1 John 5
Knowing the Life God Has Given Us
John closes his letter by showing how faith in Jesus, love for others, and obedience to God belong together. He wants believers to know they have eternal life, pray with confidence, and stay close to the true God.
Walking Through 1 John 5
Faith That Becomes Love (1 John 5:1-5)
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, 4 because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith. 5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?1 John 5:1-5 · NET Bible
John begins with faith in Jesus as the Christ, God’s promised Savior. Everyone who truly believes in Him has been born of God. This means God has given that person new spiritual life. Those who love the Father should also love His children. We cannot separate love for God from love for His family.
John also joins love with obedience. Keeping God’s commands does not earn our place in His family. It shows that we belong to Him. His commands are not a crushing load because they come from our loving Father, who gives us new life and help to follow Him.
The world here means human life turned against God. We overcome its pull through faith in Jesus, not through our own strength. I want you to notice where the victory rests: in the Son of God. Growing faith leads us toward loving obedience, not proud self-reliance.
God’s Witness About His Son (1 John 5:6-12)
6 Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood—not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. 10 (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.1 John 5:6-12 · NET Bible
John says Jesus came through water and blood. These most likely point to His baptism and His death. John insists that the same Jesus who was baptized also truly died. We must not accept a version of Jesus that leaves out His real human life or His saving death.
The Holy Spirit tells the truth about Jesus. The Spirit, the water, and the blood agree in their witness. John’s readers were hearing rival claims, but God’s witness carries greater weight than any human opinion. Refusing His witness about His Son treats God as though He were lying.
What has God made known? Eternal life is His gift, and that life is found in His Son. It is not something we build through enough good deeds. It is life with God, beginning now and lasting forever. Our hope rests in Jesus Himself. There is no separate path to eternal life apart from Him.
Confidence in Life and Prayer (1 John 5:13-15)
13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.1 John 5:13-15 · NET Bible
John states why he has written: believers in the Son of God can know they have eternal life. He does not want God’s children trapped in endless fear about whether they belong to Him. Throughout the letter, true faith, love, and obedience have shown the marks of new life. These are signs of God’s work, not payments for His gift.
That confidence also shapes prayer. We may come to God knowing that He hears requests made according to His will. This does not mean that every strong wish becomes a promise from God. It means we learn to seek what agrees with His character and purposes.
I want to encourage you to bring your needs honestly to Him. Trusting His will is not giving up on prayer. It is trusting the wisdom and love of the One who hears. We can rest in His answer even when we must wait to see it.
Praying for a Brother or Sister (1 John 5:16-17)
16 If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death.1 John 5:16-17 · NET Bible
John now gives a clear example of prayer that serves others. If we see a fellow believer caught in sin that does not lead to death, we should pray. Our first response should not be gossip or a sense that we are better. We should seek God’s help and restoring work in that person’s life.
John also speaks of sin that leads to death. Faithful Bible readers differ about exactly what he means. In this letter’s setting, it may refer to a settled rejection of Jesus and the life God offers through Him. John does not fully explain it, so we should not claim more than the text gives us. He does not direct prayer for that case as he does for the first.
His main point remains clear: all wrongdoing is sin, but not every sin leads to death. Take sin seriously, and care enough about struggling believers to pray for them.
Keep Close to the True God (1 John 5:18-21)
18 We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. 19 We know that we are from 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 us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.1 John 5:18-21 · NET Bible
John ends with three things believers can know. First, those born of God do not continue in sin as their settled way of life. This does not mean Christians never fail. Jesus guards His people, and the evil one cannot take them as his own. That protection does not promise a life without suffering or temptation.
Second, believers belong to God, even though the world lies under the evil one’s power. Third, God’s Son has come and given us understanding so that we may know the true God. Through Jesus, we have a real relationship with Him and share in eternal life.
John’s final warning about idols fits everything he has said. An idol is anything we treat as god in place of the true God. False ideas about Jesus are no safe substitute for Jesus Himself. Keep close to the One who has made the Father known. He alone can give the life our hearts need.
- Eternal life — Life with God, given through His Son, beginning now and lasting forever.
- Confidence — Trust in what God has promised about salvation and prayer.
Where do you need to trust God’s promise about His Son more deeply and let that trust shape your actions?
Father, thank You for giving us eternal life through Jesus. Help us trust Your word, love Your children, and pray according to Your will. Guard our hearts from false gods and teach us to walk closely with You.