Bible Commentaries
1 John 5

LOVE MANIFESTED IN HIS CHILDREN

We love Him because He first loved us. Love responds to love. We love the brethren because He commanded us to do so and we manifest our love to God by our obedience to His command.

1 John 4:20. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:21. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Let us note this very carefully. In John 15:15-17, Jesus calls us to be friends. He has chosen us and ordained us that we should go and bring forth fruit. He commands us to love one another as He has loved us.

Don’t twist these around. We must love the peo­ple of God because He commands it. If we love Him, we will love His children.

Satan takes great delight in breaking up the assemblies of God’s people by destroying their love the one for the other. I’m sorry to say that we see bitterness, envy, jealousy even among God’s wonderful people.

Churches have been broken, not because of their love for the truth, but because of personalities. Yet, we know that the Lord always loves us. Even though we are in frailty, weakness and failure, His love for us is not affected.

Now Jesus commands us to love the brethren just as He loves us.

Our reaction is to say that such love is im­possible for us. It is a supernatural love. That is correct. But Romans 5:5 tells us that divine love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It was noted that in the early church they loved one another. Cannot we demonstrate this same love? If we do not love the brother whom we have seen, how can we love God whom we have not seen?

Our next reaction may be to say we just don’t feel like it. That also may be true. Then we should go look in the mirror and marvel at the grace of God that He could love even us.

Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). In­stead of criticizing and judging people, we are to love them. God has given us that divine love by His Spirit so that we can manifest supernatural love.

We are to manifest our love for the Saviour by lov­ing the people of God—the “ornery” as well as the lovely ones, regardless of age or circumstance or experience. If we have trouble doing that, then let us get on our knees and pray for them.

Verse 1

Another way in which we may try to excuse our­selves is that we may be inclined to rationalize by asking who is our brother. John immediately goes on to define this for us.

1 John 5:1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

The basis of our brotherhood, of our fellow­ship, is divine life. Ecclesiastical distinctions are not the basis. Anyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ is a brother. Notice it states that a brother is whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed of God. It is the Christ who died, who was sent to be the propitiation for our sins.

May I say again, the importance of the cross is who died on the cross.

The brethren are those who are trusting the work of the Christ who died on the cross. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ and accepts Him as his own personal Saviour is born of God. That is divine life. Being born of God, he will love God; and, loving God, he will love the people of God. The reality of divine life is seen in obedience to His commandment.

All who have put their trust in the Saviour have the same life, the same salvation, the same faith, the same love, the same standing, the same rela­tionship. Now it is true that one may have a weak faith and another a strong faith, but whoever confesses Christ as Saviour belongs to His family.

We may have different shades of doctrine, but that does not mean that we should not love one another, nor does it mean that we cannot have fellowship together.

According to Ephesians 4:1-6, there is a unity of the Spirit based on the foundation of one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is God manifest in the flesh, that He died to put away our sins by the sacrifice of Himself, that He was buried, that He was raised from the dead with the body that was nailed to the cross, that He has gone back to heaven to be a Prince and a Saviour, that He will return to the earth and will reign in power and great glory, then we are brothers!

Whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

If we love God, we will love the children of God, all those who are born of God. This is what Jesus said,

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).

The outflow of our love for the Saviour is our love for the brethren. Remember, God sees our faith but men experience our love. Our love for God is manifested by obedience, but our love for other Christians is manifested by sacrifice.

God has given us the responsibility of loving the people of God and of obeying the Word of God, but we experience divine life and fellowship with God when we love the people of God and when we obey His Word.

1 John 5:2-3

So John uses that word “know” again.

1 John 5:2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe his commandments

Now John goes on to explain about the com­mandments of God.

1 John 5:3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his command­ments: and his commandments are not burdensome.

The man out of Christ has his tests, his sorrows, his trials, his sufferings, his disappointments, his afflictions.

On whom can he lean?

Where can he turn?

What hope does he have when he faces death, the last enemy of man?

Many people are afraid to become a Christian be­cause they fear they might have to give up certain things. They are afraid they cannot do certain things or go certain places.

Our verse tells us, however, that this is the love of God that we keep His Word, and His Word is not grievous. It never becomes a burden.

Christians also go through their tests and trials and sorrows, but there is a difference. Christians have an imparted divine life and an imparted di­vine love. The one who has accepted the Saviour faces his tests in union with the living God.

The possibility is that the more closely one walks with God in this world, the more tests and trials that person will have. It is through the tests and trials that the believer experiences the power of God and learns to know His ways, His tenderness, His compassion. Those tests, trials and afflictions become open doors for God to demonstrate His love, His power, His grace, His concern for us.

We have a Saviour who understands every test of life.

For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Remember that it was in the storm that the dis­ciples learned about the Christ whom they were following.

And the men marveled, saying, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mat­thew 8:27).

When people object to Christianity by saying it demands that we give up too many pleasant things, I ask them, “Where do you find that in the Bible?”

I am afraid people think that the command­ments which the Lord Jesus mentions and that John speaks of here are the Law of Moses. Please, let us not put people under the bondage of a Mosaic economy. This is not what John has in mind here.

Peter is speaking of the Law of Moses when he says,

“Now therefore why do you put God to the test by plac­ing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10).

The commandments of our Saviour are not griev­ous.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Verses 4-5

Faith not only appropriates Christ for salvation, but it appropriates Christ for victory.

1 John 5:4. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:5. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This reminds us of the words of our Lord:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

It also reminds us of a little song:

Cheer up, ye saints of God,
There’s nothing to worry about.
Nothing to make you feel afraid,
Nothing to make you doubt.

Remember, Jesus never fails,
So why not trust Him and shout?
You’ll be sorry you worried at all
Tomorrow morning!

We have already learned about the world in 1 John 2:15-17 where we read, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. . . .” The world is a system that is diametrically opposed to God. It is a religious, economic, social, political system, and God is not the center of it at all.

In the realm of religion, Satan is its god (2 Corin­thians 4:4).

In the realm of government, Satan is its prince (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11) . We are liv­ing in an enemy world.

Then how can we overcome the world? We will find that the harder we struggle, the firmer we set our will, the more we try to do in the energy of the flesh, the more failure we experience. We are given the answer here, and it is a simple answer.

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.

Our Saviour is none other than the Lord from heaven. Victory over the world is guaranteed to us through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Allow me to take the time here to make a com­parison between verses one and five. When John is defining who the brethren are, he says, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 5:1). This has reference to the work on the cross.

Remember, the important issue is: Who died on the cross? When the Spirit of God speaks about the work of our Saviour on the cross, He makes it clear it is the Christ who died, The Anointed One of God. This refers to His Work.

When John is stating who it is that has the vic­tory and overcomes the world, he says, He who be­lieves that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5). This refers to His Person.

Notice that, when the Spirit of God is talking about the Lordship of our Saviour, it is Jesus, the Son of God. God the Father raised up this Jesus, who had been crucified, and exalted Him to be a Prince and a Saviour (Acts 5:30-31). He is the res­urrected One, the glorified One. Our faith is in a Saviour who is the Lord over all; and victory is guaranteed to us because He is victorious over death, the grave, and Satan.

Who is the one who overcomes? He is the one who is willing to confess that Jesus is risen and exalted on the throne, that He is none other than the Son of God.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

The overcomer is in relationship and union with the Son of God and realizes that He has already obtained the victory for us. The overcomer knows that the Son of God 1) defeated Satan at the cross and 2) robbed death of its fear and 3) has become the life of His people.

John is the only one who talks about being an overcomer. He talks about this in his letters to the seven churches in Revelation 1:1-20; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22, and he men­tions it here in his Epistle. There are those who say that the overcomer is the believer overcoming sin and Satan and the world. They talk about liv­ing a victorious life. However, John is careful to explain the words he uses and to tell us what they mean.

An example of John’s explaining his use of a word is in the word “abide.”

And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us (1 John 3:24).

In the Gospel of John we are told what it means to “abide.”

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:10).

It is true that to abide means to be in fellowship with God. But who is the one who is in fellow­ship? It is the one who is obedient!

Verse 5

So here John is careful to explain who is an overcomer.

1 John 5:5. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

We overcome all obstacles through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37-39). We overcome the en­emy of our souls through the Spirit of God, and He is greater than he who is in the world.

It is the indwelling Spirit of God who guarantees victory over the enemy (1 John 4:1-6). We over­come all obstacles because of relationship with the Son of God. It is faith in His Person, believing and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, that is the mark of an overcomer (1 John 5:4-5).

Peter and James do not use the word “over­comer.” They both do speak of the fact that in faith we are to resist the devil. Resist the devil and he will do the fleeing, not you.

Proof Texts

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour: But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffer­ing are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

Faith makes victory possible. Love makes it easy. It delights the heart of God.

This is really the end of the discussion, or we may call it the argument, of the Epistle. We have learned that we have fellowship with God who is light. This is the description of His character.

We have fellowship with God who is righteous, righteous not only in His character but also in His works. We have fellowship with God who is love.

How can we know that we belong to God who is love?

We know that we are in fellowship with Him be­cause of our union with Him, because of our love for the brethren, because of our obedience to His Word, because we have victory over the world.

Our attitude to the brethren is to be one of love; our attitude to the Word of God is to be obedience; our attitude to the world is to be one of victory. This gives us the assurance of our fellowship with the eternal God. What more do we need?

Throughout the entire Epistle the great yearning of the Spirit of God and the theme of the whole book is that we might have intimate, personal daily fellowship with God.

God wants us to really believe what He says, wants us to trust Him, and wants us to be obedi­ent to His Word. He wants each of us to say,

I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

Permit me to give a paraphrase of this:

I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to guard the deposit which I have made with Him against that day.

The close of the Epistle gives us the results of fellowship with such a God. There are divine as­surances which God Himself gives to us. There are certain truths which are absolutely immovable and unchangeable because these assurances come from God, and He is the one who stands behind them. We overcome the world through the Saviour.

Jesus Christ gets the victory and we enjoy the de­liverance.

The truth stands that if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then this wonderful God, who is light and love and righteousness, makes Himself responsible for you.

He is responsible that your faith will continue.

He makes Himself responsible that your love will be enlarged. He makes it His responsibility that you will stand before Him in all the beauty of Christ. He simply asks you to believe, to put your trust, in this wonderful Saviour.

Verses 6-8

DIVINE

CERTAINTIES

AND

ASSURANCES

1 John 5:6. This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with water only, but with the water and with the blood.

1 John 5:7. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

1 John 5:8. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the wa­ter and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

CERTAINTY OF GOD’S TESTIMONY

We have come now to a difficult portion of Scripture. There are varying interpretations of these verses, and so one cannot be dogmatic about them. However, I would say that the key word in the passage is “witness.”

In verse six it is “the Spirit that beareth wit­ness.”

In verse seven “there are three that bear record (witness) in heaven.”

In verse eight “there are three that bear witness in earth.”

In other words, we are dealing here with the question of God’s testimony, God’s witness. This witness is certain. God is the witness to the person and work of His Son.

It is remarkable to note that our Saviour’s ministry started at the River Jordan when He was baptized in water and ended at the cross where He shed His blood. I do not know exactly what is the mind of the Spirit concerning these two, but I can make suggestions for you to follow through.

1 John 5:6. This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with water only, but with the water and with the blood.

John 19:34-35 tells us that when our Lord was crucified, the Roman soldier took his spear and pierced His side and forthwith there came out wa­ter and blood. The Spirit of God bears witness to this fact.

However, in these verses I would like to suggest that the water has to do with moral cleansing for power, for the Christian walk, for witness. This is the manward side of the Christian life.

The blood speaks of judicial cleansing. This is the cleansing of our sins before God. We need al­ways to remember that it is not our value of the blood of Christ that saves us, but it is that great value that God has placed on the blood of His Son that saves us.

Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (He­brews 9:22).

In the New Testament quite often the water is spoken of as a term referring to the Word of God and is used for moral cleansing.

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).

Ephesians 5:26 states that Christ sanctifies and cleanses the church “by the washing of water with the word.”

The words “water” and “word” are also used for life in Christ, for relationship to the Son of God. In John 4:1-54 there can be no life apart from the Water of Life.

“The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

Peter says that we are born again “not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23).

James tells us the same thing.

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth (James 1:18).

The Spirit of God is bearing testimony to the fact that this Jesus is the one who came by water and came by blood. The water speaks of the reception of life and of the moral cleansing through the Word. The blood speaks of the judicial cleansing which gives us our standing before God on the ground of the shed blood of Christ.

Then notice that there are three who bear re­cord in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one. This verse is not included in some translations of the Bible because according to some of the Greek scholars this verse was not in the original manuscripts.

Be that as it may, there is here the unity of wit­ness in the Godhead. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are one.

In verse eight the witness here on earth is stated. The Spirit of God, the water (Word of God), and the blood (the sacrifice of Christ) agree in one. One cannot read the Bible without recognizing that the Spirit of God uses the Word of God in an open heart and thus brings the water of life freely to those who will receive it.

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full convic­tion (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

We have received for ourselves and we preach the gospel of the redemption which is in Christ Je­sus, that is, the blood of Christ shed for us. We use the Word of God to receive the testimony of the Saviour for ourselves and we use it to bring men to Christ. The Spirit of God takes that Word and makes it to be a living reality in any open heart.

Don’t try to be mystical about the divine tes­timony in verses six to eight. Simply take the facts. Christ came. He poured out His life for us, and His precious blood was shed. The Spirit of God, in fact, the living God Himself, Father, Son, and Spirit, bear testimony to the fact that there is no other way of salvation but in Christ Jesus.

Verse 9

CERTAINTY OF ETERNAL LIFE

1 John 5:9. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son.

This verse forms a transition between the certainty of God’s witness and the certainty of eternal life.

The Word of God is greater than the word of men. How easy it is for us to accept the word of men. We go to school and read textbooks written by men and, if the scholars agree on some point, we accept their witness.

Then why do we approach the Word of God with such a big question mark? Why is it so much eas­ier for people to accept the witness of men than to accept the witness of God?

One of the tragedies of our country and of so-called churches of Jesus Christ is the fact that the Word of God is questioned.

Mark this!

If the Bible is not the Word of God, then we have absolutely no revelation of the heart and character of God. We cannot know what He is or who He is or any of His purpose. Let us be very realistic about this. We can turn to creation and say that there must be a God because of the argument of design. But to know God we must have the revela­tion of Scripture.

John is saying in this verse that God is giving a witness concerning His Son. Are we going to be­lieve what He says or are we going to question it?

Some folk will say that to believe it is just blind faith.

No, my friend, there is no such thing as blind faith. Faith must have an object, otherwise it isn’t faith. The important thing is not faith but the ob­ject of faith. Are we going to believe God’s Word or not?

5:9. For the witness of God is this.

Do not say, “I am going to try to believe it.” That is an insult! Not believe God? How could one dare question His character and His veracity?

There is no middle ground; one either believes Him or one does not. God has spoken in no uncer­tain way concerning His Son and concerning the salvation He has provided for men and women. He has spoken concerning the eternal future, con­cerning His dealing with the nations of the earth, concerning His plan for Israel, concerning His work for the church. He has spoken concerning you and me.

Verses 10-12

And now here is His testimony:

1 John 5:10. The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son.

1 John 5:11. And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1 John 5:12. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

When God speaks, He speaks concerning His Son. God’s great theme and the delight of His heart are concerning His Son. At the baptism of Jesus, God said,

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

In Matthew 17:1-27 at the transfiguration, God said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well- pleased; listen to Him.”

He is saying in effect, “Never mind Moses and never mind Elijah. My Son has come. Hear Him!” Hebrews 1:2 tells us that God “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” We must listen to what the Son has to say because God is speaking to us through Jesus Christ, His Son. If we spurn what the Son of God has said, then we are spurn­ing the Word of God.

God holds us responsible to believe what He has said. He does not ask us to understand every­thing that He has said, but He does want us to be­lieve everything that He has said. We should never doubt that God has spoken to us through His Son. Christ’s words, His life, His actions and attitudes, the very purpose for which He came, all substanti­ate this. As a young boy, He said,

“Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house (KJV: about my Father’s business)?” (Luke 2:49).

At the end of His life He could say,

I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the WORK which Thou hast given Me to do. . . . For the WORDS which Thou gavest Me I have given to them (John 17:4; John 17:8).

We are responsible to hear what His Son has to say.

God is not speaking by means of angels or dreams. He has given to us a Bible to read; and in that Word by the Spirit of God there is revealed the character, the work and the person of His Son. The Father is witnessing to us through the Son.

If we want to know God, we must know Him through the Son. If we want to come to God, we must come to Him through the Son. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, is the one Mediator be­tween God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).

If you accept God’s blessed Son as your own personal Saviour, if you believe the record that God has given concerning His Son, then you are brought into relationship with Him. You have become the child of One who is God. To be an obedi­ent child of God we must know what He says. Not to believe what God has said about His Son is to make God a liar. Remember that Romans 3:4 tells us,

Let God be true, but every man a liar.

1 John 5:10. The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.

The Spirit of God comes to indwell that per­son and reveals to that person the wonderful glories of our Saviour. God sent His Son to re­deem them that were under the law, so we might receive the adoption of sons; and, because we are Sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (Galatians 4:4-7).

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. . . . The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:14; Romans 8:16).

When we accept the Saviour, our bodies become the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. A new thing hap­pens in our lives, and our desires are changed. This is one of the confirmations by God to the be­liever through the Spirit that he has become the child of One who is God.

Let us note in review that according to 1 John 2:1-29 we know we have life because we keep His Word. In chapter 3, we know we have life because we love the brethren. In chapter 5 we know we have eter­nal life because we believe His Word.

1 John 5:11. And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

This is eternal life, not life for five or 10 or even 60 years. If you have put your trust in the Saviour but you do not believe that you have eternal life, you are making God a liar.

This eternal life is an imparted life, a communi­cated life. This life is in His Son.

“He who has the Son has the life.”

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Chris tour Lord (Romans 6:23).

In Him was life (John 1:4).

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life (John 3:36).

In studying the Gospel of John we find that his imparted, communicated life which He gives to us is not only eternal life, but it is satisfying life ac­cording to John 6:35; John 4:14.

It is a life over which death has no power be­cause it is a resurrected life (John 6:39-44).

It is an indwelling life (John 6:53-58).

It is an abundant life (John 10:10).

This life is in Christ Jesus because He is the Life (John 14:6). This is the record that God has given. Eternal life is in His Son.

Let us say very frankly that there are a great, great many Christians who are not enjoying their salvation but are enduring it. They are full of fear that they might lose their salvation and lose their life in Christ. In other words, they do not be­lieve that they have eternal life. They have ac­cepted the Saviour and they are saved, but they are uninstructed. They do not understand the completeness of the work of Christ on the cross.

When a Christian does not believe with certainty that he has eternal life, he is casting a shadow on the work of Christ at the cross.

By his own blood he entered in ONCE into the holy place, having obtained an ETERNAL redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12).

When you were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, it was an eternal work which God per­formed. You may not now experience all that salvation means, but the life you possess is an eter­nal life, and the salvation you possess is a com­plete salvation.

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

“To perform” in this verse means “to perfect it.”

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

Please do not dishonor the Son of God and the work He did for you. Do not make God to be a liar by accepting the Saviour and then doubting that you have eternal life. Do not deny the complete­ness of the work of Christ at the cross.

Remember it is not your value of the work of Christ at the cross, but it is the great value which God has placed on the work of His Son which gives it efficacy.

When Christ died on the cross, He did a com­plete job. He put away our sins and forgave every one of our sins. He defeated the powers of hell and the dominion of death and the grave. We enjoy a complete salvation because we have a complete Saviour.

12. He who has the Son has the life.

The difference between life and death is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour, you have eternal life and eternal glory and will spend all eternity in the presence of God.

The Son of God is mentioned eight times in verses one to thirteen. God is well pleased in His Son. He has made provision for our salvation in His Son and He has also made provision for us to be kept in that salvation.

Romans 5:1-11 teaches that the test and trials of life do not destroy faith but purify and strengthen faith. The very love of God is the guar­antee that the faith which He has given to us will never fail. I may fail and you may fail just as Peter failed, but faith does not fail. The Lord expressly prayed for Peter so that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:32).

Wherefore He is able also to save them to the utter­most that come unto God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

He is able to save perfectly everyone who comes to God through Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:12. He who has the Son hath the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Unbelief in the Son of God and rejection of His Person and of His work leave nothing but outer darkness.

He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

Jesus said that whoever does not believe that He is the “I ΑΜ” shall die in his sins (John 8:24).

It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

Those who deny the living God shall never see light (Psalms 49:16-20). How terrible! Such a man will live eternally in darkness.

God is light (1 John 1:5). If a man spurn the God who is light, then there can be nothing left but darkness.

The difference between light and darkness has nothing to do with being good or bad, being religious or irreligious. The difference lies in per­sonal relationship with Christ Jesus, the Son of God.

God has borne testimony to His Son by raising Him from the dead. God has appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained; whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead (Acts 17:31). God has marked Jesus Christ, the Son of God, out from everybody else by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3-4).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s per­sonal testimony that this one who was put on the cross is His Son.

Men put Him on the cross and God put Him on the throne.

Men cast Him out and heaven took Him in.

Men made Him an accursed thing and God glori­fied Him (Acts 2:22-24; Acts 2:32-36; Acts 5:29-31). The res­urrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is God’s personal proof to you and to all men everywhere that this Jesus Christ is His Son.

You have accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Is this real with you? Are you sure of eternal life? Do not depend on your feelings. Accept His gift of eternal life and enjoy it. “He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life.”

What a Saviour we have!

Verse 13

1 John 5:13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eter­nal life.

A more accurate translation of the last phrase of this verse would be “even to you that believe on the name of the Son of God.”

There is no questioning of faith here, for it is written to those who have believed. These things have been written so that the believer might know that he has eternal life. This means to know in our experience. It does not refer simply to a mental knowledge but to an experiential knowl­edge in life.

The Gospel of John shows how we are to receive life.

But these have been written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).

The theme of the whole Gospel of John is in chapter 1:4, “In Him was life.” Jesus says in John 5:26, “as the Father has life in Himself; even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.”

As soon as a person accepts Jesus Christ, he has entered into relationship with the Son of God and he immediately has eternal life.

In Him is life.

The Epistle of John was written so the believer may know that he has eternal life.

May I review it again?

In chapter 2 we know that we have eternal life because we keep His commandments.

In chapter 3 we know that we have eternal life because we love the brethren.

In chapter 5 we know that we have eternal life because we believe His Word.

In chapter 5:20 we know we have eternal life be­cause we are in Him that is true.

My friend, if we do not enjoy the life we have in Christ, it is because of our unbelief, because we still have doubts about the accomplishment of Christ on the cross.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He fin­ished a complete work. He was buried, but He was raised again from the dead, and He will never again be put on the cross. He will never again be a sacrifice for sin.

Proof Texts

For Christ also died for sins ONCE FOR ALL, the just for the unjust (1 Peter 3:18).

We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL (Hebrews 10:10).

But He, having offered ONE sacrifice for sins FOR ALL TIME, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

By ONE offering He has perfected FOR ALL TIME those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14).

Christ will never die again. After a person has accepted the Saviour and received the atonement and been made a child of God and given eternal life, then if there is a possibility of being lost, such a person must be lost forever.

There can be no more sacrifice for sin.

Christ cannot be put back on the cross again. Christ has accomplished a perfect, complete work.

We may fall because of our frailty.

We may get out of the will of God by doing things we should not do or saying things we should not say.

But this does not destroy eternal life.

It does affect our fellowship with God. It will have an affect on our service when we fail God.

Our failures never affect our relationship or our possession of life in Christ Jesus.

After all, we do not keep ourselves in our rela­tionship to Christ. Jesus prayed,

“Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou has given Me, that they may be one, even as We are.

“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name.

“. . . I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John 17:11-12; John 17:15).

You are protected by the power of God! (1 Peter 1:5).

God has made Himself responsible for the pro­tecting of every one of His true children.

Verses 14-15

CERTAINTY IN PRAYER

The absolute assurance of life will lead the Christian to assurance in prayer. Prayer is pour­ing out our heart to God. This can be done with confidence and boldness in Christ, coming into the very presence of God with our requests and know­ing that God hears us.

1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us:

1 John 5:15. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

We can come to the throne of God with boldness because we are confident about the future. Scrip­ture assures us of this.

Proof Texts

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).

Abide in Him; so that, when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming (1 John 2:28).

By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment (1 John 4:17).

We can have boldness before God also in view of our present experience.

If our heart does not condemn us, we have confi­dence before God (1 John 3:21).

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14).

This boldness is a present experience in coming to the throne of God and there obtaining mercy.

The consciousness of divine life brings the believer into a place of boldness. The more we realize our relationship to the living God, the more we realize that we are the children of One who is God, the more we see that His life has become our life, the deeper will be our appreciation of the fact that God’s heart is wrapped up in us who are be­lievers.

It is when we see the great yearning of His heart for our fellowship that we have boldness to come to God just like a child comes with confidence to father or mother. A child will not have that same confidence with strangers. Yet he will bring to the attention of the parents every small, insignificant, childish thing that comes into his life. A parent’s loving heart listens and enters into his child’s problems and cares and undertakes for him.

So it is with our heavenly Father. God has made us the objects of His love and His grace. The consciousness of this relationship to the Son of God and the realization that we are partakers of divine life in Christ Jesus give us this boldness in His presence.

God gives to us this wonderful privilege of prayer. So much has been written and spoken about prayer, and yet we know so little about it.

How much does it enter into our practical ex­perience?

How often do we come to God with our requests on the ground of our relationship to Him?

Do we understand the conditions attached to it?

It may be well to go over them briefly once more.

John 14:13-14 informs us that we should ask in the name of Jesus and that the purpose of our re­quests should be that the Father may be glorified in the Son. This rules out selfish requests for self­ish motives. In John 15:7 Jesus declares union with Him to be a condition connected with prayer:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.”

When the Word of God is abiding in the be­liever, then that person is abiding in Christ. To abide is to live a life of obedience. The person who abides in the Word will get the mind of God, and then it will follow that those things will be re­quested in prayer which will bring glory to Him.

In John 16:23-27, Jesus tells his disciples He will no longer make requests for them but that they are to go directly to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus. The ground for the answer to prayer is not our love for the Father but it is His love for us. Jesus Himself made His request in John 17:24 on the basis of the Father’s love for Him:

“. . . for thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world.”

Jesus tells us in John 16:1-33 that on the ground of the Father’s love for us, He will grant the request. Sometimes He will answer a request with a “No” because He knows what is the very best for us.

Finally, according to this verse in 1 John 5:14-15, prayer, to be answered, must be accord­ing to His will.

What is His will?

How can we know His will?

How can we know whether we are praying in His will or in self will?

The will of God is revealed to us in the Word of God. His purposes and plans and program are all in the Book.

I have noticed in my years of ministry that the first step in backsliding is neglect of the Word of God.

How can you be obedient to the Word of God unless you read it?

How can you know the will of God unless you abide in the Word of God?

People come to me telling that the Lord showed them this or that. Ah, the question is, did this arise out of imagination and self-will or did it come from the word of God?

It is certainly true that the Spirit of God takes the truths of the Word of God and makes them very real to us. He puts them into our hearts and reveals the will of God to us. Then, when we pray according to His will, He hears us.

This consciousness and realization of relation­ship to God and partnership with Him in His di­vine life bring the believer into a place of boldness in prayer. This is not to be brief only, but it is to be a daily experience! There is nothing too great for God to do for man, and there is nothing too small for God to grant to His people.

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

He numbers our steps (Job 14:16). The very hairs of our head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30). He bottles our tears (Psalms 56:8).

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will not fall to the ground apart from your Fa­ther. . . . Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29; Matthew 10:31).

The Lord is desirous of doing more for us than we can ever ask or think. The problem is that self-will and sin enter in, and we try to come before God with unconfessed sin in our lives. Hence, we are not clean before God.

He has revealed to us how to be cleansed in 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sin, He forgives us and cleanses us. Then we are to go on with God and walk in fellowship with Him. We will be taught to know His will, to know the things that please God, and our prayers will be in His will.

Sometimes God’s people are actually amazed that God should answer their prayers because they really didn’t expect them to be answered. An example of this is in Acts 12:1-25. The disciples were praying for the deliverance of Peter, and the Lord wonderfully answered their prayer. When Peter knocked on the door, they wouldn’t believe that it was really Peter.

Isn’t it true that sometimes we pray so casu­ally that ten minutes later we have forgotten what we prayed for? Yet the astounding fact is that God answers and meets our need. There is nothing that God will withhold from the one who prays, believing.

In Matthew 17:1-27 the disciples tried unsuccessfully to cast out a demon, and then they asked the Lord why they could not do it.

Jesus answered,

Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting (Mat­thew 17:20-21).

In other words, He is offering to them a touch of omnipotence! He has given to His disciples a tool which is so powerful that there is not a force on the earth to equal it. Study the Bible and you will find examples in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers where whole nations have been delivered from ex­tinction by the prayers of one man.

The sad fact is that we Christians possess the most powerful weapon in the universe, but we do not use it as we should. We preach about it and teach about it, but we do not use it. When we try to use it, we fail to use it properly. We fail to study the Scriptures to learn precisely what it does say about prayer. Then, because we do not get what we want, we doubt that God answers prayer.

The Word of God commands us to pray.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men; for kings, and all who are in authority; in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

God has given into the hands of the Christians a tool whereby we may have peace, assurance, qui­etness in our land. Yet we live in a world and in a nation that is chaotic today.

Why don’t we use our weapon?

Why don’t we?

I believe that if the Christians in this country were to get down on their knees before God in the blessed ministry of prayer and intercession, there is nothing that God would hold back from us and from our nation.

There is one problem. Do we really mean business with God?

Our Lord gave us a parable about that very thing.

A man went to his friend in the middle of the night and wanted to borrow three loaves of bread, but the friend answered him, “I am in bed; my wife is in bed; my children are in bed; so I am not going to get up to give you three loaves of bread.”

The man replied, “Brother, the sooner you give me the three loaves, the sooner you can go back to bed.” So he just kept on knocking and knocking. “I want my three loaves of bread.”

The Lord says that the friend will get up and give him as many loaves as he wants because of his “persistence”—because he really means business (Luke ll:5-10).

Sometimes I wonder, do we really mean busi­ness with God when we pray? Or are we just saying words?

This boldness before God in prayer will also ex­press itself in intercession. In fact, the more one spends time in the presence of God, the more one prays for others. We come now to two difficult verses about prayer for others.

Verses 16-17

1 John 5:16. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.

1 John 5:17. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not leading to death.

He is definitely talking about God’s people here because he says, “If any man see his brother sin.” I believe this reveals God in His governmental dealing with His people, His own family. Let us look more into the detail of these verses which have been a problem to so many of God’s people.

This is not talking about the unpardonable sin as found in Matthew 12:1-50. That sin is ascribing to Satan those things which are done by the Spirit of God. Our Lord performed miracles under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit; but the people of His day, especially the leaders, said that

He did His miracles according to Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.

This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons (Matthew 12:24).

To put it in very blunt language, they were saying that Jesus Christ came from hell. They said this after the Lord had already presented His credentials as the Messiah and after His gracious words had proceeded from His mouth. The Lord Jesus said that this sin was unpardonable.

Nor are these verses talking about the willful sin of Hebrews 10:1-39. The willful sin is the despising of the Person of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, and the Work of Christ.

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacri­fice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the cove­nant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26-29).

This is actually the end of the argument of the Book of Hebrews. If Christ is spurned as the Sav­iour, then there is nothing left but judgment. This is the willful sin.

These verses in 1 John are talking about the fact that there are limitations in praying for others. There is a sin unto death and this sin may be committed by a believer. This sin might be a continuous wrong attitude before God. We are not to pray for it or even to make inquiry concerning it.

There is no question in my mind that God, in His governmental dealing with His people, some­times permits physical death as a judgment upon a person so that his soul might be saved at the coming of the Lord.

First Corinthians tells of a young man who had committed adultery. Even before the man showed any repentance, the church was actually glorying in their liberty. Paul wrote that when they would come together, with his spirit and with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, they should “deliver such n one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Je­sus” (1 Corinthians 5:5).

In chapter five of Acts, Ananias and Sapphira came under the judgment of God and died physi­cally. I believe this is what John refers to in this Epistle. The sin unto death is a sin which brings physical death as the judgment of God upon one of His children.

Scripture states three reasons for the physi­cal death of a Christian:

1. A Christian may die because his work is finished. Paul could say,

The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:6-7).

Peter wrote, Knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me (2 Peter 1:14).

Their work was finished.

2. A Christian may die for the glory of God. Jesus told Peter that he would be martyred and that by his death he should glorify God (John 21:18-19). Numerous martyrs have died for the glory of God.

3. A Christian may die under the chastening hand of God. Paul had a recommendation for dealing with the man in the Corinthian congrega­tion, the man who was living in adultery. He was to be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit might be saved (1 Corin­thians 5:5). When Paul reprimands the Corin­thians for their unbelief in regard to the Lord’s Supper, he says,

For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (1 Corinthians 11:30).

In Acts 5:1-42 , Ananias and Sapphira were chastened with physical death because of their lie. These verses in 1 John 5:1-21 are referring to Christians and speak of a “sin unto death.”

I firmly believe it is possible for a Christian to die prematurely under the chastening hand of God. This does not indicate that such a Christian is lost eternally, but it does mean that such a per­son is robbed of the opportunity of staying on earth as a testimony for the glory of God.

None of us wants to leave this world before his work is completed. Yet, Scripture teaches that some Christians die under the chastening hand of God.

This is a fitting time for a word of warning. Let us each evaluate his own life and not judge each other. It is not your prerogative, nor mine, to conclude that a certain individual has died or is dying under the judgment of God. Let us leave that judgment completely in the hands of God.

The Lord has never told us that we should be the judge or the jury!

However, it is well for us to ponder this matter of God’s governmental dealing with His own people. This thought should encourage us to be walking continually with our actions, our words, and our whole life in its very attitude, all for the glory of God.

We see in verse 16 that there is a sin unto death and there is a sin which is not unto death. Every­thing that is not righteous is sin.

All lawlessness and every transgression of the law is sin.

We Christians ought to be very, very con­scious of our relationship with each other. The very fact that a fellow Christian is sinning should stimulate us to intercessory prayer. We are to be bold in prayer for one another. Yet we are told there is a sin unto death, and God alone is the judge of this.

This sobering fact should cause us to take our place before God, humbly walk with Him, and let Him work out His perfect will in us.

Verse 18

1. The Assurance of Holiness

1 John 5:18. We know that no one who is born of God sins.

We shall not go into a full discussion of chapter 3:6-8 again. However, we must face sin realisti­cally. Whatever is unrighteous is sin, and a Chris­tian is in a body that is not yet glorified. Christians do sin. There would be no need for 1 John 1:9 if this were not so.

However, that which is born of God cannot sin. The new man in Christ is created in right­eousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). A man in Christ is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Sav­iour, we were made new creatures in Christ and received the Spirit of God to indwell us. That new man cannot sin because it is born of God. God is righteous, and that which is born of God cannot sin, nor can the wicked one touch that which is begotten of God.

The Christian, then, is a person who is still in the body with its frailty and its desires but who has also become a new person, begotten of God and indwelt by the Spirit of God.

Romans 6:11 says the Christian is to live his life reckoning himself to be dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore, the Christian life should no longer be character­ized or dominated by sin.

If your life is dominated by sin and you pro­fess to be a Christian, then examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith. There are a great many people who profess they believe in the Saviour, but who have never had any rela­tionship with Christ.

They may belong to a church and assent to all the historical facts of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and yet not have a real experience of accepting the Saviour.

If you have had a personal relationship with the Saviour, your life will not be characterized and dominated by sin. There will be in you that which is born of God, and the Spirit of God will keep you from the evil one because “that wicked one toucheth him not.”

God has given us this assurance of holiness in our lives. God has made the provision for res­toration so that if our fellowship with the Lord is broken by sin, we are forgiven and cleansed as soon as we confess that sin.

Verses 18-20

CERTAINTY OF VICTORY

1 John 5:18. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him.

1 John 5:19. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 5:20. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

There are three divine certainties of victory:

1. The assurance of holiness in 1 John 5:18.

2. The assurance of life in 1 John 5:19.

3. the assurance of redemption in 1 John 5:20.

Verse 19

2. The Assurance of Life

1 John 5:19. We know that we are of God.

Knowing we are of God gives us assurance of life. There are many other Scriptures which give us this same assurance.

Proof Texts

We are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5).

I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Sav- iour . . . (Judges 1:24-25).

And may your spirit and soul and body be pre­served complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me (John 17:11).

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2).

We are of God. The whole world lieth in the lap of the wicked one. There is a clear-cut dis­tinction stated here. The world is in the opposite camp. This was the theme of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:1-47 when he said, “You crucified Him but God raised Him; you cast Him out but God took him in. You are in the wrong camp!”

This life-giving relationship is an individual, per­sonal matter. Can you say that you are a child of God, that you are of God? Do you have a relation­ship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ? If you do not, you can come into such a relationship right now by accepting Jesus Christ as your own, personal Saviour.

Verse 20

3. The Assurance of Redemption

1 John 5:20

Verse 20 assures us of our redemption because “we are in him.” We know that the Son of God has come, and we have an understanding of the reason for His coming.

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full accep­tance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin­ners, among whom I am foremost of all (1 Timothy 1:15).

“We may know him that is true” both by faith and by our experience. We know that He is the true Saviour, the only Saviour, the Saviour who guarantees salvation by His own resurrection from the dead. It also states that “we are in him that is true.” We are in union with Him by faith.

“THIS is the true God, and eternal life.” This! This Jesus Christ!!

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved (John 10:9).

I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever (John 6:51).

“Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, even as thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent (John 17:1-3).

Verse 21

THE

CONCLUSION

1 John 5:21. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. Amen.

The conclusion is an appeal. It is an appeal to God’s people to keep themselves from idols. An idol is anything that comes between us and our heart affection for the Saviour. Covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5).

He has just said in verse 20 that we know the Son of God is true, that we are in the Son of God who is true, and that this Son of God is the true God and eternal life.

Now comes the solemn warning about idols.

Is there anything or anybody that takes the place of Christ in your heart?

In your devotion?

Do you have any ambitions which displace Him in your heart?

The very first verse in the Bible says, “In the be­ginning God.” If Dr. Westcott, the eminent Bible scholar, is correct, then the last verse of the Bible to be written is: “Keep yourselves from idols.”

The whole Bible between the first verse and this last verse reveals in type, in shadow, in experi­ence, in reality that the heart of God is displayed to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

He is the way to the Father (John 14:6).

He is the truth that sets us free (John 8:31-32 and John 14:6).

He is the life that brings us into relationship with the living God (John 14:6).