Daily Discipleship - Day 306: He Who Has the Son Has Life

May 3, 2026

Daily Discipleship • Day 306 • Tuesday, March 2, 2027

He Who Has the Son Has Life

1 John 5:11–12

Pleasant Springs Church • ps-church.com

Scripture
1 John 5:11–12 (Greek NT / ESV) καὶ αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεός, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστίν And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Author & Audience

William Lane Craig — philosopher and theologian at Talbot School of Theology, whose work on eternal life and Christian truth-claims clarifies what this radical Johannine assertion actually means.

Word Study

ζωὴν αἰώνιον

zŏēn aiŏnion · Greek NT

“eternal life”

aiŏnios (eternal) relates to aiŏn (age, era). Eternal life is not merely unending duration but the life of the age to come—qualitatively different, divine in nature. John's Gospel locates this life now in the Son: it begins at new birth, not at physical death.

Reflection

From the writers we read together

William Lane Craig

Philosopher; Talbot School of Theology

“Eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son.” — On Guard, chapter 11

John's statement is stark in its simplicity: eternal life is not a reward waiting at the end—it is in the Son, and whoever has the Son has it now. This is not theological arrogance but apostolic testimony grounded in the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. The logic is irrefutable: life is in Christ; therefore having Christ means having life.

Craig notes that Christianity's exclusivity claim is not tribal but ontological—life is not distributed broadly but located specifically. The invitation, therefore, is not to a religion but to a Person. Do you have the Son? Not 'do you believe facts about Jesus' but: is Christ your living connection to the Father?

Continue your study: Discipleship School — Explore the nature of eternal life in Christ through our Discipleship School curriculum.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, King of the Universe, Lord Jesus, You are life itself. I have You—therefore I have life. Let me live today from that reality, not just believe it as a future hope. Amen.

Did our work bless you today?

💚  Give to Support PS Church

100% of gifts go to the General Fund — thank you.