1 John 5

This is the final chapter of the First Epistle of John. 1 John 4 dealt with God's love and with love for one's brothers. This chapter continues that theme, binding together faith, love, and the commandments, and then speaks of the assurance of eternal life and of prayer before closing the letter.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. To love God is to keep His commandments, and whoever is born of God overcomes the world through faith.
• Verses 6–12 Jesus is the one who came by water and blood, and three bear witness to Him: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. The witness of God is that He has given eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
• Verses 13–17 The letter was written so that believers may know that they have eternal life. It then states that if we ask anything according to God's will, He hears us (1 John 5:14–15). It also instructs believers to pray for a brother who commits a sin not unto death, adding that there is also a sin unto death.
• Verses 18–21 Three statements of assurance follow, each introduced by "we know." The letter ends with the exhortation to keep away from idols (verse 21).

Key Verses

• 1 John 5:4 "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" — frequently cited as a verse about the victory gained through faith.
• 1 John 5:12 "He that hath the Son hath life" — expresses the chapter's central point that eternal life is in the Son.
• 1 John 5:13 "That ye may know that ye have eternal life" — states the purpose for which the letter was written. It is often compared with John 20:31, which states the purpose for which the Gospel of John was written.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ — the Son of God who came by water and blood. In verse 20 He is called "the true God, and eternal life."
• The Holy Spirit — described as truth and as the one who bears witness to the Son.
• The wicked one — the being in whom the whole world is said to lie. He is commonly understood to be Satan.
• No places are mentioned in this chapter. The author's name does not appear in the text either; the letter has traditionally been attributed to the apostle John.

Points for Reflection

• Water and blood (verse 6): Many interpreters take these to refer to Jesus' baptism and His death on the cross. Other interpretations connect them with the water and blood that flowed from His pierced side (John 19:34–35) or with the sacraments.
• The Johannine Comma (verses 7–8): Later manuscripts of the Vulgate (the Latin Bible) and the King James Version contain an additional clause: "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." Because this clause is absent from the early Greek manuscripts, most modern translations, including the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version, do not include it in the text. Some King James Only advocates maintain that the clause belongs to the original text.
• The sin unto death (verse 16): Interpretations differ, identifying it as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28–30), apostasy from the faith, or persistent refusal to repent, among others. The Catholic Church cites this verse as one of the grounds for distinguishing between mortal and venial sin.
• "Sinneth not" (verse 18): Discussion centers on how this statement fits with 1 John 1:7–10, which says that if we claim to have no sin we deceive ourselves. Many interpreters read it to mean that the believer does not go on sinning habitually.
• The true God (verse 20): Interpreters are divided over whether "this" refers to Jesus or to God the Father. Those who take it to refer to Jesus cite the verse as a text affirming the deity of Christ.

In the Korean Church

• Verses 11–13 are frequently cited in discipleship materials for new members and in evangelism materials dealing with the assurance of salvation.
• Verse 4 is commonly used as the text for sermons on the victory of faith.