General Letters 1 John

The Certainty Of God's Testimony

Discover Jesus as: Perfect Love 1 John 5 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 683 of 730
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INTRO

John was a man of God who was an eyewitness to the accounts of Jesus’ life and the apostles’ lives. He had authority to speak to those he was talking to and writing to.

TEACHING

1 John 5:1-21: The first three verses address justification. Once an individual accepts Christ, his sin is removed. However, the sin nature is still there. Believers pursue the holiness and righteousness process. The glorification process will come at Jesus’ second coming. Purification and perfection take place when Christ comes back. First John deals with sanctification and sin versus the holiness issue. Sanctification is a form of walking in obedience.

The theme of 1 John is to love God and love others. The question raised in the first verses of 1 John 5 was, do believers want to pursue sanctification with joy? Believers should not pursue holiness with a grudge.

In verse 3 John commanded and demanded obedience to God. He defined love for God as keeping His commands. If there was a desire to reflect the image of God in life, then there should be joy in it. If a person loved the Lord, there is a desire to be sanctified in their living.

John explains that if living out holiness is a burden, believers need to confess that to God. Asking God to strengthen a believer’s resolve in their sanctification is a first step. Living in Christ should be seen as an opportunity. It should be translated into joyful obedience. Wiersbe states, “Not simply obedience—but joyful obedience! ‘His commandments are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3).”1

Christ’s victory conquered the world. Therefore, believers born in Christ can also conquer the world. Believers are equipped to overcome the world in the joy of their obedience.

Psalm 119:97 states that God’s teachings are present all day long. This helps people keep God’s commands. Believers should rejoice in the way God’s Word is revealed. There is value in the Word of God. There is a spirit of joy that comes from the Word of God’s promises for believers.

Psalm 119:14 and 162 talk about rejoicing in the Word of God. Psalm 119:16 and 24 mention delighting in the Word of God. Psalm 119:103 mentions the hunger for the Word of God. Psalm 119:54 includes songs about the love of the Word. The joy for the Word of God came out in various ways. Believers are not to do things from the Word of God out of a sense of burden but out of joy and rejoicing.

In verse 5 John explains that the way to conquer the ways of the world is through faith in Christ. Believers could slip back into the ways of the world if they are not attentive. Wiersbe states, “To begin with, this kind of love must be cultivated. It is not the result of a hit-or-miss friendship! A previous study pointed out that a believer slips back into the world by stages: 1. Friendships with the world (James 4:4), 2. Spotted by the world (James 1:27), 3. Loving the world (1 John 2:15–17), 4. Conformed to the world (Romans 12:2).”2

The goal of Satan is to get believers to fall away. That starts when they begin to have a relationship with the world. The challenge is to maintain a relationship with God. The way that relationship is maintained is by spending time in the Word of God.

In verse 13 John said he was writing these things so believers would have an understanding that they had eternal life. He also wanted his readers to know they had a foundation in Christ. Believers should have confidence in prayer, that God hears them. God wants to listen to the prayers of believers.

In verses 14 and 15 John states that believers could ask for anything and God would hear them and honor their requests. There was freedom found in prayer. In order to come to God so their prayers were answered, they must not have unconfessed sin in their lives.

Wiersbe explains, “Christians have confidence in prayer, just as they have confidence as they await the judgment (1 John 2:28; 4:17). As we have seen, the word confidence means ‘freedom of speech.’ We can come to the Father freely and tell Him our needs. Of course there are conditions we must meet. First, we must have a heart that does not condemn us (1 John 3:21–22). Second, we must pray in God’s will. ‘Thy will be done’ (Matthew 6:10).”3

CLOSING

First John clarifies that because God loved us, we can love others. Christ showed us perfect love so believers can walk out their lives in right standing with God. There is complete joy in obeying and following Him.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament, Volume II (Colorado Springs, David C. Cook, 1989), p. 523.

  2. Wiersbe, p. 526.

  3. 3 Wiersbe, p. 528.

Questions

  1. What are five confidences that true believers have in Christ according to 1 John 5 (1 John 5:13, 14–17, 18, 19, 20)? Are there any of these that you struggle in truly believing?
  2. If we love the Father, who should we also love? Why should God’s commands not be a burden (1 John 5:3)?
  3. Why do you think everything in creation obeys God’s commands except humans (Psalm 148:8; Isaiah 29:13)? Why did John equate love with obedience?
  4. What or who are the three witnesses John mentions in 1 John 5:7–8? What are these three in agreement about (Mark 1:1; John 20:31; Hebrews 4:14)?
  5. What does God clearly want His children to know (1 John 5:10–13)? How do you explain this great truth to someone who believes that you can’t know for sure that you have eternal life or that you are going to heaven?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in 1 John 5 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin 1 John 5:3–5

“For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden, because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. And who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • 1 Corinthians 15:57 — “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
  • 1 John 4:4 — “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
  • 1 John 5:14 — “Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”