September 25, 2014 1st John Chapter 5

1st John Chapter 5

Originally posted Friday November 21, 2008

1st John, Chapter 5:1-5 Faith Conquers the World

In 3:23 John wrote of two commandments: to believe (confess faith in) the name of God's son, Jesus the Messiah, and to love one another. In 4:2-3 he interprets the first commandment to include and emphasize that Jesus has "come in the flesh" as the human Messiah. It is difficult to be sure what John meant by "in the flesh." It certainly was penned against some contrary understanding of Jesus' ministry being taught by the pseudo-prophets and it is not from God. The best we can say is that there were those who were seeking to discredit the teaching that Jesus, the incarnate Word of God was a "flesh and blood" human being who was the Messiah and died. This was not compatible with their view of an exalted and divine Son of God.

John is certain that to be born (as a child) of God is to confess Jesus as both the human, in the flesh, Messiah and divine Son of God. He is also certain that the believers' love for God is love for God's children. That this coincident love is true is realized in actual expressions (acts) of love for the children of God and obedience to God's commandments (see above). In effect, loving one another as children of God is the same as loving God. "To love the parent is to love the child." (We may see here a hint of Jesus' words, "Love God and love your neighbor.") Imagine God's love moving along the circumference of a circle. As it moves God's love passes through each successive point on the path. God's love moves toward and through each of us toward and through others. With each circuit love passes from all of us back to God.

John implies that God's love empowers believers to "conquer the world." He understands the world as represented by false prophets who reject the idea of Jesus as the human Christ who came into the world from God. They are the antichrists. Because the believers are of God and the antichrists are not, the believers are spiritually more powerful than the antichrists. Their power, John writes, is faith. Through a consistent, practiced faith in Christ as the Son of God the world of evil is conquered. With such an assertion of power through faith we could become discouraged and think our faith is terribly deficient. The world of evil - however we measure evil, has not been conquered. Is this our fault? If we just had more faith would the world's ills, sin and otherwise, be conquered? It is certain that each individual Christian is responsible for her or his spiritual life, relationship with God and obedience to faith's call to love kindness, do justice and walk humbly with as much of God as we have come to know - so far. Were we to practice such a discipline we would indeed experience a measure of victory over whatever forces get in the way of becoming an example of God's love let loose in the world (releasing hope and healing). Our world may be rather small at first, but the more acts of love we share with others, the wider our world becomes. All we are asked to do is to let love do its part. We will be richer for it and the world will actually be better. To quote Mother Teresa again, "The more love we pour into the world the less room there is for hate."

1st John, Chapter 5:6-12 Testimony

The previous passage ends recognizing the power of an individual's faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Just how Jesus is the imputed divine Son of God is understood in several New Testament variations. Paul writes in Romans that Jesus becomes the divine Son of God at the resurrection. Mark places this event at Jesus' baptism. Matthew and Luke ascribe it to Jesus' birth and John understands divinity to have been pre-existent with the Word made flesh (Jesus). The John of this letter presents other testimonies of the Son of God who came into the world. They are of the Spirit, the water and the blood and all are in agreement. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God and it is this spirit that gives testimony to Jesus as the Son of God "by water and blood." There are a number of interpretations related to the meaning of the water and the blood. The most satisfying answer for this writer is to frame Jesus ministry which is bringing light and life into the world between his baptism and his death. His purpose, for which God sent him into the world, began in the waters of his baptism and ended in the blood of his crucifixion. In the Gospel of John we read the story of Jesus' death and the soldier who pierces his side with a lance. From the wound come water and blood, beginning and end. The water and the blood represent the completion of Jesus' obedience to God's purpose. Although in John Jesus was always Son of God, the cross is the public witness that he is the Son of God. As an added but subtle truth John writes that it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness. The Jewish symbol for the spirit of God poured out is water.

1st John, Chapter 5:13-21 Epilogue

John writes to confirm the gift they have received through their faith in Christ as the Son of God, a share in the life of God - eternal life. This life, their hope in God's promise, is the basis for their prayer. John's idea of answered prayer is narrower than the Gospels' which seem to say God answers all prayers of the faithful. John adds what is a more reasonable approach to prayer: that God answers prayer that is asked "according to [God's] will. That sounds like a bit of rationalization. To say that an unanswered heart-felt prayer means the request wasn't in God's will is not very satisfying. We end up blaming God rather than being realistic about the circumstances when there is an unacceptable outcome. Perhaps it is enough to pray in hopefulness and realize the result is not in our hands. This is what John has in mind in his example of praying for someone who has sinned. If the sin is not mortal (Grk = "not toward death") God will forgive the sinner based on a believer's prayer. John does not tell us what a sin unto death is. We may draw a conclusion from what he has already written regarding those who have broken fellowship and seceded from the faithful followers of John's authority. In effect the mortal sin would be that of apostasy, the denial of the Christ as understood by the church.

John knows that those who have remained within the church under his authority do not sin - they do not secede. They are the ones who are born of God and, so, under Christ's protection from the devil - in an eternal life sense, even though the whole world is under the devil's power.

The last phrase of vs. 20 has been taken by some to declare that Jesus is God. Since the doctrine of the Trinity is more than two centuries in the future such a conclusion is doubtful. In early Christian liturgy identifying Jesus with God was common but it always was a statement of the oneness of the Father and the Son in purpose. The idea of common purpose is derived from John's Gospel which frequently offers images of the closeness of Jesus and God: the Father and I are one; if you have seen me you have seen the Father. But these are not Trinitarian statements. They are affirmations of Jesus as the revelation of God's character and purpose which are seen in and fulfilled in and by Jesus' ministry. 5:20 is instructive for interpretation. John writes that the Son of God came to give understanding so that we may know (believe in and follow) God. This is the one who is "the true God and eternal life."