1 John Chapter 5

vs 11

The testimony God gives about his Son is that only through him can eternal life be got. It's not just a "this is my Son, with whom I am well pleased" or "listen to him". God tells us so much more about Jesus if we are prepared to open our eyes to the Old Testament.

vs 12

I wonder what John's answer would be to the age old question "What about all those tribal people who've never heard of Jesus? What happens to them?" Most probably it would have been "Who? We've already reached the whole world, more or less.

vs 13

There were obviously still some problems with the church understanding just how their eternal life was wrapped up, and how they could get their hands on it. The thing being, of course, that they already had it!

vs 14

Very much a gospel idea. This is one of the lessons Jesus teaches at the withering of the fig tree. But Jesus left out (or perhaps the gospel authors left out) these important, vital words - "according to his will"! So there, if you ever want a verse for why God doesn't rain down money on people or kill their enemies, give them 1 John 5:14.

vs 15

I think this is particularly in reference to the prayer of salvation, as this whole little section is about how we can know we have eternal life. If we ask God to save us through Christ, that is his will, so he will give it to us. You don't have to worry about him not hearing us (possibly a greater worry for people with a greek pagan background) or about him not giving it to you.

vs 16

Ahh yes, the good old "sin that leads to death". We all know what that is, right? Does John simply mean sins like murder? Is this a reference to the sin against the Holy Spirit? The word John is using is pros, which is translated "leads to", but which probably literally means in this case "in regards to". John has already said that murderers don't enter the kingdom of God. So it could just be another reference to that. But if he is talking about spiritual death, we assume that he means sinning against the Holy Spirit. Another suggestion has been he is referring to the similar verses in Hebrews about apostates, and the fact that once you've turned your back on Jesus, there ain't no more salvation for you. That seems to fit with the arguments he has against false teachers.

Why can't you pray for these brothers - either murders, slanderers of the Holy Spirit or apostates? I have no idea.

But aside from getting sidetracked by that, let's look at the actual principle here. If you see a Christian who is sinning, John's first recourse for you is to pray for them. Would our first recourse be to challenge them about it? Or would it even be to slander them behind their backs, or dob them into the church leadership?

vs 17

Whatever you believe he's talking about, this is an obvious truth. This verse is what tends me towards the idea of apostates or HS slanderers - because otherwise, it's pretty damn obvious that there are sins that don't kill people. But perhaps that did need to be made clear to these Christians - that there's more to sin than murder and death. Certainly all cultures (and churches) have their own pet sins, which narrow their view.

vs 18

The logic of this verse is flawless - Jesus protects us from Satan, so why would we sin anymore? And yet somehow we still manage to open ourselves to Satan's attacks. I'm becoming more and more convinced that we do ourselves great injury by inviting Satan to come and attack us, and that if we were more firm in trying to resist him, our protection through Christ would be assured.

vs 19

We certainly know that. No arguments there. Remember that the world is the fullness of man's created hell of civilisation. I mean, sure, we try to make it nice. But I don't think it's too much to say that we or Satan are responsible for a lot of the crappy bits, and God is responsible for the good bits. And because God created it, it still has good bits. We just have to be prepared for its ruler to flex his muscles every once in a while.

vs 20

So while we know that the world is being run by Satan, but we also know something far greater. We can know what is true - Satan cannot hide it from us. Jesus Christ is the true God, and he is eternal life for us. And the world and our knowledge of its crappiness should fade in comparison to that knowledge.

vs 21

John obviously doesn't write letters. The beginning and end of this letter don't sound like a letter at all. It could have been written in a different context. We probably won't find out for sure.

Anyway, he finishes with this poignant point. I've heard some people say "He saved the best till last", but that's just crap. I mean, did you actually read the letter? This letter is full of pure gold! This last verse is an afterthought. It's a reminder. It's an afterdinner mint. But as verses go, at least it's direct, simple and obvious.