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1 John 5 – Text and Notes
1 Whoever [Lit., everyone that] believes that Jesus [emphasis on Humanity] is the Christ [emphasis on Deity – “The Cerinthian antichrist denies the identity of Jesus and Christ – 2:22] is born [perfect; or begotten; “The Divine Begetting is the antecedent, not the consequent of the believing” – Law] of God; and whoever loves the Father [Lit., one who begets] loves the child born [perfect; or begotten] of Him.
2 By this we know that we love [present] the children of God, when we love God and observe [present; Lit., do] His commandments [“Our perception of the existence of love to our brethren is developed on every occasion when we exercise love and obedience toward God” (Vincent); “Love for God lightens his commands” – Robertson].
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep [present] His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome [Lit., heavy].
4 For [“The reason why God’s commandments are not heavy is the power that comes with the new birth from God” – Robertson] whatever is born [perfect; or begotten] of God overcomes [nikao; present – the overcoming is continuous because the struggling is continuous] the world; and this is the victory [nike; only time in N.T.; ] that has overcome [nikao; aorist] the world – our faith.
5 And who is the one who overcomes [nikao; present] the world, but he who believes that Jesus [emphasis on Humanity] is the Son of God [emphasis on Deity]?
6 This is the one who came [pre-existent & historical reality] by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with [Lit., in] the water only, but with [Lit., in] the water and with [Lit., in] the blood. [Extended Notes]
7 And it is the Spirit who bears [present] witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
8 For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement [Lit., for the one thing or one].
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God [Is this a fourth witness or is John saying God is the force behind the three mentioned in vv.5-8?] is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne [perfect] witness concerning His Son.
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made [perfect] Him a liar, because he has not believed [perfect] in the witness that God has borne [perfect] concerning His Son.
11 And the witness is this, that God has given [aorist] us eternal life [life/zoe – that in inextinguishable and indestructible quality that is self-existent in God and shared with animate creation; God’s gift to man animating him both physically and spiritually and making him an eternal being; “the absolute fullness of life…which belongs to God” (Thayer). The true antithesis of zoe is thanatos (death) when life is physically contemplated. Spiritually speaking, zoe assumes the profoundest moral significance of describing God and those in communion with His holiness. Scriptures know of no other word than zoe to set forth the blessedness of God, and the blessedness of the creature in communion with God (see handout on “Life” In 1 John)], and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know [know/oida – to know intellectually; to gain knowledge by observation (versus by experience or through the sense); to know something on the basis of an absolute or achieved knowledge; to know about something without necessarily standing in any personal relation or connection with it] that you have [present; not will have, or merely hope we might have, but now have] eternal life.
14 And this is the confidence which we have before [Lit., toward] Him that, if we ask [present – ask/aiteo – usually to ask for something “to be given, rather than done” (Thayer); interestingly enough, aiteo is never used of Jesus’ own requests or prayer, but always deomai or erotao; aiteo gives “prominence to the thing asked for” (Thayer); is used of the petition of an inferior] anything according [the condition or caveat follows which will involve a certain type of sin] to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know [oida (v.13)] that He hears us in whatever we ask [present], we know that we have the requests which we have asked [perfect] from Him.
16 If anyone sees [aorist] his brother committing [Lit., sinning/hamartano] a sin not leading to death, he shall ask [aiteo – v.14] and God will for him [the brother praying] give life to those who commit sin [hamartano] not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make [aorist] request for this.
17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
18 We know [oida (v.13)] that no one who is born [perfect; or begotten] of God sins [present active]; but He who was born [or begotten; aorist] of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch [“to lay hold of or grasp rather than a mere superficial touch” – Robertson] him. [Contrast the Christian birth versus Jesus’. Our’s is which shows the perfect tense, something which happened in the past and effects are still going on. Jesus was born, aorist, a fact in the past. Might this have an effect on the notion of the eternal sonship or eternal begetting of Jesus?] [Verse 18, as does 3:6-10, explains what is the sin to death. The entire book explains why.]
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given [perfect] us understanding, in order that we might know [present; ginosko – to know through experience; to perceive through the senses; “subjective knowledge” (Green); the knowing comes from “an active relation between the one who knows and the person or thing known” (Vine); effectively coming to know, or the entering into knowing through firsthand or personal interaction; knowledge usually gained through personal acquaintance of some relationship of intimacy or connection] Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This [Father or Son?] is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard [aorist imperative] yourselves from idols [“strictly images. The command, however, has apparently the wider Pauline sense, to guard against everything which occupies the place due to God (Vincent)].
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