Day 358 - Love, Confident Faith, and Victory in Christ

Welcome to Day 358 of The Glory Team Bible Reading Plan.

These concluding chapters center on discernment, love, and assurance, showing how mature faith is grounded in truth about Christ and expressed through sacrificial love. Believers are instructed to test spiritual influences, affirming that true faith confesses Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human. God’s nature is revealed as love, demonstrated most clearly through the sending of His Son as the atoning sacrifice for sin. Love becomes the defining evidence of God’s presence and work in believers’ lives. The letter concludes by offering strong assurance of salvation, grounding confidence not in human effort but in God’s testimony concerning His Son. Victory over the world is shown to come through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the source of eternal life.

1 John 4

This chapter opens with a call to spiritual discernment, urging believers to test teachings to determine whether they originate from God. Confession of Jesus Christ’s incarnation is presented as the foundational test of true faith, distinguishing God’s Spirit from deceptive influences. The chapter emphasizes that believers belong to God and overcome falsehood through the Spirit who dwells within them. God’s nature is revealed as love, demonstrated in the sending of His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for sin. Because God first loved us, believers are called to love one another as evidence of God’s abiding presence. The chapter concludes by teaching that mature love casts out fear, providing confidence before God rather than dread of judgment.

1 John 5

The final chapter affirms that faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God marks one’s new birth and establishes membership in God’s family. Love for God is demonstrated through obedience to His commands, which are described as life-giving rather than burdensome. Believers are assured of victory over the world through faith, grounded in the testimony God has given concerning His Son. The Spirit, the water, and the blood bear witness to Christ’s identity and redemptive work, confirming the truth of the gospel. Eternal life is presented as a present possession for those who believe, offering deep assurance of salvation. The letter closes with a call to guard oneself from idols, urging believers to remain devoted to the true God revealed in Jesus Christ.