3:19 Cain (verse 12) was "of that wicked one"; believers are of the truth. And hereby: John seems to be saying that
assurance of salvation comes in part as one reaches out actively in caring for others (preceding verses).
3:20 In light of John's strict teaching above, he may have felt that some readers might begin to despair. He assures
them that, although our feeble attempts to honor God may leave us feeling defeated inside, God is greater than our
self-awareness (1 Corinthians 4:4) and can justify us even when we would condemn ourselves. He sees not only our
actions, which at times are thwarted or misguided, but also the motives and intentions behind them.
3:21, 22 If our heart condemn us not: We have confidence toward God if our lives are in line with the standard of
Christian living set forth above. John is not saying that whether a person is right or wrong is simply a matter of how
he subjectively feels about himself. That is why John has given so many indicators and commands for Christians to
take not of and assess themselves by. And one of the great results of life lived in purity before God is a life where
there is effective prayer. Right living is an important part of successful praying.
3:23 John has already set forth the importance of true faith in Christ and true love for others. Now he combines the
two.
3:24 Dwelleth in him: See Christ's words about "abiding" in John 15. He in him refers to Christ in the believer. The
Spirit gives internal assurance to corroborate the external testimony of true faith, active love, and consistent
obedience.
First Epistle of John chapter 4
4:1 The Spirit gives assurance (3:24). But how do believers know it is God's Spirit, and not a lying one, who is
assuring them? John acknowledges the presence of numerous spirits. Christians must be wary that they not be
misled. The Greek grammar here may have been a residual effect of those who had already left (2:19).
4:2 John's opponents may have claimed to follow Christ, but without accepting that the Son who came in flesh was
also one with the Father. This position was held by many Gnostics. John says that the Spirit will enlighten true
believers to confess that Christ did come in the flesh. This is a particular doctrinal test for a particular time. Jesus
himself speaks of those who call Him "Lord" but are false followers (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46).
4:3 John attributes the work of the false prophets (verse 1) to the spirit of antichrist. See the note on 2:18.
4:4 Christ indwells believers; Satan is likewise the lord of his own followers. But Christ is greater than he who wreaks
havoc on the world. Have overcome is in the perfect tense, stressing the abiding nature of their victory. Their
strength lies in the fact that they are [born] of God.
4:5 They refers to all who are ruled by the spirit of antichrist. The world finds their teaching more appealing than the
truth of God.
4:6 Those who acknowledge the truth of the apostolic (New Testament) witness to Christ will recognize and confirm to
the teaching of John is presenting. Those who do not are animated by a common and unifying spirit of error. John
warns his readers against this spirit by contrasting their false views of Christ with the views that he, a personal
follower and witness of Christ, proclaims.
4:7 John returns to the theme of mutual love. Perhaps the false teaching he felt compelled to combat and had
contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. In context, John is not saying that everyone who loves is
somehow a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not. He makes it clear elsewhere that true knowledge of God
entails right belief about Christ, as well as right response to God, including love of others. Mere human love apart
from Christ's redeeming presence and motivation falls short of love in its fullest dimension as a human response to
God's perfect and infinite compassion (1 Corinthians 13).
4:8 John has also recorded that "God is light" (1:5) and "Spirit" (John 4:24). Love is one of many attributes of God
and is to be understood in relation to the others, such as holiness and justice.
4:9 To grasp God's love aright, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. Here John is in total harmony with
Paul (Romans 5:8).
4:10 No human love is the standard for understanding God's great compassion, but God's own action on man's
behalf. For propitiation, see the note on 2:2.
4:11-13 God's character, through His Spirit, is to shape and progressively dominate the character of the believer.
The Spirit of God impacts the will to love.
4:15 This helps provide the context for rightly understanding verse 7. Trust in Christ as the incarnate Son of God
makes genuine, God-wrought love possible.
4:16 John, like Paul (1 Corinthians 13:13), stresses the supremacy of love as a characteristic of God and therefore
as a dominant characteristic of the true believer.
4:17 Herein points back to verse 16. By dwelling in love, and thus having God dwelling in him, the believer gains the
priceless assurance that he need not fear the coming judgment. This is our assurance, if we love in this world as He
does.
4:18 Fear hath torment: Abject fear of God is based on dread of punishment. But God's love for us renders such
dread obsolete. Fear is still part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate
God's trust in us (see Acts 10:35; 13:26; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:21; Philemon 2:12; 1 Peter 1:17). Believers
need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God's judgment (John 5:24), but this does not mean a Christian's
approach to God is to be casual and flippant.
4:19-21 Our love, if it exists and mirrors God's love at all, is not our own but God's doing. The epitome of hypocrisy is
the claim to love God while withholding love from others. For Jesus Himself commanded that he who loves God is to
demonstrate this through loving others.
First Epistle of John chapter 5
5:1 Him that begat means a father, in this case, God. That is begotten of him means a son, in this case, Jesus. John
makes the general, illustrative point that one who cares for a father customarily cares also for that father's child.
Thus the person who truly loves God will also give the Son His due. "That is begotten of him" could also refer to
individual believers. In this case John would be stressing that he who loves God in truth will also love other children
of God.
5:2, 3 Once again relationship to God and obedience to His commandments are inseparably linked. See the note on
2:3.
5:4 Whatsoever refers to every believer born of God.
5:5 There is conquering power through this confession because God is sovereign over the world, and only through
the Son does man have access to and find favor with God.
5:6 Water and blood: This is the water of Jesus' baptism, the blood of His atoning death. The Spirit gives assurance
that the biblical message about Jesus is true.
5:7, 8 Greek manuscripts are unanimous in showing that verse 7 should end with "record." (Literally it says: "There
are three who bear witness.") Likewise, verse 8 should read simply: "The spirit, the water, and the blood; and the
three are in agreement." The longer versions of these verses made their way into the traditional printed Greek
Testament (TR) and thus into the King James Version due to the influence of the Latin Bible and only four late Greek
manuscripts. The point of John's original version was that the witnesses of verse 6 comprise one unified testimony to
the veracity of the gospel. This insight in turn paves the way for verse 9.
5:10 To deny the biblical witness of Christ is to reject God Himself.
5:13 John sums up the message of his epistle. Many authorities end the verse at the word life. Unto you that believe
on the name of the Son of God is stressed in the original; eternal life is contingent on personal trust in Christ.
5:14,15 Assurance of salvation (verse 13) leads to confidence in petition. Effectual prayer is according to his will.
5:16, 17 Brother means "fellow Christian." Every Christian is liable to sin (1:8, 10; 2:1). Believers are to intercede for
one another when stumbling occurs (see Galatians 6;1-2). Sin unto death: John may be thinking of the sins he has
urged against throughout the epistle: refusal to accept Christ as God's incarnate Son, habitual disobedience to
God's commands, and consistent failure to love others. These are marks of an unregenerate person; John is not
commanding (though he is also not forbidding) that prayer be offered for such people. Sin not unto death: These
would be sins that do not mark deliberate and persistent rebellion against God. These are the sins every Christians
finds himself subject to and must struggle against. In themselves, unlike "sin unto death," they do not constitute
apostasy from biblical truth or failure to trust obediently in Christ. Forgiveness and reconciliation with God is,
therefore, a possibility. Persistent prayer can make it a reality.
5:18 See 3:6, 9. Touch means "to lay hold of with intent to harm." That wicked one is the Devil. Some Greek texts
read, "but he that is begotten of God [Jesus] keep him [the believer]."
5:19, 20 A final note of assurance. Believers are in God, despite the majority of humanity lying in the power of Satan.
Christ has come. He has imparted spiritual insight. Thus we know Him, because He has made Himself known, and are
in Him, because He has claimed us. This is the true God: "This" can be translated "He," meaning Jesus Christ. John
concludes with a ringing affirmation of the full deity of the Son, a notable theme of John's gospel.
5:21 Idols here may well have the sense of erroneous conceptions of God. John addressed such false notions
throughout the letter. However fervent our love for others and our adherence to God's commands, such human
efforts will come to nothing apart from true understanding of God as revealed in Christ. To know Him as He is causes
love and obedience to be the redeeming, worshipful responses to God that He intends them to be.