1 John Chapter 05
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.
All believers have been born from above. Once they are born from above, then they have a new heavenly father. Everyone who loves the Father also loves other believers.
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments.
The commandments are not the Ten Commandments or the 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law. The commandments are Bible doctrine of the New Testament. "Rejoice in the Lord. Pray without ceasing. Do not quench the Spirit". Those who love God practice these Bible doctrines. The only way to know Bible doctrine is to study them. If one loves God, then he will study Bible doctrine and apply it in his life.
5:3 For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down,
The child of God wants to keep these Bible commandments. He is not keeping them for salvation, but because he loves Christ. These commandments do not sentence a man to death, like the Mosaic Law. They are light and desirable to carry.
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.
Everyone who is born from above will conquer the satanic world system.
Testimony About the Son
5:5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
The only reason that a person can conquer the satanic world system is because he believed in Christ.
5:6 Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood – not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, all of the apostles ran away. However, John came back and witnessed the death of Jesus on the cross. When the Roman soldier drove the stake into Jesus, John saw the water and blood run out, meaning that Jesus had physically died. John was a witness to the death of Christ, but so is the Holy Spirit.
5:7 For there are three that testify,
The Westcott-Hort translates the verse as above. However, the Textus Receptus, which is more accurate and is supported by the church fathers, contains what was most likely the original text. The original Textus Receptus should be translated as, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." This is the strongest trinitarian verse in the Bible, yet the Westcott-Hort denies it.
See the appendix below for the historical manuscript support of this verse.
5:8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement.
The Holy Spirit teaches the believer the Word of God. The water identifies the believer with the Word of God. The blood places the believer in the body of Christ. All three are in agreement.
5:9 If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son.
Those with strong Bible doctrine will not accept the testimony of men. The Liberal media is intentionally withholding facts in order to deceive the public into accepting the liberal view. The public is not Biblically literate, so they buy it hook, line, and sinker.
The testimony of God is greater. It is not biased. It tells the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. The testimonies of men cannot be trusted.
5:10 (The 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 testified concerning his Son.)
The one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit living inside him. The Holy Spirit will confirm the truth. The one who does not believe has no truth in him, so he will be gullible enough to believe the testimony of men.
When a pastor-teacher teaches the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will confirm that it is the truth.
5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
The testimony of the Holy Spirit is that God has given believers eternal life through His Son. If it is eternal, it cannot be lost. This is the gospel in a nutshell.
5:12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.
The believer has the Son of God living inside him. Those who do not believe are on their own.
Assurance of Eternal Life
5:13 I have written 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 wrote these things so that believers would know without a doubt that they do have eternal life.
5:14 And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
The Greek word for "confidence" is παρρησία (parraysia), meaning boldness, especially boldness in speech. A believer should pray boldly to God. He is not to beg God. He is to pray boldly. If the believer asks for anything which is in the will of God, then He hears the prayer. The job of the believer is to learn how to pray for God's will. The more Bible doctrine that a believer possesses, the more able he is to pray in God's will. God will hear all of the prayers of his children, but His answer may be no. God will not give snakes to His believers.
5:15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.
If the believer prays in the will of God, then his prayers will be answered. However, they must be in the will of God. The will of God is determined by the study of Bible doctrine.
5:16 If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that.
The death mentioned in this passage is physical death, not spiritual death. The believer already possesses eternal life, so eternal death is not an option. It is possible for a believer to commit a sin that causes God the Father to call him home. He does not lose his eternal life, but he could lose his physical life. Moses, Aaron, Absalom, Ananias, and Sapphira committed the sin unto death. Those Corinthians who were getting drunk at the Lord's Supper committed the sin unto death.
The sin unto death is not the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin could only be committed by Jews who were living at the time of Jesus. They personally saw the messianic miracles of Jesus and proclaimed that Jesus was from a dung demon. These men were unbelievers and they did lose their physical lives. The unpardonable sin cannot happen in this dispensation, but the sin unto death can happen.
5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death.
Believers sin all of the time, but this is not the sin unto death. This is just simply unrighteousness.
5:18 We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him.
The new nature does not sin. The old nature does sin. Both natures are living in the believer. Only the old nature is living in the unbeliever.
Satan could not touch Job, unless he obtained permission from God. The believer is in the same status as Job. Satan cannot touch the believer, unless God allows it.
5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
There are two kinds of people in the world, saints and aints. The saints belong to Christ, but the aints belong to the devil.
5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.
The Son of God has given insight to the believers. The only Bible doctrine that a believer can understand is what is given to him by the Holy Spirit. If a believer knows Bible doctrine, it is because God has been gracious, or nice, to him.
Jesus is the true God of eternal life. This is a strong, irrefutable sign of deity.
5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
Anything that stands between Christ and the believer is an idol. Today, common modern idols are money, power, sex, sports, education, career, politics, entertainment, family, spouses, and even children. Believers are commanded to not allow anything to come between Christ and himself.
+++
Appendix # 1Historical Evidence for 1 John 5:7
200 AD Tertullian wrote "which three are one" based on the verse in his Against Praxeas, chapter 25.
250 AD Cyprian of Carthage, wrote, "And again, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost it is written: "And the three are One" in his On The Lapsed, On the Novatians, (see note for Old Latin)
350 AD Priscillian referred to it [Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Academia Litterarum Vindobonensis, vol. xviii, p. 6.]
350 AD Idacius Clarus referred to it [Patrilogiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina by Migne, vol. 62, col. 359.]
350 AD Athanasius referred to it in his De Incarnatione
398 AD Aurelius Augustine used it to defend Trinitarianism in De Trinitate against the heresy of Sabellianism
415 AD Council of Carthage appealed to 1 John 5:7 when debating the Arian belief (Arians didn't believe in the deity of Jesus Christ)
450-530 AD Several orthodox African writers quoted the verse when defending the doctrine of the Trinity against the gainsaying of the Vandals. These writers are:
A) Vigilius Tapensis in "Three Witnesses in Heaven"
B) Victor Vitensis in his Historia persecutionis [Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Academia Litterarum Vindobonensis, vol. vii, p. 60.]
C) Fulgentius in "The Three Heavenly Witnesses" [Patrilogiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina by Migne, vol. 65, col. 500.]
500 AD Cassiodorus cited it [Patrilogiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina by Migne, vol. 70, col. 1373.]
550 AD Old Latin ms r has it
550 AD The "Speculum" has it [The Speculum is a treatise that contains some good Old Latin scriptures.]
750 AD Wianburgensis referred to it
800 AD Jerome's Vulgate has it [It was not in Jerome's original Vulgate, but was brought in about 800 AD from good Old Latin manuscripts.]
1000s AD miniscule 635 has it
1150 AD minuscule ms 88 in the margin
1300s AD miniscule 629 has it
157-1400 AD Waldensian (that is, Vaudois) Bibles have the verse
1500 AD ms 61 has the verse
Even Nestle's 26th edition Greek New Testament, based upon the corrupt Alexandrian text, admits that these and other important manuscripts have the verse: 221 v.l.; 2318 Vulgate [Claromontanus]; 629; 61; 88; 429 v.l.; 636 v.l.; 918; l; r.