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1JOHN CHAPTER 5 KJV WEB See previous page 1Jn 5,1-5 (8m) Responsibility >> Responsible to defend God’s cause >> Laying the foundation of freedom (85l) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believing the Son by obeying the Father >> Obeying the law by faith in the cross >> Obedience represents our faith (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- These verses go with verse 18. This is love, keeping the commandments of God. This is also what overcomes the world. The entire book of First John is a litmus of proofs that we can use to determine who is our brother and who isn't. John wrote in these terms because He knew that at the second coming of Christ the Church would be full of false brothers, and he wanted to give us a way to determine who really believed and who didn't. He said that those who love God also love the children of God (1Jn 4-20,21), and now he is saying just the opposite, that those who love the children of God also love God. One proves the other, as though we were talking about an equation. We love God as much as we love the children of God, and we love the children of God as much as we love God, no more and no less. 1Jn 5,1-3 (90j) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> We do not nullify the law through faith; we fulfill it (90h) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Righteousness of the law >> We must keep the law because it is righteous – John is referring to the Ten Commandments of the old covenant, meaning that we are still required to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. One of the few differences between the old and new covenants is to replace the word “neighbor” for “brother.” Neighbor means friend in the world, while brother means friend in the Church. John said that God’s commandments are not burdensome, but historically they were. The old covenant law was such a burden in the old covenant that Paul said it was impossible to fulfill. The reason the law is no longer a burden is that the Holy Spirit works in us to joyfully fulfill His commandments. (110g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Conceived by the Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verses 18-20 (153a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Church bears witness of the Father through Christ -- These verses go with verses 9-12 (208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments – A few verses earlier we read, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1Jn 4-10), and now he is saying that loving God is important too. That is, we love God because He first loved us, and we prove our love for God by loving our fellow man, and our ministry toward God as students of the word and disciples of prayer is the foundation of our ministry toward people. 1Jn 5-1 (132a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> S pirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of the Father – Keep in mind that it was important to John that we know who is our brother and who isn't, in order to protect the doctrines of the Church from charlatans and to protect the saints from spiritual abuse. The apostle John was fascinated with the trinity; this epistle is riddled with implication of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and their connectedness. We should use this book to prove our faith and deduce the faith of our fellow Christians. For example, in this verse he uses our love of the father to prove our love for Jesus. What did John mean by our love of the Father? In the old covenant this would have referred to the love of God’s law, as the psalmist wrote so poetically in chapter 119, but here in the new covenant the love of the Father refers to our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. John is saying that we who cling to the Holy Spirit prove that we will do the same to Jesus when we get to heaven. (150f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus as the son of God – There are many beliefs about Jesus; in fact, virtually every religion of the world incorporates Him in some way. Most consider Him to be nothing more than a prophet, whereas Christianity sees Him as the Son of God. To call Jesus the Son of God is to call Him God in human flesh, in that such a title declares Him to be the prodigy of God, His offspring. No son is identical to his father, though he has half his genes, mixed with his mother's to create a completely different person. Similarly, just as Jesus had His Father’s input coursing through His veins, He was a completely different person from His Father, though he mirrored His Father’s attributes, holding a different office within the trinity, while identifying with humanity. (173a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Relationship between Jesus and His mother >> Jesus is our savior, not Mary – Jesus was made of the same stuff as Mary, and Mary was no different from any human, so Jesus’ body was made of the same stuff as ours. The fact that the Father's genes in Mary was able to produce a child shows the humanlike qualities of God, indicating also that there was something about Jesus that was not entirely human. See also: trinity; 253d (238d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Jesus is born again from the dead -- This verse goes with verse 18 (248f) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >> Jesus is first born of the Father -- This verse goes with verse 18 (253d) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the exact representation of the Father – It was His soul, His innermost being that God conceived in Mary that made Jesus the exact representation of the Father; He had the soul of His Father! He thought like God, and He behaved like God, yet He found Himself in a body that was just as capable of sin as our own. See also: trinity; 173a KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-2 (33i) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Children need to obey their Father – A motive for perfecting our relationship with God is that we might encourage the brethren to continue in the faith, which is how we love them. James implied the inverse, that we love God by loving the children of God (Jm 2,1-26); Jesus said the same thing (Mat 25,31-46); hence, one acts as evidence for the other. We see that observing His commandments is evidence of both loving both God and His children. That is, good works act as evidence of our love of God and of the brethren, but works can be faked at least for a season. If we see someone observing the commandments of God, we can be relatively confident that he is committed to the interests of Christ and to the needs of the saints. Conversely, a so-called confessing Christian who does not observe the commandments of God is a liar. He does not love God, nor His children. Anybody who would enter the assembly of the righteous and attempt to defraud the saints is more likely a wolf than a sheep, a reprobate devoid of conscience toward God. Beware of them, for whenever they want something they just takes it, often using nefarious means without the least concern for our welfare. (86n) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Love the truth (122f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in what you are doing (131f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Brother depends on you >> To do the will of God – Love is defined as keeping His commandments, whereas Jn 15-12 says just the opposite, that keeping His commandments is love, indicating that they are interchangeable; they are essentially the same. Consequently, the love of God and keeping His commandments must both be present before we can love the children of God. In other words, a good person who is not saved cannot love the brethren until he becomes a child of God himself. The children of God have special needs; they need to be loved by the Spirit of God who dwells in His people. The ability to impart something divine into another person is what it means to love the brethren, but if we have nothing divine to impart, then we cannot love the brethren. 1Jn 5-3 (6b) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Jesus’ yoke of love – The love of God is to keep His commandments, and what was His commandment? Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another;” and He said in another passage, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 13-34,35; Jn 15-13). We need to have this love for one another. God wants to give us a willingness to lay down our lives for our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord; that is profound! Jesus was not talking about laying down our lives for the heathen who couldn’t care less about God. Rather, He was talking about laying down our lives for our fellow brethren, and He said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” If we had this kind of love for one another, the Church would unify, and through that unity the world would come to a revelation of Jesus Christ. Our ministry toward God is even more important than this, because it is the foundation of our love for one another, meaning that we cannot lay down our lives for the brethren if we haven’t come to a spiritual revelation of God’s love for us. (89c) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom never exceeds what is appropriate (115e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through your ministry >> By the word of God – Jesus went to the cross and laid down His life for the Church, and John said that it was not burdensome to Him. How could John say that? He sweat drops of blood! John himself suffered terribly for years for the name of Christ, yet he endured through the Spirit, even as Jesus did the works of God through the Spirit. If it weren't for the Spirit of God, Jesus could not have borne the cross. We do all things through the Spirit too, and it is not hard, because the Spirit of God is working through us. The relationship we have with God is symbiotic: just as God has commanded us to live through Him, so He lives through us. We call it working (with) the grace of God, and it is the most ethereal subject of the Bible, and it is also the least known truth in the church. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-4,5 (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world (106b) Thy kingdom co me >> Faith >> Heari ng from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Knowing the sound of His voice >> Having confidence in His voice (110l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance follows the truth – Verse four says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world -our faith,” and the next verse says we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so John used both “faith” and “believe” in the same context. Most people think these two words are the same; in fact even the Bible uses them interchangeably, so they are synonymous, but they don’t mean the same. Generally, when Jesus used the word “believe” He meant “obey”, but when Paul used the word “believe” he usually referred to a revelation of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when we reread these verses with this in mind, this is what it says, ‘This is the victory that has overcome the world –a revelation of Jesus Christ.’ We understand Jesus by revelation that He is the Christ (Mat 16,13-18). Then we jump to verse five and say we believe in Jesus by behaving like Him; that is, we live the same way we believe. Putting these verses together (4&5), then, this is what overcomes the world: we live according to a revelation of Jesus Christ. If we don't live like we believe, it sets up a paradox, leaving us open to the many false religions of the world and the depraved lifestyles they engender. We cannot overcome Satan or the world by merely affirming a set of facts about Jesus; we must live according to those facts, and to do this we must have a revelation of Him. (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power (165b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world is accountable to God 1Jn 5-4 (46c) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Revelation knowledge is our weapon – Jesus' divine nature allowed Him to rise above the temptations of his flesh, and the fact that He lived a sinless life in a body of sin was by far His greatest miracle, and the Father used His sinless life to defeat Satan. As a result, those who believe that Jesus was the Son of God have overcome the world. He said we overcome the world by our faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith in the truth that is in Jesus, turns our belief into something beautiful, but faith in anything else holds varying levels of negative power. There are those who think faith has power in itself, but this is New-Age thinking; rather, the power of faith is determined by what we believe. In other words, our faith is completely dependent on the Son of God to empower us. There are a number of things that John could have said that overcomes the world, such as love, but love does not generate faith; quite the opposite, faith generates love, along with all the other fruits of the Spirit, not to mention the gifts of the Spirit, and as Paul said, “the work of faith with power” (2The 1-11). Faith has the power to overcome the world in that it is the great equalizer. Faith allows us to suffer for Christ, knowing that He rewards faithfulness. Faith is the means by which we receive from God; it is the means by which we obtain the Holy Spirit of our salvation. Faith is how we walk by the Spirit and come to know God, and through that relationship we do His will and endure all things. Faith is how we please God. Faith is how we introduce Jesus to the world and how we conduct spiritual warfare against the principalities of darkness in high places. We defeat him through faith, which produces love that opposes of our spiritual enemy. (238b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Born of the Spirit by the will of man 1Jn 5,5-20 (253e) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the Son of God >> Declared the Son of God by angels and believers – We must understand that Jesus is the Son of God or the world will overcome us. Every false religion is defined by its rejection of Jesus as the Son of God; so if we don’t believe He is the Christ, we will fall prey to one of the lying deceptions that are in the world, and if we are not the religious type, we will fall prey to the belief that there is no God at all. Either way the world will overcome us. What did John mean by overcoming the world? Each person overcomes the world by dying in faith that Jesus is the Son of God. By this we will go to heaven, and later God will give us new bodies at the resurrection of the righteous, and then He will cause us to inherit the earth, and by that we will overcome the world. So what does it mean to overcome the world by inheriting the earth? John is not talking about the earth itself but overcoming the ruler of the world, which is Satan, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God, for there is no salvation apart from understanding this. Anyone who believes that someone lower than God paid for their sins doesn’t understand the gospel, and he doesn’t understand what God has done for us; he doesn’t understand salvation or God’s vision for mankind or his vision for the Church or His eternal plan.... Without understanding Jesus as the Son of God, they don’t understand anything; they could read the Bible, but it wouldn't do them any good, because they have rejected the key of knowledge (Lk 11-52). 1Jn 5,6-12 (141a) Witness — Key verse for entire chapter – God has acquired many valid witnesses in Scripture throughout history, starting with Abraham and ending with the apostle John, whose most valid witness is Christ Himself. The degree to which God's witnesses can validly confirm His identity is the power of their testimony. This chapter will solidify in the reader's mind the validity of Jesus' witness of the Father, the Father's witness of Christ and the Church's witness of God. (151h) Witnesses Of The Father (Key verse) KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5,6-8 (38a) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> God judged the devil through the blood of His son – Jesus came by water and blood. The water represents the virgin birth, in that every fetus is contained in a water sack inside the mother’s womb, and the blood represents Jesus’ humanity. John’s point is that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that His physical composition was completely human by evidence of His blood. When they whipped Him, He bled profusely, and when they nailed Him to the cross a bloody mass, He died like any man. Ironically, His humanity is what destroyed the power of Satan, because He was without sin. Heb 2-17 says, “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Jesus proved that Satan had no power over Him, not even in His weakest hour. Hence, the blood of Jesus frightens the demonic world because it proves He defeated their world of darkness in the frailty of human flesh. Thus, He created a doorway through which we may pass into the light of His glorious kingdom. Jesus said after His resurrection, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Lk 24-39). (87c) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Jesus obeyed all the Father’s will – This passage refers to the obedience of Christ in submitting to the cross. It also refers to our faithfulness to fulfill the works that God has prepared for us. It says that Jesus came by way of water and blood. The water represents His natural birth since His physical consistency was sixty percent water, and He was encased in a water sack in His mother’s womb. The blood represents the obedience of Christ, who willingly went to the cross and shed His blood for the sins of the world, and the Spirit testifies of these things, for the Spirit is the truth. The water represents the fact that Jesus was born a human being through His mother. Physically, He was just like us with a human body, but the soul of Christ was the Spirit of God. Jesus did not have two spirits, His own and the Spirit of God. We have our own spirit and the Spirit of God, who are born-again, but Jesus didn't need to be born-again, since He is the life giver. Jesus incorporated all three aspects into his life: the Spirit, the water and the blood, and He is calling us to do the same. The Spirit and the blood are one, for the Spirit led Jesus to the cross, which was the epitome of God’s will for Him. So too, Christ is calling us to obey the Holy Spirit, who leads us into God’s will, which ultimately requires sacrifice. (103a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >> Blood of Jesus (103f) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Spirit like water >> Cleanses you from the desire to sin (111d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Water and the word – The importance of the phrase: Spirit of Truth, cannot be overstated. It refers to the Holy Spirit with the word of God, which is something different from the Bible. When the Holy Spirit speaks the word of God, He is able to transform the letters written on the page into the power of God in our heart. This is what God did when He conceived His Son in the Virgin Mary. The name "Christ" is literally translated "Anointed One," and Jesus is called the word of God (Jn 19-13). So, when we put the two together we see Jesus as the word of God in the fullness of the Spirit, which defines the power of God, and God has given each of us potential to live like Jesus, according to our faith (Rom 12-3). (153c) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the father 1Jn 5,7-10 (255f) Trinity >> Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> The process of imparting the substance of God >> Father discloses the word by the Spirit – When it says that the three are in agreement, it means that the three are one in reference to the trinity. Therefore, since it was God who deposited His seed in Mary, the water represents the Father; the blood obviously symbolizes Christ; and the spirit is the Holy Spirit; hence, the trinity is spelled out for us. The Father conceived Jesus Christ in Mary through the Holy Spirit, “and these three are one,” meaning all persons of the trinity were involved in the conception of Jesus Christ in the flesh, the manifestation of God's word (Rev 19-13). 1Jn 5-7,8 (109c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelations of the Holy Spirit >> Things revealed by the Spirit (255b) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Spirit of the word >> Words of His Spirit are truth – The Spirit, the water and the blood represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where the blood represents Christ, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and the water represents the Father, in that He conceived Jesus in Mary’s womb. The fetus developed in a water sack, representing the Father sending Jesus to give His life a ransom for the sins of the world. It wasn’t pity or mercy on the part of Christ but obedience. Pity and mercy belong to the Father, who is the origin of our salvation. 1Jn 5-8 (131k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Working together for one cause KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5,9-12 (111e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Father and the Son – The one who does not believe the testimony of the Father that He has born concerning His Son has rejected the indwelling Holy Spirit, and has made Him a liar, and to reject the Spirit is to reject the message. If we have heard the gospel of salvation, and have believed it, and have fashioned our lives around it, then He in turn will give us His Spirit. Believing in Jesus is to worship the Father. We don't worship the Bible that tells us these things; we worship the truth given us by the Spirit. Jesus is not literally standing in our presence, so the word of the Spirit stands in His place, and we worship the truth by believing the message. The word that God planted in our heart is tantamount to God Himself, who lives in us by the truth we believe, and the seal of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us acts as proof of our faith. (153a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Church bears witness of the Father through Christ -- These verses go with verse 20. The testimony of men is what the evangelist offers, and John is saying that the one who believes the evangelist’s message must also hear the same message from God. Believing the message of the preacher cannot save a person; he must hear it from God, and the testimony is given by the Spirit. The one who hears the message of the gospel without hearing the testimony of the Spirit has not yet come to believe in Jesus. The preacher speaks the message, and God confirms the message in our heart. 1Jn 5,9-11 (147i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Solemnly testify about Jesus 1Jn 5-9 (77e) Thy kingdom come >> Humility >> Refusing the glory of man >> Refusing to be exalted by men (169i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Coveting the favor of men (198i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Ministries ordained by men will falter 1Jn 5,10-12 (169a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Blind to Jesus >> Blind to the glory of God in Christ – John prefaced this statement by the contrast between the testimony of men and the testimony of God (v9). Paul wrote, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8-16). The testimony of men is important too, regarding the great commission. Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel to all creation and to make disciples of all men, but if they only believed the word of men, having never received the testimony of the Holy Spirit, their eternal fate would still be in jeopardy. Many people believe in the testimony of men but fail to interact with the Holy Spirit and be born-again. (200e) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Rejecting the faith of God >> Rejecting Christ through unbelief – There are many messages God would have us know, yet the message of eternal life is what He wants us to know more than anything. Many believe the gospel coming from men, but they don’t actually want to know God, for they have not made peace with Him in their hearts. Others denounce the message of eternal life; John says they are liars and unbelievers, “because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.” With the promise of eternal life why isn’t everybody a Christian (Rom 6-23)? Why don’t they want to live in paradise forever? They are too busy chasing menial pleasures to bother with an alleged afterlife. 1Jn 5-10 (20ca) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to receive >> Unbelief cannot distinguish light from darkness – Receiving the gift of eternal life seems to infringe upon man's worldly interests, because if he receives it, he will become a child of God, and God will request his submission, but the world will never submit to God. People reject God’s offer of eternal life based on what Jesus said in Jn 3-19, “Men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.” To choose their darkness over the light is what God calls evil. They love their darkness, and they don’t want to change, and if they do, they want to be in total control of those changes. Being in control is what they think makes them like God, but Jesus completely submitted to His Father, and for us to emulate Jesus is to be more like God than those who resist Him. (95a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> False perspective in the world (154i) Witness Of The Believer (Key verse) (155g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the believer (203d) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Lying to God – Imagine someone standing in front of God, pointing his finger at Him and calling Him a liar; how would that end? God's aloof stance refraining from judgment indicates the world's demise, compared to the love He shows His people simply by their faith in Him. God interprets the world’s unbelief in His Son as calling Him a liar, after testifying that He has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world, and we can’t stop God from thinking this way. People think they control God because He has chosen to temporarily suspend judgment and has given them freedom to reject Him, and through that freedom they think they're bigger than Him, as though they somehow earned this freedom. They think they can do anything and God can’t stop them, but a day is coming when God will recall everything they have done throughout their lives. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-11,12 (205aa) Salvation >> Verses useful in evangelism (254f) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s life -- These verses go with verse 20 1Jn 5-11 (35k) Gift >> God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> The gift of life -- This verse goes with verse 16 (244e) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Father is the source of eternal life – The core message of the gospel is eternal life. Isn’t it wonderful that it wasn’t something else, like being healed of our diseases, or receiving the Holy Spirit, or fulfilling the great commission? These things are wonderful, but eternal life is infinitely better. What greater gift could God give us? All other gifts are embedded in this one, for the one gift of eternal life affords us all the time we will need to receive everything He intends for us, and it will take an eternity to give us His vast treasures of wealth and glory. 1Jn 5-12 (25k) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Dead in sin >> The human condition without Christ – That’s a pretty straightforward statement. Again, this is not rocket science, but very simple concepts based on John's invulnerable logic, using the cross of Christ as his premise. There are a lot of people who think they believe in Jesus, but if they don’t see Him as the Son of God, He is probably just one of many prophets in their religion. Belief systems like this must fudge this term “Son of God”. It takes a lot of work, but where there’s a will there’s a way. This is the power of man to reason his way right out of heaven. (26d) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is separation from God’s life 1Jn 5,13-15 (30l) Gift of God >> God favors you through your prayers (114f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Wor king the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God through obedience (122e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in your salvation – Many people do not feel secure in their salvation. Although they believe in the doctrines of Jesus’ atoning blood sacrifice to cleans them from all unrighteousness, they still have doubts, not about Jesus, but about themselves. They fear they don’t really believe, or that their strength of faith doesn’t meet some unspoken standard, or perhaps they accuse themselves of being permissive in regard to sin. Some people fear they don’t know enough about the Bible, or they have not been committed enough in their faith, and their lack of commitment makes them feel distant from God. All these examples are aspects of the human condition that Jesus sacrificed His flesh to forgive. None of us are committed enough to deserve God’s love and grace, and we all take advantage of His mercy, but what are we supposed to do? We can’t save ourselves. These are the very reasons Jesus came to save us. It is true that there are verses in the Bible that speak of a terrifying expectation of judgment (Heb 10-26,27), but this is talking about unbelievers; a person who is in pursuit of God’s forgiveness is by no means guilty of such spiritual atrocities. If some people feel this way, then why don’t they become students of the Bible and bolster their confidence? They don’t have to guess or wonder. They say, ‘I imagine I’m going to heaven, but I don’t really know.’ John said, “These things have been written… that you may know you have eternal life.” Our salvation should not be a point of concern. A person who doubts his salvation cannot fulfill his calling from God, because whenever he puts his hands to the work, he questions whether he’s even going to heaven. God wants us to know we are His children, so we have the strength to pick up the work that God has called us to do. He wants us to fulfill our purpose in life, and we can’t do that if we are wondering if we are even saved. “This is the confidence we have with Him, that if we ask anything in His name he hears us.” The proof of our salvation is answered prayer, since God does not hear sinners (Psalm 66-18). So answered prayer affords confidence in our salvation, and this confidence affords an expectation to receive, and these two build on each other. (248a) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> We play our part in the will of God >> Knowing the will of God 1Jn 5-13 (67g) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> The name of Jesus is the salvation of God (92f) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> You must be born again to walk on this trail (109b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelations of the Holy Spirit >> Revelation of the gift of God (155j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The word of God bears witness of the believer – Why do people need to know they are saved if they believe? God has given us His Spirit, who leads us back to Him crying “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4-6). He gives His word as confirmation and clarification to our faith that the things we believe are true. The witness of the Spirit who lives in us testifies that we are the children of God, and He also gives His word to confirm that the Holy Spirit is leading us back to the Father. There are most likely countless people in third-world nations who have heard the gospel and are born-again, but don’t have a Bible in their hands to read. The Scriptures are not confirming their spiritual experiences, and they are not entirely sure that what they sense in their heart is real. There is something transpiring in them that is greater than themselves, and they have someone living in them that is greater than their conscience, and God is calling them to yield to Him. Walking with God is scary enough with the Bible, much more without confirmation of the Scriptures. (244d) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life -- This verse goes with verse 20 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-14,15 (34i) Gift of God >> Generosity >> God is willing to Give >> His natural blessings (79f) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind through prayer – We don’t see this kind of faith in the Church these days. God hears all kinds of requests every day all around the world, and He answers some of them, but most go unanswered. Why doesn’t God answer our prayers? The reason for this is mostly due to the condition of the Church; it is not obeying the Lord as it should, but what about individuals who are serving the Lord; why doesn’t He answer their prayers? The purpose of answered prayer is to glorify God, and the Church as a whole is not doing that, and if He answered the prayers even of the most faithful, onlookers would think God approved of the Church's waywardness. What good would it do if God answered prayer if the result were more disobedience and further distortion of the truth? God would be found participating in the sins of those who would use His generosity for their own purposes. Adding up these reasons for rarely seeing answered prayer, we must conclude that it is from a lack of humility and submission in the Church. (152ia) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >> Church operates under a prophetic anointing >> Delivering a prophetic message from God (154j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> Having a good conscience >> God is my conscience 1Jn 5-14 (104f) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see the Father >> Being in the presence of God – If we don't have confidence in Him, He won’t listen to us, indicating that He listens for our confidence. John was saying that if we know He hears us, we also know we have received our request; that is, we know when we have made contact with God. The level of confidence and faith that John says we need is not just based on God’s promises in Scripture; it is also based on real-time knowledge that God is present with us and listening. Always when we pray, we know He's up there somewhere listening; otherwise, how could He judge the world. He knows everything; He hears everyone's every word and records it all, but during times of answered prayer we know He is personally listening to us, that He has in a sense stopped what He was doing and is putting His full attention on us, and in that moment, whatever we ask of Him according to His will, we know we have receive it. So when John says that He hears our prayers, He is not talking about His omniscience; He's talking about personal relationship. God is loving and generous; He wants to show Himself to us, and for this reason He wants to answer our prayers, not as a one-time event but always. He wants answered prayer to be a regular experience, for God promises these things in His word. 1Jn 5,16-18 (28f) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Protect us through our walk >> Wise conduct – John spoke about a sin leading to death and said that no one who is born of God commits this kind of sin. Those who are truly born-again do not commit the unpardonable sin, because God protects them from the evil one. The devil tempts us to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and commit the sin that leads to the death of our faith in God, the death of our hope of eternal life and the death of our love of the brethren. 1Jn 5-16,17 (26a) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death >> Dead to God through sin (26h) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is the result of sin (218f) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest >> We choose our actions, not their consequences >> wages of sin is death KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-16 (9g) Responsibility >> Strengthen us by the sword of His Spirit >> Through prayer – God wants us to pray for one another, so we may be healed of our mental and physical ailments, but He excludes praying for someone who commits the unpardonable sin—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. God wants to answer our prayers, but for this there is no antidote. (21g) Sin >> Disobedience is backsliding (21i) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Intending to abuse the grace of God (35k) Gift >> God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> The gift of life -- This verse goes with verse 11. When John said, “give life,” he was talking about granting repentance. Many of our sins we commit in bondage, and God grants His power to overcome that bondage. When we work repentance into our lives, the result is an anointing that God will use in place of the sins we committed, and once we have broken the bondage of sin, we can continue using the anointing to do His will. However, there is a sin leading to death, the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, when God speaks to us by His Spirit and we know it is God, but we respond in unbelief. It is one thing to disobey a direct order from God, but it is another thing to deny that it is God speaking when we know it is Him, such as the Pharisees, who knew Jesus was their Messiah but refused to believe in Him and outright denied Him. John said, “I do not say that he should make request for this.” The sin of renouncing our faith tells God that He is not worthy of our service. We should not pray for somebody who blasphemes the Lord, being a waste of time and faith, suggesting that our prayers actually participate in his sins. When someone blasphemes the Lord and begins to develop a reprobate mind, the best thing to do is run from that person and don’t look back. The one who gives up on God will end up our worst enemy. They do not have fond memories of believing in Him or of serving the lord or the joy of forgiveness. They blame Him for everything about themselves; they even blame Him for their own rejection of God. See also: Blasphemy; 185i / Less we listen, less we hear; Jm 4-17; 200c (64f) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot directly violate the will of man (82b) Thy kingdom come >> Three elements of prayer >> Direction (Attitude) >> What not to pray for (116b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >> In prayer (130e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to holding up one another (131b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependent on each other to pray (162e) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> A slave to unbelief >> Bondage to an inability to believe (185e) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> The mystery of sin (185i) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Responding with contempt to the Holy Spirit >> Evicting the Holy Spirit – The one who treats the Holy Spirit with contempt tells God that he doesn’t want help to be rid of sin; he is comfortable with his bondage and tells God to leave him alone. This is blasphemy. If we tell God to leave us alone, He will, and then how can we repent? We can say these things and not really mean them, and God knows the difference, so if we tell God to leave us alone and mean it, we run the risk of committing the unrepentable sin, and if we continue, it will lead to a reprobate mind and to the loss of our salvation. Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin that cannot be forgiven, for with all forgiveness there must also be repentance, meaning God does not forgive what we don’t repent. In the next life, at the believer’s judgment He will not reward us for the sins from which we did not repent. Many pooh-pooh the rewards, but on the day of judgment when He is handing out rewards, we will not pooh-pooh them then but wish we had received a full reward (2Jn-8). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a different kind of sin, one that has no conjugate repentance, and for that reason it is unforgivable. it is the kind of sin that hardens our heart, classified as a spiritual sin in the sense that it causes us to retreat from the Lord instead of approach Him. A person who blasphemes the Holy Spirit is not automatically barred from heaven, for probably all of us are guilty of this to some degree, but if blasphemy continues, every regression becomes the new resistance from which we cannot progress. The further we step from God, the more willing we are to step further from Him, until faith in Him becomes a distant memory, and then we just turn and walk the other way, and at that point we have developed a reprobate mind and are barred from heaven. This has happened to Christians and non-Christians alike. See also: Blasphemy; 207a (193g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> God grants repentance (207a) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish by losing your faith >> The apostasy (walking out the same door you came in) – There are two types of sin, one leads to death and the other does not. “Leading to death,” what does that mean? John is referring to a sin that leads to the death of our faith, and if the premise of our salvation dies, then so does our salvation. This flies in the face of the ever-popular Eternal Security doctrine, which is not supported by Scripture. To whom is John referring? He must be talking about born-again Christians, whose faith dies as a result of a catastrophic sin. He’s not necessarily talking about a single sin or even many sins, but a type of sin, called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When a person blasphemes the Holy Spirit, they know exactly what they are doing. This is not sin committed in ignorance that Jesus shed His blood to forgive (Heb 9-7), classified as sins not leading to death. Instead, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin that if repeated, eventually erodes a person’s conscience until the he can no longer believe, developing a reprobate mind. Those who practice a lifestyle of resisting the Holy Spirit, John says he doesn’t even want the saints wasting their faith and prayers on such a person. On the lighter side, there is a type of sin that does not lead to death. We should pray for our brothers and sisters who are caught in such fleshly bondage. See also: Blasphemy; 35k (217d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God gives up on you >> When you give yourself over to sin 1Jn 5,18-20 (110g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Conceived by the Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verses 1-3 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-18 (43i) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Perfected by God – When John said that no one born of God sins, he was talking about two things: no one born of God practices sin, and no one born of God commits the unpardonable sin. To say that no one who is born of God practices sin is setting the Christian standard for freedom. This doesn’t mean Christians are totally free of sin but that Christians are working toward that goal. Moreover, no one who is born of God blasphemes the Holy Spirit and develops the reprobate mind, for in doing so would no longer be Christian. (46k) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Demons are subject to the Church through Christ (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- This verse goes with verses 1-5 (228h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God works in you to keep you in His will – Passages in the Bible like this are difficult to understand when we compare them to our observations, nor do they dovetail with our personal experience. When we were first saved, just about all of us had problem areas regarding sin that we needed God’s help to overcome, and slowly He brought us from these things over a period of years, but during that time how did our immaturity square with this passage? It is much like construction workers erecting a building; we have all seen the beginning stages of development where the ground is torn-up with piles of dirt in various places; the site is a mess. Wait a year or so and return to the same location and we will see a completed building that has been carefully landscaped with grass, sidewalk and bushes. This is like the newborn Christian; he is a construction zone where only the workers are allowed beyond the yellow tape. God works with us over a period of years, and the Christian really wants to become free but is struggling; there is no blasphemy in that. (238d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Jesus is born again from the dead -- This verse goes with verse 1 (248f) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >> Jesus is first born of the Father -- This verse goes with verse 1. A person is born of God in many of the ways that Jesus was born of God through His mother Mary, in that the Father placed His seed in her womb, which began to grow. In the same way, God placed the seed of His Holy Spirit in us and we began to grow into his likeness. We nurture that growth and make sure that the things God is doing in our lives is watered and cultivated and given every opportunity to blossom and flourish. In this way the devil does not touch us while we are growing in the faith, but the minute that growth process is stifled or paused, it becomes an opportunity for the devil. Rev 1-5 says that Jesus was "firstborn of the dead;" we will follow Him in the resurrection of the righteous. 1Jn 5-19 (164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom – This statement has the potential to fuel a paradigm shift in anyone who comes to believe it. Unbelievers are mostly offended by the preaching of Jesus. They can also be offended by verses like this, because it speaks against the world they love, whereas John advised the Christian earlier in this epistle not to love the world for the very reason that it is of the devil. There are a lot of people who don’t believe this, yet even Jesus called Satan the ruler of the world (Jn 14-30). It is God’s earth, but it’s the devil’s world! What does that mean? Every civilization of mankind throughout human history was and still is under the power of the evil one. Satan’s influence on the world is very much like an overcast sky that covers our perspective from horizon to horizon, blocking out all direct sunlight. This overcast sky creates an atmosphere of gloom and despair in the world, creating an environment that is conducive to sin. This spiritual cloud hangs over the mind of society that Satan uses to do his works, which is to steal, kill and destroy. Although every civilization has developed a theory about God, ultimately man's theories revolve around the works of their own hands. Furthermore, every civilization has been different from all others and every people have had their own personalized culture, yet they all had a few beliefs in common. First and foremost, all cultures have secularism as its premise, which is the belief that what the five senses can perceive is all that matters, disregarding the unseen spiritual realm. Our five senses tell us about the world and act as five witnesses that all agree with each other and converge on one perspective called reality. Secularism becomes the platform of two other fundamental beliefs: materialism, which is the value system that the more we have the more we are worth; and humanism, which is man’s replacement of God with himself. Atheists don’t believe God exists, and there are agnostics who don’t find it necessary to even have a theory about God; they just don’t care. Nevertheless, the Bible says that if anyone seeks God with all his heart, he will find Him (Deut 4-29), suggesting that those who don’t find Him never really tried, which makes their religion no different from the secular world. See also: Atheism, the Religion of unbelief (Secular humanism); Jd-4; 172d (183g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of the world – Life seems to make sense to unbelievers, but they don’t know that their understanding of the world is masterminded by the devil. This is the premise of Satan’s power over mankind; he forms their perceptions and guides them through the process of developing their perspective in order to assure they come to many wrongs conclusions about God. Almost everyone in the world comes to one of three conclusions: either God doesn’t exist, or there is something wrong with Him, meaning He doesn’t like us, or He’s unknowable. The devil leads people into their belief system, making sure that most of their beliefs about God are skewed and then convinces them that everything they believe is true. The fact that so many people believe relatively the same thing has the effect of solidifying their beliefs under the misguided impression that if so many people believe the same things, they can’t be wrong, but the world is wrong. God does exist, there is nothing wrong with Him and He is knowable! (219e) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God transforms the world into the Church >> God selects us from the world KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-20 (68f) Authority >> Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us >> He guides you into all truth (112a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Wisdom of the spirit – Many Christians these days want to be self-determining, in that though they believe Jesus is God, they flat-out reject the Holy Spirit. Although they believe many doctrines concerning the Holy Spirit, they refuse to give Him any control of their lives. We can believe that Jesus is God without it changing us, but we cannot believe in the administration of the Holy Spirit without Him changing us. Christ sent the Holy Spirit in His place, who wants to impart the knowledge of God in us to effect obedience in all that He has called us to do, so that we are no longer in charge of our lives, but He is in charge. This is the very thing that nominal Christians are trying to avoid. They want to be self-determining just like the cults. When we eliminate the administration of the Holy Spirit from Christianity, it becomes just another false religion, and we are back to a works-oriented salvation. However, we who obey the Holy Spirit aren’t really working but are merely lending ourselves to God, and He is working through us, performing His works. It has a fundamental transformative impact on us and on all those around us. See also: Authority of the Holy Spirit; Mat 10-1; 71c (153a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Church bears witness of the Father through Christ -- This verse goes with verses 1-3 (208j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> Sharing intimacy with Him – When John used the word “know”, he meant that we know the truth by God revealing it to us by the Spirit. When we read the Bible and believe it, we “think” certain things to be true, but when the Spirit reveals the word of God to us, we come to know Jesus who is true. So when John said, “We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding,” he was saying that His understanding has come by revelation of the Spirit. The difference between understanding the Bible by revelation and understanding it on a mere cognitive level is illustrated by the ignorance of the disciples when they walked with Jesus. They were a bunch of clumsy oafs trying to understand what Jesus was saying and doing, but they did understand that Jesus was the Christ, as Jesus said to Peter, “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Mat 16-17). Jesus was unable to divulge the true meaning of the gospel to Peter and the other apostles; but once Pentecost came and the Lord sent the Holy Spirit in His place, that is when they began to understand the gospel. (244d) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life -- This verse goes with verse 13. There are passages speckled throughout the New Testament that testify of Jesus being God, and this is one of them. Those of a different persuasion, who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, don’t care how many verses are in the Bible that speak about Jesus as God. We could quote them this verse and they would tell us how their religion explains it away, instead of recognizing it for what it says; the litmus test of interpretation is: less is more. They seek ways of looking at the Bible differently, so they don’t have to believe that Jesus Christ is God. They think that believing in Him this way would somehow take away their freedom, because they would feel more obligated to trust Him with their lives. Cults and false religions that deny the divinity of Jesus Christ are in bondage to a works-oriented salvation that must "produce" to please their leaders so they can receive honor from one another instead of from God (Jn 5-44). Diligence, dedication and commitment they have by the bushel basket, but faith, not so much. If they sought to fulfill God's purpose by faith, it would alter them in the most fundamental of ways, changing just about everything about them, the very thing they are trying to avoid. They would rather be slaves of men and work for their salvation and remain autonomous. Instead, they give up their rights to gurus breathing down their necks, who determine the path for their feet at the cost of eternal life, all to remain self-determining, what a paradox. See also: Cults (Jehovah Witnesses); Rev 3-14; 248g (254f) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s life -- This verse goes with verses 11&12. John just called Jesus the true God. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who believes the truth; Jesus was the true God in human flesh. He came and spoke to us and gave us understanding about the Father, but the one who speaks to us now is the Holy Spirit. He teaches us about the written word and gives us understanding so we might know Him who is true. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 5-21 (7g) Responsibility >> Protecting the gospel >> Defending your territory (195h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping other gods >> Worshipping other gods as a servant – This is John’s last comment in his first epistle, but it is not the least. If idolatry were so easy to identify and avoid, John wouldn’t have warned us about its insidiousness. It creeps behind us and takes control without our even knowing it, if we are not watchful. Idolatry was the great sin of Israel, the sin of Adam; it is the sin of mankind. If we can rise above it, virtually everything else in our Christian walk will fall into place. The reason so many Christians are struggling in their walk with God is because of idolatry, and they are hardly aware of it. Idolatry is entertaining to demons; it has a blinding effect on the worshipper. Every time we say no to God, we are saying yes to something else, the worship of idols (demons) that we consider more valuable than obeying God, who created all things. The number one idol of mankind is pleasure. It comes in many forms. We idolize happiness and pleasure and pursue them with all our heart like we should pursue God, and in them we are really idolizing ourselves.