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1 John

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)  Knowledge is founded upon evidence, not speculation.  In this letter, John provides the benchmarks by which one may be certain of being acceptable to God.  We do not tell God that we have attained it, He must tell us.  In short, John says that we know when we are acceptable when we see the indwelling Spirit producing superhuman selfless concern for others in us.

“That which was from the beginning, which we heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life…” (1 John 1:1)  Christianity is the only world religion based on physical evidence.  It’s not about what we think but what we can prove.  Further, no conflict exists between true science and Christianity.  When we are presented with an apparent contradiction, our human processing of the information from one, the other, or both has gone awry.

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have connection with us; and truly our connectedness is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)  One of the most destructive failings of our societies is loneliness, isolation, and therefore hopelessness.  Christianity offers a family in which all the siblings find acceptance, comfort, encouragement, and value.  Our connectedness provides the courage to keep going and the focus to stay on track.

“These things we write to you that our joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4)  John wrote not out of a sense of duty or authority, but because doing so gave him great joy.  Such is the foundation of satisfying relationships.  Helping others navigate the brokenness of this planet and caring about those same people produces a joy that cannot be squashed by the abundance of failures we endure.  Joy is found in connection with others, not inside myself.

“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)  The remainder of the letter describes the nature of that “light.”  As a generalization, “light” consists of all the positive character traits.  So, John’s assertion is that God is composed of all the good qualities, not only with no bad qualities, but also being consistent and integrated.  John chose this figure of speech, whereas Paul chose the word “grace.”  This conception of God is unique among the religions of the world and should be the major attraction to outsiders, if only we can explain it well.

“If we say we have connection with Him and walk in darkness, we lie…” (1 John 1:6)  As John continues in the next few verses, the faithful must be realistic.  Shortcomings cannot be excused.  Self-deception must be exposed.  For most people, this is impossible.  Failures are to be kept under wraps.  The advantage of the faithful is that they understand that Jesus already paid the debts to justice for everyone (2:2),   Further, the faithful who live in reality appreciate that Jesus not only gives re-starts, but also sets out to fix what caused the original problem.

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have connection with one another…” (1 John 1:7)  The faithful can have successful relationships with other faithful people based on their mutual trust and selfless concern (faith and love).  The games worldly people play lead them to form superficial or partial relationships because some things are never revealed, so gaps form, leading to weakness in the connecting fabric.  Hence, marriages and friendships fade or fail.  The faithful, with their many re-starts and patches, base their connections on reality.

“These things I write to you that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have a Helper with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1)  The objective is to make choices the way Jesus did.  But, we recognize that, while an increasing success rate is expected, stuff happens.  So, from before creation, God planned this Helper function which is constantly working to repair the damage we have done to ourselves.  We just need to let Him do it rather than hiding or excusing the flaw or insisting that I can fix this myself.

“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)  But if Jesus paid off the justice system, won’t everyone go to heaven?  No, because God is looking for those who trust Him, not for those with a clean balance sheet.  He had to include in His plan a way to pay off justice so that people would be eligible for eternal life.  But the criteria for inclusion in the family have always been mutual trust and selfless concern.

“Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God has been made consistent in him.  By this we know that we are in Him.” (1 John 2:5)  When the faithful see in themselves a consistent selfless concern for others, they have evidence that they are “in” God and He is “in” them.  God’s version of love is poured out in the hearts of the faithful by the indwelling Spirit (Romans 5:5).  When that gift starts showing through consistently, we know that God has accepted us.  The idea is repeated in 1 John 4:12 – 13.

“The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27)  The anointing is the indwelling Spirit given to all the faithful, so they do not “need” someone to teach them.  Certainly, listening to the ideas of others helps overcome self-deception, but all the faithful have liberty and are responsible for their own conclusions.

“Behold what manner of love the Father bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God, and we are.  Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1)  The selfless concern (love) poured into the hearts of every faithful person by the indwelling Spirit (Romans 5:5) makes them incomprehensible to the outside world, just as the majority who saw Jesus did not “get” Him.  Knowing that, the faithful appeal to outsiders with the nature of God and evidence, things they can understand.

“Everyone who has this hope in Him [of being like Jesus in eternity and seeing Him as He really is] purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)  Doing the right thing is not the qualifier for heaven.  Rather, the faithful develop their characters, with the help of the indwelling Spirit, to be like Him because that is the ideal.  The “What Would Jesus Do” slogan is an appropriate question for the faithful to ask themselves.

“Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother.  Why did he murder him?  Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.  Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.” (1 John 3:12 – 13)  The faithful often are attacked by outsiders.  Why?  Because those with messy lives are upset when others have hope, peace, and satisfaction.  Understanding this allows the faithful to respond with mercy, with an overwhelming desire to fix the problem, rather than with further ugliness.

“We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14)  This “love” is “doing what is best for the other person regardless of the effect on me.”  When the faithful see this superhuman selflessness emanating from themselves, they know that God has accepted them, that they have entered eternal life.  The second half has two applications.  Those who do not have this love in themselves are destined for eternal death, but also are dead while still breathing.

“Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)  Talk is cheap.  Politicians, philosophers, and pundits often assert that everyone else should share with the downtrodden, yet rarely do it themselves.  Love means something only when it results in personal action.

“If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” (1 John 3:20)  Good people often kick themselves for not doing enough, for missing an opportunity, or for taking a less-than-optimal path.  Further, others are generally quick to criticize, and those with compassionate hearts often let it steal their joy.  John’s point is that God knows the inner workings of each heart.  God gives the indwelling Spirit to those whom He accepts, and that Spirit deposits selfless concern in them.  If we see it, we can squash our self-deprecation.

“This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He gave commandment.” (1 John 3:23)  Various churches have various lists of commandments.  Church leaders generally do not trust those who follow, so find commandments necessary for controlling them.  But John had only two: trust the nature of Jesus and have selfless concern for fellow Christians.  If the faithful have these two, the rest will take care of itself.

“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)  History is replete with those who have made big claims but have no proof.  Christianity is the only religion founded upon physical evidence and logic, so the faithful must demand it of those who make claims.  Investigation is encouraged, even demanded.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)  The “them” refers to the antichrists who were alive in the time of John (4:3).  The important point is that the faithful have nothing to fear from powerful adversaries.  The indwelling Spirit who is given to all the faithful is far more powerful.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7 – 8)  Selfless concern is the hallmark of the faithful, having received it from the indwelling Spirit deposited in all the faithful.  Having that attitude makes God understandable; those without it find God inscrutable. 

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)  The faithful respond to the love of God rather than the authority of God.  God seeks those who respond to His love because that type of motivation succeeds in forming a big family that will last, whereas humans always fail at following rules.

“If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11)  The response of the faithful to the love of God is not defined by loving God because the purity of such a reaction eventually will be contaminated by self-interest.  Instead, understanding the love of God prompts the faithful to love other faithful people: selflessness prompting selflessness.

“If we love one another, God abides in us and His love is made consistent in us.” (1 John 4:12)  The character of God may be encapsulated as, “God is love.”  Biblical love is doing what is best for the other person regardless of the effect on me.  If the faithful become characterized by that same trait, God may be said to live in them.  In this way, that overriding quality, love, is made consistent because that love is not encapsulated in one person, but spread ever outward.

“By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)  As Romans 5:5 states so succinctly, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  The faithful are given affirmation by God that their faith is sufficient and acceptable when they see themselves acting selflessly.

“Love has been made consistent among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)  A disappointingly large fraction of church-goers are afraid to express a confident expectation of being acceptable to God at judgment.  But, that anticipation should be based on the observation of consistent selflessness emerging from those who formerly were not.  If we do not see it, drop back and figure out what Biblical faith is.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear is of punishment.  But he who fears has not been made consistent in love.” (1 John 4:18)  People fear many things: death, pain, loss, loneliness, to name a few.  Selfless concern for others moves those fears out of the line of sight because attention is centered on the needs of others.  Of course, the unpleasantness of life will come crashing in, but the faithful trust that God has such things handled.  Bad things are still bad, but relegated to no more than passing notice.

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” (1 John 4:20)  In our troubled times of wild accusations repeated incessantly by the mindless and the corrupt, a disappointing number of church-goers have responded hatefully.  Rather, pity the senseless and figure out a way to bring them back to reality (which is the practice of mercy). 

“Whoever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (1 John 5:4)  The faithful do not give in to the brokenness of this world because they trust that God can handle the situation.  Certainly, faithful people throughout history have been treated shamefully.  But they overcame not by joining the self-defeating lust for wealth and power, but by seeking the best for those around them and reveling in the deep relationships they were able to form.

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12)  The faithful seek to live, not just exist.  Meaningful life is found in mutual trust and selfless concern (faith and love).  Those who trust God find satisfaction in playing out godly character in this broken world as demonstrated by Jesus.  In turn, God gives them the ability to grow into that character and develop selflessness.

1 John 1:3, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”  In the New Testament, fellowship is a connection between spirits.  One of the main reasons that John spread the gospel was to make these connections.  The earth is an incubator for faith, by which those connections are made.  To spend eternity alone would be a terrible thing.  John’s goal was to build a big family that would last.

1 John 1:4, “These things we write to you that our joy may be full.”  John coached his audience not entirely selflessly, but also for his own sake.  Spreading this message made Him satisfied, comfortable, and excited about his connection with God and his fellow faithful.  Such should be the attitude of all the faithful.

1 John 1:5, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”  The heart of John’s message was that God is 100% good.  That would be an astounding conclusion for worshippers of the Greek and Roman pantheons.  Even today, most churches start with behavior or personal gain or excitement.  But “no darkness” is the point from which all else should flow, by-passing self-centeredness.

1 John 1:6, “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”  Self-deception allows us to rationalize our bad choices and make an empty claim that we are connected to God and fellow faithful.  The concept that God is 100% good at first is daunting, but then inspiring.  A God in whom is no darkness will have built into the system a way for the faithful to overcome themselves.  As the hymn, “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.”  Darkness is not excusable, but is fixable.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Jesus redeemed all people (1 John 2:2), having paid the debts to justice for all.  But only the faithful have the history of those missteps pushed out of the line of sight (forgiven).  Using an illustration from the Law of Moses, the faithful who own up to their sins are purified by the sprinkled blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:13 – 14) and made ready to start again.  The faithful do not hide from their sin, but learn from it.

1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have a Helper with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  The objective is to be transformed into the character of Jesus that we no longer make bad choices.  But, as we grow, sometimes the faithful will choose badly, hopefully less as maturity increases.  At those time, instead of hiding from God or making excuses, both of which are unreasonable choices, the faithful rely on help from above to be able to overcome themselves next time.

1 John 2:2, “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”  The sacrifice of Jesus paid off the right-and-wrong system, once for all.  Unburdened from our unpayable debts to justice, humans now can focus on developing the one characteristic upon which judgment will be based: God’s version of faith.  That faith exhibits a confident expectation that acting upon His hundreds of promises will result in our transformation into the character of Jesus.  Until we see superhuman growth, it’s not faith.

1 John 2:3, “By this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  At this point, many groups re-iterate a list of commands.  But John listed them for us in 3:23: trust that the transformation will work and have selfless concern for the fellow faithful.  If those are displayed to a superhuman level, we know that we know Him.

1 John 2:5, “Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God has been made consistent in him.  By this we know that we are in Him.”  Many church-goers settle for endorsement by their group as their confidence that they have been accepted by God.  Others just worry about it.  John wrote that those who have been accepted will display God’s version of love consistently.  That’s how we know.

1 John 2:6, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”  The faithful intend to do what Jesus would have done in each situation.  The indwelling Spirit who resides in each faithful person tirelessly nurtures and repairs those godly character traits.  To be able to visualize the objective, observe in the gospels how that character was played out by Jesus in this broken world.

1 John 2:9 – 10, “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness until now.  He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”  Some focus on their own pathway to eternal life and stumble because of that focus.  John wrote that, if the faithful focus on what is best for the others without regard to the effect on themselves (love), the path will be clear of trip hazards.  Those focused on others do not deceive themselves.

1 John 2:12, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”  Jesus’ “name” is His essential quality.  The faithful are forgiven (their pasts are pushed aside, out of the line of sight) not because they have tremendous faith, or because they have performed herculean works, but because that is the nature of Jesus.  Having paid off the debts to justice of all people, He stands ready to let those of faith learn from their mistakes, grow because of them, and try again.

1 John 2:15 – 16, “Do not love the world or the things of the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.”  Focusing on comfort, entertainment, and position garners temporary gains but long-term failure.  Focusing on God results in God’s version of success both in this life and the next.

1 John 2:17, “The world is passing away and the lust of it; but he who does the will of the God abides forever.”  The most succinct statement of the will of God is for “all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)  So, the task of the faithful is to spread the good news of the nature of God to all, and to endeavor to be filled with the Spirit so as to know and comprehend the truth.  Understanding the purpose of creation and living in reality sounds a lot better than what the regular world has to offer.

1 John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”  John wrote this shortly before the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Temple.  He considered the “last hour” to be very near to him.  More than one “antichrist” had come and at least one more was coming not long after this writing.  If the faithful of the first century could withstand all that, certainly the faithful today can withstand a few televangelists.

1 John 2:27, “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things…”  All the faithful have liberty; they are responsible for themselves.  No divinely-appointed human authority figures exist in the church.  Certainly, the wise consult those whom they consider farther along the path than themselves, and the faithful will rationally and civilly discuss different views, but the indwelling Spirit is the teacher.

1 John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that if He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed in His coming.”  The prospect of Judgment Day should stimulate eager and confident expectation, not fear or shame.  The faithful have accepted that their debt to justice has been paid off, and that their missteps along the way (having owned responsibility for them and learned from them) have been pushed aside.  So, they look forward to getting off this Titanic of a planet as soon as possible.

1 John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  And we are.  Therefore, the world does not understand us, because it did not understand Him.”  Tens of thousands of people witnessed the miracles of Jesus.  Many more thousands witnessed the miracles described in Acts.  Plus, there was the resurrection.  Only a small percentage of the observers made a change because of this blatant evidence.  They didn’t “get” Jesus.  The faithful should not be surprised that the outside world doesn’t “get” them.  Work with it.

1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  The faithful need to be comfortable not knowing everything, but rather have a confident expectation that the details will work out better than could have been envisioned.  The sketchy promise of being “like” Him is difficult to conceive in our physical mindsets.  Once the physical passes away, the faithful will not be so encumbered and can enjoy the new reality.

1 John 3:13, “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.”  Of course, this presupposes that the faithful are kind, gentle, patient, gracious, and loving.  But even while displaying those characteristics, the world will be offended if the faithful do not endorse ungodly lifestyles or express opinions that do not match the party line.  Remember that Jesus was executed for His godly demeanor.  The early Christians suffered loss of property and freedom, and some were killed.  The faithful should consider such results a badge of honor.

1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death.”  The type of love about which John wrote was the selfless concern deposited in the faithful by the indwelling spirit (Romans 5:5).  This superhuman trait is that which identifies the faithful from among other nice people.  Observing unexpected selflessness emerging from themselves is evidence of acceptance by God which produces a confident expectation of success.

1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  The various factions of modern Christianity have trouble getting along, and congregations sadly find splitting to be the solution to disagreements.  The level of family connection in the church described by John is nearly incomprehensible to most.  The answer is neither greater authority nor giving up “the truth,” but rather developing this depth of love between faithful people.

1 John 3:17, “Whoever has this world’s good and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”  Remember that God’s version of love is to do what is best for another regardless of the effect on oneself.  Sharing requires wisdom to ensure that the recipient truly benefits in the long term, and that the giver does not become a burden to others.  However, paralysis by analysis helps no one, and one’s own required minimum standard of living may be inflated.  God expects us to think.

1 John 3:18 – 19, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.  And by this we shall know that we are from the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.”  Jesus repeatedly asked crowds of people to be consistent from heart to hands, from principle to practice, and situation to situation.  The faithful should be known for accomplishing what they say they will do, no excuses.  They should apply their principles across all areas of life.  Seeing that happen in oneself causes confidence in having been accepted by God.

1 John 3:21, “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”  Faithful people unfortunately often are subjected to lessons designed to produce guilt rather than to build up.  Any faithful person can find things they could have done better and thereby continuously condemn themselves.  John’s cure for this unfortunate situation is to remember that God knows the real you.  This idea is unsettling to the hypocrite, but calming for the faithful.

1 John 3:22 – 23, “Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.  And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”  Those who trust in the nature of Jesus and love people will ask for things in keeping with those attitudes.  So, they get that for which they ask.

1 John 4:1, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  Throughout history, when God sent a message, He provided evidence to validate the messenger.  John admonished the faithful to evaluate the evidence carefully.  A plethora of “prophets” see “the end” in every new disease and every tense political situation.  Their audiences soon forget their history of failed predictions and lap up the next one.  If one prediction fails, the prophet is false.

1 John 4:6, “We are out of God.  He who knows God comprehends us; he who is not out of God does not.  Out of this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”  John’s point was not that everyone must agree with me to be classified as “out of God.”  Rather, those who know God will “get” where the faithful are coming from, even when they disagree on various points.  Those who cannot grasp how other faithful people think simply do not understand God.

1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  Love is doing what is best for another without regard to the effect on oneself.  That version of love is deposited in all the faithful by the indwelling Spirit (Romans 5:5).  Observing superhuman selfless concern is confirmation that God has adopted that person into the eternal family.

1 John 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”  God came to earth for a time as the physical man, Jesus.  Since that time, His love has been manifested in the faithful (“Christ in you,” Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:27).  Because of this, the faithful have an earthly life worth living.

1 John 4:10 – 11, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”  In preparing the creation, God understood that people would develop a justice problem, so planned for the Messiah as part of the package (Colossians 1:13 – 20).  This selflessness existed before people and became the model for all time. 

1 John 4:12 – 13, “No one has seen God at any time.  If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been made consistent in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”  Many make the claim that God has accepted them based on a variety of rituals and practices.  John says that the faithful are given evidence that they have been accepted when they display superhuman selflessness and overcome themselves (Romans 8:13).

1 John 4:17, “Love has been made consistent among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”  Those who see superhuman selflessness coming out of themselves no longer wonder if they will be found worthy at Judgment.  Rather, they have boldness, a confident expectation.  The faithful learn from the gospels how godly character plays out in a broken world and repeat that performance as they are being transformed into His character (2 Corinthians 3:18).

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but consistent love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment.  But he who fears has not become consistent in love.”  Selfless concern (Biblical love) does not consider the effect on oneself, so fear of punishment is not in the equation.  The faithful just do what is best for others (what is best, not necessarily what they want) and let the chips fall where they may.

1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.”  This is God’s type of love, doing what is best for the another without regard to the effect on oneself.  For the faithful, this short saying is quite literally true.  The indwelling Spirit pours God’s version of love into their hearts (Romans 5:5), making all the faithful able to display this kind of superhuman selflessness.  Further, the manifestation of this new-found love is the faithful’s evidence that God has accepted them (1 John 3:18 – 19, 4:12 – 13).

1 John 4:20, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother; he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”  To hate is to despise or to disregard.  God, in various places, is said to hate various evil practices.  But God loves people; He does what is best for them, although people often disagree with God’s choices of what is best.  John’s point is to avoid unprovable claims; rather demonstrate God’s type of love by doing what is best for people.

1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.”  John, earlier in this same letter, specified the commandments to which he referred: trust in the essential quality of Jesus and love the faithful (3:23).  The rules of the Law of Moses and the further rules of the Pharisees made Judaism burdensome: expensive, time-consuming, restrictive.  The gospel is full of joy, peace, liberty, wisdom, and understanding.  Model Jesus; be selflessly concerned for the faithful.

1 John 5:4, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  The faithful are promised that they will be able to overcome themselves and this broken world (Romans 8:13, Acts 2:40, 1 Peter 3:21) while still living in it.  A faith built on physical evidence, a confident expectation based on the character of God who promised success, and a knowledge of exactly what God has promised relegates the evils of this world to background noise.

1 John 5:6, “This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.”  Assuming this was intended to be understood by ordinary people, the water is the call of John and Jesus to repent and be immersed; the blood is His atoning sacrifice; and the Spirit is the evidence of the prophets and His physical miracles.  Jesus was not just talk; He died intentionally for all; and He amassed mountains of irrefutable evidence that His outrageous claims were true.

1 John 5:9, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this [Jesus’ message, His sacrifice, and His evidence] is the witness of God, that He has testified of His Son.”  All justice systems on earth are based on evidence.  Judges and juries are expected to evaluate the evidence and reach a conclusion, even when evidence for all the details cannot be discovered.  John asserts that the evidence offered by God is greater than that required in human courts.  We are required to evaluate the evidence and act.

1 John 5:10, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”  The faithful have more evidence concerning Jesus than do outsiders.  When the faithful observe themselves overcoming themselves to a superhuman degree, when they observe superhuman selflessness emanating from themselves, and when they see themselves being transformed into the character of Jesus, they have more than the message and the miracles.

1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life.”  All humans have physical life.  Only the faithful have a life worth living, “spiritual” life, a connection with God.  With that connection comes joy, peace, understanding, wisdom, a consistent and integrated character, and God’s version of love.  Outsiders hear those words and think they have at least some of them, and often are upset at the suggestion that they do not.  Therefore, the faithful are to demonstrate this mastery of life on a broken planet to highlight the contrast.

1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”  Many sincere church-goers have been taught not to be confident about going to heaven.  Some are taught that such assurance is actually arrogance.  Others are taught to focus on the possibility of falling away, thereby cancelling God’s encouragements.  John’s stated purpose was to build boldness based on the evidence of Jesus and encourage acting on the humanly impossible promises provided in the New Testament.

1 John 5:14 – 15, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His desires, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions what we have asked of Him.”  The faithful have the desires of God at the center of their thinking, so they ask of God only in that vein.  Further, the faithful refrain from giving suggestions on how to make things work, trusting that God has a much wider perspective.  Finally, the faithful trust that God’s action will be best for all.

1 John 5:16, “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not to death.  There is sin to death.  I do not say that he should pray about that.”  The faithful must assume that other faithful people are doing the best they can with what they have.  So, they will “miss the mark” on occasions.  The faithful pray for the missed opportunities of others.  Unfortunately, the faithful must also discern when someone rejects formerly accepted evidence.  God comes with His ”A” game.  If that is rejected, He has nothing left with which to appeal.

1 John 5:20, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life.”  Self-deception in its many forms is the root of the brokenness of this world.  The One True God encourages an understanding of reality, rather than “believing in belief” as proposed by other religions.  God’s objective is to build a big family that will last.  Reality is the only way that can happen.