In 1 John 5:13, John wants those “who believe in the name of the Son of God to know you have eternal life” – because what comes with knowing it “is the assurance we have in approaching God” (14).
The Greek word for “assurance” is parresia (pa-REEZ-ee-ah), meaning confidence – with ‘an air of boldness’ attached to it too – because the same word is used in Ephesians 3:12, that “through faith (in what God has done for us in his Son, verse 11), we may approach him with boldness and freedom.” And again in Hebrews 4:16, we can “boldly approach the throne of grace for help in our time of need.”
In using that Greek word, therefore, all three writers are talking about this new relationship with God we’ve got, in which we can speak openly, plainly and boldly, and in total confidence and freedom that it’s fine with God too. Because that’s exactly what he sent his Son to create for us, taking into account that this is the essence of eternal life, our relationship and “fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:2-3). It’s living with a loving God forever. But since we have eternal life now we’re already in that relationship with him.
God also gave us a clue as to the kind of relationship he meant it to be, and again through his Son, because look at how free and bold people were in approaching Jesus when he was here. When they saw Jesus in action and how much he cared, they were all over him. And talk about bold too, in one case ripping the tiles off a roof to lower a paralyzed man right down in front of Jesus (Luke 5:18-19). And the blind man too, who wouldn’t stop shouting for Jesus to have mercy on him (Mark 10:46-49). And in both cases Jesus happily responded with healing.
When people realized it was totally in Jesus’ power and will to heal, they followed him everywhere, to his home, to the quiet spot where he wanted to pray, to where they thought he was headed, or to simply touch his clothing. And Jesus listened and responded to them all. So when John writes in 1 John 5:14 that “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us,” it’s no different to what happened when Jesus was here.
There was one difference, though: they knew Jesus heard them, because he was with them in person, so they could ask him face to face, see him listening, and get an answer from him there and then. But we don’t have him with us like that today, so “How do we know God hears us?”….(next blog)
