1 John5

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and such faith enables one to overcome the world by keeping God's commandments, which are not grievous. God's greater witness testifies that eternal life is found in His Son, Jesus Christ, and those who possess the Son possess this life. Believers can approach God with confidence in prayer, knowing He hears petitions made according to His will.

Faith, Love, and Overcoming the World

1
Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah has God as his father, and everyone who loves a father loves his offspring too. ​
2
Here is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God, we also do what he commands.
3
For loving God means obeying his commands. Moreover, his commands are not burdensome, ​
4
because everything which has God as its Father overcomes the world. And this is what victoriously overcomes the world: our trust. ​
5
Who does overcome the world if not the person who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God?

The Divine Testimony

6
He is the one who came by means of water and blood, Yeshua the Messiah — not with water only, but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. ​
7
There are three witnesses — ​
8
the Spirit, the water and the blood — and these three are in agreement. ​
9
If we accept human witness, God’s witness is stronger, because it is the witness which God has given about his Son.
10
Those who keep trusting in the Son of God have this witness in them. Those who do not keep trusting God have made him out to be a liar, because they have not trusted in the witness which God has given about his Son. ​
11
And this is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12
Those who have the Son have the life; those who do not have the Son of God do not have the life.

Assurance of Eternal Life

13
I have written you these things so that you may know that you have eternal life — you who keep trusting in the person and power of the Son of God. ​

Confidence in Prayer

14
This is the confidence we have in his presence: if we ask anything that accords with his will, he hears us. ​
15
And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — then we know that we have what we have asked from him.
16
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he will ask; and God will give him life for those whose sinning does not lead to death. There is sin that does lead to death; I am not saying he should pray about that. ​
17
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

Summary of Christian Knowledge

18
We know that everyone who has God as his Father does not go on sinning; on the contrary, the Son born of God protects him, and the Evil One does not touch him. ​
19
We know that we are from God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.
20
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment, so that we may know who is genuine; moreover, we are united with the One who is genuine, united with his Son Yeshua the Messiah. He is the genuine God and eternal life. ​

Keep Yourselves from Idols

21
Children, guard yourselves against false gods! ​

Study Notes for 1 John 5

Verse 1

John connects belief in Jesus’ messianic identity (Christ) directly to the new birth. True spiritual birth results in love for both God (the Father) and fellow believers (those begotten of Him).

Verse 3

True love for God is defined by obedience to His commands, not mere sentiment. His commands are 'not grievous' (or burdensome) because the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to fulfill them.

Verse 4

Overcoming the world—the system of human values alienated from God—is the characteristic of the spiritually born. This victory is achieved solely through faith in Christ.

Verse 6

The 'water and blood' likely refers to Jesus’ baptism (water) and His crucifixion (blood). John emphasizes that Jesus came fully, affirming both His physical humanity and His atoning death, countering Gnostic denials.

Verse 7

This verse (often called the *Comma Johanneum*) is absent from the earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts. Most modern translations omit it or include a footnote, recognizing it as a later scribal addition.

Verse 8

The three earthly witnesses—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—attest to the full identity and saving work of Christ, providing undeniable assurance.

Verse 10

The believer possesses internal assurance (the witness of the Spirit). To reject God’s testimony concerning His Son is to call God a liar, a serious theological indictment.

Verse 13

This verse explicitly states the primary purpose of 1 John: to confirm the certainty (assurance) of eternal life for those who have already placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Verse 14

Effective prayer is conditioned on seeking things 'according to his will.' Confidence is based not on the power of the prayer, but on the alignment of the request with God’s purposes.

Verse 16

John distinguishes between categories of sin. The 'sin unto death' likely refers to apostasy or a willful, final rejection of Christ and the Spirit’s testimony (similar to the unforgivable sin).

Verse 18

The phrase 'sinneth not' (present tense) means 'does not live in a continuous state of sin.' The new birth provides protection; the 'wicked one' (Satan) cannot establish spiritual dominion over the true believer.

Verse 20

This verse is a profound summary, explicitly affirming the full deity of Jesus Christ ('This is the true God') and identifying Him as the source and embodiment of eternal life.

Verse 21

This final, abrupt warning relates to the core theme of the letter. Idolatry includes not only physical images but also false teachings (the heresy threatening the church) or anything that replaces Christ as the source of truth.

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