1 John 5

1 John 5:1

How can I be sure? An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of 1 John www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 5 *Faith overcomes the *world (1 John 5:1-5) v1 Jesus is the *Christ. Everyone who believes this has been born of God. Everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. v2 We love God and we obey his commands. So we know that we also love God’s children. v3 We show our love for God if we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us to obey. v4 All who are born of God overcome the *world. By our *faith, we win the fight and we defeat the *world. v5 I will tell you who wins this fight with the *world. Jesus is the Son of God. Those who believe this will win.

Verse 1 We must believe that Jesus is the *Christ The false teachers tried to divide Jesus from the *Christ. In their opinion, *Christ was God but Jesus was only a man. They taught that God could not die. Therefore the *Christ did not die. Those who think like this are not born of God.

To be born of God we must believe that Jesus is the *Christ. We must believe that he came to earth. He was both God and man. We must believe that Jesus the *Christ died for us. But death was not the end. Jesus Christ rose from death to life. He had achieved what he came to do. He rose from death to prove it.

We must believe that Jesus is the *Christ. This is more than just to agree with the mind. We must trust in him. We must accept what he has done for us. As we trust in him, he will change us. God gives us a new life. This is the new birth, when we are born of God.

If we love parents, we will love their children. If we love our own parents, we would also love our *brothers and sisters. A child will usually love its own father. Because of this, the child will also love its *brothers and sisters. If we are born of God then God is our Father. We then love the *Father. Therefore, if we love God we should also love his children. All Christians are the children of God.

Verse 2

We can know that we love God’s children. We do so when we obey God. God has given this command to us. We must love both him and his children. If we love God then we must love other Christians as well. We cannot love God if we do not love his children. It is not possible really to love his children if we do not love God.

Verse 3 We obey God’s commands because we love God Love for God is this, that we obey his commands. This is how we express our love for God. If we love God, we will obey his commands. This is the essential result of our love for God.

His commands are not too difficult for us. They are not too hard because God makes us able to do them. We love him, so we desire to do them. The Christian likes to do whatever God wants.

Verse 4 Our *faith helps us to overcome everything that opposes us We can obey God because we have overcome the *world. We trust in Jesus. This gives us success in the struggle. We overcome because we are born of God. Because of the birth from God, we overcome the *world. This new birth is the event that frees us from the *world. This new birth takes us away from the rule of the devil. This new birth makes us children of God.

The *world means all that opposes God, the church and Christians. This may be *persecution of the Christians. Or the world might try to tempt Christians to do wrong things. Many things try to destroy their trust in the *Lord Jesus. But in all these things, God gives the strength to overcome.

We overcome the *world when we first trust in Christ. He has already fought the battle for us and he has won. We are born into the success that Jesus has won. We now have to go on in that success. By trusting in him, we can overcome the *world in our lives.

It is our *faith that wins. *Faith is our trust in Christ and what we believe. We believe that Jesus is the *Christ. And we believe that he is the Son of God. We trust him to *save us and to keep us from all evil. We expect him to do all that God has promised. This belief and trust leads to the defeat of the *world. By our *faith we overcome the *world.

Verse 5

Only those people who trust in Christ overcome the *world. To win in this fight we have to believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that he is the Son of God. He is God and he became a man. As God and man, he overcame the *world. Nobody else can give us the power to win in this struggle. We trust in Jesus. Then we share in what he has done. So, he makes us able to overcome. God tells us the truth about his Son (1 John 5:6-12) v6 This man, Jesus Christ, came by water and blood. He did not come by water only. He came by water and blood. The Spirit shows us that these things are true. The Spirit is the truth. v7 These three tell us that this is true. v8 The three are the Spirit, the water and the blood. They all agree. v9 We believe what men say.

But what God says is much more important. And God has spoken and told us about his Son. v10 Jesus is the Son of God. The person who believes this knows it to be true. He is sure about it. Unbelievers behave as if God tells lies. God has told us about his Son.

But they have not believed him. v11 This is what God has said. He has given to us *eternal life and this life is in his Son. v12 The person who has the Son has this life. But the person who does not have the Son does not have this life.

Verse 6 The evidence that Jesus is God’s son The water and the blood refer to the *baptism and death of Jesus. Jesus the Son of God came by the water of *baptism. That is, he went through *baptism to start his work. Jesus the Son of God came by the blood of his death. That is, he finished his work here on earth by his death. He went through death and rose again from the dead.

Jesus did not come by water alone. That is by *baptism. But he came by water and blood. This shows that Jesus the *Christ actually died. Jesus and the *Christ are one person. The false teachers said that the *Christ left Jesus before death. They thought that the *Christ, as God, could not die. But Jesus Christ is both God and man and he died for us.

The Spirit of God adds to the evidence of the water and the blood. He shows the truth to those who believe. He tells us that Jesus is the *Christ in both his *baptism and his death. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Spirit of God reminds us about how Jesus lived. He tells us what Jesus did.

We can trust all that the Spirit of God shows us. He is the truth. He is the origin of truth. His nature is truth. He always speaks what is true. He never says anything that is false.

Verses 7-8 Three witnesses that Jesus is the *Christ, the Son of God Under the old law there had to be two or three witnesses to prove a matter (Deuteronomy 19:15). The Spirit of God tells us the same as the water and the blood. We can depend on the evidence of these three witnesses. This evidence shows that Jesus is the *Christ, the Son of God.

The water and the blood are facts of history. The Spirit of God was there and he is now a witness to these facts.

Verse 9 God’s words are more important than people’s words It is normal for us to believe what people say. We usually believe people who are witnesses to an event. They may not be telling the truth. But God always tells the truth. We believe what people say. We should be more ready to believe what God says. God speaks what he knows. Nobody else can speak with such authority.

God knew his Son before he made the world. The *Father, the Son and God’s Spirit are one God. God the Father has said about Jesus Christ, “This is my Son.” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5.) He loves the Son.

In the past, God spoke by the evidence of the water and the blood. God still speaks to us today.

Verse 10 People who deny Jesus have not believed God’s words Our belief is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We agree that this is the truth. We know in ourselves that it is true. God’s Spirit is in us. He is the witness to us of the truth. We have an inner certainty that Jesus is the Son of God. We believe what God has said about him. We know that it is right to believe in Jesus.

God has said that Jesus is the *Christ. He also said that Jesus is the Son of God. Some people do not believe this. They deny that Jesus is the Son of God. They do not agree that he is the *Christ. So they behave as if God tells lies. They act as if God’s words are untrue. They have refused to believe in God and in Christ.

To receive the Son is to receive the *Father. To deny the Son is to deny the *Father. Nobody can both accept God and deny his Son.

Verse 11 God gives us *eternal life, because of Jesus This is the effect of what God has said. Jesus has *eternal life. This life is in the *Lord Jesus. He has shown it to us. As we receive Jesus Christ, God gives us this *eternal life. It is the gift of God by his Son Jesus. *Eternal life is life now with God and this life will never end. Those who have *eternal life will live with God always. They may die a normal death but, in their spirit, they will never die.

Christ came so that we would have this *eternal life. We receive it when we trust in him. This is the new birth. We are born of God when we become Christians.

Verse 12 When we trust Jesus, we receive *eternal life To have the Son is to be in a living unity with him. Where such unity exists, this life exists. Those who believe in the Son have *eternal life.

Those who do not have this unity do not have the life. Only in Christ can we find *eternal life. Those who do not have the Son of God cannot receive that life. We know God by Christ (1 John 5:13-21) v13 I have written these things to you. You believe in the name of Jesus. You believe that he is the Son of God. You have *eternal life. I write so that you may know this. v14 We have this confidence in God. We can ask him for anything that pleases him. When we do so, he hears us. v15 We are sure that he hears us. And he will give us what we ask from him.

v16 Suppose that you see a *brother or sister *sin. Perhaps this *sin is not one that leads to death. You should pray to God for that person. Then God will answer you. He will give life to that person. However, there is *sin which leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that *sin. v17 All evil deeds are *sin. But there is *sin that does not lead to death.

v18 Those who are born of God do not continue to *sin. The Son of God keeps them safe. The evil person (the devil) cannot touch them v19 We know that we belong to God. But the whole world is in the power of the evil person. v20 We know also that the Son of God has come. He has helped us to understand. So we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true. We are in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God. He is *eternal life.

v21 *Children, keep *yourselves safe from false gods.

Verse 13 We can be confident that we have *eternal life John is coming to the end of his letter. He gives his purpose for all that he has written so far. He wants all the Christians to be sure about life. They have the true life in Christ. He feels that they lack confidence about this. He wants them to know that they do have *eternal life. He wants to increase their trust and confidence in Christ.

*Eternal life is not just a future life that has no end. It is life of a better quality, which we can live now. We are sharing in the life of Christ.

To believe in the name means to trust the person. They trust Jesus who is the Son of God.

Verse 14 We can be confident that God hears our prayers We know that we have *eternal life. So, we can be confident to come to God. We are able to approach God in prayer. We can be sure that God will hear our prayers.

Verse 15 God answers prayer We can ask God for anything that he wants. Then we know that God hears us. He listens to our prayers. We can be certain about this. If God hears us, he will answer our prayers. He may not answer at once. But we can be sure that the answer will come.

We need to know what agrees with God’s plan. Then we can ask for it. We must believe that God will answer us. Jesus said, ‘Whatever you ask in prayer, believe. Believe that you have received it. And it will be yours’ (Mark 11:24).

Verse 16 We should pray when another Christian *sins Christians are not perfect and they do *sin. When we see a Christian *sin, we should pray about it. We have a duty in love to look after such a person. It should be our natural reaction to pray. This is for *sins that do not cause death.

The promise is that God will answer the prayer. He will give life to the person who has *sinned. He will forgive the *sin. There is a part of death in all *sin. *Sin in a Christian breaks the unity with the *Lord. That person needs God to forgive the *sin. Then the unity with the *Lord will return.

Death and life here refer to the spirit of the person. There is a *sin, which brings death to the human spirit. This *sin refuses to agree that Jesus is the *Christ, the Son of God. The person who does this *sin does not trust in Christ. He does not receive life from Christ. Such a person refuses to believe what the person knows to be true. To continue in this *sin will lead to death. John does not advise us to pray for those who do this *sin. He doubts that such prayer will have good results. He does not forbid such prayers. But he does think that they are a waste of time.

Verse 17 All wrong thoughts and actions are *sin John has made a distinction between *sins. Some lead to death and some do not lead to death. This does not mean that some sins are worse than other sins. The false teachers may have taught that not all wrong actions are *sin. But all wrong thoughts and actions are *sin. All *sins are serious. We must not think that any are not bad.

Verse 18 God will help Christians not to *sin Those who have been born of God are Christians. Those who become Christians must stop *sinning. They will not continue to *sin as they did in the past. This is the test of the truth in them. They hate *sin and they try to please God. It is not that they never fail. But they will not *sin as a manner of life.

Jesus the Son of God looks after his children. He will keep us safe and protect us from the devil. He will not allow *Satan to damage us. He will not let *Satan gain control over us. He will not let *Satan lead us back into *sin.

Verse 19 God will protect us from the devil God is the origin of the new life that we have. We were born of God when we first trusted Jesus Christ. We know that we belong to him. We are now the children of God.

The whole *world is under the control of the devil. The *world includes all those people who do not know God. The *world means everything that opposes God. And the *world includes all God’s enemies. *Satan has power in this *world.

Verse 20 God has taught us the truth about Jesus We know that Jesus the Son of God has come to this earth. He came from God and he became a man. He came in the past but he is still present. He lives with and in his people.

The Son of God has made us able to understand the truth. We can know God when we trust in Jesus. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now we can know God by experience because he is the true God. He is the genuine God, unlike all false gods. Our God is the only real God.

We live in unity with God the Father. We live in God because we belong to his Son Jesus Christ. The *Lord Jesus Christ, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, is the true God. To know him is to have *eternal life. That life is in him. Jesus said, ‘this is *eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God. And that they may know Jesus Christ whom you have sent’ (John 17:3).

Verse 21 We must guard ourselves from false gods Anything that takes the place of God is a false god. Christians must guard themselves from such false gods. So many things would tempt us away from the real God. The false teachers tried to do this by their wrong ideas about the *Christ. We need to be careful that we remain in the *Lord.

© 1997-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

April 2005

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var w0 = new Array;w0[0]=’<b%3Efaith</b%3E ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.’;w0[1]=’<b%3Eworld</b%3E ~ all that opposes God, the church, and Christians.’;w0[2]=’<b%3EChrist</b%3E ~ Jesus is the Christ. The word ‘Christ’ means that God appointed Jesus to save us from our sins. And the word ‘Christ’ reminds us that, even in this world, Jesus was full of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God. But some people taught that Jesus was only an ordinary man. They said that he was not always the Christ.

In this letter (1 John), John explains why these people were wrong. John also writes in 1 John about ‘false Christs’. These false Christs are ordinary men. The devil, not God, appointed them. False Christs also speak by spirits. But they do not speak by God’s Holy Spirit.

The spirits that control false Christs come from the devil.