Jesus Bore Perfect Witness to the Truth, and Supplied Assurance to, Those Who Would Otherwise Be Uncertain

What Did Jesus Do?

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him...
1 John 3:19

Poor Pontius Pilate, he was about twenty centuries ahead of his time. Think about it. Would not Pilate, who, with the Truth (Jesus) staring him in the face, asked “What is truth?” (John 18:38), have loved this age when the questioning of any and all truths has become the dominant worldview? Actually, I suppose Pilate was pretty comfortable in his own time. The questioning of truth and the shaking of assurance already threatened the Church, and the security of believers, in Pilate’s First Century. Fortunately, Jesus bore perfect witness to the truth, and supplied assurance to those who, without it, would be uncertain.

It is critical, as we read John’s letter, that we understand that John was not writing to, or about, Christians whose faith is unassailable, who never doubt, who never ask questions. John knew that there are times of doubt and questioning in the life of every Christian. Even more, there are many times when our hearts condemn us (1 John 3:20a). We all know, better than almost anyone, how frequently we fail to love brothers or sisters in the Lord. Even more, we know when we have little or no love at all for a particular brother or sister, and this knowledge convicts and condemns us in our own heart. Most of us have laid awake a night or two fretting over our glaring imperfections, our many shortcomings, our persistent weaknesses after many years of professing Jesus as our Lord. Our heart simply will not let us get away with the pretensions by which we attempt to put on a good face to others. But, here’s the thing John wanted believers in the First Century, and the Twenty-first, to never forget—“God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20a). More precisely, God’s forgiveness, his grace, and his mercy are greater than our heart. No matter how much our heart condemns us, the Father’s justification of us in and through Jesus Christ is infinitely greater. And, get this, the Father justifies us even though he knows “everything” there is to know about us (1 John 3:20b), which is more than our deceitful hearts reveal, even to ourselves. THIS is the truth that galled Pilate and the world the most, because they didn’t get it. Pilate, folks like him, and the world, have no trouble sleeping at night, do not feel the same condemnation in their hearts that believers feel, because, well, they don’t believe. If anything, John tells us, the condemnation and conviction that believers experience is affirmation that we do know the truth of the Father’s great and sacrificial love for us in and through the Son, otherwise we would sleep as peacefully in denial or ignorance of our sin as the rest of the unbelieving world. The truth is, regardless of whatever words of self-condemnation we may hear from our own heart, that nothing “is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Yet, we still wonder about the efficacy of our prayers to God because our obedience, our “keeping his commandments” and our doing “what pleases him” (1 John 3:22), is imperfect. Though we know that God commands us to believe in the name of the Son, and to love one another (1 John 3:23), the testimony of our own heart confirms that we fall short both in faith and in love. The thing about prayer is, God answers the prayers, not of those who believe and who love perfectly, but of those who believe enough to pray, and who love God enough to know that we don’t love him, well, enough. The truth is, it is only those in whom God abides who believe and love at all as he has commanded (1 John 3:24a).

Christ’s own perfect witness to the truth, and the assurance of Jesus’ matchless love for the Father and for all, are ours according to the grace of God. As believers, we need to learn to ignore our heart, for it is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and listen instead to the Holy Spirit. For it is by the Holy Spirit, whom God has given us, and who is at work building us up in faith and in love, that we receive and accept the perfect witness of Jesus, and the assurance of the Father’s love for us in and through the Son. (1 John 3:24b).

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
Ps 37.4