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Overcoming the World
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Testimony Concerning the Son of God
This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; 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. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
That You May Know
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
(ESV)
1 John 5 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
At the time of this writing, John was battling the incredible deception that had come against the church. There were false teachers parading around true believers and teaching that when Jesus died, He was simply human and not divine.
We saw the same theme yesterday when John warns us to test the spirits. John was the right person to address it. If you remember, this was a topic near to his heart, as even his Gospel writings share this theme. He starts out John 1 with the most beautiful and powerful statements about how Jesus was indeed God in the flesh.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:1-2 NASB
Like many Biblical themes of today, people of John’s time were trying to use logical reasoning as a means to verify truth instead of faith. They thought they were wise to try and explain something “new” that hadn’t been considered before. Don’t get me wrong, the Bible is incredibly practical. It is backed with loads of historical and factual information. It’s breathtaking to consider how these books come together with such perfect harmony through the sweep of Scripture.
But the Bible’s truth doesn’t hang on strictly “factual” information because it’s based on spiritual realities. These spiritual principles are so far above our knowledge, there is no way we can figure everything out with logic and facts. I am very skeptical of someone who believes only because of the evidence.
How do they explain Jonah and the whale?… or Peter walking on water? Where’s the evidence for that? How do you logically understand the Transfiguration of Christ on the mountaintop with Elijah and Moses hanging out up there with Him? I could go on and on. These are faith issues. By faith, we believe these things happened even though we can’t truly grasp every specific detail.
John was passionate about believers understanding the truth by faith.
We believe human testimony; but God’s testimony is much stronger, and he has given this testimony about his Son. 10 So those who believe in the Son of God have this testimony in their own heart; but those who do not believe God, have made a liar of him, because they have not believed what God has said about his Son. 11 The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:9-12 GNB
John is calling us to put our trust in God. It’s a call to faith. Though man’s testimony can have flaws, God’s is perfect. And that testimony is this – His Son, Jesus, came as fully man and fully God to be a sacrifice for sin.
John is contrasting those who accept and those who reject what God says. A person who trusts in Jesus possesses the witness, namely, the truth of God (v. 1Jn 5:9). The one who rejects God’s testimony is claiming that God is a liar.
Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary