Text -- 1 John 5:1-4 (NET)

5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. 5:3 For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down,

Testimony About the Son

5:4 because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 1Jo 5:1

That Jesus is the Christ ( hoti Iēsous estin ho Christos ).

The Cerinthian antichrist denies the identity of Jesus and Christ (1Jo 2:22). Hence John insists on this form of faith (pisteuōn here in the full sense, stronger than in 1Jo 3:23; 1Jo 4:16, seen also in pistis in 1Jo 5:4, where English and Latin fall down in having to use another word for the verb) as he does in 1Jo 5:5 and in accord with the purpose of John’ s Gospel (Joh 20:31). Nothing less will satisfy John, not merely intellectual conviction, but full surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. "The Divine Begetting is the antecedent, not the consequent of the believing"(Law). For "is begotten of God"(ek tou theou gegennētai ) see 1Jo 2:29; 1Jo 3:9; 1Jo 4:7; 1Jo 5:4, 1Jo 5:18. John appeals here to family relationship and family love.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:1

Him that begat ( ton gennēsanta ).

First aorist active articular participle of gennaō , to beget, the Father (our heavenly Father).

Robertson: 1Jo 5:1

Him also that is begotten of him ( ton gegennēmenon ex autou ).

Perfect passive articular participle of gennaō , the brother or sister by the same father. So then we prove our love for the common Father by our conduct towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:2

Hereby ( en toutōi ).

John’ s usual phrase for the test of the sincerity of our love. "The love of God and the love of the brethren do in fact include each the other"(Westcott). Each is a test of the other. So put 1Jo 3:14 with 1Jo 5:2.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:2

When ( hotan ).

"Whenever"indefinite temporal clause with hotan and the present active subjunctive (the same form agapōmen as the indicative with hoti (that) just before, "whenever we keep on loving God."

Robertson: 1Jo 5:2

And do ( kai poiōmen )

"and whenever we keep on doing (present active subjunctive of poieō ) his commandments."See 1Jo 1:6 for "doing the truth."

Robertson: 1Jo 5:3

This ( hautē )

- that (hina ). Explanatory use of hina with hautē , as in Joh 17:3, to show what "the love of God"(1Jo 4:9, 1Jo 4:12) in the objective sense is, not mere declamatory boasting (1Jo 4:20), but obedience to God’ s commands, "that we keep on keeping (present active subjunctive as in 1Jo 2:3) his commandments."This is the supreme test.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:3

Are not grievous ( bareiai ouk eisin ).

"Not heavy,"the adjective in Mat 23:4 with phortia (burdens), with lupoi (wolves) in Act 20:29, of Paul’ s letters in 2Co 10:10, of the charges against Paul in Act 25:7. Love for God lightens his commands.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

For ( hoti ).

The reason why God’ s commandments are not heavy is the power that comes with the new birth from God.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

Whatsoever is begotten of God ( pān to gegennēmenon ek tou theou ).

Neuter singular perfect passive participle of gennaō rather than the masculine singular (1Jo 5:1) to express sharply the universality of the principle (Rothe) as in Joh 3:6, Joh 3:8; Joh 6:37, Joh 6:39.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

Overcometh the world ( nikāi ton kosmon ).

Present active indicative of nikaō , a continuous victory because a continuous struggle, "keeps on conquering the world"("the sum of all the forces antagonistic to the spiritual life,"D. Smith).

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

This is the victory ( hautē estin hē nikē ).

For this form of expression see 1Jo 1:5; Joh 1:19. Nikē (victory, cf. nikaō ), old word, here alone in N.T., but the later form nikos in Mat 12:20; 1Co 15:54-55, 1Co 15:57.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

That overcometh ( hē nikēsasa ).

First aorist active articular participle of nikaō . The English cannot reproduce the play on the word here. The aorist tense singles out an individual experience when one believed or when one met temptation with victory. Jesus won the victory over the world (Joh 16:33) and God in us (1Jo 4:4) gives us the victory.

Robertson: 1Jo 5:4

Even our faith ( hē pistis hēmōn ).

The only instance of pistis in the Johannine Epistles (not in John’ s Gospel, though in the Apocalypse). It is our faith in Jesus Christ as shown by our confession (1Jo 5:1) and by our life (1Jo 5:2).

Vincent: 1Jo 5:1

Whosoever believeth ( πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων )

Lit., every one that believeth. For the characteristic form of expression see on 1Jo 3:3.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:1

The Christ

See on Mat 1:1, and see on 1Jo 1:7.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:2

By this ( ἐν τούτῳ )

Not by this or from this, as an inference (see on 1Jo 4:6), but in the very exercise of the sentiment toward God, we perceive .

Vincent: 1Jo 5:2

When ( ὅταν )

More strictly, whenever . Our perception of the existence of love to our brethren is developed on every occasion when we exercise love and obedience toward God.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:2

Keep ( τηρῶμεν )

Read ποιῶμεν do . So Rev. See on Joh 3:21; see on 1Jo 3:4. The exact phrase ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς to do the commandments, occurs only here. See on Rev 22:14.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:3

Grievous ( βαρεῖαι )

Lit., heavy . The word occurs six times in the New Testament. Act 20:29, violent , rapacious; " grievous wolves" : 2Co 10:10, weighty , impressive , of Paul's letters: Mat 23:23; Act 25:7, important , serious ; the weightier matters of the law; serious charges against Paul.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:4

Overcometh ( νικᾷ )

See on 1Jo 2:13.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:4

The victory ( ἡ νίκη )

Only here in the New Testament.

Vincent: 1Jo 5:4

That overcometh ( ἡ νικήσασα )

The aorist tense, overcame . On the cumulative form of expression, the victory , that which overcame , see on 1Jo 4:9. The aorist is to be held here to its strict sense. The victory over the world was , potentially, won when we believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. We overcome the world by being brought into union with Christ. On becoming as He is (1Jo 3:17) we become partakers of His victory (Joh 16:33). " Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world" (1Jo 4:4).

Vincent: 1Jo 5:4

Our faith ( πίστις ἡμῶν )

Πίστις faith , only here in John's Epistles and not in the Gospel. Our faith is embraced in the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. On the question of the subjective and objective use of the faith , see on Act 6:7.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:1

The scope and sum of this whole paragraph appears from the conclusion of it, 1Jo 5:13, "These things have I written to you who believe, that ye may know that ye who believe have eternal life." So faith is the first and last point with St. John also.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:1

God that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him - Hath a natural affection to all his brethren.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:2

This is a plain proof.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:2

As his children.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:3

The only sure proof of it.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:3

To any that are born of God.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:4

This expression implies the most unlimited universality.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:4

Conquers whatever it can lay in the way, either to allure or fright the children of God from keeping his commandments.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:4

The grand means of overcoming.

Wesley: 1Jo 5:4

Seeing all things are possible to him that believeth.

JFB: 1Jo 5:1

Greek, "Everyone that." He could not be our "Jesus" (God-Saviour) unless He were "the Christ"; for He could not reveal the way of salvation, except He were a prophet: He could not work out that salvation, except He were a priest: He could not confer that salvation upon us, except He were a king: He could not be prophet, priest, and king, except He were the Christ [PEARSON, Exposition of the Creed].

JFB: 1Jo 5:1

Translate, "begotten," as in the latter part of the verse, the Greek being the same. Christ is the "only-begotten Son" by generation; we become begotten sons of God by regeneration and adoption.

JFB: 1Jo 5:1

Sincerely, not in mere profession (1Jo 4:20).

JFB: 1Jo 5:1

Namely, "his brethren" (1Jo 4:21).

JFB: 1Jo 5:2

Greek, "In." As our love to the brethren is the sign and test of our love to God, so (John here says) our love to God (tested by our "keeping his commandments") is, conversely, the ground and only true basis of love to our brother.

JFB: 1Jo 5:2

John means here, not the outward criteria of genuine brotherly love, but the inward spiritual criteria of it, consciousness of love to God manifested in a hearty keeping of His commandments. When we have this inwardly and outwardly confirmed love to God, we can know assuredly that we truly love the children of God. "Love to one's brother is prior, according to the order of nature (see on 1Jo 4:20); love to God is so, according to the order of grace (1Jo 5:2). At one time the former is more immediately known, at another time the latter, according as the mind is more engaged in human relations or in what concerns the divine honor" [ESTIUS]. John shows what true love is, namely, that which is referred to God as its first object. As previously John urged the effect, so now he urges the cause. For he wishes mutual love to be so cultivated among us, as that God should always be placed first [CALVIN].

JFB: 1Jo 5:3

The love of God consists in this.

JFB: 1Jo 5:3

As so many think them. It is "the way of the transgressor" that "is hard." What makes them to the regenerate "not grievous," is faith which "overcometh the world" (1Jo 5:4): in proportion as faith is strong, the grievousness of God's commandments to the rebellious flesh is overcome. The reason why believers feel any degree of irksomeness in God's commandments is, they do not realize fully by faith the privileges of their spiritual life.

JFB: 1Jo 5:4

(See on 1Jo 5:3). The reason why "His commandments are not grievous." Though there is a conflict in keeping them, the sue for the whole body of the regenerate is victory over every opposing influence; meanwhile there is a present joy to each believer in keeping them which makes them "not grievous."

JFB: 1Jo 5:4

Greek, "all that is begotten of God." The neuter expresses the universal whole, or aggregate of the regenerate, regarded as one collective body Joh 3:6; Joh 6:37, Joh 6:39, "where BENGEL remarks, that in Jesus' discourses, what the Father has given Him is called, in the singular number and neuter gender, all whatsoever; those who come to the Son are described in the masculine gender and plural number, they all, or singular, every one. The Father has given, as it were, the whole mass to the Son, that all whom He gave may be one whole: that universal whole the Son singly evolves, in the execution of the divine plan."

JFB: 1Jo 5:4

Habitually.

JFB: 1Jo 5:4

All that is opposed to keeping the commandments of God, or draws us off from God, in this world, including our corrupt flesh, on which the world's blandishments or threats act, as also including Satan, the prince of this world (Joh 12:31; Joh 14:30; Joh 16:11).

JFB: 1Jo 5:4

Greek aorist, ". . . that hath (already) overcome the world": the victory (where faith is) hereby is implied as having been already obtained (1Jo 2:13; 1Jo 4:4).

Clarke: 1Jo 5:1

Whosoever believeth, etc. - Expressions of this kind are to be taken in connection with the subjects necessarily implied in them. He that believeth that Jesus is the Messiah, and confides in him for the remission of sins, is begotten of God; and they who are pardoned and begotten of God love him in return for his love, and love all those who are his children.

Clarke: 1Jo 5:2

By this we know that we love the children of God - Our love of God’ s followers is a proof that we love God. Our love to God is the cause why we love his children, and our keeping the commandments of God is the proof that we love him.

Clarke: 1Jo 5:3

For this is the love of God - This the love of God necessarily produces. It is vain to pretend love to God while we live in opposition to his will

Clarke: 1Jo 5:3

His commandments - To love him with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, are not grievous - are not burdensome; for no man is burdened with the duties which his own love imposes. The old proverb explains the meaning of the apostle’ s words, Love feels no loads. Love to God brings strength from God; through his love and his strength, all his commandments are not only easy and light, but pleasant and delightful

On the love of God, as being the foundation of all religious worship, there is a good saying in Sohar Exod., fol. 23, col. 91: "Rabbi Jesa said, how necessary is it that a man should love the holy blessed God! For he can bring no other worship to God than love; and whoever loves him, and worships him from a principle of love, him the holy blessed God calls his beloved."

Clarke: 1Jo 5:4

Whatsoever is born of God - Παν το γεγεννημενον· Whatsoever (the neuter for the masculine) is begotten of God: overcometh the world. "I understand by this,"says Schoettgen, "the Jewish Church, or Judaism, which is often termed עולם הזה olam hazzeh , this world. The reasons which induce me to think so are

1.    Because this κοσμος, world, denied that the Messiah was come; but the Gentiles did not oppose this principle

2.    Because he proves the truth of the Christian religion against the Jews, reasoning according to the Jewish manner; whence it is evident that he contends, not against the Gentiles, but against the Jews. The sense therefore is, he who possesses the true Christian faith can easily convict the Jewish religion of falsity.

That is, He can show the vanity of their expectations, and the falsity of their glosses and prejudices. Suppose we understand by the world the evil principles and practices which are among men, and in the human heart; then the influence of God in the soul may be properly said to overcome this; and by faith in the Son of God a man is able to overcome all that is in the world, viz., the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life.

Calvin: 1Jo 5:1

1.Whosoever believeth He confirms by another reason, that faith and brotherly love are united; for since God regenerates us by faith he must necessarily be loved by us as a Father; and this love embraces all his children. Then faith cannot be separated from love.

The first truth is, that all born of God, believe that Jesus is the Christ; where, again, you see that Christ alone is set forth as the object of faith, as in him it finds righteousness, life, and every blessing that can be desired, and God in all that he is. ⁸⁹ Hence the only true way of believing is when we direct our minds to him. Besides, to believe that he is the Christ, is to hope from him all those things which have been promised as to the Messiah.

Nor is the title, Christ, given him here without reason, for it designates the office to which he was appointed by the Father. As, under the Law, the full restoration of all things, righteousness and happiness, were promised through the Messiah; so at this day the whole of this is more clearly set forth in the gospel. Then Jesus cannot be received as Christ, except salvation be sought from him, since for this end he was sent by the Father, and is daily offered to us.

Hence the Apostle declares that all they who really believe have been born of God; for faith is far above the reach of the human mind, so that we must be drawn to Christ by our heavenly Father; for not any of us can ascend to him by his own strength. And this is what the Apostle teaches us in his Gospel, when he says, that those who believe in the name of the only-begotten, were not born of blood nor of the flesh. (Joh 1:13.) And Paul says, that we are endued, not with the spirit of this world, but with the Spirit that is from God, that we may know the things given us by him. (1Co 2:12.) For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the mind conceived, the reward laid up for those who love God; but the Spirit alone penetrates into this mystery. And further, as Christ is given to us for sanctification, and brings with it the Spirit of regeneration, in short, as he unites us to his own body, it is also another reason why no one can have faith, except he is born of God.

Loveth him also that is begotten of him Augustine and some others of the ancients have applied this to Christ, but not correctly. For though the Apostle uses the singular number, yet he includes all the faithful; and the context plainly shows that his purpose was no other than to trace up brotherly love to faith as its fountain. It is, indeed, an argument drawn from the common course of nature; but what is seen among men is transferred to God. ⁹⁰

But we must observe, that the Apostle does not so speak of the faithful only, and pass by those who are without, as though the former are alone to be loved, and no care and no account to be had for the latter; but he teaches us as it were by this first exercise to love all without exception, when he bids us to make a beginning with the godly. ⁹¹

Calvin: 1Jo 5:2

2.By this we know He briefly shows in these words what true love is, even that which is towards God. He has hitherto taught us that there is never a true love to God, except when our brethren are also loved; for this is ever its effect. But he now teaches us that men are rightly and duly loved, when God holds the primacy. And it is a necessary definition; for it often happens, that we love men apart from God, as unholy and carnal friendships regard only private advantages or some other vanishing objects. As, then, he had referred first to the effect, so he now refers to the cause; for his purpose is to shew that mutual love ought to be in such a way cultivated that God may be honored.

To the love of God he joins the keeping of the law, and justly so; for when we love God as our Father and Lord, reverence must necessarily be connected with love. Besides, God cannot be separated from himself. As, then, he is the fountain of all righteousness and equity, he who loves him must necessarily have his heart prepared to render obedience to righteousness. The love of God, then, is not idle or inactive. ⁹²

But from this passage we also learn what is the keeping of the law. For if, when constrained only by fear, we obey God by keeping his commandments, we are very far off from true obedience. Then, the first thing is, that our hearts should be devoted to God in willing reverence, and then, that our life should be formed according to the rule of the law. This is what Moses meant when, in giving a summary of the law, he said,

“O Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to love him and to obey him?” (Deu 10:12.)

Calvin: 1Jo 5:3

3.His commandments are not grievous This has been added, lest difficulties, as it is usually the case, should damp or lessen our zeal. For they who with a cheerful mind and great ardor have pursued a godly and holy life, afterwards grow weary, finding their strength inadequate. Therefore John, in order to rouse our efforts, says that God’s commandments are not grievous.

But it may, on the other hand, be objected and said that we have found it far otherwise by experience, and that Scripture testifies that the yoke of the law is insupportable. (Act 15:2.) The reason also is evident, for as the denial of self is, as it were, a prelude to the keeping of the law, can we say that it is easy for a man to deny himself? nay, since the law is spiritual, as Paul, in Rom 7:14, teaches us, and we are nothing but flesh, there must be a great discord between us and the law of God. To this I answer, that this difficulty does not arise from the nature of the law, but from our corrupt flesh; and this is what Paul expressly declares; for after having said that it was impossible for the Law to confer righteousness on us, he immediately throws the blame on our flesh.

This explanation fully reconciles what is said by Paul and by David, which apparently seems wholly contradictory. Paul makes the law the master of death, declares that it effects nothing but to bring on us the wrath of God, that it was given to increase sin, that it lives in order to kill us. David, on the other hand, says that it is sweeter than honey, and more desirable than gold; and among other recommendations he mentions the following — that it cheers hearts, converts to the Lord, and quickens. But Paul compares the law with the corrupt nature of man; hence arises the conflict: but David shews how they think and feel whom God by his Spirit has renewed; hence the sweetness and delight of which the flesh knows nothing. And John has not omitted this difference; for he confines to God’s children these words, God’s commandments are not grievous, lest any one should take them literally; and he intimates that, it comes through the power of the Spirit, that it is not grievous nor wearisome to us to obey God.

The question, however, seems not as yet to be fully answered; for the faithful, though ruled by the Spirit, of God, yet, carry on a hard contest with their own flesh; and how muchsoever they may toil, they yet hardly perform the half of their duty; nay, they almost fail under their burden, as though they stood, as they say, between the sanctuary and the steep. We see how Paul groaned as one held captive, and exclaimed that he was wretched, because he could not fully serve God. My reply to this is, that the law is said to be easy, as far as we are endued with heavenly power, and overcome the lusts of the flesh. For however the flesh may resist, yet the faithful find that there is no real enjoyment except in following God.

It must further be observed, that John does not speak of the law only, which contains nothing but commands, but connects with it the paternal indulgence of God, by which the rigor of the law is mitigated. As, then, we know that we are graciously forgiven by the Lord, when our works do not come up to the law, this renders us far more prompt to obey, according to what we find in Psa 130:4,

“With thee is propitiation, that thou mayest be feared.”

Hence, then, is the facility of keeping the law, because the faithful, being sustained by pardon, do not despond when they come short of what they ought to be. The Apostle, in the meantime, reminds us that we must fight, in order that we may serve the Lord; for the whole world hinders us to go where the Lord calls us. Then, he only keeps the law who courageously resists the world.

Calvin: 1Jo 5:4

4.This is the victory As he had said that all who are born of God overcome the world, he also sets forth the way of overcoming it. For it might be still asked, whence comes this victory? He then makes the victory over the world to depend on faith. ⁹³

This passage is remarkable, for though Satan continually repeats his dreadful and horrible onsets, yet the Spirit of God, declaring that we are beyond the reach of danger, removes fear, and animates us to fight with courage. And the past time is more emphatical than the present or the future; for he says, that has overcome, in order that we might feel certain, as though the enemy had been already put to flight. It is, indeed, true, that our warfare continues through life, that our conflicts are daily, nay, that new and various battles are every moment on every side stirred up against us by the enemy; but as God does not arm us only for one day, and as faith is not that of one day, but is the perpetual work of the Holy Spirit, we are already partakers of victory, as though we had already conquered.

This confidence does not, however, introduce indifference, but renders us always anxiously intent on fighting. For the Lord thus bids his people to be certain, while yet he would not have them to be secure; but on the contrary, he declares that they have already overcome, in order that they may fight more courageously and more strenuously.

The term world has here a wide meaning, for it includes whatever is adverse to the Spirit of God: thus, the corruption of our nature is a part of the world; all lusts, all the crafts of Satan, in short, whatever leads us away from God. Having such a force to contend with, we have an immense war to carry on, and we should have been already conquered before coming to the contest, and we should be conquered a hundred times daily, had not God promised to us the victory. But God encourages us to fight by promising us the victory. But as this promise secures to us perpetually the invincible power of God, so, on the other hand, it annihilates all the strength of men. For the Apostle does not teach us here that God only brings some help to us, so that being aided by him, we may be sufficiently able to resist; but he makes victory to depend on faith alone; and faith receives from another that by which it overcomes. They then take away from God what is his own, who sing triumph to their own power.

Defender: 1Jo 5:1

The test of true love for God is, therefore, whether we love the children of God - that is, our Christian brethren."

Defender: 1Jo 5:2

The test of true love for the children of God, in turn, is whether or not we love God and His commandments."

Defender: 1Jo 5:4

The neuter form of "whatsoever" seems to imply that the whole body of believers is in view here. That is, despite the opposition of Satan and his hosts, the true church, consisting of all true Christians, will triumph over the very gates of hell just as Christ promised when He first spoke of building His church (Mat 16:18). Furthermore, the faith on which that church would be built - the confession that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mat 16:16) - is the same faith that overcomes the world; the faith that Jesus is, indeed, the Son of God (1Jo 5:5)."

TSK: 1Jo 5:1

believeth : 1Jo 2:22, 1Jo 2:23, 1Jo 4:2, 1Jo 4:14, 1Jo 4:15; Mat 16:16; Joh 1:12, Joh 1:13, Joh 6:69; Act 8:37; Rom 10:9, Rom 10:10

is born : 1Jo 5:4, 1Jo 2:29, 1Jo 3:9, 1Jo 4:7

and every : 1Jo 2:10, 1Jo 3:14, 1Jo 3:17, 1Jo 4:20; Joh 15:23; Jam 1:18; 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 1:23

TSK: 1Jo 5:2

1Jo 3:22-24, 1Jo 4:21; Joh 13:34, Joh 13:35, Joh 15:17

TSK: 1Jo 5:3

this : Exo 20:6; Deu 5:10, Deu 7:9, Deu 10:12, Deu 10:13; Dan 9:4; Mat 12:47-50; Joh 14:15; Joh 14:21-24, Joh 15:10,Joh 15:14; 2Jo 1:6

and : Psa 19:7-11, Psa 119:45, Psa 119:47, Psa 119:48, Psa 119:103, Psa 119:104, Psa 119:127, Psa 119:128, Psa 119:140; Pro 3:17; Mic 6:8; Mat 11:28-30; Rom 7:12, Rom 7:22; Heb 8:10

TSK: 1Jo 5:4

whatsoever : 1Jo 5:1, 1Jo 3:9

overcometh : 1Jo 5:5, 1Jo 2:13-17, 1Jo 4:4; Joh 16:33; Rom 8:35-37; 1Co 15:57; Rev 2:7, Rev 2:11, Rev 2:17, Rev 2:26; Rev 3:5, Rev 3:12, Rev 3:21, Rev 12:11, Rev 15:2

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Jo 5:1

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ - Is the Messiah; the anointed of God. On the meaning of the word Christ, see the notes at Mat 1:1. Of course, it is meant here that the proposition, that "Jesus is the Christ,"should be believed or received in the true and proper sense, in order to furnish evidence that anyone is born of God. Compare the notes at 1Jo 4:3. It cannot be supposed that a mere intellectual acknowledgment of the proposition that Jesus is the Messiah is all that is meant, for that is not the proper meaning of the word believe in the Scriptures. That word, in its just sense, implies that the truth which is believed should make its fair and legitimate impression on the mind, or that we should feel and act as if it were true. See the notes at Mar 16:16. If, in the proper sense of the phrase, a man does believe that Jesus "is the Christ,"receiving him as he is revealed as the Anointed of God, and a Saviour, it is undoubtedly true that that constitutes him a Christian, for that is what is required of a man in order that he may be saved. See the notes at Act 8:37.

Is born of God - Or rather, "is begotten of God."See the notes at Joh 3:3

And everyone that loveth him that begat - That loves that God who has thus begotten those whom he has received as his children, and to whom he sustains the endearing relation of Father.

Loveth him also that is begotten of him - That is, he will love all the true children of God; all Christians. See the notes at 1Jo 4:20. The general idea is, that as all Christians are the children of the same Father; as they constitute one family; as they all bear the same image; as they share his favor alike; as they are under the same obligation of gratitude to him, and are bound to promote the same common cause, and are to dwell together in the same home forever, they should therefore love one another. As all the children in a family love their common father, so it should be in the great family of which God is the Head.

Barnes: 1Jo 5:2

By this we know that we love the children of God ... - This is repeating the same truth in another form. "As it is universally true that if we love Him who has begotten us, we shall also love His children, or our Christian brethren, so it is true also that if we love His children it will follow that we love Him."In other places, the apostle says that we may know that we love God if we love those who bear His image, 1Jo 3:14. He here says, that there is another way of determining what we are. We may have undoubted evidence that we love God, and from that, as the basis of an argument, we may infer that we have true love to His children. Of the fact that we may have evidence that we love God, apart from that which we derive from our love to His children, there can be no doubt. We may be conscious of it; we may find pleasure in meditating on His perfections; we may feel sure that we are moved to obey Him by true attachment to Him, as a child may in reference to a father. But, it may be asked, how can it be inferred from this that we truly love His children? Is it not easier to ascertain this of itself than it is to determine whether we love God? Compare 1Jo 4:20. To this it may be answered, that we may love Christians from many motives: we may love them as personal friends; we may love them because they belong to our church, or sect, or party; we may love them because they are naturally amiable: but the apostle says here, that when we are conscious that an attachment does exist toward Christians, we may ascertain that it is genuine, or that it does not proceed from any improper motive, by the fact that we love God. We shall then love Him as His children, whatever other grounds of affection there may be toward them.

And keep his commandments - See the notes at Joh 14:15.

Barnes: 1Jo 5:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments - This constitutes true love; this furnishes the evidence of it.

And his commandments are not grievous - Greek, "heavy"- βαρεῖαι bareiai ; that is, difficult to be borne as a burden. See Mat 11:30. The meaning is, that his laws are not unreasonable; the duties which he requires are not beyond our ability; his government is not oppressive. It is easy to obey God when the heart is right; and those who endeavor in sincerity to keep his commandments do not complain that they are hard. All complaints of this kind come from those who are not disposed to keep his commandments. Indeed, they object that his laws are unreasonable; that they impose improper restraints; that they are not easily complied with; and that the divine government is one of severity and injustice. But no such complaints come from true Christians. They find his service easier than the service of sin, and the laws of God more mild and easy to be complied with than were those of fashion and honor, which they once endeavored to obey. The service of God is freedom; the service of the world is bondage. No man ever yet heard a true Christian say that the laws of God, requiring him to lead a holy life, were stern and "grievous."But who has not felt this in regard to the inexorable laws of sin? What votary of the world would not say this if he spoke his real sentiments? Compare the notes at Joh 8:32.

Barnes: 1Jo 5:4

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world - The world, in its maxims, and precepts, and customs, does not rule him, but he is a freeman. The idea is, that there is a conflict between religion and the world, and that in the heart of every true Christian religion secures the victory, or triumphs. In Joh 16:33, the Saviour says, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."See the notes at that verse. He obtained a complete triumph over him "who rules the darkness of the world,"and laid the foundation for a victory by his people over all vice, error, and sin. John makes this affirmation of all who are born of God. "Whatsoever,"or, as the Greek is, "Everything which is begotten of God,"( πᾶν τὸ γεγενημένον pan to gegenēmenon ;) meaning to affirm, undoubtedly, that "in every instance"where one is truly regenerated, there is this victory over the world. See the Jam 4:4 note; 1Jo 2:15-16 note. It is one of the settled maxims of religion, that every man who is a true Christian gains a victory over the world; and consequently a maxim as settled, that where the spirit of the world reigns supremely in the heart, there is no true religion. But, if this be a true principle, how many professed Christians are there who are strangers to all claims of piety - for how many are there who are wholly governed by the spirit of this world!

And this is the victory - This is the source or means of the victory which is thus achieved.

Even our faith - Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 1Jo 5:5. He overcame the world, Joh 16:33, and it is by that faith which makes us one with him, and that imbues us with his Spirit, that we are able to do it also.

Poole: 1Jo 5:1

1Jo 5:1-3 He that loveth God loveth God’ s children, and keeth

his commandments.

1Jo 5:4,5 A true faith will enable us to overcome the world.

1Jo 5:6-10 The witnesses of our faith.

1Jo 5:11-13 God hath given to believers eternal life through his Son,

1Jo 5:14-17 and will hear and grant their petitions, made according

to his will.

1Jo 5:18-20 God’ s children are distinguished from the world by

abstaining from sin, and by a right knowledge.

1Jo 5:21 A caution against idolatry.

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ this is not meant of a mere professed, or of a slight and superficial, but of a lively, efficacious, unitive, soul-transforming, and obediential faith in Jesus as the Christ, which is elsewhere made the effect of the regenerating power and grace of God, Joh 1:12,13 . And as nothing can be more connatural to such a heaven-born faith, than the loving of him that hath begotten us to it; so nothing can be more certainly consequent and agreeable, than the loving of them too who are begotten also of the same Father, viz. with a correspondent love to the more excellent characters and image of God upon them, than are upon other men.

Poole: 1Jo 5:2

It is not otherwise to be known that we truly love the children of God, as such; for if we do, we must love them upon God’ s account, in conformity to him, and obedience to his commandments; wherefore our true love to them supposes our love to him, and is to be evinced by it.

Poole: 1Jo 5:3

For this is the love of God i.e. this is the most lively, certain expression and effect of our love to God, our keeping his commandments, which are so little grievous, that true love can make no difficulty of doing so, Mat 11:30 Psa 19:11 .

Poole: 1Jo 5:4

He explains himself, viz. that to one who is born of God his commandments are not grievous, because such a one, in that divine birth, hath received a life and nature that makes him far superior to this world, exalts him above it, makes him victorious over the worldly spirit, as 1Jo 4:4over all worldly desires, and fears, and hopes, and joys, which are the great hinderances of our obedience to God.

This is the victory i.e. the instrument, the weapon, by which they overcome, and which virtually includes in itself this victory over the world, as effects are included in the power of their cause, is their

faith that principle which in their regeneration (as above) is implanted in them.

PBC: 1Jo 5:4

It is important to remember that the child of God will overcome the world by his God-given Faith: " For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." 1Jo 5:4 This does not mean that the saint will never commit sin. It means that the Spirit of God in him will not suffer him to always live in sin but will work Godly sorrow in him and will bring him to repentance. Joh 3:9 means that the born-again person will not continually and habitually live in sin as a way of life. The child of God may backslide temporarily and fall into much sin, but he will not live in it permanently in an unrepentant state. See also Mt 7:21-23; Jas 2:20; 1Jo 2:4,15; 3:3; 4:15.

See PBtop: PERSEVERANCE AND PRESERVATION

John’s exhortation to Christian love concludes with the affirmation that God’s " commandments are not grievous" [lit. burdensome] {1Jo 5:3} -but are the standards of a loving Father who seeks the highest welfare of His children. Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden, light; {Mt 11:28} (2) In terms of the fact that we have been given the ability to keep them:" For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world..."{ 1Jo 5:4} a.

When an individual is born again, he is given the gift of faith. {Eph 2:8} John Stott writes, " By the use of the neuter ‘whatsoever’ John states the principle in its most general and abstract form. He does so to emphasize not ‘the victorious person’ but ‘the victorious power’. It is not the man, but his birth from God, which conquers." The gift of faith implanted in the soul equips God’s child with the necessary resources to live a life of victory over the world that once dominated every part of his existence. It is because God has given us faith that we can say, " His commands are not irksome."

Does the fact that someone has been born again, then, guarantee that he will overcome the world? Not necessarily. Notice that John proceeds to ascribe the victory not to the fact that someone has been born again, but to the exercise of his faith: " And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"{ 1Jo 5:4} b. The sequence of thought is clear: First, God has equipped us with the necessary tools to live a victorious life {1Jo 5:4} a; Second, We must utilize the resources He has given in order to live victoriously {1Jo 5:4} b; Third, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ- that is, a gospelly-informed trust and confidence in the Savior- is the key ingredient to the Christian’s conquest over sin in his life. {1Jo 5:5}

The Premise

Implied in the language of these verses is a truth about the nature of the Christian life. The New Testament frequently depicts the life of discipleship in terms of an athletic contest or military campaign. In this conflict, the Christian will either conquer or be conquered. He will either be a victor or a victim. The goal is to overcome, not to succumb in defeat.

Ro 8:37 indicates that every child of God is already victorious -in fact, more than victorious- through Jesus Christ. In Him, we have been emancipated from penalty of sin. Because Christ won the battle, the warfare is accomplished. {Isa 40:1} ff Positionally, we are victors through the cross.

But in practical terms, God’s people still face the daily challenge to live victoriously in a world that is characterized by ungodliness. The war is over but the side-skirmishes of daily discipleship continue. John’s question is, " Will you be a victim to the world, or will you be an overcomer?" Just as the Lord Jesus " overcame the world," {Joh 16:33} so His followers are called to live lives above the lowlands of this fallen world system.

The Particulars

What precisely does that mean? In what specific areas does the world threaten the child of God?

First, the child of God is called to overcome the world’s obsessions, values, and attitudes. In 1Jo 2:16, John defines " the world" by its dominant characteristics: " ... the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." Living in a fallen world, we are bombarded with temptation to sin. Ours is a world driven by the principle of personal gratification. Self-fulfillment is touted as the supreme objective in this fallen world system. It urges, " Satisfy your desire for pleasure (i.e. ‘lust of the flesh’),for possessions (i.e. ‘lust of the eyes’),and for prestige (i.e. ‘pride of life’)." But when the child of God falls into sexual sin, pursues materialistic goals, or adopts a way of thinking that is focused on himself, the enemy of Christ has scored a significant victory.

Second, we must overcome the world’s persecution. {1Jo 3:1,13} The world will attempt to silence the Christian’s testimony -to intimidate him to soften his stance -through the pressure of persecution. {Joh 15:18} ff The child of God must not succumb to discouragement, cowardice, or silence in the face of opposition from this ungodly world. John encourages, " Be an overcomer!"

God’s people must also live victoriously over the world’s distractions and pull upon the heart. Jesus talked about the " cares of this world" which tend to divert attention from Him and His word. {Mt 13:22} The sheer abundance of daily cares is frequently Satan’s tool to sidetrack God’s people from " the one thing needful." Further, the glittering wealth of Vanity Fair is enticing to man’s old nature, drawing the heart like metal to a magnet. No wonder Paul warned, " Be not conformed to this world." {Ro 12:2}

In the fourth place, we are called to overcome the temptation to please the world and to court its approval. {Jas 4:4} If a Christian loses sight of his Lord and becomes preoccupied with his own popularity, he will inevitably compromise the glory of God. {Joh 5:43-44; 12:43} How subtle is the danger! Many strong men have been defeated at just this point.

Finally, God’s born-again child is called to overcome the world’s wisdom. {1Co 1:20-21; 3:19} The journey of Christian discipleship is a precarious act of navigating one’s way through the mine-field of unbiblical ideas. Every day, we are inundated in popular culture with secular, man-centered ways of thinking. How many of God’s people have set out to honor Him only to be defeated because they were duped by the world’s falsehoods?

The Prescription

Someone wonders, " Is it possible to overcome the world?" Well, yes. Jesus " overcame the world." {Joh 16:33} How, then, can we overcome?

John answers, " by faith." {1Jo 5:4} Interestingly, this is the only time the noun " faith" appears in 1John, though the verb " to believe" occurs nine times. John says, " This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

The reference to " our faith" speaks of the action of trusting in Jesus Christ. Of course, this " faith" is first " born of God" {1Jo 5:4} a, that is, created by God in the soul at regeneration. But John takes a further step and claims that this " faith" must be informed by the gospel, move toward Christ and embrace Him in confident trust: " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" {1Jo 5:5}

What does this mean in practical terms? It means that the believer in Christ has the strength and resources necessary, through faith in the Savior, to live victoriously. Regardless of circumstances around him, feelings within him, or consequences ahead of him, the Christian can be an overcomer like his Lord was when he was in the world. By his God, the believer can " leap over a wall and run through a troop." {Ps 18:29} Because he knows his God, he is " strong and does exploits." {Da 11:32} Through " the blood of the Lamb and the word of God" he can " overcome" the devil. {Re 12:11} By pleading the merit of Christ, he can save himself from this ungodly world. {Ga 1:4; Ac 2:40} By the knowledge God gives him in the gospel, he can " escape the pollutions of the world." {2Pe 2:20}

Faith, born of God in man’s soul and reaching forth to grasp Christ in confidence and trust, is the prescription for victory in the Christian life. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be an overcomer.

460

Haydock: 1Jo 5:1

That Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messias, the Redeemer of the world, is born of God, is made his adoptive son by his grace in baptism. (Witham) ---

Is born of God; that is, is justified, and become a child of God by baptism; which is also to be understood, provided the belief of this fundamental article of the Christian faith is accompanied with all the other conditions, which, by the word of God and his appointment, are also required for justification; such as a general belief of all that God has revealed and promised; hope, love, repentance, and a sincere disposition to keep God's holy law and commandments. (Challoner) ---

Loveth him [1] that begot; i.e. the eternal Father. ---

Loveth him also who was born of him; i.e. loveth him who is his only begotten and eternal Son. (Witham)

===============================

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Eum qui genuit, Greek: ton gennesanta, generantem; which, in English, may be translated, the Father.

Haydock: 1Jo 5:2

In this we know that we love the children of God, (that is, all men, and especially the faithful, who are made his adoptive children) when we love God, and keep his commandments, for these two branches of charity, the love of God and of our neighbour, are inseparable: the one is known and proved by the other. (Witham)

Haydock: 1Jo 5:3

And his commandments are not heavy; not burdensome. Not but that they comprehend what seems hard to human frailty, and especially to men carried away with the love of vanities in this world, who think it hard to comply with Christ's doctrine of self-denials, of renouncing their inclinations, of suffering death, sooner than to sin against God, or to renounce their faith: but the love of God, and the promises of an eternal happiness in the next life, with the assistances which God gives them, make the yoke of Christ sweet, and his burden light. See Matthew xi. 30. How different is this doctrine from that of those late heretics, who pretend that God's commandments are impossible, even to just men, when they employ all their endeavours. See the first proposition of Jansenius, and this heresy of Calvin condemned by the council of Trent, session 6, cap. xi. canon. 18. (Witham)

Haydock: 1Jo 5:4

This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. That is, a lively faith, working by charity, makes a man victorious over the greatest temptations, and over all the adversaries of his salvation. (Witham) ---

Our faith; Not a bare speculative or dead faith, but a faith working by charity. (Galatians v. 6.) (Challoner)

Gill: 1Jo 5:1

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ,.... Or the Messiah that was prophesied of old, was long promised to the Jews, and whom they expected; there was a person spoken of in the writings of the Old Testament under this character, Psa 2:2; and the Jews looked for him; and Jesus of Nazareth is he, as appears by all the characteristics of the Messiah in prophecy being found upon him: this the Jews deny, but is the grand article of faith embraced by the apostles and followers of Jesus, and is of very great importance; he that denies it is a liar, and he that does not believe it shall die in his sins: the word signifies "anointed", and includes all the offices of the Son of God, to which he was anointed, as prophet, priest, and King; so that to believe him to be the Christ, is to believe him to be that prophet Moses said should come, and who has declared the whole mind and will of his Father; and that he is that priest that should arise after the order of Melchizedek, and make atonement for sin, and intercession for transgressors; and that he is that King whom God has set over his holy hill of Zion, whose laws are to be obeyed, and his commands observed: but to believe that Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah, is not barely to give an assent to this truth, or to acknowledge it; so the devils themselves have done, Luk 4:41; and whole nations of men, multitudes of which were never born of God; it is not a mere profession of it before men, or an idle, inoperative faith, which is destitute of love to Christ, and obedience to him; but whereas his work and business, as the Christ of God, was to bring in an everlasting righteousness, to procure the remission of sin, and to make peace and reconciliation for it, and to obtain eternal salvation; true faith in him as the Messiah is a believing with the heart unto righteousness, or a looking to, and trusting in the righteousness of Christ for justification; and a dealing with his blood for pardon and cleansing, under a sense of guilt and filth; and a laying hold on his atoning sacrifice for the expiation of sin, and peace with God; and a reception of him as the only Saviour and Redeemer, or a dependence on him for life and salvation; and which faith shows itself in love to him, and in a professed subjection to his Gospel, and cheerful submission to his ordinances: and every such person

is born of God; is a partaker of the divine nature; has Christ formed, and every grace of the Spirit implanted in him, among which faith in Christ is a considerable one; and such an one in consequence is openly a child and heir of God, wherefore, to be born of God is an instance of great grace, and an high honour and privilege, and of the greatest moment and importance. Regeneration is not owing to the power and will of man, but to the abundant mercy and good will of God, and is an instance of his rich mercy, great love, and free favour, and commands love again:

and everyone that loveth him that begat; that is, God the Father, who has begotten them again to a lively hope, according to his abundant mercy and sovereign will; and as he is their Father that has begotten them, they cannot but love him: and such an one

loveth him also that is begotten of him; not only Jesus Christ, who by nature is the only begotten of the Father; for those who know God to be their Father by adoption and regeneration, will love Christ, who is the Son of God by nature; see Joh 8:42; but also every regenerate person, all that are born of God; since they are the children of the same Father with them, belong to the same household and family, and bear the image and likeness of their heavenly Father on them.

Gill: 1Jo 5:2

By this we know that we are the children God,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "by this know that we love God"; which, in connection with what follows, makes a tautology, and is a proving "idem per idem": whereas the apostle's view is to show when love to the saints is right; and that is,

when we love God, and keep his commandments: love to the brethren may arise from such a cause, as may show that it is not brotherly love, or of a spiritual kind; it may arise from natural relation, or civil friendship, or from a benefit or favour received from them, and from some natural external excellency seen in them; and a man may do acts of love and kindness to the brethren, from what may be called good nature in himself, or with sinister views; but true love to the brethren springs from love to God: such who love the saints aright, and by which they may know they do so, they love them because they themselves love God, and in obedience to his command; they love them because they belong to God, and are the objects of his love; because his grace is wrought in them, and his image stamped upon them.

Gill: 1Jo 5:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,.... Keeping of the commandments of God is an evidence of love to God; this shows that love is not in word and tongue, in profession only, but in deed and in truth; and that such persons have a sense of the love of God upon their souls, under the influence of which they act; and such shall have, and may expect to have, greater manifestations of the love of God unto them:

and his commandments are not grievous; heavy, burdensome, and disagreeable; by which are meant, not so much the precepts of the moral law, which through the weakness of the flesh are hard to be kept, and cannot be perfectly fulfilled; though believers indeed, being freed from the rigorous exaction, curse, and condemnation of the law, delight in it after the inward man, and serve it cheerfully with their spirit; and still less the commands of the ceremonial law, which were now abolished, and were grievous to be borne; but rather those of faith in Christ, and love to the saints, 1Jo 3:23; or it may be the ordinances of the Gospel, baptism, and the Lord's supper, with others, which though disagreeable to unregenerate persons, who do not care to be under the yoke of Christ, however easy and light it is, yet are not heavy and burdensome to regenerate ones; and especially when they have the love of God shed abroad in them, the presence of God with them, communion with Jesus Christ, and a supply of grace and strength from him; then are these ways ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace, and the tabernacles of the Lord are amiable and lovely.

Gill: 1Jo 5:4

For whatsoever is born of God,.... Which may be understood either of persons born; of God; or of the new creature, or principle of grace wrought in them, particularly faith hereafter mentioned, which is an heaven born grace, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit: this

overcometh the world; the god of the world, Satan; the lusts which are in the world; false prophets gone forth into the world; and the wicked men of the world, who by temptations, snares, evil doctrines, threatenings, promises, and ill examples, would avert regenerate ones from observing the commands of God; but such are more than conquerors over all these, through Christ that has loved them:

and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "your faith"; great things, heroic actions, and wonderful victories, are ascribed to faith; see Heb 11:33; which must not be understood of the grace itself, as separately considered, but of Christ the object of it, as supported, strengthened, assisted, and animated by him: and then it does wonders, when it is enabled to hold Christ, its shield, in its hand, against every enemy that opposes.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Jo 5:1

¹ tn Or “the Messiah.”

² tn The verb γεννάω (gennaw) here means to be fathered by God and thus a child of God. The imagery in 1 John is that of the male parent who fathers children. See the note on “fathered” in 2:29 for further discussion of this imagery.

³ tc ‡ Most witnesses ([א] A P 1739 Ï sy) have καί (kai, “also”) before the article τόν (ton). But the external evidence for the shorter reading is significant (B Ψ 048^vid 33 pc sa), and the conjunction looks to be a motivated reading in which scribes emulated the wording of 4:21 (ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τόν, agapa kai ton). NA²⁷ places the conjunction in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁴ sn Also loves the child fathered by him. Is the meaning of 5:1b a general observation or a specific statement about God and Christians? There are three ways in which the second half of 5:1 has been understood: (1) as a general statement, proverbial in nature, applying to any parent: “everyone who loves the father also loves the child fathered by him.” (2) This has also been understood as a statement that is particularly true of one’s own parent: “everyone who loves his own father also loves the (other) children fathered by him (i.e., one’s own brothers and sisters).” (3) This could be understood as a statement which refers particularly to God, in light of the context (5:1a): “everyone who loves God who fathered Christians also loves the Christians who are fathered by God.” Without doubt options (2) and (3) are implications of the statement in its present context, but it seems most probable that the meaning of the statement is more general and proverbial in nature (option 1). This is likely because of the way in which it is introduced by the author with πᾶς ὁ (pas Jo) + participle. The author could have been more explicit and said something like, “everyone who loves God also loves God’s children” had he intended option (3) without ambiguity. Yet that, in context, is the ultimate application of the statement, because it ultimately refers to the true Christian who, because he loves God, also loves the brethren, those who are God’s offspring. This is the opposite of 4:20, where the author asserted that the opponents, who profess to love God but do not love the brethren, cannot really love God because they do not love the brethren.

NET Notes: 1Jo 5:2

¹ tn Once more there is the familiar difficulty of determining whether the phrase refers (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. Here, because ἐν τούτῳ (en toutw) is followed by a clause introduced by ὅταν (Jotan) which appears to be related, it is best to understand ἐν τούτῳ as referring to what follows. The following ὅταν clause is epexegetical to ἐν τούτῳ, explaining how we know that we love God’s children: “by this we know that we love God’s children, whenever we love God and keep his commandments.”

NET Notes: 1Jo 5:3

¹ tn The force of the γάρ (gar) at the beginning of 5:3 is similar to another introductory formula used by the author of 1 John, καὶ αὕτη ἐστίν (kai Jauth estin; used in 1:5; 5:4, 11, and 14). The γάρ draws an inference based on the preceding statements, particularly the one in 5:2b, regarding the love of God. If in 5:2 loving God and keeping his commandments is the key to knowing that we love God’s children, it is important to define what the love of God involves, and this is what the author is doing in 5:3. In fact, as the following ἵνα (Jina) clause makes clear, loving God consists in keeping his commandments.

² tn Once again the genitive could be understood as (1) objective, (2) subjective, or (3) both. Here an objective sense is more likely (believers’ love for God) because in the previous verse it is clear that God is the object of believers’ love.

³ tn Contrary to the punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, it is best to place a full stop (period) following τηρῶμεν (thrwmen) in 5:3. The subordinate clause introduced by ὅτι (Joti) at the beginning of 5:4 is related to the second half of 5:3 which begins with καί (kai). Καί is commonly used by the author to begin a new sentence, probably by analogy with the Hebrew vav consecutive.

NET Notes: 1Jo 5:4

¹ tn The explicit reason the commandments of God are not burdensome to the believer is given by the ὅτι (Joti) clause at the beginning of 5:4. It is because “everyone who is begotten by God conquers the world.”

² tn The masculine might have been expected here rather than the neuter πᾶν τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (pan to gegennhmenon ek tou qeou) to refer to the person who is fathered by God. However, BDF §138.1 explains that “the neuter is sometimes used with respect to persons if it is not the individuals but a generic quality that is to be emphasized”; this seems to be the case here, where a collective aspect is in view: As a group, all those who have been begotten by God, that is, all true believers, overcome the world.

³ sn The author is once more looking at the situation antithetically (in ‘either/or’ terms) as he sees the readers on the one hand as true believers (everyone who is fathered by God) who have overcome the world through their faith, and the opponents on the other as those who have claimed to have a relationship with God but really do not; they belong to the world in spite of their claims.

⁴ tn Or “overcomes.”

⁵ sn Conquers the world. Once again, the author’s language is far from clear at this point, and so is his meaning, but the author has used the verb conquers (νικάω, nikaw) previously to describe the believer’s victory over the enemy, the evil one himself, in 2:13-14, and over the secessionist opponents, described as “false prophets” in 4:4. This suggests that what the author has in mind here is a victory over the opponents, who now belong to the world and speak its language (cf. 4:5). In the face of the opponents’ attempts through their false teaching to confuse the readers (true believers) about who it is they are supposed to love, the author assures the readers that loving God and keeping his commandments assures us that we really do love God’s children, and because we have already achieved victory over the world through our faith, keeping God’s commandments is not a difficult matter.

⁶ tn Grk “And this.”

⁷ tn The standard English translation for ἡ νίκη (Jh nikh) is “victory” (BDAG 673 s.v.) but this does not preserve the relationship with the cognate verb νικάω (nikaw; used in 2:13,14 and present in this context in participial form in 5:4b and 5:5). One alternative would be “conquest,” although R. E. Brown (Epistles of John [AB], 570) suggests “conquering power” as a translation for ἡ νίκη since here it is a metonymy for the means of victory or the power that gives victory, referring to believers’ faith.

⁸ tn The use of the aorist participle (ἡ νικήσασα, Jh nikhsasa) to refer to faith as the conquering power that “has conquered the world” in 5:4b is problematic. Debate here centers over the temporal value of the aorist participle: (1) It may indicate an action contemporaneous with the (present tense) main verb, in which case the alternation between aorist participle in 5:4b and present participle in 5:5 is one more example of the author’s love of stylistic variation with no difference in meaning. (2) Nevertheless, an aorist participle with a present tense main verb would normally indicate an action antecedent to that of the main verb, so that the aorist participle would describe a past action. That is the most probable here. Thus the aorist participle stresses that the conquest of the world is something that has already been accomplished.

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 5:1

Whosoever ^{( 1 )} believeth that Jesus is the ^{( a )} Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth ^{( b )} him also that is begotten of him.

^{( 1 )} He advances in the same argument, showing how both those loves come to us, from that love with which God loves us, that is, by Jesus our mediator laid hold on by faith, in whom we are made the children of God, and do love the Father from whom we are begotten, and also our brothers who are begotten with us.

^{( a )} Is the true Messiah.

^{( b )} By one, he means all the faithful.

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 5:2

^{( 2 )} By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his ^{( c )} commandments.

^{( 2 )} The love of our neighbour depends on the love with which we love God, that this last must go before the first: of which it follows, that that is not to be called love, when men agree together to do evil, neither that, when as in loving our neighbours, we do not respect God's commandments.

^{( c )} There is no love where there is no true doctrine.

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 5:3

^{( 3 )} For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: ^{( 4 )} and his commandments are not ^{( d )} grievous.

^{( 3 )} The reason: to love God, is to keep his commandments, which being so, and seeing that both the loves are commanded by the same lawmaker, (as he taught before) it follows also, that we do not love our neighbours, when we break God's commandments. ^{( 4 )} Because experience teaches us that there is no ability in our flesh, neither will to perform God's commandments, therefore lest the apostle should seem, by so often putting them in mind of the keeping of the commandments of God, to require things that are impossible, he pronounces that the commandments of God are not in any way grievous or burdensome, that we can be oppressed with the burden of them.

^{( d )} To those who are regenerate, that is to say, born again, who are led by the Spirit of God, and are through grace delivered from the curse of the law.

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 5:4

^{( 5 )} For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: ^{( 6 )} and this is the victory that ^{( e )} overcometh the world, [even] our ^{( f )} faith.

^{( 5 )} A reason: Because by regeneration we have received strength to overcome the world, that is to say, whatever strives against the commandments of God. ^{( 6 )} He declares what that strength is, that is, faith.

^{( e )} He uses the time that is past, to give us to understand, that although we are in the battle, yet undoubtedly we shall be conquerors, and are most certain of the victory.

^{( f )} Which is the instrumental cause, and as a means and hand by which we lay hold on him, who indeed performs this, that is, has and does overcome the world, even Christ Jesus.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Jo 5:1-21

1 He that loves God loves his children, and keeps his commandments;

3 which to the faithful are not grievous.

9 Jesus is the Son of God;

14 and able to hear our prayers.

Maclaren: 1Jo 5:4

Faith Conquering The World

This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.'--1 John 5:4.

No New Testament writer makes such frequent use of the metaphors of combat and victory as this gentle Apostle John. None of them seem to have conceived so habitually of the Christian life as being a conflict, and in none of their writings does the clear note of victory in the use of that word overcometh' ring out so constantly as it does in those of the very Apostle of Love. Equally characteristic of John's writings is the prominence which he gives to the still contemplation of, and abiding in, Christ. These two conceptions of the Christian life appear to be discordant, but are really harmonious.

There is no doubt where John learned the phrase. Once he had heard it at a time and in a place which stamped it on his memory for ever. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,' said Christ, an hour before Gethsemane. Long years since then had taught John something of its meaning, and had made him to understand how the Master's victory might belong to the servants. Hence in this letter he has much to say about overcoming the wicked one,' and the like; and in the Apocalypse we never get far away from hearing the shout of victory, whether we consider the sevenfold promises of the letters that stand at the beginning of the visions, or whether we listen to such sayings as this:--They overcame by the blood of the Lamb,' or the last promise of all:--He that overcometh shall inherit all things.'

Thus bound together by that link, as well as by a great many more, are all the writings which the tradition of the Church has attributed to this great Apostle.

But to come to the words of my text. They appear in a very remarkable context here. If you read a verse or two before, you will get the full singularity of their introduction. This is the love of God,' says he, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.' They are very heavy and hard in themselves; it is very difficult to do right, and to walk in the ways of God, and to please Him. His commandments are grievous, per se; a heavy burden, a difficult thing to do--but let us read on:--They are not grievous, for whatsoever is born of God'--keepeth the commandments? No! Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: That, thinks John, is the same thing as keeping God's commandments. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.' Notice, then, first, What is the true notion of conquering the world? secondly, How that victory may be ours.

I. What Is The True Notion Of Conquering The World?

Let us go back to what I have already said. Where did John learn the expression? Who was it that first used it? It comes from that never-to-be-forgotten night in that upper room; where, with His life's purpose apparently crushed into nothing, and the world just ready to exercise its last power over Him by killing Him, Jesus Christ breaks out into such a strange strain of triumph, and in the midst of apparent defeat lifts up that clarion note of victory:--I have overcome the world!'

He had not made much of it, according to usual standards, had He? His life had been the life of a poor man. Neither fame nor influence, nor what people call success, had He won, judged from the ordinary points of view, and at three-and-thirty is about to be murdered; and yet He says, I have beaten it all, and here I stand a conqueror!' That threw a flood of light for John, and for all that had listened to Christ, on the whole conditions of human life, and on what victory and defeat, success and failure in this world mean. Not so do men usually estimate what conquering the world is. Not so do you and I estimate it when we are left to our own folly and our own weakness. Our notion of being victorious in life is when each man, according to his own ideal of what is best, manages to wring that ideal out of a reluctant world. Or, to put it into plainer words, a man desires, say, conspicuous notoriety and fame. He accounts that he has conquered when he scrambles over all his fellows, and writes his name, as boys do, upon a wall, higher than anybody else's name, with a bit of chalk, in writing that the next winter's storm will obliterate! That is victory! The ultra-commercial ideal says, Found a big business and make it pay.' That is to conquer! Other notions, higher and nobler than that, all partake of the same fallacy that if a man can get the world, the sum of external things, into his grip, and squeeze it as one does a grape, and get the last drop of sweetness out of it into his thirsty lips, he is a conqueror.

Well! and you may get all that, whatever it is, that seems to you best, sweetest, most needful, most toothsome and delightsome--you may get it all; and in a sense you may have conquered the world, and yet you may be utterly beaten and enslaved by it. Do you remember the old story--I make no apology for the plainness of it--of the man that said to his commanding officer, I have taken a prisoner.' Bring him along with you.' He won't let me.' Come yourself, then.' I can't'? So you think you have conquered the world when it yields you the things you want, and all the while it has conquered and captivated you.

You say Mine ! It would be a great deal nearer the truth if the possessions, or the love, or the wealth, or the culture, or whatever else it may he, that you have set your desire upon, were to rise up and say you are theirs! Utterly beaten and enslaved many a man is by the things that he vainly fancies he has mastered and conquered. If you think of how in the process of getting, you narrow yourselves; of how much you throw away; of how eyes become blind to beauty or goodness or graciousness; of how you become the slaves of the thing that you have won; of how the gold gets into a man's blood and makes his complexion as yellow as jaundice--if you think of all that, and how desperate and wretched you would he if in a minute it was all swept away, and how it absorbs your thoughts in keeping it and looking after it, say, is it you that are its master, or it that is yours?

Now let us turn for a moment to the teaching of this Epistle. Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ Himself, the poor man, the beaten man, the unsuccessful man, may yet say,' I have overcome the world.' What does that mean? Well, it is built upon this--the world, meaning thereby the sum total of outward things, considered as apart from God--the world and God we make to be antagonists to one another. And the world woos me to trust to it, to love it; crowds in upon my eye and shuts out the greater things beyond; absorbs my attention, so that if I let it have its own way I have no leisure to think about anything but itself. And the world conquers me when it succeeds in hindering me from seeing, loving, holding communion with and serving my Father, God.

On the other hand, I conquer it when I lay my hand upon it and force it to help me to get nearer Him, to get liker Him, to think more often of Him, to do His will more gladly and more constantly. The one victory over the world is to bend it to serve me in the highest things--the attainment of a clearer vision of the Divine nature, the attainment of a deeper love to God Himself, and of a more glad consecration and service to Him. That is the victory--when you can make the world a ladder to lift you to God. That is its right use, that is victory, when all its tempting voices do not draw you away from listening to the Supreme Voice that bids you keep His commandments. When the world comes between you and God as an obscuring screen, it has conquered you. When the world comes between you and God as a transparent medium, you have conquered it. To win victory is to get it beneath your feet and stand upon it, and reach up thereby to God.

Now, dear brethren, that is the plain teaching of all this context, and I would lay it upon your hearts and upon my own. Do not let us be deceived by the false estimates of the men around us. Do not let us forget that the one thing we have to live for is to know God, and to love and to please Him, and that every life is a disastrous failure, whatsoever outward artificial apparent success it may be enriched and beautified with, that has not accomplished that.

You rule Nature, you coerce winds and lightnings and flames to your purposes. Rule the world! Rule the world by making it help you to be wiser, gentler, nobler, more gracious, more Christ-like, more Christ-conscious, more full of God, and more like to Him, and then you will get the deepest delight out of it. If a man wanted to find a wine-press that should squeeze out of the vintage of this world its last drop of sweetest sweetness, he would find it in constant recognition of the love of God, and in the coercing of all the outward and the visible to be his help thereto.

There are the two theories; the one that we are all apt to fall into, of what success and victory is; the other the Christian theory. Ah! many a poor, battered Lazarus, full of sores, a pauper and a mendicant at Dives' gate; many a poor old cottager; many a lonely woman in her garret; many a man that has gone away from Manchester, for instance, unable to get on in business, and obliged to creep into some corner and hide himself, not having succeeded in making a fortune, is the victor! And many a Dives, fettered by his own possessions, and the bond-slave of his own successes, is beaten by the world shamefully and disastrously! Pray and strive for the purged eyesight which shall teach you what it is to conquer the world, and what it is to be conquered by it.

II. This Victory Over The World.

And now let me turn for a moment to the second of the points that I have desired to put before you, viz., the method by which this victory over the world, of making it help us to keep the commandments of God, is to be accomplished. We find, according to John's fashion, a threefold statement in this context upon this matter, each member of which corresponds to and heightens the preceding. We read thus:--Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.' This is the victory that overcometh the world,' or more accurately, hath overcome the world, even our faith.' Who is he that overcometh the world? He that believeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' Wherein there are, speaking roughly, these three statements, that the true victory over the world is won by a new life, born of and kindred with God; that that life is kindled in men's souls through their faith; that the faith which kindles that supernatural life, the victorious antagonist of the world, is the definite, specific faith in Jesus as the Son of God. These are the three points which the Apostle puts as the means of conquest of the world.

The first consideration, then, suggested by these statements is that the one victorious antagonist of all the powers of the world which seek to draw us away from God, is a life in our hearts kindred with God, and derived from God.

Now I know that a great many people turn away from this central representation of Christianity as if it were mystical and intangible. I desire to lay it upon your hearts, dear brethren, that every Christian man has received and possesses through the open door of his faith, a life supernatural, born of God, kindred with God, therefore having nothing kindred with evil, and therefore capable of meeting and mastering all the temptations of the world.

It is a plain piece of common-sense, that God is stronger than this material universe, and that what is born of God partakes of the Divine strength. But there would be no comfort in that, nor would it be anything germane and relevant to the Apostle's purpose, unless there was implied in the statement what in fact is distinctly asserted more than once in this Epistle, that every Christian man and woman may claim to be thus born of God. Hearken to the words that almost immediately precede our text, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.' Hearken to other words which proclaim the same truth, To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, which were born, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' He does come with all the might of His regenerating power into our poor natures, if and when we turn ourselves with humble faith to that dear Lord; and breathes into our deadness a new life, with now tastes, new desires, new motives, new powers, making us able to wrestle with and to overcome the temptations that were too strong for us.

Mystical and deep as this thought may be, God's nature is breathed into the spirits of men that will trust Him! and if you will put your confidence in that dear Lord, and live near Him, into your weakness will come an energy born of the Divine, and you will be able to do all things in the might of the Christ that strengthens you from within, and is the life of your life, and the soul of your soul. To the little beleaguered garrison surrounded by strong enemies through whom they cannot cut their way, the king sends reliefs, who force their passage into the fortress, and hold it against all the power of the foe. You are not left to fight by yourselves, you can conquer the world if you will trust to that Christ, trusting in whom God's own power will come to your aid, and God's own Spirit will he the strength of your spirit.

And then there is the other way of looking at this same thing, viz., you can conquer the world if you will trust in Jesus Christ, because such trust will bring you into constant, living, loving contact with the Great Conqueror. There is a beautiful accuracy and refinement in the language of these three clauses which is not represented in our Authorised Version. The central one which I have read as my text this morning might be translated as it is translated in the Revised Version--This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.' By which I suppose the Apostle means very much what I am saying now, viz., that my faith brings me into contact with that one great victory over the world which for all time was won by Jesus Christ. I can appropriate Christ's conquest to myself if I trust Him. The might of it and some portion of the reality of it passes into my nature in the measure in which I rely upon Him. He conquered once for all, and the very remembrance of His conquest by faith will make me strong--will teach my hands to war and my fingers to fight.' He conquered once for all, and His victory will pass, with electric power, into my life if I trust Him. I am brought into living fellowship with Him. All the stimulation of example, and all that lives lofty and pure can do for us, is done for us in transcendent fashion by the life of Jesus Christ. And all that lives lofty and pure can never do for us is done in unique fashion by the life and death of Him whose life and death are alike the victory over the world and the pattern for us.

So if we join ourselves to Him by faith, and bring into our daily life, in all its ignoble effort, in all its little duties, in all its wearisome monotonies, in all its triviality, the thought, the illuminating thought, the ennobling thought, of the victorious Christ our companion and our Friend--in hoc signo vinces--in this sign thou shalt conquer! They that keep hold of His hand see over the world and all its falsenesses and fleeting-nesses. They that trust in Jesus are more than conquerors by the might of His victory.

And then there is the last thought, which, though it be not directly expressed in .the words before us, is yet closely connected with them. You can conquer the world if you will trust Jesus Christ, because your faith will bring into the midst of your lives the grandest and most solemn and blessed realities. Faith is the true anaesthesia of the soul;--the thing that deadens it to the pains and the pleasures that come from this fleeting life. As for the pleasures, I remember reading lately of some thinker of our own land who was gazing through a telescope at the stars, and turned away from the solemn vision with one remark, I don't think much of our county families!' And if you will look up at Christ through the telescope of your faith, it is wonderful what Lilliputians the Brobdingnagians round about you will dwindle into, and how small the world will look, and how coarse the pleasures.

If a man goes to Italy, and lives in the presence of the pictures there, it is marvellous what daubs the works of art, that he used to admire, look when he comes back to England again. And if he has been in communion with Jesus Christ, and has found out what real sweetness is, he will not be over-tempted by the coarse dainties that people eat here. Children spoil their appetites for wholesome food by sweetmeats; we very often do the same in regard to the bread of God, but if we have once really tasted it, we shall not care very much for the vulgar dainties on the world's stall.

Dear brethren, set your faith upon that great Lord, and the world's pleasures will have less power over you, and as for its pains--

There's nothing either good or bad,But thinking makes it so.'

If a man does not think that the world's pains are of much account, they are not of much account. He who sees athwart the smoke of the fire of Smithfield, the face of the Captain of his warfare, who has conquered, will dare to burn and will not dare to deny his Master or his Master's truth. The world may threaten in hope of winning you to its service, but if its threats, turned into realities, fail to move you, it is the world which inflicts, and not you who suffer, that is beaten. In the extremest case they kill the body and after that have no more that they can do,' and if they have done all they can, and have not succeeded in wringing the incantation from the locked lips, they are beaten, and the poor dead martyr that they could only kill has conquered them and their torments. So fear not all that the world can do against you. If you have got a little spark of the light of Christ's presence in your heart, the darkness will not be very terrible, and you will not be alone.

So, brethren, two questions:--Does your faith do anything like that for you? If it does not, what do you think is the worth of it? Does it deaden the world's delights? Does it lift you above them? Does it make you conqueror? If it does not, do you think it is worth calling faith?

And the other question is: Do you want to beat, or to be beaten? When you consult your true self, does your conscience not tell you that it were better for you to keep God's commandments than to obey the world? Surely there are many young men and women in this place to-day who have some desires high, and true, and pure, though often stifled, and overcome, and crushed down; and many older folk who have glimpses, in the midst of predominant regard for the things that are seen and temporal, of a great calm, pure region away up there that they know very little about.

Dear friends, my one word to you all is: Get near Jesus Christ by thought, and love, and trust. Trust to Him and to the great love that gave itself for you. And then bring Him into your life, by daily reference to Him of it all: and by cultivating the habit of thinking about Him as being present with you in the midst of it all, and so holding His hand, you will share in His victory; and at the last, according to the climax of His sevenfold promises, To Him that overcometh will I give to sit down with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with My Father on His Throne.'

MHCC: 1Jo 5:1-5

True love for the people of God, may be distinguished from natural kindness or party attachments, by its being united with the love of God, and obedience to his commands. The same Holy Spirit that taught the love, will have taught obedience also; and that man cannot truly love the children of God, who, by habit, commits sin or neglects known duty. As God's commands are holy, just, and good rules of liberty and happiness, so those who are born of God and love him, do not count them grievous, but lament that they cannot serve him more perfectly. Self-denial is required, but true Christians have a principle which carries them above all hinderances. Though the conflict often is sharp, and the regenerate may be cast down, yet he will rise up and renew his combat with resolution. But all, except believers in Christ, are enslaved in some respect or other, to the customs, opinions, or interests of the world. Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour by which we overcome. In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in contempt of, and in opposition to the world. Faith sanctifies the heart, and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains sway and dominion over souls. It has the indwelling Spirit of grace, which is greater than he who dwells in the world. The real Christian overcomes the world by faith; he sees, in and by the life and conduct of the Lord Jesus on earth, that this world is to be renounced and overcome. He cannot be satisfied with this world, but looks beyond it, and is still tending, striving, and pressing toward heaven. We must all, after Christ's example, overcome the world, or it will overcome us to our ruin.

Matthew Henry: 1Jo 5:1-5

I. The apostle having, in the conclusion of the last chapter, as was there observed, urged Christian love upon those two accounts, as suitable to Christian profession and as suitable to the divine command, here adds a third: Such love is suitable, and indeed demanded, by their eminent relation; our Christian brethren or fellow-believers are nearly related to God; they are his children: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, 1Jo 5:1. Here the Christian brother is, 1. Described by his faith; he that believeth that Jesus is the Christ - that he is Messiah the prince, that he is the Son of God by nature and office, that he is the chief of all the anointed world, chief of all the priests, prophets, or kings, who were ever anointed by God or for him, that he is perfectly prepared and furnished for the whole work of the eternal salvation - accordingly yields himself up to his care and direction; and then he is, 2. Dignified by his descent: He is born of God, 1Jo 5:1. This principle of faith, and the new nature that attends it or from which it springs, are ingenerated by the Spirit of God; and so sonship and adoption are not now appropriated to the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, not to the ancient Israel of God; all believers, though by nature sinners of the Gentiles, are spiritually descended from God, and accordingly are to be beloved; as it is added: Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him, 1Jo 5:1. It seems but natural that he who loves the Father should love the children also, and that in some proportion to their resemblance to their Father and to the Father's love to them; and so we must first and principally love the Son of the Father, as he is most emphatically styled, 2Jo 1:3, the only (necessarily) begotten, and the Son of his love, and then those that are voluntarily begotten, and renewed by the Spirit of grace.

II. The apostle shows, 1. How we may discern the truth, or the true evangelical nature of our love to the regenerate. The ground of it must be our love to God, whose they are: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, 1Jo 5:2. Our love to them appears to be sound and genuine when we love them not merely upon any secular account, as because they are rich, or learned, or kind to us, or of our denomination among religious parties; but because they are God's children, his regenerating grace appears in them, his image and superscription are upon them, and so in them God himself is loved. Thus we see what that love to the brethren is that is so pressed in this epistle; it is love to them as the children of God and the adopted brethren of the Lord Jesus. 2. How we may learn the truth of our love to God - it appears in our holy obedience: When we love God, and keep his commandments, 1Jo 5:2. Then we truly, and in gospel account, love God, when we keep his commandments: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and the keeping of his commandments requires a spirit inclined thereto and delighting herein; and so his commandments are not grievous, 1Jo 5:3. Or, This is the love of God, that, as thereby we are determined to obedience, and to keep the commandments of God, so his commandments are thereby made easy and pleasant to us. The lover of God says, " O how I love thy law! I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart (Psa 119:32), when thou shalt enlarge it either with love or with thy Spirit, the spring of love."3. What is and ought to be the result and effect of regeneration - an intellectual spiritual conquest of this world: For whatsoever is born of God, or, as in some copies, whosoever is born of God, overcometh the world, 1Jo 5:4. He that is born of God is born for God, and consequently for another world. He has a temper and disposition that tend to a higher and better world; and he is furnished with such arms, or such a weapon, whereby he can repel and conquer this; as it is added, And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, 1Jo 5:4. Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour and artillery by which we overcome; for, (1.) In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in contempt of, and opposition to, the world. (2.) Faith works in and by love to God and Christ, and so withdraws us from the love of the world. (3.) Faith sanctifies the heart, and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains such sway and dominion over souls. (4.) It receives and derives strength from the object of it, the Son of God, for conquering the frowns and flatteries of the world. (5.) It obtains by gospel promise a right to the indwelling Spirit of grace, that is greater than he who dwells in the world. (6.) It sees an invisible world at hand, with which this world is not worthy to be compared, and into which it tells the soul in which it resides it must be continually prepared to enter; and thereupon,

III. The apostle concludes that it is the real Christian that is the true conqueror of the world: Who is he then that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1Jo 5:5. It is the world that lies in our way to heaven, and is the great impediment to our entrance there. But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God believes therein that Jesus Came from God to be the Saviour of the world, and powerfully to conduct us from the world to heaven, and to God, who is fully to be enjoyed there. And he who so believes must needs by this faith overcome the world. For, 1. He must be well satisfied that this world is a vehement enemy to his soul, to his holiness, his salvation, and his blessedness. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, 1Jo 2:16. 2. He sees it must be a great part of the Saviour's work, and of his own salvation, to be redeemed and rescued from this malignant world. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, Gal 1:4. 3. He sees in and by the life and conduct of the Lord Jesus on earth that this world is to be renounced and overcome. 4. He perceives that the Lord Jesus conquered the world, not for himself only, but for his followers; and they must study to be partakers of his victory. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. 5. He is taught and influenced by the Lord Jesus's death to be mortified and crucified to the world. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world, Gal 6:14. 6. He is begotten by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to the lively hope of a blessed world above, 1Pe 1:3. 7. He knows that the Saviour has gone to heaven, and is there preparing a place for his serious believers, Joh 14:2. 8. He knows that his Saviour will come again thence, and will put an end to this world, and judge the inhabitants of it, and receive his believers to his presence and glory, Joh 14:3. 9. He is possessed with a spirit and disposition that cannot be satisfied with this world, that look beyond it, and are still tending, striving, and pressing, towards the world in heaven. In this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, 2Co 5:2. So that it is the Christian religion that affords its proselytes a universal empire. It is the Christian revelation that is the great means of conquering the world, and gaining another that is most pure and peaceful, blessed and eternal. It is there, in that revelation, that we see what are the occasion and ground of the quarrel and contest between the holy God and this rebellious world. It is there that we meet with sacred doctrine (both speculative and practical), quite contrary to the tenour, temper, and tendency of this world. It is by that doctrine that a spirit is communicated and diffused which is superior and adverse to the spirit of the world. It is there we see that the Saviour himself was not of this world that his kingdom was not and is not so, that it must be separated from the world and gathered out of it for heaven and for God. There we see that the Saviour designs not this world for the inheritance and portion of his saved company. As he has gone to heaven himself, so he assures them he goes to prepare for their residence there, as designing they should always dwell with him, and allowing them to believe that if in this life, and this world only, they had hope in him, they should at last be but miserable. It is there that the eternal blessed world is most clearly revealed and proposed to our affection and pursuit. It is there that we are furnished with the best arms and artillery against the assaults and attempts of the world. It is there that we are taught how the world may be out-shot in its own bow, or its artillery turned against itself; and its oppositions, encounters, and persecutions, be made serviceable to our conquest of the world, and to our motion and ascent to the higher heavenly world: and there we are encouraged by a whole army and cloud of holy soldiers, who have in their several ages, posts, and stations, overcome the world, and won the crown. It is the real Christian that is the proper hero, who vanquishes the world and rejoices in a universal victory. Nor does he (for he is far superior to the Grecian monarch) mourn that there is not another world to be subdued, but lays hold on the eternal world of life, and in a sacred sense takes the kingdom of heaven by violence too. Who in all the world but the believer on Jesus Christ can thus overcome the world?

Barclay: 1Jo 5:1-2

As John wrote this passage, there were two things in the background of his mind.

(i) There was the great fact which was the basis of all his thinking, the fact that love of God and love of man are inseparable parts of the same experience. In answer to the questioning scribe Jesus had said that there were two great commandments. The first laid it down that we must love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and the second laid it down that we must love our neighbour as ourselves. Than these commandments there are none greater (Mar 12:28-31). John had in mind this word of his Lord.

(ii) But he also had in mind a natural law of human life. Family love is a part of nature. The child naturally loves his parents; and he just as naturally loves his brothers and sisters. The second part of 1Jo 5:1literally runs: "Everyone who loves him who begat, loves him who was begotten of him." Put much more simply that is: "If we love a father, we also love his child." John is thinking of the love which naturally binds a man to the father who begat him and to the other children whom the father has begotten.

John transfers this to the realm of Christian thought and experience. The Christian undergoes the experience of being reborn; the father is God; and the Christian is bound to love God for all that he has done for his soul. But birth is always into a family; and the Christian is reborn into the family of God. As it was for Jesus, so it is for him--those who do the will of God, as he himself does, become his mother, his sisters and his brothers (Mar 3:35). If, then, the Christian loves God the Father who begat him, he must also love the other children whom God has begotten. His love of God and his love of his Christian brothers and sisters must be parts of the same love, so closely interlocked that they can never be separated.

It has been put: "Man is not only born to love, he is also born to be loved." A. E. Brooke put it: "Everyone who has been born of God must love those who have been similarly ennobled."

Long before this the Psalmist had said that, "God gives the desolate a home to dwell in" (Psa 68:6). The Christian by virtue of his rebirth is set within the family of God and as he loves the Father, so must he also love the children who are of the same family as he is.

Barclay: 1Jo 5:3-4

John reverts to an idea which is never far from the surface of his mind. Obedience is the only proof of love. We cannot prove our love to anyone other than by seeking to please him and bring him joy.

Then John quite suddenly says a most surprising thing. God's commandments, he says, are not heavy. We must note two general things here.

He certainly does not mean that obedience to God's commandments is easy to achieve. Christian love is no easy matter. It is never an easy thing to love people whom we do not like or people who hurt our feelings or injure us. It is never an easy thing to solve the problem of living together; and when it becomes the problem of living together on the Christian standard of life, it is a task of immense difficulty.

Further, there is in this saying an implied contrast. Jesus spoke of the Scribes and Pharisees as "binding heavy burdens and hard to bear, and laying them on men's shoulders" (Mat 23:4). The Scribal and Pharisaic mass of rules and regulations could be an intolerable burden on the shoulders of any man. There is no doubt that John is remembering that Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Mat 11:30).

How then is this to be explained? How can it be said that the tremendous demands of Jesus are not a heavy burden? There are three answers to that question.

(i) It is the way of God never to lay a commandment on any man without also giving him the strength to carry it out. With the vision comes the power; with the need for it comes the strength. God does not give us his commandments and then go away and leave us to ourselves. He is there by our side to enable us to carry out what he has commanded. What is impossible for us becomes possible with God.

(ii) But there is another great truth here. Our response to God must be the response of love; and for love no duty is too hard and no task too great. That which we would never do for a stranger we will willingly attempt for a loved one. What would be an impossible sacrifice, if a stranger demanded it, becomes a willing gift when love needs it.

There is an old story which is a kind of parable of this. Someone once met a lad going to school long before the days when transport was provided. The lad was carrying on his back a smaller boy who was clearly lame and unable to walk. The stranger said to the lad, "Do you carry him to school every day?" "Yes," said the boy. "That's a heavy burden for you to carry," said the stranger. "He's no' a burden," said the boy. "He's my brother."

Love turned the burden into no burden at all. It must be so with us and Christ. His commandments are not a burden but a privilege and an opportunity to show our love.

Difficult the commandments of Christ are, burdensome they are not; for Christ never laid a commandment on a man without giving him the strength to carry it; and every commandment laid upon us provides another chance to show our love.

We must leave the third answer to our next section.

Constable: 1Jo 3:1--5:14

III. Living as children of God 3:1--5:13

"In the second division of this document (3:1-5:13) John concentrates on the developing spiritual life of his followers, rather than sustaining his attack on the heretics, some of whom have already seceded from his church (2:19). The latter, however, are still in view (cf. 3:4, 7; 4:1-6).

"John's teaching in this new section follows the same literary pattern as before. After an initial statement about the character of God as Father (3:1-3 [cf. 1:5-7]), a number of conditions are set out for living as God's children. These balance almost exactly the conditions for living in the light announced in the earlier chapters. . . . The following table makes the parallels clear:

"Live in the light (1:5-2:29)	Live as children of God (3:1-5:13)
(a) God is light	(a) God is Father
(b) 1st condition: renounce sin	(b) 1st condition: renounce sin
(c) 2nd condition: be obedient	(c) 2nd condition: be obedient
(d) 3rd condition: reject worldliness	(d) 3rd condition: reject worldliness
	(e) 4th condition: be loving
(f) 4th condition: keep the faith	(f) 5th condition: keep the faith."103

Constable: 1Jo 3:4--5:14

B. Conditions for Living as God's Children 3:4-5:13

Having stated the theme of this section of the epistle in 3:1-3 (cf. 1:5-7) John proceeded to develop his assertion that believers are the children of God through Jesus Christ.

"In the preceding section John has been stressing the importance of continuing in Christ, doing what is right, and purifying oneself in anticipation of his coming. Now he deals more closely with the negative side of all this, the need for believers to abstain from sin and the possibility of their doing so."¹¹¹

Constable: 1Jo 4:7--5:5

4. Practicing love 4:7-5:4

"By inserting this condition, John interrupts the symmetry which exists between the two halves of his letter . . .; for the idea of love' by itself is not given separate treatment in 1:5-2:29. However, the discussion of love at this point echoes the command to be obedient (by loving) considered at 2:3-11, and the parallel demand for obedient love which the writer sets out in 3:10-24. Indeed, the present section spells out precisely the nature of the love which is demanded from every believer, and may thus be viewed as an extension of the teaching contained in 2:3-11 and 3:10-24. Earlier, John has related the love command to the real light' which is already shining (2:8, 10), and to the eternal life' of which love is the evidence (3:14-15). Now he relates the requirement of Christian love to the very nature of God himself. We are to love as a response to God's own love, and to his loving activity in Christ and in the Church."¹⁴⁸

This pericope contains a comprehensive treatment of the nature of true love.

Constable: 1Jo 4:21--5:5

The command to love 4:21-5:4

4:21 Furthermore, God commanded us to love both Himself and our brothers, not just Himself (2:3; 3:23-24; 5:3). Here is another false claim (cf. 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9, 22; 5:10).

"Much verbal expression of devotion for the person of Christ can co-exist with remarkably un-Christian attitudes toward the people of Christ . . ."¹⁶⁰

"It is easy to have a kind of love for God which does not recognize the obligation to love one another. Such love for God falls short of being real love for him, since it fails to obey his commandments."¹⁶¹

5:1 The first part of this verse is one of the clearest statements in Scripture of what a person has to believe to be saved. We must believe that Jesus of Nazareth is "the Christ" (i.e., the Anointed One whom God promised to provide as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world).

Our brothers and sisters are those who believe that Jesus is the Christ. Even though we may have little in common with some Christians, we can still love them because we share the same Parent and are members of the same family.

5:2 We must love other Christians to be obedient to God's commandments. Genuine love for God will result in obedience to His commandments. This love expresses itself in action, not just emotion. We love other Christians best when we obey God.

5:3 The fundamental proof of love for God and man is obedience to the Word of God. This must include willingness to sacrifice for our brethren (cf. 3:10-17). It is very easy to test our love for God. How committed are we to being completely obedient to His will? That is the measure of our love.

Love for God and God's children is essentially obedience to God's commands. It is not so much how we feel about God and other believers but how we choose to relate to them that is crucial.

God's commands are not burdensome (oppressive, so as to crush love) because every believer has already exercised the faith in God that is essential for obedience (cf. Matt. 11:30; 1 John 4:4).

5:4 Every Christian has overcome the world by his or her initial faith in Jesus Christ. To continue to overcome and obey God all we need to do is continue to exercise faith in God (cf. Rom. 8:27; 1 Cor. 15:57).

College: 1Jo 5:1-21

1 JOHN 5

C. FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD (5:1-5)

¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

As John begins the fifth chapter, he starts with a moral and natural principle: the closeness of family. He goes back to a principle that he started in 4:7ff. This is the principle of God's family. In 4:7, he states that "everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." He is not claiming that all one has to do to be in the family of God is to have love. Many people who are not in the family of God certainly have love. Jesus had said, "Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). There is ample and adequate demonstration in the Scripture to show that the new birth occurs when one is baptized in the name of Jesus. We shall not take the time nor space here to argue this. But, being born of God involves more than just loving. Loving God and brother is more than just an emotional experience, or even a "doing good" experience. John makes clear in 5:2, "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands." Since God is the Father of the family and his very nature is love ("God is love," 4:16), then it is one of the family traits for us to love God and our brothers if we are a part of the family of God. This, I believe, is the nature of the argument that John is making in these first two verses.

5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,

Again, John is excluding those of the docetic persuasion in the gnostic movement from being in the family of God. They must believe in the incarnation [or "the coming in the flesh"] of Jesus. In the next several generations from when John is writing, this will become a very important element of Christology. This will be discussed in more than one of the Ecumenical Councils to come.

and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

As we have indicated earlier, there was evidently some great need in the church of John's day for the Christians to love one another. Otherwise, why would he emphasize it so often? If love is one of the familial traits in God's family, then each of his children will love God and love the brothers and the sisters, in God's family. You cannot love God without loving your brother. You cannot have one without the other. John reminds us that the way for us to become children of God is (1) by loving God; and (2) by carrying out his commands. His commands can be known by listening to the revelation of the Spirit of God. He was sent to bear witness to the message being taught. J.W. Roberts wrote, "John is actually saying, then, that the one continuing to believe that Jesus is the Christ (having become a Christian) continues to demonstrate by this that he has been begotten or is a child of God. Continuing in the status of a child of God depends on continued faith in Jesus." C.H. Dodd suggests that the word "father" in verse one need not be capitalized, which is the case in the NIV translation, it is a "general principle that if you love the parent you will love the child. (It is not necessary to give the 'father' a capital letter, for the writer is enunciating a general maxim: love me, love my child; although, of course, in the application which he gives it the parent is God and the child the Christian man.) the conclusion we expect is: therefore if you love God you will love your fellow Christian)."

5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

But, how can we know that we are loving the children of God? Not everyone is lovable in nature, and sometimes it is difficult for us to love someone. How, for example, can we love one who does us or our society wrong? John gives us an answer: by loving God and carrying out his commands . So it is not a blind or empty kind of love; it involves loving God first, for Jesus said that this was the first and greatest commandment (Matt 22:34-40).

5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands.

The kind of love that God expects from us is an obedient love. This should not surprise us, for Jesus is quoted by John as saying, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). And, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" (John 14:21). And, further he even calls us his friends if we obey him, "You are my friends if you do what I command" (John 15:14). John is interested here in showing the continuing relationship with Christ. Loving our brothers is not only a command, but it is an "ought" that is bound on Christians. As we have said before, one cannot command the emotional type of love, but the kind of love that represents God can be commanded.

And his commands are not burdensome,

We are to obey the commands of God. John insists that his commands are not burdensome . I like the comments that Lenski makes to this, "Is it a burden to believe in the Son of God who died in expiation of our sins (2:2; 3:23; 4:10)? There is no greater joy than this confidence and trust. Is it a burden to be called one of God's children (3:1), children of him who is love (4:8, 16), and for the love of him who first loved us (4:10) to love him and thus also his children even as he loves us, and as they love us? Can there be any greater joy than to stand in this circle of love, to have this love poured out upon us, to be warmed into answering love by this love? No; his commandments are not burdensome!" There is nothing that needs to be added to this. No, it is not burdensome. How can it be burdensome to respond to God's love?

5:4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

John now returns to one of the central arguments of this epistle: how to overcome the world, which includes overcoming the Gnostics' teaching that Jesus was not born of the flesh. God gives us the victory in Christ. Or, to express it more in the language of John, God has already given us the victory through Christ. When we are born again, at that moment we are given the victory. John is not teaching a salvation that cannot be lost. We can lose the victory by denying him who gave us the victory, namely, Jesus Christ. It is our faith that gives us the victory! As if we didn't get it the first time, John repeats this truth, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." For as long as I can remember, these statements have been some of the most awe-inspiring statements I know. Think of it! Our faith can and has overcome the world! All of Satan's dominion - the world - is under the power of him for whom we have dedicated our lives.

5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

In the opening verses of this chapter, John has suggested three things that characterize the children of God:

1) Those who have faith in the incarnation of Jesus Christ,

2) Those who love God and their brothers, and

3) Those who are obedient to the commands of God.

He concluded his characterization of God's children by saying, Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God will overcome the world. This is a bridge statement between what has gone before and what comes next.

D. THE THREE WITNESSES (5:6-12)

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the ^a Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

^a 7,8 Late manuscripts of the Vulgate testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that testify on earth: the (not found in any Greek manuscript before the sixteenth century)

The subject addressed by John here is that of "witnesses" or "testimony." He began his epistle with the subject of "witnesses" and now he is bringing it to a close with the same subject. He began by discussing, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched" (1 John 1:2). He has declared that "we" (whoever the "we" refers to) have truly witnessed the historical Jesus, the one who has become incarnate. What greater witness can one have than to have heard, seen, and touched, that which has existed from the beginning: the "we" may be the original twelve apostles, some of the Christians to whom John was writing, or another group which make up the "we." I have stated earlier that it is my view that the "we" were those who originally saw him in the flesh, perhaps the apostles. For John's argument, it really does not make a great difference, for if there were three or more, this satisfied the legal requirements of the Law of Moses to make a declaration. Moses had declared many years before, "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Deut 19:15). Jesus was evidently alluding to this when he was discussing how we should treat matters with our brothers. "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matt 18:15-17).

John refers to multiple "witnesses" to Jesus' reality in the opening verses of this epistle. And, in the verses we are currently looking at, he is evidently conscious of the three witnesses. As noted in the footnote, some of these words are not in the NIV and other more modern translations, because they do not appear in some of the earliest manuscripts. Marshall has a good insight into this topic. It does no damage to the argument John is making nor to the overall truth of Scripture for these words not to be included in our texts.

John has made the argument (v. 4), "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." From the context, we can correctly assume that John is discussing "faith" in the incarnation, or the bodily reality, of Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly striking out at the gnostic Docetics, John further enhances his argument by stating, "Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (v. 5) truly overcomes the world.

5:6 This is the one who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.

But, who is this Jesus, the Son of God? John answers with this verse. To some readers, this is a vague passage. Marshall remarks,

We now have a closer definition of Jesus: the person I am writing about, says John, is the One who came by water and blood, namely Jesus Christ. To the modern reader this is a statement which obscures rather than clarifies the thought. Nevertheless, it was obviously meant to draw the readers' attention to facts which would act as convincing testimony (vv. 7f.) about the person of Jesus.

Cerinthus and other Gnostics would adamantly deny this, for they believed that Jesus was simply the naturally born son of Joseph and Mary. John is arguing that Jesus, on the other hand, was the divinely begotten Son of God born through a divine miracle of conception of Mary, Jesus' mother. But, what does John mean by saying that Jesus came from water and blood? Some would argue that this was referring to the physical birth, since in the mother's womb, the child is encased in water (or, amniotic fluid) and the blood involved in the birth of the child. This is not what John is arguing! In keeping with what is to follow, it seems obvious that John is discussing the water from the point of view that Jesus was baptized in water, and the blood from the point of view that Jesus shed his blood in his death. Both of these analogies would argue the physical reality of Jesus. The fact that he was baptized in water in the River Jordan seems clear enough that this was a physical activity. And, certainly, the shedding of blood is definitely proof that Jesus was truly human, as well as divine! It is necessary, according to John's treatment of the incarnation of God's Son, that both the water and the blood be involved in identifying him. John's opponents undoubtedly would accept the coming by "water," while they would deny the "coming by blood."

5:7 For there are three that testify: 5:8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

Now, we come to the focal argument of John. Keep in mind our discussion of witnesses and the Law of Moses' requirement of two or three witnesses needed to convict one of a crime. This is evidently a very important principle that John is using to convict the Gnostic false teachers of their sin of heresy. John has been very careful to establish the fact that there are at least three witnesses for the message he is presenting. Jesus was born of a virgin, was God's Son in the flesh, had died, arisen from the dead, and had manifested himself to them. The apostle Paul had declared the certainty of the resurrection of Christ's body from the dead, for he wrote,

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Cor 15:3-8).

Whether John was personally acquainted with these words written and declared by Paul, we do not know. But, he was surely acquainted with many appearances of Jesus. What a tremendous argument the early Christians had to certify that Jesus was truly the son of man and Son of God at the same time!

But John has yet to present his most powerful argument against the Docetists: the three witnesses in verses 7 and 8. Many of the witnesses that John could call to testify would die soon; some had already died, the same with the witnesses cited by Paul. But John introduces here three perpetual witnesses. The three witnesses John cites now will be with us until Jesus returns to forever prove the truth of his incarnation. These three witnesses are: the Spirit, the water, and the blood . These three witnesses, John wrote, are in agreement . The Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus asked his Father to send to his disciples after he had gone back to the Father (see John 14:26; 15:26; 16:5-11). From these references, we learn that the Spirit was to testify of him. He did this in many ways:

1) In their preaching,

2) In the signs and miracles the he brought them, and

3) In the inspiration which permitted the apostles to testify of him through the inspired Scriptures we have.

Every time that we read God's revelation found in the Scriptures, the Spirit is testifying that Jesus was born of the flesh and that he was fully God and fully mankind. The water, in like manner, testifies to the incarnation of Jesus. It speaks through baptism which is required of all who would believe Jesus. Every time that we see someone being baptized, that person is saying, in essence, "Watch me; my baptism testifies that I am dying to sin, that I am being buried as Jesus was, and that I am being raise from the dead." See Paul's discussion of baptism in Romans 6:1ff. The blood, which is the third witness testifies every time that a Christian eats the Lord's Supper. For, when we eat the bread and drink the cup we are saying to the world: "I am testifying to you that Jesus died and was buried for my sins, and I declare this by my partaking of the Communion." This argument by John is one of the strongest arguments I know to testify against the gnostic, docetic teaching.

5:9 We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

John mildly chastises those of us who will believe what men testify but who do not accept God's testimony. The testimony that God gives to us is stronger than any testimony mankind could give. First, it is the testimony of God! Should we not accept God's testimony simply because it is God's testimony? What else would we need than the assurance from God. Second, when we look at God's testimony, we have far greater evidence for its truth than we do for what mankind testifies to us. John, more than once, has given the two or three witnesses required by the Law of Moses; and then God has given us additional. Paul declared that more than five hundred had seen God's testimony. In the first chapter of 1 John, John declares that "we" have seen, heard, felt and experienced Jesus. The "we" to whom he refers is certainly more than two or three. So, we have more than ample reason to believe that God has given his Son through the incarnation to be our Savior.

5:10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.

John is giving great emphasis to the testimony of God. He mentions testimony at least eight times. And, now, he states that if one believes in God, he has this testimony in his heart. Some commentators would infer that God has given a special message into the heart of those who believe him. It is my understanding that this is not the force of his argument. I would be surprised if John would use that type of argument to the gnostic heretics since this is their argument: that God has given them a special knowledge. What John seems to be saying here is that it is in one's heart because believing has come from hearing, receiving, and obeying God's message. One who does not believe God is making God out to be a liar, because that person has not received nor believed in the testimony that God has provided.

5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

John now uses one of the greatest motivations for us to believe or accept God's testimony. God's testimony is greater than mankind's testimony. God's testimony is that God has given us eternal life . John is not indicating that this life eternal is ours regardless of what we may do in the future. We can so sin as to lose that life, but God has already given eternal life to us. Life eternal is a "here and now" possession, not a "there and then" promise. We already possess it!

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

The testimony that we have been given eternal life is based on our relation to the Son. If we accept and obey Jesus as the Son of God - both his human and divine character - then we have been given eternal life. We have already learned from our previous studies in this epistle that the gift to us is not a blind, meaningless gift. It depends on our faith, our love, and our obedience to his commands. John gave his assurance, He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

V. CONCLUDING REMARKS (5:13-21)

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. ¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. ¹⁹ We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

²¹ Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

John begins this last section with another of his "I write these things to you . . . ." We have discussed this in other parts of this commentary. John has been very careful to let his readers know why he is writing to them. In John's Gospel, he was clear in showing why he wrote to them: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30, 31). It is interesting to note how closely related are the purposes of writing the Gospel and in writing the epistle. Both are written so that we will know

1) That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

2) That all can have life by believing in him and obeying his commands, and

3) To love God and our brothers.

In John's Gospel, there is ample proof of the importance of love; and in this epistle one cannot mistake the importance of love.

5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

John reiterates the promises he has made before. If we approach God - that is, believe in him and his incarnated Son, love our brothers, and obey his commands - we will have assurance or boldness to know that we do have eternal life. We are children of God, and as children, we can "ask anything according to his will, and he hears us." Jesus expressed this same idea several times during his personal ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matt 7:7,8). In John's Gospel, Jesus promised, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given (John 15:7). What a promise!

5:15 And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.

All too often we have failed to believe that God answers prayer. He does not give anything to us that is against his will (see Jas 4:3). For example, he does not give salvation to those who do not love him; nor does he answer the prayer of those who refuse to obey him (Heb 5:9). But, John wrote, And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him. We should never ask that which is not in accordance with his plan of salvation nor what is against the nature of God. But, when we do ask, we had better believe that he will answer. Have you ever asked that God provide a cure for someone's illness and than been surprised when he answered you? We must leave room in our lives for trust in God's fulfillment of his promises.

5:16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.

This short section of 1 John is one of the most troublesome in the epistle. There are several theories that have arisen to explain the passage. However, in the light of the overall theme of the epistle, it seems to this author that only one of them satisfactorily explains it and we will consider it later. J.W. Roberts included three of these alternate interpretations, as he refers to them. They are:

(1) that sin unto death refers to a crime for which the authorities may exact the death penalty (e.g., murder which could be a capital offense; (2) that the sin is one that the church might punish with death by asking God to visit the sinner as he did Ananias and Sapphira as recorded in Acts 5, and (3) that the sin is one which causes the church to withdraw fellowship or excommunicate the sinner. But there is no confirmation for these meanings.

The troublesome expression here is "sin that leads to death" and "sin that does not lead to death," aJmartiva (ouj) proÉ" qavnaton ( hamartia [ou] pros thanaton , lit., "sin [not] toward death"). The word aJmartavnonta ( hamartanonta , "sinning," translated "commit" in the NIV) is present tense. What do they mean? What kind of sin is he referring to? Is he saying that there are some sins that God cannot forgive? There are some other references in the New Testament that we need to address before suggesting what this writer believes John intends. Jesus warned against the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit." "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:28, 29). "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit" is a very strong warning: they shall never be forgiven! This is a very dismal warning, but Jesus infers that if one ascribes to the Holy Spirit the works of Satan, then that person has cut himself off from God and would probably never be open to accept and honor God. Another strong reference against rejecting God comes in Hebrews. That writer stated, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace" (Heb 6:4-6). The key to this warning seems to lie in rejecting of, or crucifying of, the Son of God. If we cut off our relationship with Jesus Christ, there is nothing else, there is nobody else who can save us. This reference is parallel to Hebrews 10:26, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left." The Hebrew writer is dealing here with a different mindset of the sinner than some other references. The key to this is "deliberately keep on sinning" and "no sacrifice for sins is left." The Hebrew writer had devoted this book to those who were turning back from Christ and going back to the Law of Moses. He declares that there is no more sacrifice for sins if we reject Jesus. He is the last sacrifice; there will be no more!

John's reference to "sin unto death" (the older translations reflect the Greek construction more accurately than the NIV) seems to be a different situation. It is possible that John is using this language to indict those false teachers who were claiming that Jesus was not born in the flesh. Their sin would likely be "unto death," that is, until they died. These brothers had gone out from them. John does not name any specific sin as a "sin unto death." John does not use the article "the" in the Greek text, thus allowing the translation "sin unto death" rather than "the sin unto death." "Sin unto death" should be regarded as those sins from which no recovery is possible.

John is concerned here in this passage with a brother who commits "a sin that does not lead to death" (v. 16) which another brother sees him committing. If that sin is not "unto death" we should pray for the brother and God will give him life or forgiveness. John specifically states, I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death . He then directly refers to the sin that does not lead to death . He declares that there is sin that does not lead to death . What sin is, or whether there is a specific sin that leads to death, John does not tell us. But, he says, I am not saying that he should pray about that . This statement is difficult for us to interpret. There is definitely sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death. What that specific sin is, John does not say. However, undoubtedly those who were reading John's original letter surely would have known. This is the reason this writer associates the "sin unto death" as the rejection of the humanity of Jesus; hence, he seems to be directing his teaching to the gnostic Docetics about whom this entire letter is concerned.

5:17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

John sets about now to tell us what sin is. Wrongdoing , from adikia, which has the meaning of "unright living." He intensifies the meaning of this statement by stating that "all wrongdoing, or unrighteousness, is sin." Furthermore, he states that there is some wrongdoing that does not lead to death. (See previous discussion for more about "sin unto death."

5:18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

We have already seen that the one born of God does not live a life of sin (see comments on 1 John 3:6 and 9). Here, John adds another dimension to this concept. He says, the one who was born of God keeps him safe . This statement is a little ambivalent on first reading. He is not talking about "anyone born of God," but the "one born of God" undoubtedly referring to Jesus. He is the center of all of John's argument. The Docetics were dividing the church and spreading the heresy that Jesus was not God's Son, born of the virgin Mary. John says, this is the one who keeps the ones born of God safe. Jesus has conquered death, the last stronghold of Satan, and Satan cannot touch God's children. Believing that Jesus is the Son of God in the flesh, obeying his commands and loving the brothers is a shield against Satan.

5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

In his concluding remarks, John hits repeatedly on the theme that the Christian has knowledge that is directly contradictory to the mystical knowledge the Gnostic claimed. Christ brought to us both understanding of God's nature, and eternal life, because he not only came from God, but is the true God.

5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

The final exhortation by John, to keep away from idols, stands in for all that he has said earlier in the letter about walking in the light and not continuing to sin. Whether the particular form of this final instruction indicates a Gentile audience or not, idol worship was a problem that had plagued God's people throughout the history of the world. In the early days of the Ephesian church, before they "lost [their] first love" (Rev 2:4), the Ephesian Christians had been very conscientious in cutting themselves off from their old practices - so much so that it affected the city's economy as recorded in Acts 19. John's concern is that his "dear children" be just as conscientious that nothing take the place of the true God, revealed to us in the Word made Flesh (John 1:14).

QUESTIONS ON FIRST JOHN

Consider These as You Read 1 John 1:1-4

1. Is there "scientific" proof for the truth of the Christian gospel?

2. What does the use of the verbs of hearing, seeing, and handling indicate about the author's relationship to the incarnation?

3. What does John say is his two-fold purpose of writing (1 John 1:3-4)?

4. How does John's claim to sensory experience with the "word of life" answer the Gnostic problem?

5. What other New Testament writing begins with a similar prologue?

6. What do we know about the word (logos) from John's Gospel? (Read John 1:1-14.)

7. How does this writing become part of the fulfillment of John's Apostolic Commission? (Compare 1 John 1:2-3 and Acts 1:8.)

Questions for Review of 1 John 1:1-4

1. How are John's answers to the Gnostic problem relevant in our time?

2. What does "God In A Test Tube" mean? In what way does the experience of John with the Incarnate Word prove the fact of God's being? (See John 14:1-9.)

3. Whom among the twelve Apostles demanded "scientific proof" of the resurrection? (See John 20:24-25.)

4. Why does John say "That which" rather than "Whom" in 1 John 1:1?

5. Name some specific incidents in the life of Jesus which John could still see "in his mind's eye."

6. What specific incidents in John's relationship with Jesus gave him opportunity to actually touch him?

7. What are John's qualifications to write this message?

8. What difference does the Incarnation make in the means by which we may understand life?

9. What is the key word of 1 John?

10. What is the real meaning of the word "fellowship" as used by the New Testament writers?

11. With whom do we have fellowship on the basis of the Apostolic witness to the Incarnation according to 1 John 1:3?

12. Does John write to bring people into the fellowship or to maintain those who are already in it?

13. What does the meaning of fellowship teach us about the necessity of the incarnation? (Cf. Hebrews 2:14-18.)

14. In addition to his concern that his readers remain in the fellowship of the Father and the Son, what is John's personal reason for this writing?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 1:5

1. Why does John change from the neuter "that which" of the prologue to the masculine "him?"

2. What does John mean by "light?"

3. What does John mean by "darkness?"

4. What are the practical implications of this verse for the Christian life?

Questions for Review of 1 John 1:5

1. What is the basis of John's argument in 1 John?

2. What statement by John summarizes the entire ministry of Jesus, including both his actions and teachings?

3. Describe the glory of God. (Read Exodus 24:17; 40:34 and 1 Kings 8:11.)

4. What did the oriental mystery cults teach about light and darkness?

5. What did the Greek and Roman religions teach about light and darkness?

6. When John says "God is light," does he agree or disagree with the pagan religions of the day? Explain.

7. What three "tests of life" constitute the framework of 1 John?

8. What does the light of God reveal about personal sin?

9. What is love in John's writings? What does love give and why?

10. How does John know God is light?

11. How does the truth revealed by Jesus differ from truth in other areas of investigation? How is it similar?

12. What gives meaning to truth discovered by man in the areas of science and the humanities?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 1:6-7

1. How is it possible for sinful men to "walk in the light as he is in the light?"

2. Why does John say ". . . we do not live by the truth," instead of saying ". . . we are not telling the truth?"

3. Why does John change from ". . . have fellowship with him" in verse 6 to ". . . have fellowship one with another . . ." in verse 7?

Questions for Review of 1 John 1:6-7

1 . What are two practical results of walking in the light as he is in the light?

2. How does the light of God come into our lives?

3. Why do men refuse to walk in this light (John 3:16-21)?

4. How is the same truth contrasted in these two verses?

5. Does "walking in the light" imply moral perfection equal to that of God? Explain.

6. How is the truth of 1 John 1:6 related to that of John 14:6?

7. To walk in the light as he is in the light is to ____________ .

8.What does God's light in Christ reveal about personal guilt?

9. Why are men at war with one another?

10. To leave the fellowship of those who walk in the light results in broken fellowship also with __________________ .

11. The first thing the gospel message says to anyone is what?

12. How does the life of Jesus reveal the guilt of others?

13. What purifies us from all sin?

14. What is meant by the statement, "Nothing could be more diametrically opposed to the Gnostic than John's statement about the blood?" How is this the most "anti-Gnostic" terminology possible?

15. How is the summary statement of 1 John 1:6-7 relevant to the religious atmosphere of our day?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 1:8- 2:6

1. Is it possible for a child of God to sin?

2. What should a Christian do if he does sin?

3. What are the consequences of claiming we do not sin?

4. What is the relationship of Jesus now to a Christian who does sin?

5. What does it mean to "know" God?

6. Does the claim to know God in any way obligate the one making the claim?

7. What is the intended end of God's love to man?

Questions for Review of 1 John 1:8-2:6

1. What does the claim not to sin reveal about the sincerity of the one making the claim (1 John 1:8)?

2. What does "if we confess our sins" mean (1 John 1:9)?

3. What is the attitude toward God of one who claims he has not sinned (1 John 1:10)?

4. Why does John say he is writing these things (1 John 2:1)?

5. If one should sin, we have an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Explain.

6. Jesus is our propitiation for our sin (1 John 2:2). Explain.

7. In what sense is Jesus also a propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2; compare 1 John 2:5)?

8. How does 1 John 2:3 challenge the claim of the Gnostic to special knowledge of God?

9. How is keeping God's commands evidence that we know him (1 John 2:4)?

10. How does the love of God reach its intended end in the life of the individual believer (1 John 2:5)?

11. What does it mean to "walk as Jesus walked" (1 John 2:6)?

12. What is the moral obligation of one who claims to know God (1 John 2:6)?

13. State in your own words, in a single sentence, the first test presented in 1 John whereby we may assure ourselves that we have eternal life.

Consider These as You Read 1 John 2:7-17

1. The relationship between spiritual darkness and hatred.

2. The relationship between light and love.

3. How a command can be both new and old.

4. How our relationship to our brothers in Christ indicates our relationship to God.

5. How the proper direction of love is essential to life.

6. Why one cannot love God and the world at once.

Questions for Review of 1 John 2:7-17

1. 1 John 2:7-11

a. To what command does John refer in vv. 7 & 8?

b. How can this command be both new and old?

c. What is the significance of "Dear friends" in v. 7?

d. Explain why John here commands to love our brothers rather than our enemies. (Compare v. 5.)

e. What is the source of brotherhood?

f. How is the absence of love proof that one is "walking in darkness?"

g. What are two possible interpretations of v. 10?

h. Which of these two seems most likely to be John's real meaning? Support your answer.

2. 1 John 2:12-14

a. What is one possible explanation of John's repetition in these verses?

b. Of what blessing is the new Christian likely to be most aware?

c. What is the significance of John's writing to the older men of the church "because you have known him who is from the beginning?"

d. Why does John address the young men, "Because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one?"

3. 1 John 2:15-17

a. What is the meaning of "love" as John uses it here?

b. What is the basis for the conclusion, "Man must love something?"

c. What three classifications does John use for the "things of the world?"

d. What is the meaning of "the cravings of sinful man" (v. 16)?

e. What is the meaning of "the lust of his eyes?"

f. What is the meaning of "boasting of what he has and does?"

g. If there is nothing essentially wrong with these things, why does John demand that we not love them?

h. What is the result of loving God?

i. What is the result of loving the things of the world?

j. How does the statement that a Christian has "passed away" reflect fuzzy thinking about the results of love?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 2:18-28

1. How our faith in Jesus as God's only Son is evidence that we are in fellowship with God.

2. What is the meaning of antichrist?

3. What does our anointing from the Holy Spirit have to do with the truth that Jesus is the Christ?

4. Who are those who "went out from us?"

5. How does the promise of eternal life relate to our holding fast the message of the gospel?

6. How does being mindful of our anointing keep us from denying Jesus?

Questions for Review of 1 John 2:18-28

1. What is the significance of the fact that there is no "the" with last hour ( v. 18)?

2. What is the purpose of 1 John?

3. What do the terms "last hour" and "last day" seem to indicate in pre-Christian usage?

4. In what sense may the entire Christian era be considered a last hour?

5. What light do Acts 2:16ff and Galatians 3:6-29 throw on John's discussion of a last hour in connection with the Christian's anointing of the Holy Spirit?

6. What is the literal meaning of the word "Christ?"

7. If one is against Christ, is he not opposed to all those who are anointed of God?

8. Who, besides Jesus, may be called "anointed ones?"

9. Does the Bible anywhere identify antichrist with the "Man of Sin?"

10. If the coming of Christ is the beginning of a last hour, is not the coming of those who oppose him and his anointed ones also proof of the same?

11. Are there antichrists in the world today? Explain.

12. What proves that the antichrists were not "of us" ( v. 19)?

13. What is the relationship of the church to the presence of Christ on earth today ( v. 20)?

14. Who receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit?

15. Is "scholarship" to be feared by the uneducated Christian? Explain ( v. 21).

16. What is the decisive proof of falsehood ( vv. 22-23)?

17. Can one claim honestly to know God as Father while denying the deity of Jesus?

18. Who first presented the idea that God is Father?

19. What is the condition of eternal life presented by John in this passage ( vv. 24-25)?

20. What is the standard by which all truth is determined?

21. What is the relationship between knowledge of God and presence of eternal life?

22. How does the awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit make the denial of Christ less likely?

23. Who has most reason to be afraid and ashamed in the presence of Jesus ( v. 28)?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 2:29

1. The meaning of righteous and righteousness.

2. The relationship of divine sonship to personal righteousness in terms of cause and effect.

3. How righteousness is an unavoidable test of truth for the claim to be a son of God.

Questions for Review of 1 John 2:29

1. In the first cycle of tests presented in 1 John, the author tests fellowship with God as ____________ .

2. In the present cycle of tests, introduced in 1 John 2:29, he tests fellowship with God as _________________ .

3. In testing fellowship as walking in the light, the proof lies in our _____________________ .

4. In testing fellowship as divine sonship, the proof lies in our outward ____________________ .

5. The outward test of personal righteousness corresponds to our attitude toward ______________ .

6. The outward test of behavior toward our brothers corresponds to our inward attitude of ______________ for them.

7. Our open confession of Jesus as the Christ corresponds to our inward _________________ .

8. In 1 John 2:29, the idea of ________________ is introduced for the first time in 1 John.

9. What is the proof presented in 1 John 2:29 as the natural result of having been born of God?

10. What is the meaning of righteousness as used in this verse?

11. What is the difference between the righteousness practiced by the sons of God and the subjective "goodness" of the "new morality?"

Consider These as You Read 1 John 3:1-3

1. What "manner of love" has God shown us?

2. Why does the world not know the sons of God?

3. How will "seeing him as he is" transform us to become like him?

Questions for Review of 1 John 3:1-3

1. Compare 1 John 3:1 with John 3:16.

2. Eternal life, here tested as divine sonship, results from the same _____________________ .

3. Not just Calvary, but the entire _________________ brought God's love to bear upon our need.

4. The contemporary countrymen of Jesus rejected him because they could not accept a ____________________ as God's Son.

5. The Gnostic could accept the humanity of Jesus without rejecting his _________________ .

6. How does the modern "pseudo-intellectual" rejection of the deity of Jesus follow the same pattern as that of the Jews and the Gnostics?

7. What is John's constant reaction to the awareness that he is a son of God?

8. How is this amazement contrasted to the modern philosophy of the "fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man?"

9. Brotherhood results from common ____________________ .

10. To become a child of God one must __________________ (John 1:12).

11. When does eternal life begin?

12. When do we begin to be the sons of God?

13. What light does 1 Corinthians 15:35 shed on 1 John 3:2?

14. How does the awareness of present sonship and future glory affect the lives of the children of God?

15. Is one a child of God because he is righteous, or is righteousness the result of divine sonship?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 3:4-10

1. If we are not under law, how is sin considered lawlessness?

2. Is it impossible for a child of God to sin?

3. How does the "seed" of God remain in the child of God?

4. Who are the children of the devil?

5. What is the basic moral contrast between the life of sin and the life of divine Sonship?

Questions for Review of 1 John 3:4-10

1. All sin is contrary to God's authority. Explain.

2. God's original plan was to have a family of children who were ___________ and without ___________ (Ephesians 1:4).

3. To be without blemish is to be ____________ as a result of holiness.

4. The opposite of holiness is _______________ .

5. Lawlessness always results in _________________ behavior.

6. What is the difference between paternity and fatherhood?

7. The purpose for which Christ came is stated two ways in this passage. What are they?

8. Who was originally responsible for the accomplishment of God's purpose in man?

9. How does the character of Jesus demonstrate the need for righteousness in the lives of God's children?

10. What is the secret of Jesus' sinless life?

11. Total commitment always issues in a ________________ life.

12. What does John mean by "remaining in him?"

13. Righteousness to John is not theory but ________________ .

14. What is the origin of all sin?

15. Does the Bible attempt to prove there is a devil?

16. What is the basis upon which Jesus said some are children of the devil (John 8:44)?

17. What is the origin of righteousness?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 3:11-24

1. What is the relation of command to love (3:11) and to God as light (1:5) since both are presented as summary of the divine message?

2. How does the first murder demonstrate the effect of hate on the one hating?

3. Can a Christian ever be liked by the world? Explain. (Compare 1 John 3:13 and Acts 2:47.)

4. When do Christians pass from death to life?

5. How can one be a murderer without killing anyone?

6. What is the relationship of love to need?

7. How do one's actions prove or disprove one's claim to divine sonship?

8. Should a Christian ever feel guilty to the point of self-condemnation?

9. Why are so many prayers seemingly unanswered?

10. What is Christian behavior in matters where there is no express command from God?

11. How does the experience of answered prayer have any bearing on John's argument that Jesus is indeed the Christ?

12. How does the habit of believing Christ and loving our brothers affirm the deity of Christ?

13. How does the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives affirm the deity of Christ?

Questions for Review of 1 John 3:11-24

1. The second summary of the message of the incarnation in 1 John 3:11 is ________________________ .

2. It is the nature of the life which we have in Christ to become a source of ____________ to others.

3. This is accomplished when we __________________ .

4. How does the murder of Abel by Cain demonstrate that the world is prone to hate those who practice righteousness?

5. The confrontation of righteousness by unrighteousness normally results in ___________________________ .

6. Because love is obedience to God it is also _____________ .

7. When does a Christian "pass from death to life?"

8. Do we love because we have eternal life, or do we have eternal life because we love?

9. Hate is the absence of ___________ just as ________________ is the absence of light.

10. The word translated "hate" in 1 John 3:15 means ______________ .

11. Failure to love is proof of the absence of _______________ .

12. How does the world become aware of love as we know it in Christ?

13. How do we demonstrate divine love in such a way that it is recognizable?

14. Just as he brought eternal life in the presence of our need, so we are to give in the presence of temporal needs.

15. Does giving what we can afford demonstrate divine love? Explain.

16. Many will be surprised in the judgment, who expect to be saved, because they have not learned to give rather than _________________________ .

17. How may we have assurance before God, even when our hearts condemn us?

18. Explain the statement, "No Christian has any right to a guilt complex."

19. One of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is realized forgiveness. Explain this statement in light of 1 John 3:20.

20. The only basis upon which one's heart can fail to condemn him is ______________________ .

21. The experience of answered prayer is evidence of ________________ according to 1 John 3:22.

22. What conditions must be present in our lives in order to pray effectively?

23. Why does the term "father" not suggest authority to us today?

24. Which is more important, the question, "Who is Jesus?" Or our personal belief in the answer, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God?"

25. _________________________ is still the only hope of healing the divisions caused by false teaching.

26. How does the anointing of the Spirit demonstrate that we are in the Christ?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 4:1-6

1 How does the presence of the Spirit prove we have been born of God?

2. Are there preachers (or prophets) who deliberately and knowingly preach what they know to be false?

3. Are men today as conscious of the "spirit world" as they were in the first century?

4. Is the Spirit not as active in the church today as in John's time?

5. When one denies Jesus as Christ, what is he actually denying?

6. Why will false teachers not listen to truth?

7. If people have a faulty concept of life and reality, are they beyond the preaching of the gospel to them is useless?

Questions for Review of 1 John 4:1-6

1. What is the meaning of the phrase "of God" or "from God" as used in this passage of 1 John ?

2. At what point does Christian tolerance become gullibility?

3. How do you account for the fact that the outward demonstration of the Spirit was more evident in the first century church than today?

4. What is the test by which we are to "prove the spirits to see whether they are of God?"

5. What is the primary work of a prophet?

6. Why do prophets often refer to future events in revealing the present will of God?

7. What does John's test prove about the claim of modern liberals that the Ecumenical Movement is led by the Spirit of God? Explain.

8. Does the fact of spiritual activity prove that the activity originates in God? What is the test of divine origin for such activity?

9. To recognize Jesus as Messiah is to recognize him as ____________ and ____________ .

10. As Prophet, how does the Christ function?

11. As Priest, how does the Christ function?

12. As King, how does the Christ function?

13. What is the difference between confessing that Jesus as Christ came as flesh and confessing simply that Jesus is the Christ?

14. The man, Jesus, whom we confess as Christ, is not of human origin. Explain.

15. John 1:1 teaches three things about Jesus that have a direct bearing on the confession here presented as a test of false teaching. What are those three things?

16. In order to accomplish the purpose of God in man, Jesus _______________ with his own blood.

17. To do this he became flesh, thus _________________ with those he came to redeem.

18. It is in the capacity of divine Redeemer that he voluntarily submitted himself to learn ______________ .

19. To be recognized as originating in God, to be Christian, the message of a prophet must _______________ .

20. Why does John refer to the spirit of antichrist as "it" rather than "he?"

21. What is meant by the statement, "The children of God have the assistance of God himself . . . whereas the false prophets are "on their own?"

Consider These as You Read 1 John 4:7-12

1. How can John say "everyone who loves has been born of God," and then refer to Jesus as "his one and only Son?"

2. How is the practice of loving evidence of knowing God?

3. How can John say "God is light" (1 John 1:5) and then say "God is love" in this passage?

4. How is God's love for us related to our loving one another?

5. What is the end perfection of God's love?

Questions for Review of 1 John 4:7-12

1. Why does John say we are to love one another?

2. What is the source of Christian love?

3. God learned what it is like to be human through ________________________ .

4. The experience by which we get to know "what it is like to be God" is the experience of _______________ .

5. Name experiences that are common to both God and man.

6. Loving your brothers proves that we are _______________ .

7. Does John say that love is God? Explain.

8. What evidence is there in 1 John 4:9-10 that John is familiar with the virgin birth of Jesus?

9. Jesus is God's Son by _____________________________ while we may become God's sons through _______________ .

10. How do you reconcile the claim "Jesus is God as man" with the statement, "Jehovah, he is God, there is none other than he alone?"

11. The term "Son of God" applied to Jesus describes _____________________ .

12. Why did Jesus become a man?

13. What is the only way in which God can become a man and still be God?

14. Our acceptance of God's love for us carries with it the moral obligation to _______________ .

15. One who does not love has no ______________ .

16. The love of God reaches its intended end when God __________________ .

17. Evidence of God in us is that we _______________ .

18. The ultimate knowledge that man can have of God comes from the experience of ________________ .

Consider These as You Read 1 John 4:13-16

1. How the Spirit of God in us is evidence that we are in him and he in us.

2. The significance of John's reference here to his eyewitness experience with Jesus.

3. How confession of Jesus as the Son of God is evidence we are in God and God in us.

4. How love can be the object of belief.

5. Why John repeats here what he has already said in 1 John 4:8, that "God is love."

Questions for Review of 1 John 4:13-16

1. What are two alternatives concerning John's reference in v. 13 to "the Spirit he has given us?"

2. What is the essential testimony of the Spirit?

3. To what does John appeal in v. 14 as the basis of his claim that Jesus is God's Son and the Savior of the world?

4. What are the tests by which phenomena of the past are established as historical?

5. How does the resurrection prove the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God and Savior of the world?

6. Does the resurrection, as recorded in the New Testament, meet the tests of historicity? Explain your answer.

7. Can you suggest other events in the life of Jesus which may be put to the same test?

8. What is meant by "the area where the experience of God and the experience of man merge?"

9. The love which we share with God was first brought to light by ______________________ .

10. In what way is the love of God said to be the object of the Christian's faith?

11. Is John here discussing the means by which we come to salvation? Explain your answer.

12. Can the "steps to salvation" contradict the evidences that we are indeed in a saving relationship to God? Explain.

Consider These as You Read 1 John 4:17-5:3

1. What is the relationship of obedience to righteousness?

2. What is the relationship of righteousness to love?

3. Why do Christians love their brothers in Christ?

4. Who is my brother in Christ?

5. How may I know that I am fulfilling the command to love my brother?

Questions for Review of 1 John 4:17-5:3

1. How is righteousness said to be a demonstration of love?

2. What is the intended end of our love for our brothers?

3. Does one who loves his brother fear death? Explain.

4. Is the preaching of love "soft pedaling" the gospel? Explain.

5. What is the one command of God which cannot be counterfeited?

6. What is the difference between these two statements:

(a) "I love him because he first loved me."

(b) "I love because he first loved me?"

7. How can I identify my Christian brother? Explain.

8. Is there a difference between "being begotten" and "being born," in terms of entrance into the family of God?

9. Explain the meaning of "regeneration."

10. Explain why the teaching that baptism is essential to salvation is not the same as teaching salvation by works.

11. Faith is always ____________________ .

12. Divine love in God's children is not recognized by feeling but by _________________ .

13. If we learn to love our brothers, and practice this love, we may even learn to ____________________ .

14. Explain how God's commands are not burdensome to one who loves him.

Consider These as You Read 1 John 5:4-12

1. What does John mean by "overcome the world?"

2. How does faith that Jesus is the Christ enable one to overcome the world?

3. How does the Spirit testify that Jesus is the Son of God?

4. What should be the Bible believer's attitude toward textual problems such as the one found in some versions of 1 John 5:7b?

5. What has God testified concerning his Son?

6. Is it possible to have eternal life and not believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God? Explain your answer.

7. Is it possible to not call Jesus "Lord" and have eternal life?

Questions for Review of 1 John 5:4-12

1. Why is the statement concerning the three witnesses which is found in the King James Version of 1 John omitted from more recent versions (v. 7)?

2. Why are the commands of God not burdensome to the children of God?

3. What is the source of victorious power in the life of a Christian which is not available to the world?

4. How does the life of the "average church member" today support the doctrine of Karl Marx that "religion is the opiate of the people?"

5. Give a definition of "faith" as John uses it in 1 John 5:4.

6. Explain the statement, "The sons of God are not the victims of circumstance."

7. Is faith just a positive attitude toward life?

8. One form of Gnosticism called Cerenthic claimed that whatever was divine about Jesus came upon him at ________________ and left him at ______________ .

9. What is John's answer to this claim?

10. The Spirit and the water and the blood all testify to one thing. What is the purpose of their testimony?

11. In our day, the testimony of the Spirit includes what?

12. How does the Spirit testify of Jesus' presence in our own lives?

13. In order for rationalism to destroy belief in the deity of Jesus it must first destroy the ______________ of Scripture.

14. The person who does not believe in the deity of Jesus as the incarnate Son of God has made the Spirit a ___________ .

15. Real victory over the world comes from faith which gives us a constant awareness of ____________ .

16. A great deal of our failure to overcome the world comes from our inability to keep to ________________ .

17. To have victory over the world is to make ____________ the master and _________________ the servant.

18. How does our giving to the church aid in our overcoming the world in our personal lives?

Consider These as You Read 1 John 5:13-21

1. How does one remove the "maybes" concerning his hope of eternal life?

2. What is the source of confidence in prayer?

3. If no one who is born of God sins, why does John ask that we pray for a brother when we see him sinning?

4. What is "the sin that leads to death?"

5. Does 1 John 5:18 support the doctrine of "eternal security?"

6. How is idolatry related to the danger of Gnosticism against which this letter was written?

Questions for Review of 1 John 5:13-21

1. In addition to our experience in Christian living, we also may rely upon _____________ to confirm the certainty of eternal life.

2. What is John's reason for writing 1 John, as stated in his own words?

3. How does this reason for writing correspond with his reason for writing the fourth Gospel?

4. Can man ever cease to be created in the image of God? What meaning does this give to eternal life?

5. Eternal life is that kind of life that finds its fullest expression in __________________ .

6. While life identified with this present world produces _____________ , eternal life produces _______________ . (Cf. Galatians 3:20-ff.)

7. Believing "into the name" of the Son of God means ____________ .

8. Name five limitations which John places upon prayer.

9. What is the single exception to the certainty of prayer which meets these limitations?

10. Why does John discuss the certainty of prayer in this letter which deals with the evidences of eternal life?

11. What does the Bible teach about the "unpardonable sin?"

12. What does John mean by "sinning sin toward death?"

13. "Continuing to sin" describes a _____________ rather than a ________________ .

14. List three distinct certainties upon which the child of God can stake his eternal life.

15. What is meant by "understanding" in 1 John 5:20?

16. A Christian not only does his best to avoid sin, he relies upon ________________ to make up the difference between what he does and what he ought to do.

17. How is the danger of idolatry even more dangerous now than when John wrote?

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Commentary -- Other

Contradiction: 1Jo 5:1

96. Is it that everyone sins (1 Kings 8:46; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8-10), or do some not sin (1 John 3:1, 8-9; 4:7; 5:1)?

(Category: misunderstood the Greek usage & Imposes his own agenda)

This apparent contradiction asks: 'Does every man sin?' Then a number of Old Testament passages that declare this are listed followed by one New Testament passage from 1 John 1:8-10:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

After this it is claimed by Shabbir that: 'True Christians cannot possibly sin, because they are children of God.' This is followed by a number of passages from the First Epistle of John showing that Christians are children of God. Shabbir is here imposing his view on the text, assuming that those who are children of God, somehow suddenly have no sin. It is true that a person who is born of God should not habitually practice sin (James 2:14ff), but that is not to say that they will not occasionally fall into sin, as we live in a sinful world and impinged by it.

The last of the verses quoted is from 1 John 3:9 which says:

"No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."

Shabbir in his quote uses an older translation for 1 John 3:9 and so states, "No one born of God commits sin...and he cannot sin...," which is not a true translation of the Greek. In the newer translations, such as the NIV they translate correctly using the present continuous in this verse, as it is written that way in the Greek. Thus those born of God will not continue to sin, as they cannot go on sinning..., the idea being that this life of sinning will die out now that he has the help of the Holy Spirit in him or her.

It is interesting how Shabbir jumps around to make his point. He begins with 1 John 1, then moves to 1 John 3-5, then returns to the 1 John 1 passage at the beginning of the Epistle and re-quotes verse 8, which speaks of all men sinning, with the hope of highlighting the seeming contradiction. There is no contradiction in this as Shabbir obviously hasn't understood the apostle's letter or grasped the fact that the letter develops its theme as it goes on. Therefore quoting from the beginning of the letter, then moving to the middle of the letter, and finally returning to the beginning of the letter is not the way to read a letter.

The Scriptures clearly teach that all men have sinned except for one, the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore we have no quarrel with Shabbir on this point. As to Shabbir's second point I am glad he has come to realize that Christians are children of God therefore we have no quarrel with him on this subject.

It is Shabbir's third point, however, which is a contentious one because it does not take on board the development of the themes of the letter, of which the one pointed out here is the call to holiness and righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ's atoning death. It is for that reason that we are called not to continue in our sinful ways but to be changed into Christ's sinless likeness. In his attempt to show an apparent contradiction Shabbir has mischievously rearranged the order in which the verses were intended to be read in order to force a contradiction, which doesn't exist.

Evidence: 1Jo 5:1

New birth—its necessity for salvation . See Joh 1:13 .

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 1 John (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

ABOUT a.d. 85 TO 90

By Way of Introduction

Relation to the Fourth Gospel

There are few scholars who deny that the Epistles of John and the Fourth Gospel are by the same writer. As a matter of fact " in the whole of the First Epistle there is hardly a single thought that is not found in the Gospel" (Schulze). H. J. Holtzmann ( Jahrbuch fur Protestantische Theologie , 1882, P. 128) in a series of articles on the " Problem of the First Epistle of St. John in its Relation to the Gospel" thinks that the similarities are closer than those between Luke’s Gospel and the Acts. Baur argued that this fact was explained by conscious imitation on the part of one or the other, probably by the author of the Epistle. The solution lies either in identity of authorship or in imitation. If there is identity of authorship, Holtzmann argues that the Epistle is earlier, as seems to me to be true, while Brooke holds that the Gospel is the earlier and that the First Epistle represents the more complete ideas of the author. Both Holtzmann and Brooke give a detailed comparison of likenesses between the First Epistle and the Fourth Gospel in vocabulary, syntax, style, ideas. The arguments are not conclusive as to the priority of Epistle or Gospel, but they are as to identity of authorship. One who accepts, as I do, the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel for the reasons given in Volume V of this series, does not feel called upon to prove the Johannine authorship of the three Epistles that pass under the Apostle’s name. Westcott suggests that one compare John 1:1-18 with 1Jo_1:1-4 to see how the same mind deals with the same ideas in different connections. " No theory of conscious imitation can reasonably explain the subtle coincidences and differences in these two short crucial passages."

Gnosticism

The Epistle is not a polemic primarily, but a letter for the edification of the readers in the truth and the life in Christ. And yet the errors of the Gnostics are constantly before John’s mind. The leaders had gone out from among the true Christians, but there was an atmosphere of sympathy that constituted a subtle danger. There are only two passages (1Jo_2:18.; 1Jo_4:1-6) in which the false teachers are specifically denounced, but " this unethical intellectualism" (Robert Law) with its dash of Greek culture and Oriental mysticism and licentiousness gave a curious attraction for many who did not know how to think clearly. John, like Paul in Colossians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles, foresaw this dire peril to Christianity. In the second century it gave pure Christianity a gigantic struggle. " The great Gnostics were the first Christian philosophers" (Robert Law, The Tests of Life , p. 27) and threatened to undermine the Gospel message by " deifying the devil" (ib., p. 31) along with dethroning Christ. There were two kinds of Gnostics, both agreeing in the essential evil of matter. Both had trouble with the Person of Christ. The Docetic Gnostics denied the actual humanity of Christ, the Cerinthian Gnostics distinguished between the man Jesus and the aeon Christ that came on him at his baptism and left him on the Cross. Some practised asceticism, some licentiousness. John opposes both classes in his Epistles. They claimed superior knowledge ( gnōsis ) and so were called Gnostics ( Gnōstikoi ). Nine times John gives tests for knowing the truth and uses the verb ginōskō (know) each time (1Jo_2:3, 1Jo_2:5; 1Jo_3:16, 1Jo_3:19, 1Jo_3:24; 1Jo_4:2, 1Jo_4:6, 1Jo_4:13; 1Jo_5:2). Some of the leaders he calls antichrists. There are stories about John’s dread of Cerinthus and his unwillingness to be seen in the same public bath with him. The Apostle of love, as he is, is a real son of thunder when Gnosticism shows its head. Westcott thinks that the Fourth Gospel was written to prove the deity of Christ, assuming his humanity, while 1 John was written to prove the humanity of Christ, assuming his deity. Certainly both ideas appear in both books.

Destination

It is not clear to whom the Epistle is addressed. Like the Gospel, the Epistle of John came out of the Asiatic circle with Ephesus as the centre. Augustine has the strange statement that the Epistle was addressed to the Parthians. There are other ingenious conjectures which come to nothing. The Epistle was clearly sent to those familiar with John’s message, possibly to the churches of the Province of Asia (cf. the Seven Churches in Revelation).

The Date

The time seems to be considerably removed from the atmosphere of the Pauline and Petrine Epistles. Jerusalem has been destroyed. If John wrote the Fourth Gospel by a.d. 95, then the First Epistle would come anywhere from a.d. 85 to 95. The tone of the author is that of an old man. His urgent message that the disciples, his " little children," love one another is like another story about the aged John, who, when too feeble to stand, would sit in his chair and preach " Little children, love one another." The Muratorian Fragment accepts the First Epistle and Origen makes full use of it, as does Clement of Alexandria. Irenaeus quotes it by name. Polycarp shows knowledge of it also.

JFB: 1 John (Book Introduction)

AUTHORSHIP.--POLYCARP, the disciple of John [Epistle to the Philippians, 7], quotes 1Jo 4:3. EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39] says of PAPIAS, a hearer of John, and a friend of POLYCARP, "He used testimonies from the First Epistle of John." IRENÆUS, according to EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 5.8], often quoted this Epistle. So in his work Against Heresies [3.15; 5, 8] he quotes from John by name, 1Jo 2:18, &c.; and in [3.16,7], he quotes 1Jo 4:1-3; 1Jo 5:1, and 2Jo 1:7-8. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 2.66, p. 464] refers to 1Jo 5:16, as in John's larger Epistle. See other quotations [Miscellanies, 3.32,42; 4.102]. TERTULLIAN [Against Marcion, 5.16] refers to 1Jo 4:1, &c.; [Against Praxeas, 15], to 1Jo 1:1. See his other quotations [Against Praxeas, 28; Against the Gnostics, 12]. CYPRIAN [Epistles, 28 (24)], quotes as John's, 1Jo 2:3-4; and [On the Lord's Prayer, 5] quotes 1Jo 2:15-17; and [On Works and Alms, 3], 1Jo 1:8; and [On the Advantage of Patience, 2] quotes 1Jo 2:6. MURATORI'S Fragment on the Canon of Scripture states, "There are two of John (the Gospel and Epistle?) esteemed Catholic," and quotes 1Jo 1:3. The Peschito Syriac contains it. ORIGEN (in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 6.25]) speaks of the First Epistle as genuine, and "probably the second and third, though all do not recognize the latter two"; on the Gospel of John, [Commentary on John, 13.2], he quotes 1Jo 1:5. DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ORIGEN'S scholar, cites the words of this Epistle as those of the Evangelist John. EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24], says, John's first Epistle and Gospel are acknowledged without question by those of the present day, as well as by the ancients. So also JEROME [On Illustrious Men]. The opposition of COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES, in the sixth century, and that of MARCION because our Epistle was inconsistent with his views, are of no weight against such irrefragable testimony.

The internal evidence is equally strong. Neither the Gospel, nor this Epistle, can be pronounced an imitation; yet both, in style and modes of thought, are evidently of the same mind. The individual notices are not so numerous or obvious as in Paul's writings, as was to be expected in a Catholic Epistle; but such as there are accord with John's position. He implies his apostleship, and perhaps alludes to his Gospel, and the affectionate tie which bound him as an aged pastor to his spiritual "children"; and in 1Jo 2:18-19; 1Jo 4:1-3, he alludes to the false teachers as known to his readers; and in 1Jo 5:21 he warns them against the idols of the surrounding world. It is no objection against its authenticity that the doctrine of the Word, or divine second Person, existing from everlasting, and in due time made flesh, appears in it, as also in the Gospel, as opposed to the heresy of the Docetæ in the second century, who denied that our Lord is come in the flesh, and maintained He came only in outward semblance; for the same doctrine appears in Col 1:15-18; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 1:1-3; and the germs of Docetism, though not fully developed till the second century, were in existence in the first. The Spirit, presciently through John, puts the Church beforehand on its guard against the coming heresy.

TO WHOM ADDRESSED.--AUGUSTINE [The Question of the Gospels, 2.39], says this Epistle was written to the Parthians. BEDE, in a prologue to the seven Catholic Epistles, says that ATHANASIUS attests the same. By the Parthians may be meant the Christians living beyond the Euphrates in the Parthian territory, outside the Roman empire, "the Church at Babylon elected together with (you)," the churches in the Ephesian region, the quarter to which Peter addressed his Epistles (1Pe 5:12). As Peter addressed the flock which John subsequently tended (and in which Paul had formerly ministered), so John, Peter's close companion after the ascension, addresses the flock among whom Peter had been when he wrote. Thus "the elect lady" (2Jo 1:1) answers "to the Church elected together" (1Pe 5:13). See further confirmation of this view in Introduction to Second John. It is not necessarily an objection to this view that John never is known to have personally ministered in the Parthian territory. For neither did Peter personally minister to the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, though he wrote his Epistles to them. Moreover, in John's prolonged life, we cannot dogmatically assert that he did not visit the Parthian Christians, after Peter had ceased to minister to them, on the mere ground of absence of extant testimony to that effect. This is as probable a view as ALFORD'S, that in the passage of AUGUSTINE, "to the Parthians," is to be altered by conjectural emendation; and that the Epistle is addressed to the churches at and around Ephesus, on the ground of the fatherly tone of affectionate address in it, implying his personal ministry among his readers. But his position, as probably the only surviving apostle, accords very well with his addressing, in a Catholic Epistle, a cycle of churches which he may not have specially ministered to in person, with affectionate fatherly counsel, by virtue of his general apostolic superintendence of all the churches.

TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING.--This Epistle seems to have been written subsequently to his Gospel as it assumes the reader's acquaintance with the Gospel facts and Christ's speeches, and also with the special aspect of the incarnate Word, as God manifest in the flesh (1Ti 3:16), set forth more fully in his Gospel. The tone of address, as a father addressing his "little children" (the continually recurring term, 1Jo 2:1, 1Jo 2:12-13, 1Jo 2:18, 1Jo 2:28; 1Jo 3:7, 1Jo 3:18; 1Jo 4:4; 1Jo 5:21), accords with the view that this Epistle was written in John's old age, perhaps about A.D. 90. In 1Jo 2:18, "it is the last time," probably does not refer to any particular event (as the destruction of Jerusalem, which was now many years past) but refers to the nearness of the Lord's coming as proved by the rise of Antichristian teachers, the mark of the last time. It was the Spirit's purpose to keep the Church always expecting Christ as ready to come at any moment. The whole Christian age is the last time in the sense that no other dispensation is to arise till Christ comes. Compare "these last days," Heb 1:2. Ephesus may be conjectured to be the place whence it was written. The controversial allusion to the germs of Gnostic heresy accord with Asia Minor being the place, and the last part of the apostolic age the time, of writing this Epistle.

CONTENTS.--The leading subject of the whole is, fellowship with the Father and the Son (1Jo 1:3). Two principal divisions may be noted: (1) 1Jo. 1:5-2:28: the theme of this portion is stated at the outset, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all"; consequently, in order to have fellowship with Him, we must walk in light (1Jo 1:7); connected with which in the confession and subsequent forgiveness of our sins through Christ's propitiation and advocacy, without which forgiveness there could be no light or fellowship with God: a farther step in thus walking in the light is, positively keeping God's commandments, the sum of which is love, as opposed to hatred, the acme of disobedience to God's word: negatively, he exhorts them according to their several stages of spiritual growth, children, fathers, young men, in consonance with their privileges as forgiven, knowing the Father, and having overcome the wicked one, not to love the world, which is incompatible with the indwelling of the love of the Father, and to be on their guard against the Antichristian teachers already in the world, who were not of the Church, but of the world, against whom the true defense is, that his believing readers who have the anointing of God, should continue to abide in the Son and in the Father. (2) The second division (1Jo. 2:29-5:5) discusses the theme with which it opens, He is righteous; consequently (as in the first division), "every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him." Sonship in us involves our purifying ourselves as He is pure, even as we hope to see, and therefore to be made like our Lord when He shall appear; in this second, as in the first division, both a positive and a negative side are presented of "doing righteousness as He is righteous," involving a contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil. Hatred marks the latter; love, the former: this love gives assurance of acceptance with God for ourselves and our prayers, accompanied as they are (1Jo 3:23) with obedience to His great commandment, to "believe on Jesus, and love one another"; the seal (1Jo 3:24) of His dwelling in us and assuring our hearts, is the Spirit which He hath given us. In contrast to this (as in the first division), he warns against false spirits, the notes of which are, denial of Christ, and adherence to the world. Sonship, or birth of God, is then more fully described: its essential feature is unslavish, free love to God, because God first loved us, and gave His Son to die for us, and consequent love to the brethren, grounded on their being sons of God also like ourselves, and so victory over the world; this victory being gained only by the man who believes in Jesus as the Son of God. (3) The conclusion establishes this last central truth, on which rests our fellowship with God, Christ's having come by the water of baptism, the blood of atonement, and the witnessing Spirit, which is truth. As in the opening he rested this cardinal truth on the apostles' witness of the eye, the ear, and the touch, so now at the close he rests it on God's witness, which is accepted by the believer, in contrast with the unbeliever, who makes God a liar. Then follows his closing statement of his reason for writing (1Jo 5:13; compare the corresponding 1Jo 1:4, at the beginning), namely, that believers in Christ the Son of God may know that they have (now already) eternal life (the source of "joy," 1Jo 1:4; compare similarly his object in writing the Gospel, Joh 20:31), and so have confidence as to their prayers being answered (corresponding to 1Jo 3:22 in the second part); for instance, their intercessions for a sinning brother (unless his sin be a sin unto death). He closes with a brief summing up of the instruction of the Epistle, the high dignity, sanctity, and safety from evil of the children of God in contrast to the sinful world, and a warning against idolatry, literal and spiritual: "Keep yourselves from idols."

Though the Epistle is not directly polemical, the occasion which suggested his writing was probably the rise of Antichristian teachers; and, because he knew the spiritual character of the several classes whom he addresses, children, youths, fathers, he feels it necessary to write to confirm them in the faith and joyful fellowship of the Father and Son, and to assure them of the reality of the things they believe, that so they may have the full privileges of believing.

STYLE.--His peculiarity is fondness for aphorism and repetition. His tendency to repeat his own phrase, arises partly from the affectionate, hortatory character of the Epistle; partly, also, from its Hebraistic forms abounding in parallel clauses, as distinguished from the Grecian and more logical style of Paul; also, from his childlike simplicity of spirit, which, full of his one grand theme, repeats, and dwells on it with fond delight and enthusiasm. Moreover as ALFORD well says, the appearance of uniformity is often produced by want of deep enough exegesis to discover the real differences in passages which seem to express the same. Contemplative, rather than argumentative, he dwells more on the general, than on the particular, on the inner, than on the outer, Christian life. Certain fundamental truths he recurs to again and again, at one time enlarging on, and applying them, at another time repeating them in their condensed simplicity. The thoughts do not march onward by successive steps, as in the logical style of Paul, but rather in circle drawn round one central thought which he reiterates, ever reverting to it, and viewing it, now under its positive, now under its negative, aspect. Many terms which in the Gospel are given as Christ's, in the Epistle appear as the favorite expressions of John, naturally adopted from the Lord. Thus the contrasted terms, "flesh" and "spirit," "light" and "darkness," "life" and "death," "abide in Him": fellowship with the Father and Son, and with one another," is a favorite phrase also, not found in the Gospel, but in Acts and Paul's Epistles. In him appears the harmonious union of opposites, adapting him for his high functions in the kingdom of God, contemplative repose of character, and at the same time ardent zeal, combined with burning, all-absorbing love: less adapted for active outward work, such as Paul's, than for spiritual service. He handles Christian verities not as abstract dogmas, but as living realities, personally enjoyed in fellowship with God in Christ, and with the brethren. Simple, and at the same time profound, his writing is in consonance with his spirit, unrhetorical and undialectic, gentle, consolatory, and loving: the reflection of the Spirit of Him on whose breast he lay at the last supper, and whose beloved disciple he was. EWALD in ALFORD, speaking of the "unruffled and heavenly repose" which characterizes this Epistle, says, "It appears to be the tone, not so much of a father talking with his beloved children, as of a glorified saint addressing mankind from a higher world. Never in any writing has the doctrine of heavenly love--a love working in stillness, ever unwearied, never exhausted--so thoroughly approved itself as in this Epistle."

JOHN'S PLACE IN THE BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH.--As Peter founded and Paul propagated, so John completed the spiritual building. As the Old Testament puts prominently forward the fear of God, so John, the last writer of the New Testament, gives prominence to the love of God. Yet, as the Old Testament is not all limited to presenting the fear of God, but sets forth also His love, so John, as a representative of the New Testament, while breathing so continually the spirit of love, gives also the plainest and most awful warnings against sin, in accordance with his original character as Boanerges, "son of thunder." His mother was Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee, probably sister to Jesus' mother (compare Joh 19:25, "His mother's sister," with Mat 27:56; Mar 15:40), so that he was cousin to our Lord; to his mother, under God, he may have owed his first serious impressions. Expecting as she did the Messianic kingdom in glory, as appears from her petition (Mat 20:20-23), she doubtless tried to fill his young and ardent mind with the same hope. NEANDER distinguishes three leading tendencies in the development of the Christian doctrine, the Pauline, the Jacobean (between which the Petrine forms an intermediate link), and the Johannean. John, in common with James, was less disposed to the intellectual and dialectic cast of thought which distinguishes Paul. He had not, like the apostle of the Gentiles, been brought to faith and peace through severe conflict; but, like James, had reached his Christian individuality through a quiet development: James, however, had passed through a moulding in Judaism previously, which, under the Spirit, caused him to present Christian truth in connection with the law, in so far as the latter in its spirit, though not letter, is permanent, and not abolished, but established under the Gospel. But John, from the first, had drawn his whole spiritual development from the personal view of Christ, the model man, and from intercourse with Him. Hence, in his writings, everything turns on one simple contrast: divine life in communion with Christ; death in separation from Him, as appears from his characteristic phrases, "life, light, truth; death, darkness, lie." "As James and Peter mark the gradual transition from spiritualized Judaism to the independent development of Christianity, and as Paul represents the independent development of Christianity in opposition to the Jewish standpoint, so the contemplative element of John reconciles the two, and forms the closing point in the training of the apostolic Church" [NEANDER].

JFB: 1 John (Outline)

• THE WRITER'S AUTHORITY AS AN EYEWITNESS TO THE GOSPEL FACTS, HAVING SEEN, HEARD, AND HANDLED HIM WHO WAS FROM THE BEGINNING: HIS OBJECT IN WRITING: HIS MESSAGE. IF WE WOULD HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM, WE MUST WALK IN LIGHT, AS HE IS LIGHT. (1Jo 1:1-10) Instead of a formal, John adopts a virtual address (compare 1Jo 1:4). To wish joy to the reader was the ancient customary address. The sentence begun in 1Jo 1:1 is broken off by the parenthetic 1Jo 1:2, and is resumed at 1Jo 1:3 with the repetition of some words from 1Jo 1:1.
• THE ADVOCACY OF CHRIST IS OUR ANTIDOTE TO SIN WHILE WALKING IN THE LIGHT; FOR TO KNOW GOD, WE MUST KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS AND LOVE THE BRETHREN, AND NOT LOVE THE WORLD, NOR GIVE HEED TO ANTICHRISTS, AGAINST WHOM OUR SAFETY IS THROUGH THE INWARD ANOINTING OF GOD TO ABIDE IN GOD: SO AT CHRIST'S COMING WE SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED. (1Jo. 2:1-29) (1Jo 5:18.)
• DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL. BROTHERLY LOVE THE ESSENCE OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. (1Jo. 3:1-24)
• TESTS OF FALSE PROPHETS. LOVE, THE TEST OF BIRTH FROM GOD, AND THE NECESSARY FRUIT OF KNOWING HIS GREAT LOVE IN CHRIST TO US. (1Jo. 4:1-21)
• WHO ARE THE BRETHREN ESPECIALLY TO BE LOVED (1Jo 4:21); OBEDIENCE, THE TEST OF LOVE, EASY THROUGH FAITH, WHICH OVERCOMES THE WORLD. LAST PORTION OF THE EPISTLE. THE SPIRIT'S WITNESS TO THE BELIEVER'S SPIRITUAL LIFE. TRUTHS REPEATED AT THE CLOSE: FAREWELL WARNING. (1Jo. 5:1-21) Reason why our "brother" (1Jo 4:21) is entitled to such love, namely, because he is "born (begotten) of God": so that if we want to show our love to God, we must show it to God's visible representative.

TSK: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Jo 5:1, He that loves God loves his children, and keeps his commandments; 1Jo 5:3, which to the faithful are not grievous; 1Jo 5:9, Jesus is the Son of God; 1Jo 5:14, and able to hear our prayers.

Poole: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

JOHN CHAPTER 5

MHCC: 1 John (Book Introduction)

This epistle is a discourse upon the principles of Christianity, in doctrine and practice. The design appears to be, to refute and guard against erroneous and unholy tenets, principles, and practices, especially such as would lower the Godhead of Christ, and the reality and power of his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice; and against the assertion that believers being saved by grace, are not required to obey the commandments. This epistle also stirs up all who profess to know God, to have communion with him, and to believe in him, and that they walk in holiness, not in sin, showing that a mere outward profession is nothing, without the evidence of a holy life and conduct. It also helps forward and excites real Christians to communion with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to constancy in the true faith, and to purity of life.

MHCC: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Jo 5:1-5) Brotherly love is the effect of the new birth, which makes obedience to all God's commandments pleasant.

(1Jo 5:6-8) Reference to witnesses agreeing to prove that Jesus, the Son of God, is the true Messiah.

(1Jo 5:9-12) The satisfaction the believer has about Christ, and eternal life through him.

(1Jo 5:13-17) The assurance of God's hearing and answering prayer.

(1Jo 5:18-21) The happy condition of true believers, and a charge to renounce all idolatry.

Matthew Henry: 1 John (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Epistle General of John

Though the continued tradition of the church attests that this epistle came from John the apostle, yet we may observe some other evidence that will confirm (or with some perhaps even outweigh) the certainty of that tradition. It should seem that the penman was one of the apostolical college by the sensible palpable assurance he had of the truth of the Mediator's person in his human nature: That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life, 1Jo 1:1. Here he takes notice of the evidence the Lord gave to Thomas of his resurrection, by calling him to feel the prints of the nails and of the spear, which is recorded by John. And he must have been one of the disciples present when the Lord came on the same day in which he arose from the dead, and showed them his hands and his side, Joh 20:20. But, that we may be assured which apostle this was, there is scarcely a critic or competent judge of diction, or style of argument and spirit, but will adjudge this epistle to the writer of that gospel that bears the name of the apostle John. They wonderfully agree in the titles and characters of the Redeemer: The Word, the Life, the Light; his name was the Word of God. Compare 1Jo 1:1 and 1Jo 5:7 with Joh 1:1 and Rev 19:13. They agree in the commendation of God's love to us (1Jo 3:9; 1Jo 4:7; and 1Jo 5:1; Joh 3:5, Joh 3:6). Lastly (to add no more instances, which may be easily seen in comparing this epistle with that gospel), they agree in the allusion to, or application of, that passage in that gospel which relates (and which alone relates) the issuing of water and blood out of the Redeemer's opened side: This is he that came by water and blood, 1Jo 5:6. Thus the epistle plainly appears to flow from the same pen as that gospel did. Now I know not that the text, or the intrinsic history of any of the gospels, gives us such assurance of its writer or penman as that ascribed to John plainly does. There (viz. Joh 21:24) the sacred historian thus notifies himself: This is the disciple that testifieth of these things and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. Now who is this disciple, but he concerning whom Peter asked, What shall this man do? And concerning whom the Lord answered, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? (Joh 21:22). And who (Joh 21:20) is described by these three characters: - 1. That he is the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Lord's peculiar friend. 2. That he also leaned on his breast at supper. 3. That he said unto him, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee? As sure then as it is that that disciple was John, so sure may the church be that that gospel and this epistle came from the beloved John.

The epistle is styled general, as being not inscribed to any particular church; it is, as a circular letter (or visitation charge), sent to divers churches (some say of Parthia), in order to confirm them in their stedfast adherence to the Lord Christ, and the sacred doctrines concerning his person and office, against seducers; and to instigate them to adorn that doctrine by love to God and man, and particularly to each other, as being descended from God, united by the same head, and travelling towards the same eternal life.

Matthew Henry: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter the apostle asserts, I. The dignity of believers (1Jo 5:1). II. Their obligation to love, and the trial of it (1Jo 5:1-3). III. Their victory (1Jo 5:4, 1Jo 5:5). IV. The credibility and confirmation of their faith (1Jo 5:6-10). V. The advantage of their faith in eternal life (1Jo 5:11-13). VI. The audience of their prayers, unless for those who have sinned unto death (1Jo 5:14-17). VII. The preservation from sin and Satan (1Jo 5:18). VIII. Their happy distinction from the world (1Jo 5:19). IX. Their true knowledge of God (1Jo 5:20), upon which they must depart from idols (1Jo 5:21).

Barclay: 1 John (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN

A Personal Letter And Its Background

First John is entitled a letter but it has no opening address nor closing greetings such as the letters of Paul have. And yet no one can read it without feeling its intensely personal character. Beyond all doubt the man who wrote it had in his mindeye a definite situation and a definite group of people. Both the form and the personal character of First John will be explained if we think of it as what someone has called "a loving and anxious sermon" written by a pastor who loved his people and sent out to the various churches over which he had charge.

Any such letter is produced by an actual situation apart from which it cannot be fully understood. If, then, we wish to understand First John we have first of all to try to reconstruct the situation which produced it, remembering that it was written in Ephesus a little after A.D. 100.

The Falling Away

By A.D. 100 certain things had almost inevitably happened within the Church, especially in a place like Ephesus.

(i) Many were now second or even third generation Christians. The thrill of the first days had, to some extent at least, passed away. Wordsworth said of one of the great moments of modern history:

"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive."

In the first days of Christianity there was a glory and a splendour, but now Christianity had become a thing of habit, "traditional, half-hearted, nominal." Men had grown used to it and something of the wonder was lost. Jesus knew men and he had said: "Most menlove will grow cold" (Mat_24:12 ). John was writing at a time when, for some at least, the first thrill was gone and the flame of devotion had died to a flicker.

(ii) One result was that there were members of the Church who found the standards which Christianity demanded a burden and a weariness. They did not want to be saints in the New Testament sense of the term. The New Testament word for saint is hagios (G40), which is also commonly translated holy. Its basic meaning is different. The Temple was hagios (G39) because it was different from other buildings; the Sabbath was hagios (G40) because it was different from other days; the Jewish nation was hagios (G40) because it was different from other peoples; and the Christian was called to be hagios (G40) because he was called to be different from other men. There was always a distinct cleavage between the Christian and the world. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus says, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (Joh_15:19 ). "I have given them thy word," said Jesus in his prayer to God, "and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (Joh_17:14 ).

All this involved an ethical demand. It demanded a new standard of moral purity, a new kindness, a new service, a new forgiveness--and it was difficult. And once the first thrill and enthusiasm were gone it became harder and harder to stand out against the world and to refuse to conform to the generally accepted standards and practices of the age.

(iii) It is to be noted that First John shows no signs that the Church to which it was written was being persecuted. The peril, as it has been put, was not persecution but seduction; it came from within. That, too, Jesus had foreseen. "Many false prophets," he said, "will arise, and lead many astray" (Mat_24:11 ). This was a danger of which Paul had warned the leaders of this very Church of Ephesus when he made his farewell address to them. "I know," he said, "that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them" (Act_20:29-30 ).

The trouble which First John seeks to combat did not come from men out to destroy the Christian faith but from men who thought they were improving it. It came from men whose aim was to make Christianity intellectually respectable. They knew the intellectual tendencies and currents of the day and felt that the time had come for Christianity to come to terms with secular philosophy and contemporary thought.

The Contemporary Philosophy

What, then, was this contemporary thought and philosophy with which the false prophets and mistaken teachers wished to align the Christian faith? Throughout the Greek world there was a tendency of thought to which the general name of Gnosticism is given. The basic belief of all Gnostic thought was that only spirit was good and matter was essentially evil. The Gnostic, therefore, inevitably despised the world since it was matter. In particular he despised the body which, being matter, was necessarily evil. Imprisoned within this body was the spirit of man. That spirit was a seed of God, who was altogether good. So, then, the aim of life must be to release this heavenly seed imprisoned in the evil of the body. That could be done only by a secret knowledge and elaborate ritual which only the true Gnostic could supply. Here was a tendency of thought which was written deep into Greek thinking--and which has not even vet ceased to exist. Its basis is the conviction that all matter is evil and spirit alone is good, and that the one real aim in life is to liberate manspirit from the vile prison-house of the body.

The False Teachers

With that in our minds let us turn to First John and gather the evidence as to who these false teachers were and what they taught. They had been within the Church but they had seceded from it. "They went out from us, but they were not of us" (1Jo_2:19 ). They were men of influence for they claimed to be prophets. "Many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1Jo_4:1 ). Although they had left the Church, they still tried to disseminate their teaching within it and to seduce its members from the true faith (1Jo_2:26 ).

The Denial Of Jesusessiahship

At least some of these false teachers denied that Jesus was the Messiah. "Who is a liar," demands John, "but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" (1Jo_2:22 ). It is most likely that these false teachers were not Gnostics proper, but Jews. Things had always been difficult for Jewish Christians, but the events of history made them doubly so. It was very difficult for a Jew to come to believe in a crucified Messiah. But suppose he had begun so to believe, his difficulties were by no means finished. The Christians believed that Jesus would return quickly to vindicate his people. Clearly that would be a hope that would be specially dear to the heart of the Jews. Then in A.D. 70 Jerusalem was captured by the Romans, who were so infuriated with the long intransigence and the suicidal resistance of the Jews that they tore the Holy City stone from stone and drew a plough across the midst of it. In view of that, how could any Jew easily accept the hope that Jesus would come and save his people? The Holy City was desolate; the Jews were dispersed throughout the world. In face of that how could it be true that the Messiah had come?

The Denial Of The Incarnation

There was something even more serious than that. There was false teaching which came directly from an attempt from within the Church to bring Christianity into line with Gnosticism. We must remember the Gnostic point of view that spirit alone was good and matter utterly evil. Given that point of view any real incarnation is impossible. That is exactly what centuries later Augustine was to point out. Before he became a Christian, he was skilled in the philosophies of the various schools. In the Confessions (1Jo_6:9 ) he tells us that somewhere in the heathen writers he had read in one form or another nearly all the things which Christianity says; but there was one great Christian saying which he had never found in any pagan author and which no one would ever find, and that saying was: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Joh_1:14 ). Since the heathen thinkers believed in the essential evil of matter and therefore the essential evil of the body, that was one thing they could never say.

It is clear that the false teachers against whom John was writing in this First Letter denied the reality of the incarnation and of Jesushysical body. "Every spirit," writes John, "which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God" (1Jo_4:2-3 ).

In the early Church this refusal to admit the reality of the incarnation took, broadly speaking, two forms.

(i) In its most radical and wholesale form it was called Docetism, which Goodspeed suggests might be translated Seemism. The Greek verb dokein (G1380) means to seem; and the Docetists taught that Jesus only seemed to have a body. They insisted that he was a purely spiritual being who had nothing but the appearance of having a body. One of the apocryphal books written from this point of view is the Acts of John, which dates from about A.D. 160. In it John is made to say that sometimes when he touched Jesus he seemed to meet with a material body but at other times "the substance was immaterial, as if it did not exist at all," and also that when Jesus walked he never left any footprint upon the ground. The simplest form of Docetism is the complete denial that Jesus ever had a physical body.

(ii) There was a more subtle, and perhaps more dangerous, variant of this theory connected with the name of Cerinthus. In tradition John and Cerinthus were sworn enemies. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 4: 14.6) hands down a story which tells how John went to the public bathhouse in Ephesus to bathe. He saw Cerinthus inside and refused even to enter the building. "Let us flee," he said, "lest even the bathhouse fall, because Cerinthus the enemy of truth is within." Cerinthus drew a definite distinction between the human Jesus and the divine Christ. He said that Jesus was a man, born in a perfectly natural way. He lived in special obedience to God, and after his baptism the Christ in the shape of a dove descended upon him, from that power which is above all powers, and then he brought to men news of the Father who had been as yet unknown. Cerinthus did not stop there. He said that at the end of Jesusife, the Christ again withdrew from him so that the Christ never suffered at all. It was the human Jesus who suffered, died and rose again.

This again comes out in the stories of the apocryphal gospels written under the influence of this point of view. In the Gospel of Peter, written about A.D. 130, it is said that Jesus showed no pain upon the Cross and that his cry was: "My power! My power! Why hast thou forsaken me?" It was at that moment that the divine Christ left the human Jesus. The Acts of John go further. They tell how, when the human Jesus was being crucified on Calvary, John was actually talking to the divine Christ in a cave in the hillside and that the Christ said to him, "John, to the multitude down below in Jerusalem I am being crucified, and pierced with lances and with reeds, and gall and vinegar are given me to drink. But I am speaking to you, and listen to what I say.... Nothing, therefore, of the things they will say of me have I suffered" (Acts of John 97).

We may see how widespread this way of thinking was from the Letters of Ignatius. He was writing to a group of Churches in Asia Minor which must have been much the same as that to which First John was written. When Ignatius wrote he was a prisoner and was being conveyed to Rome to be martyred by being flung to the beasts in the arena. He wrote to the Trallians: "Be deaf, therefore. when anyone speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ, who was of the family of David and Mary, who was truly born, both ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died . . . who also was truly raised from the dead.... But if, as some affirm, who are without God that is, who are unbelievers--his suffering was only a semblance ... why am I a prisoner?" (Ignatius: To the Trallians 9 and 10). To the Christians at Smyrna he wrote: "For he suffered all these things for us that we might attain salvation, and he truly suffered even as he also truly raised himself, not as some unbelievers say that his passion was merely in semblance" (To the Smyrnaeans 2). Polycarp writing to the Philippians used Johnvery words: "For everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an anti-Christ" (To the Philippians chapter 7: 1).

This teaching of Cerinthus is also rebuked in First John. John writes of Jesus: "This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood" (1Jo_5:6 ). The point of that verse is that the Gnostic teachers would have agreed that the divine Christ came by water, that is, at the baptism of Jesus; but they would have denied that he came by blood, that is, by the Cross, for they insisted that the divine Christ left the human Jesus before his crucifixion.

The great danger of this heresy is that it comes from what can only be called a mistaken reverence. It is afraid to ascribe to Jesus full humanity. It regards it as irreverent to think that he had a truly physical body. It is a heresy which is by no means dead but is held to this day, usually quite unconsciously, by not a few devout Christians. But it must be remembered, as John so clearly saw, that mansalvation was dependent on the full identification of Jesus Christ with him. As one of the great early fathers unforgettably put it: "He became what we are to make us what he is."

(iii) This Gnostic belief had certain practical consequences in the lives of those who held it.

(a) The Gnostic attitude to matter and to all created things produced a certain attitude to the body and the things of the body. That attitude might take any one of three different forms.

(1) It might take the form of asceticism, with fasting and celibacy and rigid control, even deliberate ill-treatment, of the body. The view that celibacy is better than marriage and that sex is sin go back to Gnostic influence and belief--and this is a view which still lingers on in certain quarters. There is no trace of that view in this letter.

(2) It might take the form of a contention that the body did not matter and that, therefore, its appetites might be gratified without limit. Since the body was in any event evil, it made no difference what a man did with it. There are echoes of this in this letter. John condemns as a liar the man who says that he knows God and vet does not keep Godcommandments; the man who says that he abides in Christ ought to walk as Christ walked (1Jo_1:6 ; 1Jo_2:4-6 ). There were clearly Gnostics in these communities who claimed special knowledge of God but whose conduct was far removed from the demand of the Christian ethic.

In certain quarters this Gnostic belief went even further. The Gnostic was the man who had gnosis (G1108), knowledge. Some held that the real Gnostic must, therefore, know the best as well as the worst and must enter into every experience of life at its highest or at its deepest level, as the case may be. It might almost be said that such men held that it was an obligation to sin. There is a reference to this kind of belief in the letter to Thyatira in the Revelation, where the Risen Christ refers to those who have known "the deep things of Satan" (Rev_2:24 ). And it may well be that John is referring to these people when he insists that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1Jo_1:5 ). These particular Gnostics would have held that there was in God not only blazing light but deep darkness and that a man must penetrate both. It is easy to see the disastrous consequences of such a belief.

(3) There was a third kind of Gnostic belief. The true Gnostic regarded himself as an altogether spiritual man, as having shed all the material things of life and released his spirit from the bondage of matter. Such Gnostics held that they were so spiritual that they were above and beyond sin and had reached spiritual perfection. It is to them that John refers when he speaks of those who deceive themselves by saying that they have no sin (1Jo_1:8-10 ).

Whichever of these three ways Gnostic belief took, its ethical consequences were perilous in the extreme; and it is clear that its last two were to be found in the society to which John wrote.

(b) Further, this Gnosticism issued in an attitude to men which was the necessary destruction of Christian fellowship. We have seen that the Gnostic aimed at the release of the spirit from the prison house of the evil body by means of an elaborate and esoteric knowledge. Clearly such a knowledge was not for every man. Ordinary people were too involved in the everyday life and work of the world ever to have time for the study and discipline necessary; and, even if they had had such time, many were intellectually incapable of grasping the involved speculations of Gnostic theosophy and philosophy so-called.

This produced an inevitable result. It divided men into two classes those who were capable of a really spiritual life and those who were not. The Gnostics had names for these two classes of men. The ancients commonly divided the being of man into three parts. There was the soma (G4983), the body, the physical part of man. There was the psuche (G5590), which we generally translate soul, but we must have a care for it does not mean what we mean by soul. To the Greeks the psuche (G5590) was the principle of physical life. Everything which had physical life had psuche (G5590). Psuche was that life principle which a man shared with all living creatures. There was the pneuma (G4151), the spirit; and it was the spirit which was possessed only by man and made him kin to God.

The aim of Gnosticism was the release of the pneuma (G4151) from the soma (G4983); but that release could be won only by long and arduous study which only the leisured intellectual could ever undertake. The Gnostics, therefore, divided men into two classes the psuchikoi (G5591), who could never advance beyond the principle of physical life and never attain to anything else than what was to all intents and purposes animal living; and the pneumatikoi (G4152), who were truly spiritual and truly akin to God.

The result was clear. The Gnostics produced a spiritual aristocracy who looked with contempt and even hatred on lesser men. The pneumatikoi (G4152) regarded the psuchikoi (G5591) as contemptible, earthbound creatures who could never know what real religion was. The consequence was obviously the annihilation of Christian fellowship. That is why John insists all over his letter that the true test of Christianity is love for the brethren. If we really are walking in the light we have fellowship with one another (1Jo_1:7 ). He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in fact in darkness (1Jo_2:9-11 ). The proof that we have passed from dark to light is that we love the brethren (1Jo_3:14-17 ). The marks of Christianity are belief in Christ and love for the brethren (1Jo_3:23 ). God is love and he who does not love does not know God at all (1Jo_4:7-8 ). Because God loved us, we ought to love each other; it is when we love each other that God dwells in us (1Jo_4:10-12 ). The commandment is that he who loves God must love his brother also, and he who says he loves God and at the same time hates his brother is branded as a liar (1Jo_4:20-21 ). The Gnostic, to put it bluntly, would have said that the mark of true religion is contempt for ordinary men; John insists in every chapter that the mark of true religion is love for every man.

Here, then, is a picture of these Gnostic heretics. They talked of being born of God, of walking in the light, of having no sin, of dwelling in God, of knowing God. These were their catch phrases. They had no idea of destroying the Church and the faith; by their way of it they were going to cleanse the Church of dead wood and make Christianity an intellectually respectable philosophy, fit to stand beside the great systems of the day. But the effect of their teaching was to deny the incarnation, to eliminate the Christian ethic and to make fellowship within the Church impossible. It is little wonder that John seeks, with such fervent pastoral devotion, to defend the churches he loved from such an insidious attack from within. This was a threat far more perilous than any heathen persecution; the very existence of the Christian faith was at stake.

The Message Of John

First John is a short letter and we cannot look within it for a systematic exposition of the Christian faith. None the less it will be of the greatest interest to examine the basic underlying beliefs with which John confronts those threatening to be the wreckers of the Christian faith.

The Object Of Writing

Johnobject in writing is two-fold yet one. He writes that the joy of his people may be complete (1Jo_1:4 ), and that they may not sin (1Jo_2:1 ). He sees clearly that, however attractive the wrong way may be, it is not in its nature to bring happiness. To bring them joy and to preserve them from sin is one and the same thing.

The Idea Of God

John has two great things to say about God. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all (1Jo_1:5 ). God is love and that made him love us before we loved him and made him send his son as a remedy for our sins (1Jo_4:7-10 , 1Jo_4:16 ). Johnconviction is that God is self-revealing and self-giving. He is light, and not darkness; he is love, and not hate.

The Idea Of Jesus

Because the main attack of the false teachers was on the person of Christ, this letter, which is concerned to answer them, is specially rich and helpful in what it has to say about him.

(i) Jesus is he who was from the beginning (1Jo_1:1 ; 1Jo_2:14 ). When a man is confronted with Jesus, he is confronted with the eternal.

(ii) Another way of putting this is to say that Jesus is the Son of God and for John it is essential to be convinced of that (1Jo_4:15 ; 1Jo_5:5 ). The relationship of Jesus to God is unique and in him is seen Godever-seeking and ever-forgiving heart.

(iii) Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah (1Jo_2:22 ; 1Jo_5:1 ). That again for him is an essential article of belief. It may seem that here we come into a region of ideas which is much narrower and, in fact, specifically Jewish. But there is something essential here. To say that Jesus is from the beginning and that he is the Son of God is to conserve his connection with eternity; to say that he is the Messiah, is to conserve his connection with history. It is to see his coming as the event towards which Godplan, working itself out in his chosen people, was moving.

(iv) Jesus was most truly and fully man. To deny that Jesus came in the flesh is to be moved by the spirit of Antichrist (1Jo_4:2-3 ). It is Johnwitness that Jesus was so truly man that he himself had known and touched and handled him (1Jo_1:1 , 1Jo_1:3 ). No writer in the New Testament holds with greater intensity the full reality of the incarnation. Not only did he become man, he also suffered for men. It was by water and blood that he came (1Jo_5:6 ); and he laid down his life for men (1Jo_3:16 ).

(v) The coming of Jesus, his incarnation, his life, his death, his resurrection and his ascension all combine to deal with the sin of man. Jesus was without sin (1Jo_3:5 ); and man is essentially a sinner, even though in his arrogance he may claim to be without sin (1Jo_1:8-10 ); and yet the sinless one came to take away the sin of sinning men (1Jo_3:5 ). In regard to mansin Jesus is two things.

(a) He is our advocate with the Father (1Jo_2:1 ). The word is parakletos (G3875). A parakletos is someone who is called in to help. The word could be used of a doctor; it was often used of a witness called in to give evidence in favour of someone on trial or of a defending lawyer called in to defend someone under accusation. Jesus pleads our case with God; he, the sinless one, is the defender of sinning men.

(b) But Jesus is more than that. Twice John calls him the expiation for our sins (1Jo_2:2 ; 1Jo_4:10 ). When a man sins, the relationship which should exist between him and God is broken. An expiatory sacrifice is one which restores that relationship or, rather, a sacrifice in virtue of which that relationship is restored. It is an atoning sacrifice, a sacrifice which once again makes man and God at one. So, then, through what Jesus was and did the relationship between God and man, broken by sin, is restored. Jesus does not only plead the case of the sinner; he sets him at one, with God. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (1Jo_1:7 ).

(vi) In consequence of all this, through Jesus Christ men who believe have life (1Jo_4:9 ; 1Jo_5:11-12 ). This is true in a double sense. They have life in the sense that they are saved from death; and they have life in the sense that living has ceased to be mere existence and has become life indeed.

(vii) All this may be summed up by saying that Jesus is the Saviour of the world (1Jo_4:14 ). Here we have something which has to be set out in full. "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1Jo_4:14 ). We have already talked of Jesus as pleading mencase before God. If we were to leave that without addition, it might be argued that God wished to condemn men and was deflected from his dire purpose by the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But that is not so because for John, as for every writer in the New Testament, the whole initiative was with God. It was he who sent his son to be the Saviour of men.

Within the short compass of this letter the wonder and the glory and the grace of Christ are most fully set out.

The Spirit

In this letter John has less to say about the Spirit; for his highest teaching about him we must turn back to the Fourth Gospel. It may be said that in First John the function of the Spirit is in some sense to be the liaison between God and man. It is he who makes us conscious that there is within us the abiding presence of God through Jesus Christ (1Jo_3:24 ; 1Jo_4:13 ). We may say that it is the Spirit who enables us to grasp the precious fellowship with God which is being offered to us.

The World

The world within which the Christian lives is hostile; it is a world without God. It does not know the Christian, because it did not know Christ (1Jo_3:1 ). It hates the Christian, just as it hated Christ (1Jo_3:13 ). The false teachers are of the world and not of God, and it is because they speak its language that the world is ready to hear them and accept them (1Jo_4:4-5 ). The whole world, says John sweepingly, is in the power of the evil one (1Jo_5:19 ). It is for that reason that the Christian has to overcome it, and his weapon in his struggle with the world is faith (1Jo_5:4 ).

Hostile as the world is, it is doomed. The world and all its desires are passing away (1Jo_2:17 ). That, indeed, is why it is folly to give oneheart to the world; it is on the way to dissolution. Although the Christian lives in a hostile world which is passing away, there is no need for despair and fear. The darkness is past, the true light now shines (1Jo_2:8 ). God in Christ has broken into time; the new age has come. It is not yet fully realized but the consummation is sure.

The Christian lives in an evil and a hostile world, but he possesses that by which he can overcome it and, when the destined end of the world comes, he is safe, because he already possesses that which makes him a member of the new community in the new age.

The Fellowship Of The Church

John does more than move in the high realms of theology; he has certain most practical things to say about the Christian Church and the Christian life. No New Testament writer stresses more consistently or more strenuously the necessity of Christian fellowship. Christians, John was convinced, are not only bound to God, they are also bound to each other. When we walk in the light, we have fellowship with each other (1Jo_1:7 ). The man who claims to walk in the light but hates his brother, is in reality walking in darkness; it is the man who loves his brother who is in the light (1Jo_2:9-11 ). The proof that a man has passed from darkness to light is the fact that he loves his brother. To hate onebrother man is in essence to be a murderer, as Cain was. If any man is able out of his fullness to help his brotherpoverty and does not do so, it is ridiculous for him to claim that the love of God dwells in him. The essence of religion is to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and to love one another (1Jo_3:11-17 , 1Jo_3:23 ). God is love; and, therefore, the man who loves is kin to God. God has loved us, and that is the best reason for loving each other (1Jo_4:7-12 ). If a man says that he loves God and at the same time hates his brother, he is a liar. The command is that he who loves God must love his brother also (1Jo_4:20-21 ).

It was Johnconviction that the only way in which a man can prove that he loves God is by loving his fellow-men; and that that love must be not only a sentimental emotion but a dynamic towards practical help.

The Righteousness Of The Christian

No New Testament writer makes a stronger ethical demand than John, or more strongly condemns a so-called religion which fails to issue in ethical action. God is righteous and the life of every one who knows him must reflect his righteousness (1Jo_2:29 ). Whoever abides in Christ and is born of God, does not sin; whoever does not do right is not of God (1Jo_3:3-10 ); and the characteristic of this righteousness is that it issues in love for the brethren (1Jo_3:10-11 ). We show our love to God and to men by keeping Godcommandments (1Jo_5:2 ). Whoever is born of God does not sin (1Jo_5:18 ).

For John, knowledge of God and obedience to him must ever go hand in hand. It is by keeping his commandments that we prove that we really do know God. The man who says that he knows him and who does not keep his commandments is a liar (1Jo_2:3-5 ).

It is, in fact, this obedience which is the basis of effective prayer. We receive what we ask of God because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing in his sight (1Jo_3:22 ).

The two marks which characterize genuine Christianity are love of the brethren and obedience to the revealed commandments of God.

The Destination Of The Letter

There are certain baffling problems in regard to the letterdestination. The letter itself gives us no clue as to where it was sent. Tradition strongly connects it with Asia Minor, and especially with Ephesus, where, according to tradition, John lived for many years. But there are certain other odd facts which somehow have to be explained.

Cassiodorus says that the First Letter of John was written Ad Parthos, To the Parthians (compare G3934); and Augustine has a series of ten tractates written on The Epistle of John ad Parthos. One Geneva manuscript still further complicates the matter by entitling the letter Ad Sparthos. There is no such word as Sparthos. There are two possible explanations of this impossible title: (i) Just possibly it is meant for Ad Sparsos, which would mean To the Christians scattered abroad; (ii) In Greek Ad Parthos would be Pros Parthous. Now in the early manuscripts there was no space between the words and they were all written in capital letters so that the title would run PROSPARTHOUS. A scribe writing to dictation could quite easily put that down as PROSSPARTHOUS, especially if he did not know what the title meant. Ad Sparthos can be eliminated as a mere mistake.

But where did To the Parthians come from? There is one possible explanation. Second John does tell us of its destination; it is written to The elect lady,, and her children (2Jo_1:1 ). Let us turn to the end of First Peter. The King James Version has: "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you" (1Pe_5:13 ). The phrase: "the church that is" is printed in the King James Version in italics which of course, means that it has no equivalent in the Greek which has, in fact, no actual mention of a church at all. This the Revised Standard Version accurately indicates: "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen (elect), sends you greetings." As far as the Greek goes it would be perfectly possible, and indeed natural, to take that as referring not to a Church but to a lad . That is precisely what certain of the scholars in the very early Church did. Now we get the elect lady again in Second John. It was easy to identify the two elect ladies and to assume that Second John was also written to Babylon. The natural title for the inhabitants of Babylon was Parthians and hence we have the explanation of the title.

The process went even further. The Greek for the elect lady is he (G3588) elekte (G1588). We have already seen that the early manuscripts were written all in capital letters; and it would be just possible to take Elekte (G1588) not as an adjective meaning elect but as a proper name, Elekta. This is, in fact, what Clement of Alexandria may have done, for we have information that he said that the Johannine letters were written to a certain Babylonian lady, Elekta by name, and to her children.

It may well be then, that the title Ad Parthos arose from a series of misunderstandings. The elect one in First Peter is quite certainly the church, as the King James Version rightly saw. Moffatt translates: "Your sister church in Babylon, elect like yourselves, salutes you." Further, it is almost certain that in any event Babylon there stands for Rome which the early writers identified with Babylon, the great harlot, drunk with the blood of the saints (compare Rev_17:5 ). The title Ad Parthos has a most interesting history but clearly it arose from an ingenious misunderstanding.

There is one further complication. Clement of Alexandria referred to Johnletters as "written to virgins." On the face of it that is improbable, for it would not be a specially relevant title for them. How, then, could it come about? The Greek would be Pros Parthenous (compare G3933) which closely resembles Pros Parthous (G3934); and, it so happens, John was regularly called Ho Parthenos (G3933), the Virgin, because he never married and because of the purity of his life. This further title must have come from a confusion between Ad Parthos (G3934) and Ho Parthenos (G3933).

This is a case where we may take it that tradition is right and all the ingenious theories mistaken. We may take it that these letters were written in Ephesus and to the surrounding Churches in Asia Minor. When John wrote, it would certainly be to the district where his writ ran, and that was Ephesus and the surrounding territory. He is never mentioned in connection with Babylon.

In Defence Of The Faith

John wrote his great letter to meet a threatening situation and in defence of the faith. The heresies which he attacked are by no means altogether echoes of "old unhappy far off things and battles long ago." They are still beneath the surface and sometimes they even still raise their heads. To study his letter will confirm us in the true faith and enable us to have a defence against that which would seduce us from it.

FURTHER READING

John

J. N. S. Alexander, The Epistles of John (Tch; E)

A. E. Brooke, The Johannine Epistles (ICC; G)

C. H. Dodd, The Johannine Epistles (MC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

Tch: Torch Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Love Within The Divine Family (2Jo_5:1-2)

The Necessary Obedience (2Jo_5:3-4)

The Conquest Of The World (2Jo_5:4-5)

The Water And The Blood (2Jo_5:6-8)

The Triple Witness (2Jo_5:6-8 Continued)

The Undeniable Witness (2Jo_5:9-10)

The Essence Of The Faith (2Jo_5:11-13)

The Basis And The Principle Of Prayer (2Jo_5:14-15)

Praying For The Brother Who Sins (2Jo_5:16-17)

Sin Whose End Is Death (2Jo_5:16-17 Continued)

The Essence Of Sin (2Jo_5:16-17 Continued)

The Threefold Certainty (2Jo_5:18-20)

The Constant Peril (2Jo_5:21)

Constable: 1 John (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical Background

This epistle does not contain the name of its writer, but from its very early history the church believed the Apostle John wrote it. Several ancient writers referred to this book as John's writing.¹ Though modern critics have challenged this view they have not destroyed it.

Neither is there any reference to who the first recipients of this epistle were or where they lived other than that they were Christians (2:12-14, 21; 5:13). They may have been the leaders of churches (2:20, 27). According to early church tradition John ministered in Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, for many years after he left Palestine. We know that he knew the churches and Christians in that Roman province well from Revelation 2 and 3. Perhaps his readers lived in that province.

The false teachers and teachings to which he alluded suggest that John wrote about conditions that existed in Asia: Judaism, Gnosticism, Docetism, the teachings of Cerinthus (a prominent Gnostic), and others.² These philosophies extended beyond Asia, but they were present there during John's lifetime.

This is one of the most difficult of all the New Testament books to date. One of the few references in the book that may help us date it is 2:19. If John meant that the false teachers had departed from among the apostles, a date in the 60s seems possible. This would place it about A.D. 60-65, before the Jewish revolts of A.D. 66-70 scattered the Jews from Judea. In this case John may have written from Jerusalem.³ However many conservative scholars believe John wrote this epistle much later. They suggest between about A.D. 85 and 97, when he evidently wrote the Gospel of John (ca. A.D. 85-95) and the Book of Revelation (ca. A.D. 95-96).⁴ I prefer a date in the 90s following the writing of John's Gospel that 1 John seems to assume.⁵ In view of the nature and the conclusion of the Book of Revelation, which seems to be God's final word to humankind, I think John probably composed his Epistles before that book. So a date for 1 John in the early 90s, A.D. 90-95, seems most probable to me.⁶

Since John ministered in and around Ephesus later in his life, that seems to be the most probable place from which he wrote this epistle.⁷

"The writer of 1 John was thus addressing a community, made up of a number of house-churches in and around Ephesus . . ., which was split in three ways. It consisted of the following: (a) Johannine Christians who were committed to the apostolic gospel of Jesus as they had received it; (b) heretically inclined members from a Jewish background; (c) heterodox followers from a Hellenistic (and/or pagan) background. The problems relating to the two heretical' groups, (b) and (c), were primarily theological and (by extension) ethical; although related difficulties concerning eschatology and pneumatology may have been present also (see on 2:18 and 4:1 . . .). . . .

"To complete the picture, it should be noted that the life of the Johannine community was marked by the presence of a fourth group of people: the secessionists. Whereas the members of the first three groups could be found within John's circle, the anti-Christian secessionists had begun to break away from it. These were heretically inclined adherents of the Johannine community. In some cases they may have been genuine, if uninformed, believers. But in other instances they perhaps never properly belonged to John's church (although they thought they did), because they never really belonged to God (see on 1 John 2:18-19; cf. also 2:22-23)."⁸

Message⁹

If I were to boil down the message of this epistle into one sentence it would be this. Fellowship with God is the essence of eternal life.

Both the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John deal with eternal life. John wrote his Gospel so his readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that believing they might have life through His name (John 20:31). John wrote this epistle to Christians so we might enter into the fullness of the eternal life that we possess (1 John 1:3; John 10:10). However the subject of this letter is not eternal life but fellowship with God. Fellowship with God is the essence of eternal life (1:3-4; John 17:3).

John evidently wrote this epistle about 90-95 A.D. from Ephesus.

This epistle grew out of Jesus' Upper Room Discourse (John 14-17). Similarly James' epistle grew out of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and the Book of Revelation grew out of the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25). In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus explained to the apostles their relationship to God as it would exist after He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in them (John 14:16-17). John expounded that revelation in this letter.

There are several terms in this epistle that John used as synonyms: fellowship with God, knowing God, and abiding in God. These terms all describe the experience of Christians. They all describe our relationship with God as more or less intimate.

Our relationships with people vary. They are more or less intimate.

Fellowship with God is also a matter of greater or lesser intimacy. When we speak of being "in fellowship" or "out of fellowship," we are oversimplifying our relationship to God.

John's purpose in writing was to motivate his readers to cultivate greater intimacy with God. The greater the intimacy, the greater our "fellowship," the better we "know" God experientially, and the closer we "abide" in Him (cf. John 14:21-24). The greater our intimacy with God the more we will experience the life that is eternal. All Christians possess eternal life, but all do not experience that life as God intended us to enjoy it (John 10:10). Similarly all living human beings have life, but not all live an abundant life.

This letter reveals two things about the life of fellowship.

First, it reveals the resources of this life. There are two resources.

The first is objective. God has provided a pattern for the life of fellowship. The pattern is Jesus Christ. In Christ we have personified two qualities that are characteristics of God that should also characterize us as the children of God.

The first of these is light. Jesus Christ constantly walked in the light of God's holiness (1:5-6; 2:6). He never hid from God. He also conformed to the light of God's will perfectly. He was submissive, sinless, clean, and consecrated.

The second of these resources is love. Jesus also constantly manifested the love of God (4:10). In His attitudes and activities He always demonstrated perfect love. His words and His deeds were a revelation of God's love. Jesus put others before Himself. He was selfless as well as holy.

The second resource of the life of fellowship is subjective. God has not only provided a pattern for the life of fellowship, He has also provided the power. Jesus Christ is not only an external pattern for us to imitate. More helpfully He is an internal power whom God has placed within us who is at work in our lives. With eternal life we get Jesus (5:11-12). With Him come two things.

First, we get light. We see spiritual things that we never saw before (2:20). We see how we ought to walk (2:27). We become sensitive to sin.

Second, we get love. We see the need of other people who are groping in darkness, and we desire to reach out to them in service and to bring them into the light (4:7). As soon as we share God's life we begin to love with God's love. We can quench love, but every person who has eternal life has love in him or her.

To review, this letter reveals two things about the life of fellowship: first the resources of this life, which are an external pattern and internal power. Both of these come from Jesus Christ.

Second, this letter reveals the values of the realization of this life. These are two also.

First, there is value for us. This value is that we realize life as God intended people to live it. We can experience life as God meant it to be when He first made man. We achieve our potential as human beings to the degree to which we walk in fellowship with God (i.e., abide in Him). Our intimacy with God perfects our personalities.

Second, there is also value for God. God enjoys fellowship with man. God's purpose in creation and redemption was to have fellowship with man. God finds in every person who walks with Him in fellowship a person through whom He can manifest Himself, an instrument through whom He can accomplish His purposes. The abiding believer reveals God to those around him or her.

John also called his readers to fulfill our responsibilities in the life of fellowship.

Regarding the light we have two responsibilities.

First, we must obey the light (1:7). That means responding positively to the knowledge of God's will that we gain. We can become callused to the truth. This is a special danger in seminary. Cultivate your relationship with God daily. We all need to keep weeding the gardens of our spiritual lives.

Second, we must seek the light (1:9). We need to forsake the darkness of sin and keep walking in the light. The circle of God's light may move. We may gain new understanding of His will. When that happens, we need to move into that light in obedience.

Regarding love we also have two responsibilities.

First, we must yield to its impulse. We can destroy our capacity to love by not expressing love when God moves us to do so. We can lose our passion for the lost by resisting the Holy Spirit's promptings to reach out in love. We need to be ready to sacrifice rather than to put self first. However if we yield ourselves to the impulse of love to serve others, our love will deepen and intensify. Do not quench the Spirit if He is prompting you to reach out in love.

Second, we must also guard love's purity. We need to watch out for false charity. True love never sacrifices principle. God never loved at the expense of light. Love never justifies sin.

In conclusion, notice two applications of the message of this epistle, one to the individual and one to the church.

First, let me make one application to the individual. We can test whether we are living in fellowship with God easily. Check the light and the love in our lives. Is the light of holiness shining clearly, or are we walking in darkness? Is our love still burning brightly, or has our life deteriorated to the level of only learning? Learning is only one means to the end of living, living in intimate fellowship with God. What do you want people to remember you for, your knowledge or your love?

Second, let me make one application to the church. We need to keep our priorities in line with God's. Intimacy is His goal for us. God desires a few committed disciples rather than a multitude of compromising disciples. A pure church is more important than a large church. Do not draw back from urging people to walk in the light and to walk in love to increase the size of your congregation. Make as broad an appeal as possible without pulling your punches in ministry. I'm referring here to the church's ministry of equipping the saints. In presenting the gospel, we should make as broad an appeal as possible.

Constable: 1 John (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction: the purpose of the epistle 1:1-4

II. Living in the light 1:5-2:29

A. God as light 1:5-7

B. Conditions for living in the light 1:8-2:29

1. Renouncing sin 1:8-2:2

2. Obeying God 2:3-11

3. Rejecting worldliness 2:12-17

4. Keeping the faith 2:18-29

III. Living as children of God 3:1-5:13

A. God as Father 3:1-3

B. Conditions for living as God's children 3:4-5:13

1. Renouncing sin reaffirmed 3:4-9

2. Obeying God reaffirmed 3:10-24

3. Rejecting worldliness reaffirmed 4:1-6

4. Practicing love 4:7-5:4

5. Keeping the faith reaffirmed 5:5-13

IV. Conclusion: Christian confidence 5:14-21

A. Confidence in action: prayer 5:14-17

B. Certainty of knowledge: assurance 5:18-20

C. A final warning: idolatry 5:21

Another outline that captures the cyclical pattern of John's thought is the following.¹⁰

I. Prologue 1:1-4

II. First cycle 1:5-2:28

A. Righteousness 1:5-2:6

B. Love 2:7-17

C. Belief 2:18-28

III. Second cycle 2:29-4:6

A. Righteousness 2:29-3:10a

B. Love 3:10b-24a

C. Belief 3:24b-4:6

IV. Third cycle 4:7-5:12

A. Love 4:7-21

B. Righteousness 5:1-5

C. Belief 5:6-21

Scholars have struggled to determine the structure of this epistle and have suggested many diverse outlines of the book.¹¹

Constable: 1 John

1 John

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 John (Book Introduction)

THE

FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN,

THE APOSTLE.

INTRODUCTION.

This epistle was always acknowledged for canonical, and written by St. John, the apostle and evangelist. At what time and place, is uncertain. It is sometimes called the Epistle to the Parthians, or Persians. The chief design is to set forth the mystery of Christ's incarnation against Cerinthus, who denied Christ's divinity, and against Basilides, who denied that Christ had a true body; with zealous exhortations to love God and our neighbour. (Witham) --- The vein of divine love and charity towards our neighbour which runs throughout the gospel written by the beloved disciple and evangelist, St. John, is found also in his epistles. He confirms the two principal mysteries of our faith: the mystery of the Trinity, the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The sublimity and excellence of the evangelical doctrine he declares: "And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God love also his brother;" (Chap. iv. 21.) and again, "For this is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not heavy." (Chap. v. 3.) He shews how to distinguish the children of God from those of the devil; marks out those who should be called antichrists; describes the turpitude and gravity of sin. Finally, he shews how the sinner may hope for pardon. It was written, according to Baronius's account, sixty-six years after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner) --- The effect of all is to prove the certainty of the Catholic faith, and to renounce all heretics and schismatics, who entice persons from the true saving faith.

====================

Gill: 1 John (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN

The author of this epistle was John, the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved: he was the youngest of the apostles, and survived them all. He does not indeed put his name to this epistle, as the Apostles Paul, Peter, James, and Jude do to theirs; and it is easy to observe, that when this disciple, in his writings, had any occasion to speak of himself, it was usually by such a circumlocution, as the disciple whom Jesus loved, or the other disciple, studiously concealing his name: so that his not putting his name to this epistle need not create any scruple about his being the author of it, which everywhere breathes the temper and spirit of this great apostle; and whoever compares this epistle, and the Gospel written by him, together, will easily conclude it to be his, both from the style and subject matter of it: besides, as Eusebius asserts ^a, this epistle was generally received without scruple, both by ancient and modern writers. It is called "general", because it was not written and sent to any particular church, or person, and not because it was for the general use of the churches, for so are all the particular epistles but because it was written to the Christians in general, or to the believing Jews in general wherever they were; for that it was written to the Jews seems evident from 1Jo 2:2. It was called, by some of the ancients, the epistle of John to the Parthians ^b; by whom must be meant not the natives of Parthia but the Jews professing to believe in Christ, who dwelt in that empire. We read of Parthian Jews a the feast of Pentecost, Act 2:9, who at that time might be converted, and, upon their return to their own country, lay the foundation of a Gospel church state there Dr. Lightfoot ^c conjectures from a passage in 3Jo 1:9 that this epistle was written to the Corinthians; but there does not seem to be any sufficient reason for it. As for the time when, and place where, this epistle was written, it is not easy to say: some think it was written at Patmos, whither the apostle was banished in the reign of Domitian, and where he wrote the book of the Revelations; see Rev 1:9; and here some say he wrote his Gospel, and this epistle, and that a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, and which he calls the last time or hour; and that his design in writing it was to exhort the believing Jews, either in Parthia, or scattered about in other countries, to brotherly love, and to warn them against false Christs and false prophets, which were now gone forth into the world to deceive men; see 1Jo 2:18. Others think that it was written by him, when a very old man, after his return from his exile to Ephesus, where he resided during his life, and where he died, and was buried. It is called his "first" epistle general, not that it is the first general epistle, for the other two are written to particular persons, but is the first he wrote, and which is general: the occasion, and manifest design of it, is to promote brotherly love, which he enforces upon the best principles, and with the strongest arguments, taken from the love of God and Christ, from the commandment of Christ, and its being an evidence of regeneration, and the truth and glory of a profession of religion: and also to oppose and stop the growth of licentious principles, and practices, and heretical doctrines. The licentious principles and practices he condemns are these, that believers had no sin in them, or need not be concerned about it, nor about their outward conversation, so be they had but knowledge; and these men boasted of their communion with God, notwithstanding their impieties; and which were the sentiments and practices of the Nicolaitans, Gnostics, and Carpocratians. The heresies he sets himself against, and refutes, are such as regard the doctrine of the Trinity, and the person and office of Christ. There were some who denied a distinction, of persons in the Trinity, and asserted there was but one person; that the Father was not distinct from the Son, nor the Son from the Father; and, by confounding both, tacitly denied there was either, as Simon Magus, and his followers; regard is had to these in 1Jo 2:22 and others, as the unbelieving Jews, denied that Jesus was the Messiah, or that Christ was come in the flesh; these are taken notice of in 1Jo 2:22. Others, that professed to believe in Jesus Christ, denied his proper deity, and asserted he was a mere man, and did not exist before he took flesh, of the virgin, as Ebion and Cerinthus; these are opposed in 1Jo 1:1. And others denied his real humanity, and affirmed that he was a mere phantom; that he only had the appearance of a man, and assumed human nature, and suffered, and died, and rose again in show only, and not in reality; of which sort were the followers of Saturninus and Basilides, and which are confuted in 1Jo 1:1. This epistle is, by Clemens Alexandrinus ^d, called his "greater" or "larger epistle", it being so in comparison of the other two that follow.

Gill: 1 John 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 5

In this chapter the apostle treats of the nature of faith and love; of Christ the object of both, and of the witness that is bore to him; of the necessity of believing the testimony concerning him; of the confidence of prayer being heard, and concerning whom it should be made; of the happiness of regenerate persons, and of their duty to keep themselves from idols. Faith in Christ is the evidence of regeneration, and where that is, there will be love to the author of regeneration, and to them that are regenerated; and love to them is known by love to God, and keeping his commandments; and keeping the commandments of God, and which are not grievous, is a proof of love to God, 1Jo 5:1; and whereas every regenerate man overcomes the world, it is by his faith, the evidence of his regeneration, that this victory is obtained; nor can any other man be pointed out that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God, 1Jo 5:4; and Christ, the Son of God, the object of this victorious faith, is described by his coming by water and blood, of which the spirit is witness, who is a true one; and six witnesses of the truth of this and his divine sonship are produced, three in heaven, the Father, Word, and Spirit, who are the one God, and three on earth, the Spirit, water, and blood, who agree in their testimony, 1Jo 5:6; wherefore this testimony concerning the Son of God ought to be received, since it is the testimony of God, which is greater than that of men; besides, he that believes in Christ has a witness of this in himself, and honours God, whereas he that believes not makes God a liar, not giving credit to his record concerning his Son; the sum of which is, that God has made a grant of eternal life to some persons, which is in his Son, which those that believe in the Son of God have, but those that do not believe in him have it not: all which show the necessity of receiving the above testimony; and the ends proposed in writing these things were, to believe in Christ, and that it might be known they had eternal life in him, 1Jo 5:9, and from faith in Christ the apostle passes to confidence in prayer, as a particular effect and fruit of it: as, that whatever is asked according to the will of God is heard; and that such who are satisfied of this, that they are heard, may be assured that they have the petitions they desire to have, 1Jo 5:14, and whereas it is one branch of prayer to pray for others as well as for ourselves, the apostle directs who we should pray for; for the brethren in general, and in particular for such who have sinned, but not unto death, and life shall be given to such: but as for those who have sinned unto death, he does not say prayer should be made for them, for though all unrighteousness in general is sin, yet there is a particular sin which is unto death, and is not to be prayed for, 1Jo 5:16; but happy are those who are born of God, for they do not sin this sin; and through the use of the armour of God, and the power of divine grace, they keep themselves from the evil one, and he cannot come at them, to draw them into this sin; also they know that they are of God, and are distinguished from the world, which lies in wickedness; yea, they know that the Son of God is come in the flesh, and hath given them an understanding of the true God, by which they know that they are in him, and in his Son Jesus Christ, who is with him, and the divine Spirit, the one true God, and the author and giver of eternal life, 1Jo 5:18; and the chapter, and with it the epistle, is concluded with an exhortation to these regenerate ones, as they had kept themselves from Satan, that they would also keep themselves from idols of all sorts, 1Jo 5:21.

College: 1 John (Book Introduction)

FOREWORD

It has been my pleasure to have been associated with Professor Morris Womack since the middle 1960s when we both accepted positions in the Los Angeles area with what was then Pepperdine College (now University). I have observed his growth as he developed into a distinguished and popular teacher, an accomplished author, diligent scholar, successful minister, and respected bishop of the church. He did these things while he maintained close, loving and productive ties with his family, friendship with his students, and exemplified a servant's attitude to those with whom he came in contact. Having demonstrated himself to be a man whose life in many ways illustrates that love which Christ said would identify his followers, I find it fitting that he should add this commentary on the three epistles of the "Apostle of Love" to his accomplishments.

As one peruses the pages of this work, it will be evident that the author has been able to balance his extensive theological training with his determination that this be a useful and practical work. While he shows mastery of the original language, the historical-cultural setting, the mechanics of biblical interpretation, and a profound acquaintance with the biblical text; he does so with an eye to clear exposition and insightful application of the basic issues portrayed by the Apostle John.

In his commentary on the biblical text, Professor Womack gives special attention to the developing problem of the gnostic heresy. The representatives of this aberrant religious group were dedicated to a view of Christ which in a very real sense robbed him of both his humanity and his divinity. In much the spirit of Athens, their prideful intellect displaced God and relegated to the trash heap of foolishness and naivete those who sought to follow his word. Considering themselves to be above sin, they heralded the virtues of thought and intellectual enterprise while belittling the ignorant folk who believed that following Christ meant obeying his teachings.

Dr. Womack points out that although John said these false teachers were no longer to be considered part of the fellowship (2:19), they considered the church to be their mission field (2:26, 3:7). It therefore is incumbent on church leaders to "mark heresy promoters and not allow them to bring division in the body." It was obviously not the position of the Apostle John that "I'm O.K. and you're O.K." regardless of religious belief. Eusebius claimed that Polycarp, a disciple of John, reported to Irenaeus that on one occasion when the apostle entered the baths at Ephesus and saw the gnostic leader, Cerinthus inside, he immediately left the baths saying, "Let us flee, lest also the baths fall in, since Cerinthus is inside, the enemy of the truth." It is those who obey Christ that by so doing prove that they know him, while those who claim to know him without submitting to his will only prove themselves to be liars (2:3-6).

However, it is especially in this emphasis upon John's insistence that Christians who claim to love God must also love one another that Professor Womack challenges the hypocrisy of a self-centered and legalistic spirit. The refinement of this "son of thunder" into the "Apostle of Love" is presented as both a challenge and a hope for all of us. Jerome reports that when in old age John had to be carried to the place of assembly, he always greeted the church with the words, "little children, love one another." When, perhaps somewhat impatiently, he was asked why he always said the same thing, he responded, "Because this is the Lord's command, and enough is done when this is done."

I am honored to have the opportunity of recommending to you this faithful, and objective aid to your study and understanding of the words of the Holy Spirit as they were revealed through the Apostle John.

Carl Mitchell, Ph.D.

Professor of Bible & Religion

College of Bible & Religion

Harding University

Searcy, Arkansas

I would like to thank John Hunter, Dan Rees, and Saundra Tippett for their creative help. In the writing of 2 and 3 John, C. Michael Moss of Lipscomb University was gracious in allowing the editorial team to use material from a forthcoming book on John's epistles. A special thanks to Steve Cable and Chris DeWelt who have been a source of encouragement in the project.

I appreciate very much the kind words of Dr. Carl Mitchell of Harding University and for his support for the commentary that I have written. He is a friend and loyal brother.

Morris M. Womack

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

INTRODUCTION

John's writings have been my favorite books of the Bible. This does not mean that they are more important than any others, but I like the spirit and tone as well as the content of his writings. They show how one can develop from a "son of thunder," as John was called by Jesus (Mark 3:17) to become the great apostle of love. His teachings on love are the deepest and most precious in the Bible. It was said early in church history (Jerome) that when John would come to the assembly of Christians, he would be carried to the door of the place of meeting where he would pat the Christians on the head, saying, "my little children, love one another."

The greatest memory I have about John comes from my freshman year in college when I began studying Greek. First John was the first place we began reading and translating. I remember it as a simple, clear, and challenging book. It was written in simple, unencumbered Greek, and this impression has stayed with me.

AUTHORSHIP

These three epistles we are studying are referred to as "general epistles." They were not written to specific churches, as were the letters by the apostle Paul. While Jesus was on earth, he selected three of his twelve disciples to be a sort of "inner circle." In his treatise on the life of Jesus, John referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21:7). There are several indications of John's special relation to Jesus. He was one of the select three (Peter, James, and John) with Jesus at the transfiguration. He shared a lonely night in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to Jesus' trial and crucifixion, and he leaned on Jesus' breast and enjoyed a close encounter with Jesus at the last supper.

Some commentators prefer to separate the introductions to 1 John from one for 2 and 3 John. Given their differences, it is understandable to treat them accordingly. We will consider an overview of the three epistles together for this commentary. Traditionally, John the apostle has been accepted as the author of all three books but not without controversy over the centuries. First John is not structured like the typical first century letters and has not been called an epistle in the same light as both 2 and 3 John, which are very typical of early letter form and style. One of the greatest evidences for the books is that all three are found in the earliest Greek manuscripts. Irenaeus attributed authorship to John ( Against Heresies III, 16, 5, and 8).

Internal evidence for the three letters point to the same author as that of the Gospel of John most credibly because of the claim of being an eye witness (1 John 1:1-3). Language, key words, thought, scope and style are similar. A.E. Brooke in his commentary used the comparative work of John's first epistle with his Gospel by Holtzmann who wrote in 1882. The comparison of phrases and terminology provide sufficient evidence to convince the honest seeker of John's authorship of the first epistle. If the commonality of the first epistle with the other two can be shown, the authorship problem is settled on John the apostle. (For example, 1 John 2:7 compares with 2 John 5 and John 13:34-35. Second John 12 compares with 1 John 1:4 and John 15:11; 16:24. The use of "my children" in 3 John compares with 1 John 2:1, etc.)

DATE AND OCCASION

All three letters can be safely dated at the end of the Apostle John's life. If this is accurate, it explains the brevity of 2 and 3 John especially since they would have been written by an old man. We are at a loss to discover from the letters themselves when and from where they were written. John had been exiled to the Isle of Patmos, as is stated in the book of Revelation. Whether John wrote these while he was on the Isle of Patmos, we do now know. It is most commonly thought that John wrote from Ephesus in the last decade (the middle of the 90s) of the first century where John spent his last days.

One reason to handle all three books in one introduction is the fact that they share a common occasion with similar circumstances. Three major problems existed during this time: the spread of persecution by the Roman Empire, the development of false teachings of various kinds in the Christian community, and the rise and growth of Gnosticism. False prophets or false teachers were attacking the church and that prompted the need for an authoritative response (see the section below, Gnosticism, Docetism ). John, as perhaps the last living apostle at the time of writing, could speak with apostolic authority from the Lord. Deceivers and antichrists were calling to the sheep and the Lord sent John to shepherd God's flock. All three situations were faced with the need to strengthen fellowship among the true believers in order to recognize the counterfeit gospel being preached. The heretics were unsettling the firm moorings of the gospel causing some to doubt the first commands of Christ. Were they still loved by God? What is truth? Who are the children of God? Can I have one foot in heaven and also have one on earth? Did Jesus become a man? How could he be divine too? Who is my neighbor and how do I treat him? What if I do not feel saved? What if you have a problem with a "ruling elder?" Diotrephes in 3 John was wanting more authority. It is my view that this could well be the beginning of a striving for power. Ignatius, in the early second century, tells us of a bishop, elders, and deacons in some early churches. The bishop seems to begin to take power within the local church with the elders and deacons working "under" him. These questions challenge the letter writer for solid, inspired answers. John delivers!

Some commentators, such as Lenski and Marshall, have suggested that 2 and 3 John may have been written first and then 1 John. I simply mention this possibility and direct you to these commentators for further discussion.

Why did John write these short letters? First John 1John 5:13 specifically states the author's purpose in writing, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." The theme of 2 John may be expressed in verse 9, "Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son." John summarizes the content of 3 John in verse 11, "Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God." Commentators vary in their opinions as to the epistles' key words and verses, but these will serve as one-verse representatives of their respective themes.

RECIPIENTS

It has been suggested that 1 John was a circular or an encyclical letter much like Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This is partially reasoned from the lack of an addressee. If both of these books were connected to Ephesus, they may have shared a similar tradition. If 2 and 3 John were also encyclical, they were intended to be passed around to various churches and individuals for all to read. All three of John's letters are sent to Christians. Other than that we do not know who they were or where they lived. Area churches in Asia Minor (now Turkey) have been the most commonly proposed recipients. This opinion is based on the place of composition being Ephesus and that strikingly similar heresies are addressed, albeit incipient, in the earlier writings of the apostle Paul. John must have given much tender care and love to many of these churches in his last years around Ephesus. Based on Jesus' charging John to care for Mary at the time of the crucifixion, it is believed that Mary went home with John and spent her life at Ephesus. There is a traditional tomb of Mary in the ancient ruins of Ephesus today. John may have played an actual role in the founding and fostering of the church there.

GNOSTICISM, DOCETISM

What we face today in humanistic and New Age teachings we can identify as merely a refashioning of the old gnostic falsehoods. There is indeed nothing new under the sun! To understand the noxious weeds we fight today, we must turn back the pages of time to expose their beginning roots.

Whatever part John played in the birth and development of the Ephesian congregation, he was certainly involved in protecting them from the encroaching dangers of Gnosticism in the final years of the first century and following. As a witness to all of Jesus' personal ministry, John was quite capable of bearing witness to the historical Jesus and could certainly testify of the dual human/divine nature of Jesus Christ.

The rise and development of Gnosticism had a tremendous impact on the Christian movement. Around the middle of the first century, a monster in the form of Gnosticism arose that threatened the very roots of the Christian religion. The apostle Paul used the term (pseudônymou gnôseôs, "falsely-named knowledge") to identify this threat, Gnosticism (1 Tim 6:20). It presented a new worldview on the relationship between God and humanity which threatened Christianity at the time of its burgeoning growth.

Gnosticism, in my view, was a combination of three major strains of thought: Zoroastrianism, Platonism, and Christianity. Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia, contributed at least two major elements: dualism (the worship of two gods) and the light-darkness views of Gnosticism (referred to in both John's Gospel and the Epistles of John). The dualism - the presence of two gods (a god of the Old Testament who created all things including evil and materialism and a god of the New Testament for the Gnostics whom they believed was the God of Jesus Christ) was expressed by Zoroastrianism by their two gods - Ahura Mazda (god of light) and Ahura Mainyu (god of darkness). The Jewish nation, having been exposed to the Persian religion during the Babylonian Captivity, were certainly influenced by this ideology.

Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy contributed to the Gnostic theories through the concept of Plato's "world of ideas," which suggested that nothing exists except in an unseen world of ideas. The gods could not be approached or seen, said the Gnostic. God was at a distance from humankind, the Gnostics argued. In gnostic thought, humans could approach God through a series of "aeons" or "angelic" types of beings.

Some of the elements of Christianity found a welcome home among the Gnostics. The goodness of the God of the New Testament and the importance of knowing about God were some of these elements. The followers of the gnostic religion created a higher level of Christians, the gnostic Christians whom they regarded as the ultimate essence of their spiritual life.

John was not called one of the "sons of thunder" for nothing! Over the course of his lifetime he learned to direct his anger, or euphemistically called "righteous indignation," toward heretical causes aimed at the Christ. One of John's crucial reasons for writing was to answer the attacks by the false teachers faced by the recipients of all three letters.

Christians saw Gnosticism as a threat to the church as early as the last half of the first century. We can find some elements in some of Paul's writings and certainly in John's first epistle. When many biblical critics, especially the critics of the Tübingen school and others in America, began their critical analyses of the New Testament, they generally agreed that many of the New Testament books could not have been written in the first century because they reflected and even opposed the Gnostics, which they argued did not exist until the second century. At that time, many scholars argued that Gnosticism was a second-century phenomenon. I argued in the late 1950s that it originated much earlier. In fact, I wrote that "Until fairly recent times, scholars did not realize the vast span of history that Gnosticsim had. Though it was not called such, it can be traced to pre-Christian times." This claim was questioned by some, but later research by more eminent scholars than I have supported this theory. William F. Albright, eminent paleontologist, had espoused the late authorship of several canonical books of the New Testament. However, near the end of his life he wrote, "all the New Testament books were probably written during the late forties and the early eighties of the first century A.D., possibly even between A.D. 50 and A.D. 75."

The gnostic movement was a prominent influence on first century thought, very strong by the end of the century. That Gnosticism was prominent by the middle of the first century is further evidenced by the presence of the Nag Hammadi Manuscripts, gnostic documents discovered in the late 1940s. They are believed by some to have been nearly as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are gnostic in character and must have been known by many of the period. Gnosticism was a dualistic religion (arguing for the existence of two opposing gods) and taught that Jesus was not really human but that Jesus was probably adopted by God at the time of his baptism (often referred to as the "Adoptionist Theory"). It was a divisive religion and was causing many problems in the early church.

Incipient Gnosticism had been introduced in Colossians and somewhat in Corinthians. John in his letters continues the battle he addressed in his Gospel, the battle most likely directed against "archheretic Cerinthus" and his docetic followers. One of the major concepts of the Christian gnostic movement was that Jesus was not born of human flesh, but that he only seemed to be human, hence the docetic philosophy. John had answered the docetic teaching that Jesus only "seemed" to be in the flesh with his poetic Gospel opening. Later in 19:16-37, he explicitly describes the reality of Jesus' crucifixion.

The opening verses of 1 John clearly answered some of the heresy by giving an eyewitness account of knowing Jesus. As the popular saying goes, "been there, done that." John could say, "I have been there and seen Jesus do that." John also addressed the false belief "we have no sin" because they treated sin with indifference. And, there was no "special knowledge" or "special illumination" to be obtained by a few! Contrary to the false teachings, Jesus did come in the flesh and suffered and rose from the dead to give us life. John and those with him knew Jesus intimately. Jesus, Son of God, Creator of life, appointed John as an apostle with all the rights and authority given by God. Any commands are to come from God and not from man.

STRUCTURE AND STYLE

Alexander Ross organizes the main part of 1 John, apart from the preface and conclusion, under two main points: I. God Is Light (1 John 1:5-2:29), and II. God Is Love (1 John 3:1-5:12). Robert Law outlined 1 John according to cycles of tests for truth and righteous living. Regarding 2 and 3 John, virtually all commentators provide a simple outline for their brief contents.

J.W. Roberts offers a unique analysis of John's letters in relationship to his peculiar style. Among the ones Roberts describes are John's use of "Antithetic Parallelism" (Hebrew device of contrasting two thoughts), "Genuine Antithesis" (or reverse of the same statement, as in 1 John 3:7-10), "Recapitulation" (as in 1 John 3:4a, repeating a word like "sin," "love," or "truth" and discussing it), "Word Parenthesis" ("inclusion of a thought unit between the first and last use of the same word" as in 1 John 5:16), and "Anaphora" (beginning with the same phrase like "If we say").

John's three letters have endeared themselves to the church since they were written in the first century. The original writer and the original audience have a much clearer view of things than we do. Were John's words heeded by his recipients? Obviously some did because the gospel message has continued through the preservation of the letters. As long as they are taught and preached, they will continue to instruct, warn, and encourage their readers. God bless you as you nobly search the Scriptures with the Lord Jesus.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arndt, William F. and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Barclay, William. The Letters of John . Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976.

Barker, Kenneth, Ed. The NIV Study Bible . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

Brooke, A.E. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles . The International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1971.

Bruce, F.F. The Epistles of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.

Burdick, Donald W. The Epistles of John . Chicago: Moody, 1970.

Burge, G.M. "John, Letters of." Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Development , pp. 587-599 . Edited by Ralph P. Martin & Peter H. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997.

Dodd, C.H. The Johannine Epistles . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946.

Fiensy, David. New Testament Introduction . The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994. Revised 1997.

Harrison, Everett F. Introduction to the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971.

Law, Robert. The Tests of Life: A Study of the First Epistle of St. John . 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968.

Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude . Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1996.

Marshall, I. Howard. The Epistles of John . The New International Commentary of the New Testament. Edited by Ned B. Stonehouse, F.F. Bruce and Gordon D. Fee. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

McDowell, Edward A. Hebrews-Revelation . The Broadman Bible Commentary. Vol. 12. Nashville: Broadman, 1972.

Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament . 3rd ed. New York: United Bible Societies, 1971.

Roberts, J.W. The Letters of John. The Living Word Commentary. Edited by Everett Ferguson. Vol. 18. 2nd printing. Austin, TX: Sweet, 1969.

Robinson, John A. T. Redating the New Testament . Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976.

Ross, Alexander. Commentary on the Epistles of James and John . The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.

Schaff, Phillip. History of the Christian Church . 8 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1950.

Smith, David. The Expositor's Greek Testament . Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll. 5 vols. New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1922.

Smith, J.B. Greek-English Concordance to the New Testament . Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1955.

Staton, Knofel. Thirteen Lessons on First, Second, and Third John . Joplin: College Press, 1980.

Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John: Introduction and Commentary . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. 1988. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Trench, Richard. Synonyms of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953.

Watson, D.F. "Rhetoric, Rhetorical Criticism," Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Development , pp. 1041-1051. Edited by Ralph P. Martin & Peter H. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997.

Westcott, Brooke Foss. The Epistles of St. John: The Greek Text with Notes and Essays . London: Macmillan, 1883.

Wilkins, M.J. "Pastoral Theology," Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Development , pp. 876-882. Edited by Ralph P. Martin & Peter H. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997.

Wright, D.F. "Docetism," Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Development , pp. 306-309. Edited by Ralph P. Martin & Peter H. Davids. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

DLNT Dictionary of the Later New Testament

KJV King James Version

NEB New English Bible

NIV New International Version

RSV Revised Standard Version

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 1 John (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. THE WORD OF LIFE - 1:1-4

II. LIFE WITH GOD AND THE WORLD - 1:5-2:27

A. The Way of Light and Darkness - 1:5-7

B. Admitting Our Sin - 1:8-10

C. The Atoning Sacrifice - 2:1-2

D. Keeping God's Commandments - 2:3-6

E. A New Commandment - 2:7-8

F. In the Light or in the Darkness - 2:9-11

G. John's Reasons for Writing - 2:12-14

H. Christians and the World - 2:15-17

I. Warnings against Antichrists - 2:18-27

III. GOD'S LOVE FOR US/OUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER - 2:28-3:24

A. Children of God - 2:28-29

B. God's Love for His Children - 3:1-3

C. Warnings against Sin - 3:4-10

D. Love One Another - 3:11-24

IV. TESTING THE SPIRITS/TRUSTING GOD - 4:1-5:12

A. Testing the Spirits - 4:1-6

B. God's Love and Our Love - 4:7-21

C. Faith in the Son of God - 5:1-5

D. The Three Witnesses - 5:6-12

V. CONCLUDING REMARKS - 5:13-21

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Lapide: 1 John (Book Introduction)

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EPISTLE

OF S. JOHN.

——o——

I mention three things by way of preface. First, concerning the authority of the Epistle. Second,  concerning the author. Third, concerning the argument.

1. It is of faith that this Epistle is canonical Scripture. This is the general belief of the whole Church, expressed both elsewhere and in the Council of Trent ( sess. 4). Here observe that the canonical books of Holy Scripture are of two kinds. The first are called proto-canonical , because they have been accounted canonical in all ages by all Christians, so that of their authority none of the orthodox have ever been in doubt.

The second kind are called deutero-canonical , because at one time the Church or the Fathers doubted of their authority, but they were subsequently received into the canon by all men. Such are the books of Esther, Baruch, part of Daniel, Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, two books of the Maccabees, certain portions of the Gospels of S. Mark, S. Luke, or S. John, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, the second of Peter, the second and third of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Apocalypse. All the rest are proto-canonical. Among them, therefore, is this Epistle of S. John, with the exception of one verse, concerning which in its place. This is what Eusebius says of this Epistle ( H. E. 3. 24), "Among those things which John wrote after his Gospel, his first Epistle is also received both by the ancients and the moderns without any hesitation." Moreover, it is equally received by ancient and modern heretics. And S. Augustine says ( Tract . 7, in Epis. 1 Joan .), "That Epistle is canonical which is read by all nations, is accepted by the authority of the whole world, which itself has edified the whole world." And Dionysius of Alexandria, says, "The Gospel and the first Epistle of John are not only without fault, but are written with the utmost elegancy of style, the greatest weight of their sentiments and with perfect diction."

2. The orthodox are all agreed that the author of this Epistle is S. John the Apostle, as the inscription gives it. The same is indicated by the style of the Epistle in all things agreeable to S. John's Gospel, so beautiful, and flowing with the honey of charity, plainly indicating its source, the fair and loving breast of S. John. Add to this that he inculcates the same things in this Epistle which he does in his Gospel, as Eusebius well observes ( H. E. 7. 25), "He who reads carefully will find frequently in both, the words 'life,' 'light,' 'departure from darkness,' 'the truth,' 'grace,' 'joy,' 'the flesh and blood of the Lord,' 'judgment,' 'the remission of sins,' 'the love of God towards us,' 'the command to love one another,' 'the rebuke of the world, the devil, and antichrist,' 'the promise of the Holy Ghost;' he will find everywhere 'the Father and the Son.' And if the character of both writings be observed in all things, there will be found altogether the same sense and form of expression in both the Gospel and the Epistle."

3. The object of the Epistle is, first, to teach the true faith, hope, and charity: the faith both concerning the Holy Trinity and the Incarnate Word, of which assuredly no one has treated more fruitfully than S. John both in his Gospel and in this Epistle. And for this reason he is called by S. Dionysius, Athanasius, Cyril, Chrysostom, Epiphanius and others generally, John the Theologian.

Moreover, this is a Catholic Epistle, that is circular and general, written to all Christians throughout the world, like the Epistles of S. Peter, S. James, and S. Jude. Some, however, of the ancients say that this Epistle of John was written expressly to the Parthians. So Pope Hyginus ( Epist. 1), Pope John II. ( Epist. ad Valer .), S . Augustine ( Lib . 2 quæst. Evang. c. 39), Idacius ( Lib. de Trin .) and others. Our Serarius suspects that Patmos ought here to be read instead of Parthos. For John being banished by Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, converted its inhabitants to Christ. Junius, a Calvinist, against Bellarmine ( Lib. 2 de Verbo Dei, cap. 15 num. 22), understands by Parthians, not the inhabitants of Parthia, but pious exiles distant from their native land. For in the Scythian language exiles were formerly called Parthi , from the Hebrew word pur , i.e., to divide. To the Parthians , then, would mean the same thing as to the tribes which are in the dispersion, as S. James says in his Epistle, and "to the elect strangers of the dispersion," as S. Peter says, in the beginning of his Epistle. But exiles, impious as well as pious, were called Parthi by the Scythians, not by the Greeks or Hebrews, such as was St. John. For otherwise S. Peter and S. James, who write to the dispersed, would have written to the Parthians. Properly, therefore, I understand Parthians here to mean those whose name and empire were at that time widely extended, and embraced several nations, the Persians among them. Now there are in Parthia many Jews as well as Christians, both of Jewish and Gentile extraction, to all of whom S. John here writes.

S. John then wrote to the Parthians, either because he had formerly been amongst them and taught them the faith of Christ, as Baronius and others think, or else because many of the Ephesians and other natives of Asia Minor, to whom S. John had preached, and who had been converted to Christ, had migrated into the nearer regions of Parthia and Persia.

All writers agree that this Epistle was written in Greek. There is no reason for wonder that S. John does not give his name at the beginning of the Epistle. Neither did S. Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The same is the case with many modern writers who do not prefix their names to the beginning of their letters, but subscribe them at the end. Besides, the Holy Spirit was the Author of this Epistle rather than S. John. As S. Gregory says ( Præfat. in Job c. i.), "It is altogether vain to ask for the Author of this Epistle, since it is faithfully believed to have been the Holy Ghost. He then wrote these words who commanded them to be written. If we should receive a letter from any great man, we should look upon it as a ridiculous question to ask with what pen it had been written."

S. John appears to have been an old man, and altogether forgetful of earthly things, and panting after Christ, both when he wrote this Epistle and also his Gospel. He was so absorbed in the greatness of the mystery that he omitted both his name and the salutation, and by so doing carries the reader with him in such a manner as to intimate that he was the writer of the Epistle as well as the Gospel. So Thomas Anglicus. The same thing is sufficiently indicated by the words of the first Epistle, by which one is made wonderfully full of sweetness and delight with Christ Incarnate. Lastly, it is plain that S. John wrote these words in extreme old age, from the words themselves in which he calls himself the Elder, and the faithful his little children. The precise date when he wrote is uncertain: but it seems to have been about the same time that he wrote the Gospel, for there is a great agreement between the Epistles and the Gospel. This has led Baronius to assign the same date to both, namely, A.D. 99, which was the seventh year of Pope S. Clement, and the first of the Emperor Nerva.

S. Gregory concludes with the following golden words ( Hom. 15 in Ezech .): "Do we seek to have our hearts inflamed with the fire of love? Then let us ponder over the words of S. John, for everything that he says is filled with the fire of love." He breathes, repeats and enforces nothing else but the love of God, of Christ, and of our neighbour. He is like old men and lovers, who think and speak of nothing else but what they love and have loved all their lives.