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??1 JOHN 5
1 JOHN 5
PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| UBS4 | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| Faith is Victory Over the World | Obedience by Faith | Victorious Faith | Our Victory Over the World | |
| 4:20-5:5 | ||||
| 5:1-5 | 5:1-5 | 5:1-5 | The Source of Faith | |
| The Witness Concerning the Son | The Certainty of God's Witness | The Witness About Jesus Christ | 5:5-13 | |
| 5:6-12 | 5:6-13 | 5:6-12 | 5:6-12 | |
| The Knowledge of Eternal Life | Conclusion | Eternal Life | ||
| 5:13-15 | Confidence and Compassion in Prayer | 5:13 | 5:13-15 | Prayer for Sinners |
| 5:14-17 | 5:14-17 | 5:14-17 | ||
| 5:16-17 | Knowing the True, Rejecting the False | 5:16-17 | Summary of the Letter | |
| 5:18-21 | 5:18-21 | 5:18-20 | 5:18 | 5:18-21 |
| 5:19 | ||||
| 5:20 | ||||
| 5:21 | 5:21 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
?1 JOHN 5:1-4
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:1-4
1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever
loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God and observe His commandments. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments
are not burdensome. 4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.
5:1 "Whoever" (twice) The term pas is used repeatedly in 1 John (cf. 1 John 2:29;3:3,4,6 [twice] 9,10; 4:7; 5:1,4). No one is excluded from John's black or white theological categories.
This is the universal invitation of God to accept Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:12; 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). It is similar to Paul's great invitation in Rom. 10:9-13 (cf. Joel 2:32).
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
▣ "believes" This is a PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE. It is the Greek word (NOUN ‒ pistis; VERB ‒ pisteuō) which can be translated in the NT as "faith," "trust," or "believe." However, in 1 John and the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) it is often used in a sense of doctrinal content (i.e., usually with the DEFINITE ARTICLE, i.e., Jude 1:3,20). In the Gospels and Paul it is used for personal trust and commitment. The gospel is both truths to believe and a person to trust and, as 1 John and James make clear, a life of love and service to be lived.
SPECIAL TOPIC: JOHN'S USE OF THE VERB "BELIEVE"
▣ "that Jesus is the Christ" The essence of the false teachers' error centers around the person and work of the man Jesus, who was also fully incarnate Deity (cf. John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 4:2; 5:5; 2 John v. 7). Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah (cf. 1 John 4:15)! The Messiah is surprisingly (i.e., from the OT) also divine.
This phrase was an oath, possibly at baptism (see Special Topc below), with the added phrase "the Son of God" (cf. 1 John 4:15; 5:5). For sure this affirmation of Jesus' Messiahship related to people with an OT background (i.e., Jews, proselytes, and God-fearers).
SPECIAL TOPIC: Christ Jesus As Lord
SPECIAL TOPIC: OT TITLES FOR THE SPECIAL COMING ONE
▣ "is born of God" This is a PERFECT PASSIVE INDICATIVE which emphasizes a culmination of an action, produced by an outside agent (God, cf. 1 John 5:4,18; 2:29) into a permanent state of being. Believers in Jesus are the adopted sons of God.
| NASB | "loves the child born of Him" |
| NKJV, Peshitta | "loves him who is begotten of Him" |
| NRSV | "loves the parent loves the child" |
| TEV | "loves the father loves his child also" |
| NJB | "loves the father loves the son" |
This phrase probably refers to the Father loving Jesus because of the use of
However, it could relate to the recurrent theme of Christians loving one another (cf. 1 John 5:2) because we all have one Father and one Savior.
SPECIAL TOPIC: OUR SAVIOR (title)
5:2 This verse, along with 1 John 5:3, repeats one of the major themes of 1 John. Love, God's love, is expressed by ongoing love (cf. 1 John 2:7-11; 4:7-21) and obedience (cf. 1 John 2:3-6; 3:22,24; 5:3; John 14:15; 15:10; Rev. 12:17; 14:12; Luke 6:46). Notice the evidences of a true believer.
▣ "the children of God" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHILDREN OF GOD
5:3 "For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments" The GENITIVE could be OBJECTIVE or SUBJECTIVE or a combination. Love is not sentimental but action oriented, both on God's part and on ours. Obedience is crucial (cf. 1 John 2:3-4; 3:22,24; John 14:15,21,23; 15:10; 2 John 6; Rev. 12:17; 14:12; Luke 6:46).
▣ "His commandments are not burdensome" The New Covenant does have requirements (cf. Matt. 11:29-30). Jesus uses the word "yoke" in the same sense as the rabbis used it for the requirements of the laws of Moses, Matt. 23:4). These requirements flow out of our relationship with God, but do not form the basis of that relationship, which is based on God's grace, not human performance or merit (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus' guidelines are very different from the false teachers, who either had no rules (antinomian) or too many rules (legalists)! I must admit that the longer I serve God by serving His people I am more and more afraid of the two extremes of libertinism and legalism.
I think the New Covenant reqirements (i.e., yoke) are
Mature Christianity encompasses them all. The goal of a mature faith is Christlikeness, for the purpose of the health and growth of the Body of Christ!
SPECIAL TOPIC: USE OF "COMMANDMENT" IN JOHN'S WRITINGS
SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE (NT)
| 5:4 | |
| NASB, NKJV, NRSV | "For whatever is born of God" |
| TEV, NJB, REB | "because every child of God" |
| Peshitta | "For whoever is born of God" |
The Greek text puts the word "all" (pas) first in the sentence for emphasis, as in 1 John 5:1. The NEUTER SINGULAR (pan) is used which is translated "whatever." However, the context demands a personal connotation (i.e., the generic sense) because it is combined with the PERFECT PASSIVE PARTICIPLE of "begotten." It is one who believes in Jesus that has been born of God who overcomes the world (cf. 1 John 4:4; 2:13,14).
▣ "overcomes the world" "Overcomes" is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE of nikaō (cf. 1 John 2:13,14; 4:4; 5:4,5). The same root is used twice more in 1 John 5:4.
Jesus has already conquered the world (PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE, cf. John 16:33). Because believers stay in union with Him, they also have the power to overcome the world (cf. 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4).
The term "world" here means "human society organized and functioning apart from God." An attitude of independence is the essence of the Fall and the human rebellion (cf. Genesis 3).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FALL OF MANKIND
▣ "the victory" This is the NOUN form (nikos) of the VERB "has overcome." At the end of 1 John 5:4 the AORIST ACTIVE PARTICIPLE of the same root is used. Then again in 1 John 5:5 another PARTICIPLE form of nikos is used. Believers are overcomers and continue to be overcomers in and through Christ's victory over the world. The word "nike," so popular today as a manufacturer of tennis shoes, is the Greek name for the goddess of victory.
▣ "our faith" This is the only use of the NOUN form of the term "faith" (pistis) in all the writings of John! Possibly John was worried about an overemphasis on "correct theology" (as a system of beliefs) versus daily Christlikeness. The VERB (pisteuō) is used extensively by John. Our faith brings victory because
See my exegetical notes at John 1:7; 2:23; and 1 John 2:10.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FAITH, BELIEVE, OR TRUST
?1 JOHN 5:5-12
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:5-12
5Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God? 6This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with
the water and with the blood. 7It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 8For there are three
that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9If we receive the testimony of men, the
testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10The one who believes
in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the
testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. 12He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
5:5 "Jesus is the Son of God" This verse clearly defines the content of our faith, which is mentioned in 1 John 5:4. Our victory is our profession/confession of trust in Jesus (see SPECIAL TOPIC: CONRESSION/PROFESSION), who is both fully man and fully God (cf. 1 John 4:1-3). Notice that believers affirm that Jesus is
SPECIAL TOPIC: JOHN'S USE OF "BELIEVE" WITH PREPOSITIONS
SPECIAL TOPIC: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "RECEIVE," "BELIEVE," "CONFESS/PROFESS," AND "CALL UPON"?
▣ "Son of God" This is an affirmation of Jesus' Deity (cf. 1 John 4:15).
5:6 "This is the One who came" This is an AORIST ACTIVE PARTICIPLE which emphasizes the Incarnation (Jesus as both man and God, cf. 1 John 4:2,15) and His sacrificial death (cf. Isaiah 53; Mark 10:45; 2 Cor. 5:21), both of which the false teachers denied.
▣ "by water and blood" It seems that "water" refers to Jesus' physical birth (cf. John 3:1-9) and "blood" refers to His physical death. In the context of the Gnostic false teachers' rejection of Jesus' true humanity, these two experiences summarize and reveal His humanity.
The Gnostic false teachers (Cerinthus) relate this "water" to Jesus' baptism. They asserted that the "Christ spirit" came upon the man Jesus at His baptism (water) and left before the man Jesus' death on the cross (blood, see a good summary in NASB Study Bible, p. 1835).
It is possible that this phrase relates to Jesus' death. The spear caused "blood and water" (cf. John 19:34) to pour out. The false teachers depreciated Jesus' vicarious, substitutionary death.
5:7 "It is the Spirit who testifies" The role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the gospel. He is that part of the Trinity who convicts of sin, leads to Christ, baptizes into Christ, and forms Christ in the believer (cf. John 16:7-15). The Spirit always witnesses of Christ, not Himself (cf. John 15:26).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT
▣ "the Spirit is the truth" See my exegetical notes at John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6.
SPECIAL TOPIC: "TRUTH" (the concept) IN JOHN'S WRITINGS
SPECIAL TOPIC: "TRUE" (the term) IN JOHN'S WRITINGS
SPECIAL TOPIC: JESUS AND THE SPIRIT
5:7-8 There is some confusion in the English translations as to where 1 John 5:6,7, and 8 begin and end. The portion of 1 John 5:7 that is found in the KJV which says "in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one," is not found in the three major ancient uncial Greek manuscripts of the NT: Alexandrinus (A), Vaticanus (B), or Sinaiticus (א), nor in the Byzantine family of manuscripts. It appears in only four late minuscule manuscripts.
This verse is not quoted by any of the Early Church Fathers, even in their doctrinal debates over the Trinity. It is absent from all ancient versions except one late Latin manuscript family (Sixto-Clementine). It is not in the Old Latin or Jerome's Vulgate. It appears first in a treatise by the Spanish heretic Priscillian, who died in A.D. 385. It was quoted by Latin Fathers in North Africa and Italy in the 5th century. This verse is simply not part of the original inspired words of 1 John. See Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary of the Greek New Testament, pp. 715-717.
The biblical doctrine of one God but with three personal manifestations (Father, Son, and Spirit) is not affected by the rejection of this verse. Although it is true that the Bible never uses the word "trinity," many biblical passages speak of all three persons of the Godhead acting together:
SPECIAL TOPIC: TEXTUAL CRITICISM
5:8 "the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement" In the OT two or three witnesses were needed to confirm a matter (cf. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15). Here, the historical events of Jesus' life are given as a witness to His full humanity (cf. 1 John 1:1-3; 4:2) and Deity (cf. 1 John 4:15; 5:5) Both truths are crucial!
In this verse, "water" and "blood" are mentioned again along with "the Spirit." The terms "water" and "blood" are mentioned in 1 John 5:6. The "Spirit" may refer to Jesus' baptism because of the dove descending. There is some disagreement about the exact historical allusion that each of these three represents. They must relate to the false teachers' rejection of Jesus' true humanity.
5:9 "If" This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which is assumed to be true from the author's perspective or for his literary purposes. The churches John was writing to were confused because they apparently had heard the preaching or teaching of the Gnostic teachers and some responded.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GREEK GRAMMATICAL TERMS, VII.
▣ "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater" "The testimony of men" may refer to the teachings of the false teachers. And the FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE implies some were! This divine testimony, in context, refers to
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE KERYGMA OF THE EARLY CHURCH
▣ "that He has testified concerning His Son" This is a PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE which implies an action in the past that has come to a state of culmination and is abiding. This may refer to God's vocal affirmations
SPECIAL TOPIC: WITNESSES TO JESUS
5:10 "has the testimony in himself" This seems to refer to internal witness of the Spirit in believers (cf. Acts 5:32; Rom. 8:16; Gal. 4:6)
▣ "has made Him a liar" This is another PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE. Those who reject the Apostolic witness about Jesus reject God (cf. 1 John 5:12) because they make God a liar. John calls several people in the church "liars" (i.e., 1 John 1:6,10; 2:4,22; 4:20; and by implication, 2:9,15).
▣ "because he has not believed" This is another PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE which emphasizes the settled condition of the unregenerate (i.e., John 3:17-21). See full note at v. 1.
5:11-12 "that God has given us eternal life" This is an AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE which speaks of a past act or completed act (cf. John 3:16).
There has been much discussion in theology concerning the state of Adam and Eve at creation (Genesis 1-2). Some assert they were not just innocent but immortal. It seems to me that their expulsion from Eden and Eden's protection by the Cherub denotes that they were not originally immortal. The Tree of Life was kept from them.
As I look at Scripture, it seems to me that immortality resides only with YHWH (cf. John 10:28; 17:2; 1 John 1:2; 5:11,20; possibly also 13) and those He chooses to give it to (i.e., believers in His Son, cf. John 10:28; 1 John 2:25; 5:13). I do believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost (i.e., Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12-15), but not the eternal existence of the unbelievers (i.e., limited immortality).
?1 JOHN 5:13-15
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:13-15
13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests
which we have asked from Him.
5:13 "These things I have written to you" This AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE can be understood in two ways.
▣ "believe in the name" This is a PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE, which emphasizes continuing belief. "The name" is
SPECIAL TOPIC: JOHN'S USE OF "BELIEVE"
SPECIAL TOPIC: The Name of the Lord (NT)
SPECIAL TOPIC: The Name of YHWH (OT)
▣ "that you may know" This is a PERFECT ACTIVE SUBJUNCTIVE (oida is PERFECT in form, but is translated as PRESENT). Assurance of one's salvation is a key concept, and an often stated purpose of 1 John. There are two Greek synonyms (oida and ginōskō) used 27 times throughout the letter/sermon which are translated "know." It is obvious that assurance is the heritage of all believers! It is also obvious that because of the local situation then and the cultural context now that there are true believers who do not have assurance. This verse is theologically similar to the closing of the Gospel of John (cf. 1 John 20:31).
The closing context of 1 John (5:13-20) lists seven things that believers know. Their knowledge of gospel truths provides a worldview, which when combined with personal faith in Christ, is the bedrock foundation of assurance.
5:14 "the confidence which we have before Him" This is a recurrent theme (cf. 1 John 2:28; 3:21; 4:17). It expresses the boldness or freedom believers have in approaching God (cf. Heb. 4:16).
SPECIAL TOPIC: BOLDNESS (parrhēsia)
▣ "if" This is a THIRD CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which means potential action.
▣ "we ask anything according to His will" John's statements seem to be unlimited in the believer's ability to beseech God. How and for what one prays is another evidence of a true believer. However, on further examination, we realize that prayer is not asking for our will, but asking for God's will in our lives (cf. 1 John 3:22; Matt. 6:10; Mark 14:36). See fuller note at 1 John 3:22.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE WILL (thelēma) OF GOD
SPECIAL TOPIC: PRAYER, UNLIMITED YET LIMITED
SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER
5:15 "if" This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE (but with ean and the INDICATIVE, see A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, p. 243) which is assumed to be true from the author's perspective or for his literary purposes. This is an unusual conditional sentence.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GREEK GRAMMATICAL TERMS, VII.
▣ "we know" This is another PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE, translated as a PRESENT, which is parallel to 1 John 5:14. It is the believer's assurance that the Father hears and responds to His children.
?1 JOHN 5:16-17
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:16-17
16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to
death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to
death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
5:16 "If" This is a THIRD CLASS CONDITIONAL which means potential action. 1 John 5:16 emphasizes our need to pray for our fellow Christians (cf. Gal. 6:1; James 5:13-18) within some suggested limits (not for the sin unto death), which is related to the false teachers (cf. 2 Peter 2; Jude).
▣ "sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death" John has listed several categories of sin. Some relate to one's
The ultimate sin is rejection of trust/belief/faith in Jesus Christ. This is the sin unto ultimate death! W. T. Conners in his Christian Doctrine, says:
"This does not mean, however, unbelief in the sense of a refusal to accept a doctrine or a dogma. It is unbelief in one's rejection of moral and spiritual light, particularly as that light is embodied in Jesus Christ. It is the rejection of God's final revelation of himself as made in Christ. When this rejection becomes definite and wilful, it becomes the sin unto death (1 John 5:13-17). It thus becomes moral suicide. It is putting out one's own spiritual eyes. It does not take place except in connection with a high degree of enlightenment. It is deliberate, wilful, malicious rejection of Christ as God's revelation, knowing that he is such a revelation. It is deliberately calling white black" (pp. 135-136).
SPECIAL TOPIC: WHAT IS SIN UNTO DEATH?
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
▣ "God will for him give life" The theological and lexical problem here is the meaning of the term "life" (zoē).
5:17 All sin is serious, but all sin can be forgiven through
?1 JOHN 5:18-20
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:18-20
18We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who
was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world
lies in the power of the evil one. 20And we know 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, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
5:18 "We know" See notes on the seven things believers know in the second paragraph at 1 John 5:13.
▣ "no one who is born of God sins" This is a PERFECT PASSIVE PARTICIPLE. This is related to the black and white categories of 1 John 3:6 and 9. Eternal life has observable characteristics. The antinomian false teachers' lifestyles reveal their unregenerate hearts (cf. Matthew 7; 2 Peter; Jude)!
John was addressing two different kinds of false teachers.
Sin must be initially confessed and existentially avoided. Sin is the problem, a problem, and continually a problem (cf. 1 John 1:10; 5:21).
Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary of the Greek New Testament (p. 718) asserts that the manuscript variation is based on what the copyist thought the phrase "born of God" referred to.
The UBS4 gives #1 a "B" rating (almost cetain).
▣ "but He who was born of God keeps him" The first VERB is an AORIST PASSIVE PARTICIPLE which implies a completed act accomplished by an outside agent (in this context, it refers to Jesus). This refers to the Incarnation.
The second VERB is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE with "him" (auton). This is literally, "the One who was born of God continues to keep him." This refers to Christ's continual sustaining of the believer. This translation follows the ancient Greek uncial manuscripts of A* and B*. This interpretation is found in the English translations NASB, RSV, and NIV.
Manuscripts א and Ac have another PRONOUN, "keeps himself" (eauton) which implies that the one born of God has some responsibility in keeping himself. The VERB used here for "was born" is not used elsewhere of Jesus. The reflexive concept is used of believers in 1 John 3:3 and 5:21. This is followed by the English translations KJV and ASV.
| NASB | "and the evil one does not touch him" |
| NKJV | "the wicked one does not touch him" |
| NRSV | "the evil one does not touch them" |
| TEV | "the Evil One cannot harm them" |
| NJB | "the Evil One has no hold over him" |
| REB | "and the evil one cannot touch him" |
| Peshitta | "and the evil one does not come near him" |
This is PRESENT MIDDLE INDICATIVE which means the evil one (i.e., 1 John 2:13; 3:12; 5:18) cannot continue "laying hold of him," so as to control.The only other use of this term in John's writings is in John 20:17. It is obvious from the Bible and experience that Christians are tempted and damaged. There have been three major theories about the meaning of this phrase.
5:19 "We know that we are of God" This is the confident faith assurance (not certainty), the worldview of a believer in Christ Jesus (cf. 1 John 4:6). All else is based on this wonderful truth (cf. 1 John 5:13). See note at 1 John 5:13.
▣ "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" This is a PRESENT MIDDLE (deponent) INDICATIVE (cf. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12). This was made possible through
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FALL OF MANKIND
5:20 "We know" See full note on the seven things believers know at the second paragraph of 1 John 5:13.
▣ "the Son of God has come" This PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE affirms the incarnation of the divine Son. YHWH has fully revealed Himself in Jesus (John 14:8-10). Deity with a human body was a major problem for the Gnostic false teachers who asserted the evilness of matter.
▣ "has given us understanding" This is another PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE. Jesus, (and His Apostolic delegates, cf. 1 John 1:1-3) not the Gnostic false teachers, has provided the needed insight into Deity. Jesus has fully revealed the Father by means of His life, His teachings, His actions, His death and His resurrection! He is the living Word of God (i.e., Matt. 5:17-48; John 1:1-18); no one comes to the Father apart from Him (cf. John 1:14,18; 14:6; 1 John 5:10-12).
▣ "we are in Him who is true; in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" The first phrase "in Him who is true" refers to God the Father (cf. John 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 3:7; 6:10), but the divine person referred to in the second phrase, "the true God," is harder to identify. In context it seems to also refer to the Father, but theologically it could refer to the Son. The grammatical ambiguity might be purposeful, as it is so often in John's writings, for one to be in the Father one must be in the Son (cf. 1 John 5:12). The Deity and trueness (truth) of both the Father and the Son may be the intended theological thrust (cf. John 3:33; 7:28; 8:26).
The NT does assert the full Deity of Jesus of Nazareth (cf. John 1:1,18; 20:28; Phil. 2:6; Titus 2:13; and Heb. 1:8). However, the Gnostic teachers would have also affirmed the Deity of Jesus.
For "eternal life" see the note at 1 John 5:11-12.
SPECIAL TOPIC: "TRUE" (the term) IN JOHN'S WRITINGS
SPECIAL TOPIC: "TRUTH" (the concept) IN JOHN'S WRITINGS
?1 JOHN 5:21
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:21
21Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
| 5:21 | |
| NASB | "guard yourselves from idols" |
| NKJV, NRSV, Peshitta | "keep yourselves from idols" |
| TEV | "keep yourselves safe from false gods" |
| NJB | "be on guard against false gods" |
| REB | "be on your guard against idols" |
This is an AORIST ACTIVE IMPERATIVE, an emphatic general truth. This refers to the Christians' active participation in the sanctification (cf. 1 John 3:3), which they are already enjoying in Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:5).
The term idols (which is used only twice in John's writings, here and in an OT quote in Rev. 9:20), relates either to
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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