of God will conquer sin (1 John 3:9). The Apostle John is so confident of this that he says, “they cannot go on sinning [habitually], because they have been born of God.” Christian living is not primarily about willpower. It’s about living out of the new birth, and new identity, empowered by God’s Spirit.

Secondly, being born of God also means inheriting ‘new birth’ characteristics. We’ll look at three in these studies.

Prayer:

Thank you, Father, that because Jesus has my trust, heart, and allegiance, I am now born of God. Would you show me, in time, all the incredible privileges and responsibilities of what this entails. In Jesus’ name, Amen.