1 John 5

1 John 5:1

In chapters 1 and 2, John wrote of walking in God’s light. In chapters 3 and 4, he discussed living in God’s love. Here, in the final section of his epistle, he talks about experiencing God’s life… Everyone who loves the Father will also love the Son. It is the spirit of antichrist that says, “I love God, but the Son is on a different level.”

1 John 5:2

Because God is love, the closer I get to the Lord, the more His love will rub off on me and the more I will love His children. Those who think they don’t need fellowship with the body or those who call Christians hypocrites are not truly close to the Father because John says he who loves God loves His kids.

1 John 5:3

God’s commandment to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves is neither hard to discern nor, by the power of His Spirit, hard to follow.

1 John 5:4

How do we overcome the seductions, temptations, and attractions of the world? Not by a program, but through a Person. “In the world you will have tribulation,” Jesus said, “but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (Joh_16:33). I was often asked what Applegate Christian Fellowship’s follow-up program was for all of the people who are baptized there Sunday after Sunday. My answer was that Jesus Christthe One who overcame the world, the One who dealt with every temptation successfully, the One who stared down the Enemylives in every one of them and in Him lies victory.

1 John 5:6

Keep in mind that throughout his entire epistle, John is doing battle with gnostics who taught that because the material realm is evil, if Christ was, indeed, who He claimed to be, He couldn’t really have had a material body. Perhaps this verse is footnoted in your Bible as not being in the original manuscript. In this way, one of the most powerful statements of the Trinity takes its place with other passages whose validity is questioned in many good translations. Among them are John 8the story of the woman taken in adulteryMar_16:15, and Rom_8:1. But remember, we not only have copies of the original textswe also have sermons of church fathers that are older than the oldest texts we have. And guess what. The messages of the early church preachers refer to John 8, Mark 16, Romans 8, and 1Jn_5:7. So whatever texts they had in their hands contained the very passages that newer translations question. If these texts were not so pivotal, I wouldn’t think so much about the controversy. But I see something more than coincidental in attacking such powerful passages.

1 John 5:8

Just as the Father, the Word, and the Spirit bear witness in heaven, the Spirit, the water, and the blood bear witness on earth… First, the Spirit bears witness that Jesus Christ is in us. Paul put it this way: His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God (Rom_8:16). No matter how many people argue with me or point out my faults accusingly, I know I’m a child of God because His Spirit bears witness with my spirit. Second, water bears witness that Jesus Christ is in us. When Satan says, “You’re not saved,” think back to the day you went into the water of baptism and came out looking like a drowned rat. What would make you do that? The Spirit drew youand the water is a confirmation or reminder to you. Third, the blood bears witness that Jesus Christ is in us. I come to the table of Communion, and as I drink of the cup, I absorb and embrace, commemorate and celebrate the work of Christ on my behalf. The Spirit inside you, the baptism you went through, and the blood shed for you work together as one proof that you truly are a Christian.

1 John 5:9

“This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” said God of Jesus (Mat_3:17). If we believe the information given to us by mere people, how can we not believe the statements made by God?

1 John 5:10

Sorry, Islam. Sorry Watchtower Society. Sorry Salt Lake City. The fact of the matter is this: Life is in the Son.

1 John 5:12

In his Gospel, John added a phrase to this verse for greater emphasis when he wrote, “But the wrath of God will abide on him” (see Joh_3:36).

1 John 5:13

“I’m going to pull your hair, Mary,” Benjamin would threaten. “Benny,” I would say, “I didn’t hear what I thought I heard, did I?” So, too, if we ask for things or situations that are not God’s will, He’s good enough and kind enough and loving enough to say, “I didn’t hear that, did I?” We ask for the dumbest things! Think back to that for which you prayed passionately when you were eighteen, twenty-four, or sixty years old. So good is God to you and me that He says, “I’m not going to hear prayers that are not My willnot because I’m mean, but because I want the best for you.” On the other hand, if we ask anything according to His will, God hears us… “Lord, help me to love people,” we say. “I hear you,” He answers. “Help me to forgive people I feel have wronged me,” we pray. “I hear your prayer,” He replies. John tells you and me that if we ask anything according to His will, God hears us. And if He hears us, we have confidence that He will give us that for which we ask. So if your prayers are crashing before they make it to heaven, do some investigation as to why… If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.Psa_66:18 If I’m living in rebellion and sin, my prayers will not be answered. Why? Because God is mad at me? No, it’s because it’s a sign that I’m involved in some sin that, if not dealt with, will wipe me out. Thus, God’s failure to answer my prayer is not punishment but protection. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.1Pe_3:7 Because God wants husbands and wives to walk in unity and love, if a husband is not honoring or loving his wife, his prayers will be hindered as an incentive for him to make things right. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.Mat_5:23-24 When you come to the altarto the place of worship and petitionand there the Holy Spirit taps you on the shoulder, saying, “This person is deeply and greatly offended with you,” you need to make things right with him before you continue in prayer. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.Joh_15:7 If we’re not in the Word, we can’t pray in harmony with the heart of Jesus because we won’t know what His will is. Consequently, our prayers won’t be heard. Is there a sin you’re harboring? Are there problems in your marriage? Is there a relationship that needs to be repaired? Are you neglecting the Word? These are the issues that will hinder our prayers.

1 John 5:16

“If you see a brother sinning, pray for him that the Lord will convict him and that he will choose to do what is right,” says John. “But if he is sinning unto death, do not pray for him.” The sin unto death is the rejection of Jesus Christthe blasphemy of the Spirit (Mat_12:31). “My spirit will not always strive with man,” God declared (Gen_6:3). Thus, there comes a point in time when a man says, “No,” to the prompting of the Spirit so many times that he cannot be born again. If a man has done this, we are not to pray for him. How can we know if someone has come to that point? We can’t. Therefore, we’re to keep praying. Before Jeffrey Dahmer died in prison, he had a true, born-again experience and shared the gospel with every prisoner he could. When I read his story, I thought, Wait a minute. This guy kills people, cuts up their bodies, puts them in his freezer, and has them for lunch. Then he goes to prison, hears the gospel, gets savedand now everything’s okay? Yes. As shocking as that seems, the power of the Cross of Calvary, the matchless mercy of the Master, the unfathomable potency of the blood makes such a miracle possible. And although at first it seems disquieting and troubling, in reality it gives me great hope because I know if the Lord can save Jeffrey Dahmer, He can save me.

1 John 5:17

That is, whoever is born of God does not practice sin, does not work on getting better at sinning. The original Greek text makes it clear that the word “he” refers to Jesus, and the word “himself” is actually “him.” Thus, Jesuswho is begotten of Godkeeps him. Keeps who? You and me (Jud_1:24). I love this! Jesus keeps me, and the wicked one cannot do anything to me. Demon possession in a Christian is impossible because we’re kept by Jesusand greater is He in us than he that is in the world (1Jn_4:4).

1 John 5:19

This is truthbut it isn’t despair. Things will not be right until Jesus Christ comes back to rule and reign. Until then, it’s pointless to pin our hopes to anything but that fact.

1 John 5:20

John ends his epistle with a word of warning that, while it at first seems out of sync with the rest of the book, is, in fact, most appropriate. You see, taken in context, the idols of which John writes are not movie stars or sports heroes, fancy homes or opulent lifestyles. No, the idols to which he alludes throughout his entire epistle are those who embrace and propagate the spirit of Gnosticism. Gnosticism can be seen in anyone who worships his own concept of Christ, in anyone who idolizes his own intellectual theology about God. And it will always manifest itself in a pulling away from the body of Christ. The end result of the subtlety of such idolatry can be seen in a story found in Judges 17-18 of a man named Micah… Using her life savings, Micah’s mom bought two idols for her sona “graven image,” which was very possibly a silver calf like the golden calf of Exodus 32, and a “molten image,” which was possibly a poor replica of the ark of the covenant, containing a copy of the Ten Commandments. After constructing a shrine for his idols, Micah made an ephodan article of clothing worn by priests. And after fashioning terraphimfamily godshe consecrated one of his sons to be his priest. Although this sounds strange to us, Micah was emblematic of a problem in the entire nation of Israel, a nation wherein “everyone did right in his own eyes” (see Jdg_21:25). When a Levite passed through his region, Micah jumped at the opportunity to add a bona fide priest to his designer religion and employed the Levite. At this point, Micah had a religion with four attractive elements: Practical convenience. With his shrine conveniently located in his backyard, Micah had no journey to make, no traffic to fight. Family involvement. His mom having financed the whole enterprise and his son being the priest, Micah could have “family time” even as he worshiped. Biblical components. With his ephod, miniature ark, copy of the Ten Commandments, and a replica of the idol the first high priest had made, Micah incorporated biblical components into his backyard religion as seamlessly as those who think a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at family gatherings or the display of a nativity scene at Christmas is an alternative to fellowship with the body of Christ. Cultural tolerance. Mixing terraphim with the ark of the covenant made Micah inclusive and politically correct. But Micah’s custom-made religion toppled around him when the men of Dan ripped off his idols and lured away his priest. And, as a result, Micah’s do-it-yourself belief system that had nobly included practical convenience, family involvement, biblical components, and cultural tolerance was, in the end, tragically impotent. “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together,” warns the writer of Hebrews (see Heb_10:25). We are to worship as a family corporately. If we don’t, when trouble strikes and when disaster comes, we’ll run to our custom religion, but it will not save us no matter how loudly we cry. Any who have been through difficulties and tragedies know that blessing and strength come from being part of the body, submitting to the principles and precepts of the Lord, and continuing in the ordinances faithfully. In Shilohonly a few miles away from Micah’s housestood the tabernacle containing the true ark of the covenant, the true Word of God, the true priesthood. While Micah dabbled in deception and idolized imitations, reality was right up the road. May such never be said of us. May we continue to be those who exchange the subtlety of idolatry for the surety of Shiloh as we renew our commitment to be a people whose God is the Lord.