The Holy Spirit in the New Testament by A. C. Gaebelein

The Holy Spirit in the Epistle of John

THE purpose and message of this epistle, which has rightly been called "a family letter," are stated in the following passages: Chapter 1:1-3, 1:4, 5:13. The great truth which is developed by the Spirit of God is not so much the life which the believer has in Christ, that is, the eternal life imparted unto him, as it is that life which is in the believer in its manifestation, corresponding to the life which the Lord Jesus lived on earth. John does not speak in his inspired writings of believers as "Sons of God" but as children. The Greek word means "born ones." We become members of the family of God by the new birth.