And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
I John 5:11
If we were to ask people around the world to recall or quote a bible verse, undoubtedly the most common response would be John 3:16. It is easily the most well known verse in the bible and with good reason it is the totality of God’s work and plan.
To understand 1 John 5:11, let us use other references from the bible to see how this famous verse (John 3:16) comes to us from an encounter between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Through their conversation we see the most important question comes to the forefront “How can someone be born again? How can we become alive spiritually? Jesus’s response must have come across off as a complete shocker for Nicodemus. All his life, he had been trained to believe that his entry into God’s kingdom depended on his behavior and right standing with God. But the truth is, this was an impossible task because mankind could never do enough to earn right standing before God. Our sin created an unbridgeable gap between God and us. But now, Jesus comes along and says all Nicodemus needs to do is believe in the Son—have faith! This is the truth of God’s Word, the truth of God’s plan of salvation.
Today, every single one of us has the opportunity to come into the light, to leave the darkness of uncertainty behind. All we need to do is believe and have faith, for His word says – And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. I John 5:11
