2018-08-26T08:00:00-05:00
5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
While we may not always be able to see it in ourselves, God is at work in us. In fact, God has promised that all those who belong to Him by faith in Jesus Christ are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10). This transformation is not a mere intellectual or moral change; it is a deep reorientation of our minds, hearts, and lives. In Luke 24, we see all three of these areas transformed in the lives of the disciples.
First, Jesus transformed the disciples’ minds. Before their encounter with Jesus, they were filled with confusion (v. 11). Why had Jesus died? And where was His body? But Jesus transformed their minds by explaining that His death should not have come as a surprise because it is, in fact, the central plot of the whole Bible (vv. 25-27). And Jesus transformed their minds by opening their eyes to recognize Him personally as they ate together (vv. 30-31). The work of transformation begins in our minds (Rom. 12:1-2), but it does not end there.
Second, Jesus transformed the disciples’ hearts. Before their encounter with Jesus, they were filled with sadness (v. 17). They had hoped that Jesus was going to be the one to redeem Israel, but then His own people rejected and killed Him. They would like to believe the rumors of His resurrection were true, but they didn’t want their hopes crushed once again. But Jesus transformed their hearts by convincing their minds of the good news, which caused them to burn with the joyful significance of His atoning death and victorious resurrection. The work of transformation flows from our minds to our hearts, but even still it does not end there.
Third, Jesus transformed the disciples’ lives. Before their encounter with Jesus, they were leaving Jerusalem with heads hung low (v. 13). Three days had passed since Jesus’ death, and it was time to return to life as usual. But Jesus transformed their lives by giving them a new task and purpose in life. After repeating how His death is the central plot of the whole Bible, Jesus charges His disciples with proclaiming that message: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:46-48).” The book of Acts records how the disciples’ lives were transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit for this mission.