The 1st Epistle of John
As Christ’s life manifested
the Father, our life should
reflect Christ
Background to 1st John

The first epistle may have been written before AD70
[2:18, last hour, 1Peter 4:7], or sometime later, around
AD90, with the 2nd and 3rd epistles shortly thereafter.
» John’s approach in the 1st epistle is paternal,
both in the affectionate expressions he uses,
and the authority with which he writes.

The 1st epistle has three basic themes:
1. God is light—truth, holiness, righteousness
2. God is love—mercy, goodness, compassion
3. God is life—the eternal life
1 John
2
The emphasis in John’s gospel—
how Christ’s life manifested
the Father
 The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the
Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in
like manner… I do not seek my own will but the will of
the Father who sent me. [John 5:19]
 I and my Father are one. [10:30]
 He who has seen me has seen the Father… I am in the
Father, and the Father in me. The words that I speak to
you I do not speak on my own authority; the Father who
dwells in me does the works. [14:9]
[Most quotations are from the NKJV or NASB]
1 John
3
The emphasis in John’s epistle—
how our life should manifest Christ
 If we walk in the light as He is in the light. [1Jn 1:7]
 By this we know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments. [2:3]
 Everyone who practices righteousness is born of him.
[2:29]
 He laid down his life for us; we ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren. [3:16]
» The truth is designed for God manifestation:
to reveal the character and outlook of God in
those who embrace it.
1 John
4
The Word of the life was manifested
 That which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, seen with our eyes, looked upon, our hands
handled, concerning the word of the life; the life was
manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and
declare to you that eternal life which was with the
Father and was manifested to us. [1John 1:1-2]
 He has promised us eternal life. [2.25]
 God has given us eternal life, in His Son. [5:11]
 That you may know you have eternal life. [5:13]
 We are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ; this
is the true God and eternal life. [5:20]
» The eternal life of the Father from the beginning,
was manifested in the Son, and promised to us.
1 John
5
We are called to be partakers of the
divine nature in a moral sense now!
 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain
to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him
who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which
He has granted to us His precious and very great
promises, that through these you may escape from the
corruption that is in the world because of passion, and
become partakers of the divine nature. [2Pet 1:3]
 Faith such as Abraham had, gives a believer a right to
eternal life. Before he died he differed from all natural
men, in that he was ‘filled with the knowledge of the
Deity’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,’
and became ‘a partaker of the divine nature’ in a moral
sense; in this sense he was a spiritual man. [Eureka 2:250]
1 John
6
Fellowship with the Father and Son


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. These things we write to you that your
joy may be full. [1John 1:3,4]
Abide in me, and I in you… I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears
much fruit… these things I have spoken to you, that my
joy may remain in you, that your joy may be full.
[John 15:4]

Holy Father, keep through your name those you have
given me, that they may be one as we are. [17:11]
1 John
7
Fellowship with the Father and Son
…is a participation in the life which Jesus shares with the
Father, the eternal life that was with the Father from the
beginning, and was manifested in His Son.
 This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
» 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. [1John 5:11-13]
 This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. [Jn 17:3]
1 John
8
God is Light
 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. [1John 1:5]
 In him was life, and the life was the light of men…
the true light which gives light to every man. [John 1:4]
 Proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light. [1Pet 2:9]
 While you have the light, believe in the light, that
you may become sons of light. [John 12:36]
 The emphasis in the figure of light is on the moral
aspect of God’s being, the perfection of His moral
goodness, His holiness.
» All who would have fellowship with God must
commit to flee from evil and hold fast to good.
1 John
9
Walking in darkness
 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [1Jn 1:6]
 Everyone practicing evil hates the light, does not come
to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. He who
does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may
be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. [3:20]
 I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of life. [John 8:12]
» To walk in darkness is to be living and moving
in a spiritual and moral climate that is away from
the light of God’s truth and His holiness.
1 John
10
Seven tests of true discipleship
1. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [1:6]
2. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us. [1:8]
3. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and
His word is not in us. [1:10]
4. He who says, “I know him,” and does not keep his
commandments, is a liar, the truth is not in him. [2:4]
5. He who says he abides in him ought himself also to
walk as he walked. [2:6]
6. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is
in darkness until now. [2:9]
7. If anyone says: I love God, and hates his brother, he is
a liar. [4:20]
1 John
11
Walk in the light
 If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. [1John 1:7]
 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother,
is in darkness. He who loves his brother abides in the
light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. [2:9]
 You were once darkness, now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light. [Eph 5:8]
 The blood of Christ purge your conscience from
dead works to serve the living God. [Heb 9:14]
 You were not redeemed with corruptible things…
but with the precious blood of Christ. [1Pet 1:18]
» Fellowship with one another and cleansing from
sin are both dependent on walking in the light.
1 John
12
The blood of Christ stands for his
complete redemptive work
 Having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved…
through him. [Rom 5:9]
 In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins. [Eph 1:7]
 To reconcile all things... through the blood of his cross...
in the body of his flesh through death. [Col 1:20]
» The shed blood was the offered life; for the life
of the flesh is in the blood. [Lev 17:11]
 “It was the literal blood of Christ that was ‘the precious
blood of Christ,’ but its preciousness lay in its spiritual
relations, that is, it was precious because of what the
shedding secured for us, and precious, because of the
excellence of Christ.” [R Roberts, Christadelphian, 1878, p137]
1 John
13
The law of sin within us
 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. [1John 1:8]
 By one man’s disobedience many were made [constituted]
sinners. [Rom 5:19]
 Sin that dwells in me [in every cell of my body]. [Rom 7:17]
 The law of sin which is in my members. [Rom 7:23]
» If we say that we are essentially good, that our
nature is not sin-prone, that there is no need to
crucify the flesh, that Christ did not come in the flesh,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John
14
The two aspects of sin
 The word sin is used in two principal acceptations in the
scripture. It signifies in the first place, the transgression
of the law; and in the next, it represents that physical
principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all
its diseases, death, and resolution into dust.
 It is that in the flesh which has the power of death; and
it is called sin, because the development, or fixation,
of this evil in the flesh, was the result of transgression.
 Inasmuch as this evil principle pervades every part of the
flesh, the animal nature is styled sinful flesh, that is,
flesh full of sin; so that sin came to stand for the
substance called man. [Elpis Israel, p126]
1 John
15
If we confess our sins
 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness [1:9]
 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from
every lawless deed and purify for himself his own
special people, zealous for good works. [Titus 2:14]
 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us
from this present evil age, according to the will of our
God and Father. [Gal 1:4]
 Christ went to the cross to crucify the inherent evil in
the nature he bore―sin nature must be put to death to
provide a righteous basis for God to forgive our sins.
» We are forgiven because we are one with the Lord
Jesus Christ, and identified with what he did and why.
1 John
16
If we deny our sins
 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him
a liar, and His word is not in us. [1John 1:10]
» My little children [an expression of affection, endearment],
these things I write to you, that you may not sin [2:1]
 Man’s heart is evil from his youth. [Gen 8:21]
 Heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. [Jer 17:9]
 From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil
thoughts. [Mark 7:21]
 He who covers his sins will not prosper; whoever
confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. [Pro 28:13]
» Fellowship with God depends upon acknowledging
our sinful condition, and trusting His forgiveness.
1 John
17
An advocate with the Father
 If anyone sins, we have an advocate [3875 parakletos:
comforter] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
» He himself is the propitiation [2434] for our sins, and
not for ours only but also for the whole world. [2:1,2]
 It is Christ who died, and is also risen, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also makes intercession
[1793] for us. [Rom 8:34]
 He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to
God through him, since he always lives to make
intercession [1793] for them. [Heb 7:25]
 There is one God and one mediator [3316] between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus. [1Tim 2:5]
1 John
18
Advocate, helper, comforter
 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
helper [3875], that he may abide with you forever… the
helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you. [John 14:16]
 When the helper comes, whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the
Father, he will testify of me. [15:26]
 I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you;
but if I depart, I will send him to you. [16:7]
» Helper is parakletos, rendered advocate in IJohn 2:1.
1 John
19
Propitiation—forgiveness, reconciliation
 He loved us, sent His Son to be the propitiation [2434]
for our sins. [1John 4:10]
 Whom God set forth as a propitiation [2435] by his
blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance God had passed over the
sins that were previously committed. [Rom 3:25]
 In all things he had to be made like his brethren, that
he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation [2433] for the
sins of the people. [Heb 2:17]
 God, be merciful [2433] to me a sinner! [Lk 18:13]
 The cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat
[2435]. [Heb 9:5]
» The place where God extends mercy to those in
Christ, where sins are forgiven and covered, where
man is reconciled to God.
1 John
20
How we know that we know him
 By this we know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments. He who says, “I know him,” and
does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. [1John 2:3,4]
 That I may know him, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being conformed to his death. [Phil 3:8]
 You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.
[John 15:14]
 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him.
[Tit 1:16]
» We must do what we know, or we lie when we
speak the Truth.
» To know God is to manifest His character.
1 John
21
Keep his word and walk as he did
 Whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is
perfected [complete] in him. By this we know that we
are in him. He who says he abides in him ought himself
also to walk as he walked. [1John 2:5,6]
 Blessed are those who do his commandments, that
they may have the right to the tree of life, and may
enter through the gates into the city. [Rev 22:14]
 If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. [John 14:23]
» The assurance that we know him, and the motivation
to keep his word, results from the love of God being
perfected in us.
1 John
22
An old commandment
 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but
an old commandment which you have had from the
beginning. The old commandment is the word which
you heard from the beginning. [1John 2:7]
 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of
God, nor is he who does not love his brother. This is
the message that you heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another. [3:10]
 Not as though I wrote a new commandment to you,
but that which we have had from the beginning: that
we love one another. [2John 5]
» The commandment was not new to them; they had
known it ever since coming to know the Gospel.
1 John
23
A new commandment
 A new commandment I write to you, which thing is true
in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing
away, and the true light is already shining. [1John 2:8]
 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another; as I have loved you… By this all will know you
are my disciples, if you love one another. [John 13:34]
 This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this,
than to lay down his life for his friends. [John 15:12]
 If God so loved us, we are bound to love one another.
[1John 4:11]
A love which willingly, as Christ did, lays
down its life in service to the brethren.
1 John
24
To walk in the light is to walk in love
 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is
in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides
in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in
darkness, and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes. [1John 2:9,11]
 We know that we have passed from death to life,
because we love the brethren. He who does not love
his brother abides in death. [3:14]
In loving one another we effectively manifest
our true fellowship with him who first loved us,
as those who are born of God.
1 John
25
I write to you…
 Little children, because your sins are forgiven you for
his name’s sake—because you have known the Father.
» To be in the condition of knowing the Father
is to be in that condition in which sins are forgiven
for Christ’s sake.
 Fathers, because you have known Him who is from the
beginning.
» Knowing God is a developing process of
experience and mature awareness of God.
 Young men, because you have overcome the evil
one—because you are strong, and the word of God
abides in you. [1John 2:12-14]
» The evil propensities of the flesh dominate
the world, but they had come out of the world
and were gaining the victory over the evil.
1 John
26
For thy name’s sake
 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for
it is great. [Ps 25:11]
 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy
name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy
name’s sake. [Ps 79:9]
 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou
it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we
have sinned against thee. [Jer 14:7]
 O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and
do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city
and thy people are called by thy name. [Dan 9:19]
 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou
mayest be feared. [Ps 130:3-4]
1 John
27
“The evil one…
 … is John’s vivid personification for the terrible force
which came into human experience at the Fall—the
unregenerate human nature which works within us all
and whose ravages are among us and about us—into
whose hand the whole world was delivered when ‘by
one man sin entered into the world and death by sin’.
» It corresponds to Jesus’ references to ‘the prince of
this world’ who was condemned by his death.”
» Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of
this world will be cast out. [John 12:31]
1 John
28
Love not the world
 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [2.15]
» All that is in the world—lust of the flesh, lust of the
eyes, pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the
world. [v16]
» The world is passing away, and the lust of it; he who
does the will of God abides forever. [v17]
 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. [Rom 13:14]
 Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. [Gal 5:24]
 As sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts
which war against the soul. [1Pet 2:11]
1 John
29
Antichrists and false prophets
 Little children, it is the last hour; as you have heard that
the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come, by which we know it is the last hour. [1John 2:18]
 They went out from us, but they were not of us; if they
had been of us, they would have continued with us; they
went out that they might be made manifest, that none of
them were of us. [v19]
» John sees their departure as providential: it had
served to separate the false from the true.
 Every spirit [or prophet] that does not confess that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh… this is the
spirit of the Antichrist. [4:3]
 Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do
not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
This is a deceiver and an antichrist. [2John 7]
1 John
30
It is the last hour now for us
 Let no one deceive you, that day will not come unless
the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is
revealed… whom the Lord will consume with the breath
of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his
coming. [2Thes 2:3]
 In later times some will renounce the faith by paying
attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
through the hypocrisy of liars… they forbid marriage and
demand abstinence from foods. [1Tim 4:1]
 In the last days perilous times will come. [2Tim 3:1]
 Who are kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [1Pet 1:5]
» The last hour here relates to ‘the Gentile times’,
characterized by the emergence of antichrist.
1 John
31
Denies the Father and the Son
 You have an anointing from the Holy One [Christ], and you
know all things [the truth]. I have not written to you
because you do not know the truth, but because you
know it, and that no lie is of the truth. [1John 2:20-21]
» Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the
Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father
and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not
have the Father; he who acknowledges the Son
has the Father. [v22-23]
 You denied the Holy One and the Just. [Act 3:14]
» The heresy was a denial that Jesus was the Christ,
the true Son of God, begotten of the Father; and
that God had manifested Himself in Jesus.
 God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
[2Cor 5:19]
1 John
32
Abide in the Son and in the Father
 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the
beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides
in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
» This is the promise that He has promised us—eternal
life. [1John 2:24,25]
 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him, and he in God. [4:15]
 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God;
everyone who loves Him who begot loves him who is
begotten of Him. Who is he who overcomes the world,
but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. [5:1]
If we believe that Christ came in the flesh,
and that he overcame sin in all its forms,
we will make every effort to identify with his
victory over sin, and walk as he walked.
1 John
33
The anointing abides in you
 These things I have written to you concerning those who
try to deceive you. [1John 2:26]
 But the anointing which you have received from him
abides in you, [the word of God, v14] 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, just as it has taught you, abide in him. [v27]
 You shall not go out of the tabernacle, the anointing oil of
the LORD is upon you. [Lev 10:7]
 You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim
the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light. [1Pet 2:9]
1 John
34
Confidence when He comes
 Abide in him, that when he appears, we may have
confidence and not be ashamed [when
the heart is made bare] before him at his coming.
» Not confidence in what we have done, but a quiet
assurance in the transformation he has wrought in
each of us.
 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone
who practices righteousness is born of him. [1Jn 2:28,29]
» Learning to be righteous, to acquire his attributes,
conformed to his image; not perfectly while we are
burdened with flesh, but our basic way of life.
The Truth is a way of life; not just a set of beliefs
1 John
35
Confidence
Confidence [3954]courage, boldness, calm assurance.
 By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall
assure our hearts before Him… If our heart does not
condemn us, we have confidence toward God. [1Jn 3:19]
 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may
have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He
is, so are we in this world. [1John 4:17]
 Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are
we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
the hope firm unto the end. [Heb 3:6]
 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need. [Heb 4:16]
 Cast not away your confidence, which hath great
recompense of reward. [Heb 10:35]
1 John
36
Practices righteousness
Practices [4160]do well, carry out, execute; a way of life,
a course of conduct; a manner of thinking.
 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth. [1Jn 1:6]
 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices
righteousness is [becomes] righteous… whoever does
not practice righteousness is not of God. [1John 3:7,10]
 I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice
lawlessness. [Matt 7: 23]
 The works of the flesh are evident: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God. [Gal 5:19]
1 John
37
What manner of love…
 Behold what manner of love [agape: divine love] the Father
has bestowed on us, [with the goal] that we should be
called children of God! [1John 3:1]
 God demonstrates [proves] His love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Rom 5:8]
» Agape: a self-sacrificing desire to serve,
motivated by an enlightened mind; love that
is self-denying and devoted to its object.
It is pre-eminently God’s love as shown in
His work of redemption, and is reproduced
in the hearts of believers by the power
of the Word, with the goal of begetting
sons and daughters to His glory.
38
Agape Love
 “Agape and agapao are used in the NT:
» to describe the attitude of God toward His Son;
toward the human race, generally; and believers
on the Lord Jesus Christ particularly;
» to convey His will to His children concerning their
attitude one toward another, and toward all men;
» to express the essential nature of God.
 “Love can be known only from the actions it prompts.
God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son love had its
perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ.
» Christian love has God for its primary object, and
expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to
His commandments. Self-will, self-pleasing, is the
negation of love to God.” [Vine’s Expository Dictionary]
39
Self-sacrificing agape love
 By this we know love, because he laid down his
life for us; we also ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren. [1John 3:16]
 In this was manifested the love of God toward
us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him. [4:9]
 He who has my commandments and keeps
them, it is he who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father; I will love him and
manifest myself to him. [John 14:21]
40
What we shall be…
 Now we are sons of God; what we shall be is not yet
revealed [apparent, made manifest, visible]. [1John 3:2]
» The apostles had seen the risen Christ, and knew
that when he is revealed, we shall be like him.
 As many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God. [John 1:12]
 As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are
sons of God. [Rom 8:13]
 The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…
the sons of God. [Rom 8:18]
 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will
appear with Him in glory. [Col 3:4]
 Who will transform our lowly body that it may be
conformed to his glorious body. [Phil 3:21]
41
We are now in the Valley of Humiliation
 We must fellowship the suffering of Christ, before we
fellowship his glory; when the battle is over, we will know
“that the sufferings of the present time are nothing to be
compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us”.
 For the present, we are in the Valley of Humiliation, in a
state of weakness and sin; but keeping our eye fixed on
the morning dawn so long held up in promise to human
view, we are enabled to persevere and work until the
night comes, when no man can work.
» A night that has come to all who have gone before us,
and may come to us, but which will quickly be ended
by the bright rising of that Sun of Righteousness, who
will usher in eternal day.” [RR, Christadelphian, 1868 p198]
1 John
42
We shall see him as he is…
 See implies more than mere physical sight, and involves
a discerning, perceptive mindthe redeemed will gaze
upon Christ with the realization and marvel that they are
one with him, both mentally and physically.
 “Jesus was ‘perfected the third day’ (Luke 13:32; Heb. 5:9);
and became the Author of aion salvation to all who obey
him. A saint made perfect in this sense is as much ‘spirit’
as Jesus now is; for John, speaking of what the saints
shall be when made perfect, says, ‘we shall be like him,
and see him as he is’.” [Eureka, vol 1, p370]
 “The saints shall be like him (1John 3:2) Paul styles him,
‘the Lord the Spirit’ the wise shall be like what he now
is. They will therefore be partakers of the divine nature
in a substantial material sense; in other words they will
be spirit.” [Eureka, vol 2, p251]
43
Everyone in hope purifies self
 Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself,
just as He is pure. [1John 3:3]
» Purifies [to make pure, cleanse]. This necessitates
a close examination of self and a constant effort
towards eliminating “the garment defiled by the flesh”.
 Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God. [2Cor 7:1]
 He has given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises, that through these you may be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the
world through lust. [2Pet 1:4]
44
Everyone who practices sin…
 Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness,
sin is lawlessness [458]. [1John 3:4]
 Lawlessness: the absence of law or the nonobservance of law; a way of life apart from
the influence of God’s law; ignorant of it, or
deliberately ignoring it; walking outside the
direct guidance and control of the law of God;
habitually living without regard for God’s law.
 A person practices lawlessness when he lives
in disregard of God’s law and is indifferent to
its demands. It is not a single act of sin, but
the continuous, persistent doing of it.
1 John
45
Sin is lawlessness
 I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice
lawlessness [458]. [Matt 7:23]
 You outwardly appear righteous inside full of hypocrisy
and lawlessness. [23:28]
 Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many
[most] will grow cold. [24:12]
 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. [Rom 4:7]
 As you presented your members slaves of uncleanness,
and lawlessness so now present your members as
slaves of righteousness. [Rom 6:19]
 You [the Lord Jesus Christ] have loved righteousness and
hated lawlessness. [Heb 1:9]
1 John
46
He was manifested to
take away our sins
 You know that he was manifested to take away sins, and
in him there is no sin. [1John 3:5]
 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from
every lawless [458] deed and purify for himself his own
special people, zealous for good works. [Titus 2:14]
» Since he was manifested to take away sin,
it is a denying of Christ if we practice habitually
that which he was appointed to destroy,
and was himself entirely without sin.
Let no one deceive you concerning this,
what a person does is the indication of
what he or she really is.
1 John
47
Whoever abides in him does not sin
 Abides [3306]remain as one, sojourn with, not depart
from, not become different to. [1John 3:6]
» Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself neither can you; abide in me
without me you can do nothing. [John 15:4-5]
 Does not sindoes not practice lawlessness.
Practicing lawlessness indicates we have not been
effected by Christ’s teachings and have not been born
of God by the word.
» Good intentions are not enough; there must be
tangible results, visible improvement, a steady growth
of godly attributes and weakening of earthly ones.
» This requires a continuous absorption of incentive
and direction and power from the Word; by constant
study and reflection, gradually transformed by it.
1 John
48
He who practices righteousness…
 We learn what we practice; when we practice
righteousness we become righteous. God’s character
is gradually manifested in us to replace our natural
selfthis is God Manifestation. [1John 3:7]
 We deceive ourselves if we think it is sufficient to profess
the truth without practicing it.
» John is contrasting the person who practices
lawlessness by living a life not subject to God’s
Word, with the person who practices righteousness,
whose life is built upon the Word.
 Whatever we sow, we reap. Sow to the flesh, reap
corruption; sow to the Spirit, reap everlasting life. [Gal 6:7]
 Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. [Jas 1:22]
1 John
49
He who sins is of the diabolos
 We are born in a certain condition, with certain
propensities, certain characteristics, which in the
aggregate are known as the flesh, in which nothing good
dwells: unpleasant, unlovely, selfish, earthy. That is our
nature, what we begin with and must work with. [1Jn 3:8]
 Through death he might destroy him who had the power
of death, that is, the devil [diabolos]. [Heb 2:14]
 Sin that dwells in me in my flesh dwells no good thing.
[Rom 7:17
» The mission of the Lord Jesus Christ was to “destroy
that having the power of death, which is the devil;”
or sin’s flesh; in other words, to “take away the
sin of the world;” and to “destroy the works
of the devil,” or of sin. [Eureka, vol 4, p323]
1 John
50
Destroy the works of the diabolos…
 The Old Man of Sin’s Flesh, who is the devil, cannot be
converted. His destiny is destruction; “for this purpose
was the Son of God manifested that he might destroy the
works of the devil,” or the works of the flesh, which are
the same things; and “forasmuch also as the children
[of his Father] are partakers of flesh and blood, he [the Son]
himself, likewise, took part of the same that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil” (1Jn 3:8; Heb 2:14). [Phanerosis, p35]
 The works of the devil, or evil one, are the works of sin.
Individually, they are “the works of the flesh” exhibited
in the lives of sinners; collectively, they are on a larger
scale, as displayed in the polities of the world. All the
institutions of the kingdom of the adversary are the
works which have resulted from the thinking of sinful
flesh. [Elpis Israel, p100]
1 John
51
Whoever is born of God does not sin
 Does not sin in v9, is not absolute sinlessness, but a
consistent, wholly dedicated way of life that totally
abhors sin, and constantly strives to discern and
repudiate its deceptive impulses within us; anxious
to please God and do His will.
» He that is truly born of God cannot choose to sin
or entertain the idea of sinning. Truly he does sin,
through weakness, but never through deliberate
choice. He hates it, repudiates it, confesses it,
struggles against it, never satisfied with himself,
knowing it is a lifelong struggle.
 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin;
but… keeps [guards] himself. [1Jn 5:18]
 Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but
incorruptible, through the word of God. [1Pet 1:23]
 Everyone who practices righteousness is born of him.
[1Jn 2:29]
1 John
52
Begotten and changed by the Truth
 Shall we “continue in sin that grace might abound.”
John maintains that the man who holds the hope of
seeing and being like Christ at his coming, “purifies
himself as he (Christ) is pure”—lives not in sin as other
men docannot do so, for the seed of the word which
brings forth fruit in harmony with itself, is in him and
remains in him.
» It is morally impossible for a man believing the truth to
live in rebellion against its demands.
 Such a man, begotten by the truth and changed by
the truth, will necessarily love the truth and all things
connected with the truth—the God of the truth, the
sons of the truth, and the principles, obligations, and
commandments of the truth. Such a man “cannot” live
as the world lives.
[Law of Moses, p254].
1 John
53
Practice righteousness and
love one another
 Our actions determine whose sons/daughters we are,
whether of God, or of the diabolos. John links practicing
righteousness with loving our brother/sister. [1Jn 3:10]
» Cain hated Abel and murdered him because Abel
was practicing righteousness. Cain was practicing
wickedness and refused to subdue and keep under
his sinful nature, unwilling to submit to the discipline
of God’s Word. [v12]
 He who loves God must love his brother also. [4:21]
 By this we know that we love the children of God, when
we love God and keep His commandments. [5:2]
1 John
54
Love the brothers and sisters
 …not because we are lovable or deserve love, but
because we need love. Love transforms and nothing
else can. God loved us, and if we will let that love flow
into us, and work its work within us, it will transform our
natural self into spiritual characters.
 Paul lists the qualities of love (1Cor 13): longsuffering,
patience, kindness, self-abasement, selflessness, deep
concern for others; freedom from anger, suspicion of
others, envy or selfish desire; a cheerful endurance;
consistent joyfulness and hope of self and others.
» John’s epistle lays great emphasis on love as the
essential motive power of holiness.
 Let us love one another, for love is of God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God. [1John 4:7]
1 John
55
From death to life because we love
 The pagan world hated the believers as Cain despised
Abelthe strict morality of the true Christians was a
constant reproach to them. [1John 3:13]
 Our love of the brothers/sisters is proof that we have
passed from an old way of life leading inevitably to
death, into a new way of self-sacrificing service and
denial of self, leading to life eternal. [v14]
 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another; as I have loved you all will know you are my
disciples, if you love one another. [John 13:34]
 This is my commandment, that you love one another as
I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this,
than to lay down one’s life for his friends. [15:12]
1 John
56
To lay down our lives
for one another
 By this we know love, because he laid down his
life for us. We also ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren. [1John 3:16]
The power and motivation to lay down
our life for the brothers/sisters, and to
wholly live for them as Christ did for us,
can only come from learning to deny self,
to identify ourselves with the Lord Jesus
Christ, to let him live in us, so that we
gradually develop his mind and his
character.
1 John
57
Love in deed and in truth
 Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in
need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the
love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not
love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth. [vs 17,18]
» sees his brother in need: not a passing glance,
but the fixed gaze of careful scrutiny; implying
deliberateness in turning away after seeing the need.
» love in deed and in truth: love must be manifested
in actions of kindness consistent with truth.
 You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand
from your poor brother, you shall open your hand wide
to him… you shall surely give to him. [Deut 15:7]
1 John
58
Know that we are of the Truth
 Assure our hearts before him [persuade, set at rest];
manifesting love in action will bring about a quiet
assurance and trust in his mercy now, and in the day
of judgment at his coming. [1John 3:19]
 Confidence in the validity of our fellowship with God
is based upon the extent to which knowledge of the Truth
is actively proven in daily livingin our loving
one another in deed and truth, and in the effort we
are making to obey the Word.
 If our hearts condemn us, there is yet time. Let us
examine ourselves. Let us judge our own selves. If the
record of the past does not appear satisfactory, it is high
time to repent and do the first works. [R Roberts 1878 p40]
1 John
59
Christ intercedes for us when we cannot
express the yearnings of our hearts
 The Spirit helps in our weaknesses. We do not know
what we should pray for, the Spirit makes intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. He who
searches the hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, he
makes intercession for the saints according to the will of
God… Christ who died, is risen, at the right hand of God,
makes intercession for us. [Rom 8:26,34]
 “It is a matter to be received by faith that though our
inner man may be overwhelmed by the incapacities of
the flesh, the Spirit reflects to the eternal throne the inner
aspirations and affections of the mind which can only be
expressed on our part by inarticulate groanings. Before
the throne stands the Lord Jesus whose part it is to
focalize these transmitted distress signals and make
intercession with the Father on our behalf.” [RR 1898 p17]
1 John
60
Whatever we ask we receive
 Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we
keep His commandments and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight. [1John 3:22]
 If anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He
hears him. [John 9:31]
 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will
ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [15:7]
 If any of you lacks wisdom [to endure trial and to overcome
self and the world], let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to
him. Let him ask in faith [trusting His way of transforming us,
willing to submit to His chastening]. [Jas 1:5]
The ability to discern the working of the Father’s
hand while under trial, and to cooperate with it.
1 John
61
Believe the name and love one another
 Believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and
love one anotherbelieving the essential truths of our
faith involved in the namehis sonship as Son of God,
his humanity as Son of Man; the anointed savior, high
priest and king, who gave himself to the uttermost out of
love for his friends. [1John 3:23]
» To believe on the name and to love one another is
one indivisible commandment: a faith/belief that
works by love and manifests itself in devotion and
service to one another and denial of self.
 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,
and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him
who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God and keep His
commandments. [5:1-2]
1 John
62
He who keeps His commandments
 He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and
He in him. By this we know that He abides in us, by the
Spirit He has given us. [1John 3:24]
» abides in Him and He in him: to remain as one, not
depart from, nor become different from.
» by the spirit He has given us: we must acquire the
Spirit in our hearts and minds, if we are to gain life.
 The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit given to us. [Rom 5:5]
 He who establishes us with you in Christ and has
anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given
us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. [2Cor 1:21]
 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of
His Son into your hearts. [Gal 4:6]
63
Passages which speak of the
Spirit dwelling in us
» are not referring to Holy Spirit gifts for only a few,
but to the Spirit that must be developed within all
believers of all ages.
 You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the
Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not His. [Rom 8:9]
» If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but
the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [v10]
 If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the
Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will
live. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are
sons of God. [v13-14]
64
Renewed by the Spirit Word
 This word is the great instrument of holiness and
purification. It changes men's minds; loosens their
attachment to earthly things; causes them to place their
affection on things above; creates a new and right spirit
within them; diffuses the love of God abroad in their
hearts; separates them from sinners; leads them into
Christ; and develops in their lives, fruit... When the
mental disposition is renewed, it becomes a mirror in
which one skilled in the word of the kingdom can discern
the spirit, or behold a reflection of the Divine Nature.
 This image of God in a man’s character can only be
created by the word of the truth. The testimony of God
came by the Holy Spirit... the effects of the word believed
are attributed to the spirit; because the word sets men to
breathing in God’s moral atmosphere, it is termed ‘spirit
and life’... When a man is renewed by the truth, he is
renewed by the spirit. [Elpis Israel, 1942, p51-53]
65
Test the spirits
 Do not believe every spirit [do not believe every man who
pretends to speak by the spirit] but test the spirits [bring them
to the test of Scripture, and by this standard ascertain] whether
they are of God; because many false prophets have
gone out into the world. [1John 4:1]
 By this you know the Spirit of God—every spirit that
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God, and every spirit [or prophet] that does not confess
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard
was coming, and is now already in the world. [v2-3]
[Eureka 1, p293]
1 John 4&5
66
The spirit of the antichrist
 Every spirit [or prophet] that does not confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh… this is the spirit of the
antichrist. [1John 4:3]
 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who
do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
This is a deceiver and an antichrist. [2John 7]
 He is antichrist who denies Father and Son. [1John 2:22]
» If Christ didn’t come in the flesh, and if he didn’t
crucify diabolos, then flesh is not sinful, and there is
no need or motivation for any of us to put our old self
to death—the heathen doctrine of substitution.
Flesh—what we are at birth: sinful, mortal.
God manifest in flesh—what we can become
in a moral sense now, physically in the future.
1 John 4&5
67
The spirit of truth
 You are [born] of God, little children, and have
overcome them, because He who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world. [1John 4:4]
 They [false prophets or teachers] are of the world.
Therefore they speak of the world [being inspired
by its traditions], and the world hears them. [v5]
 We are of God. He who knows God hears us;
he who is not of God does not hear us. By this
we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error. [v6]
[Eureka 1, p293]
1 John 4&5
68
The spirit of truth
[4:6, 5:6]
 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that he may abide with you forever: the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees him nor knows him; but you know him, for he dwells
with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans;
I will come to you. [John 14:16-18]
» He who has my commandments and keeps them,
is he who loves me. He who loves me will be loved
by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself
to him. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word;
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him
and make our abode with him. [v21,23]
 When he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide
you into all truth. [16:13]
1 John 4&5
69
God is love
 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. [1John 4:7,8]
 You yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
[1Thes 4:9]
 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love
one another fervently with a pure heart. [1Pet 1:22]
» We cannot claim to know God and to be born of Him
unless our own lives are ruled by the principle of love
for others, and so are a reflection in daily living of
what God is in His innermost nature.
» Agape is a divine characteristic; it is not of the flesh.
1 John 4&5
70
The love of God was manifested
 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that
God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through him. [1John 4:9]
» In this is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation
[covering, mercy seat] for our sins. [v10]
 God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us… made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved). [Eph 2:4]
» God is love, and our very hope of life springs
from His love in the giving of His Son.
» The purpose of His love for us is to lead us to
righteousness.
1 John 4&5
71
His love is perfected in us
 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to [we are bound to]
love one another. No one has seen God at any time.
» If we love one another, God abides in us, and His
love has been perfected in us. [1John 4:11,12]
 Let us love one another, for love is of God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God. [v7]
» If we love one another, God dwells in us. He will work
in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. He will
perfect His love in us, so that we are one with Him.
» We can develop a likeness of Christ, and so reflect in
faith and action the power of God manifestation in us.
1 John
72
We in Him and He in us
 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us,
because He has given us of His Spirit. [1John 4:13]
» And we have seen and testify that the Father has
sent the Son as Savior of the world. [v14]
 By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit
[of truth] He has given us. [1John 3:24]
 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…
by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much
fruit; so you will be my disciples. [John 15:7]
“People have so much Holy Spirit in
them as they have of the words and ideas
of the Deity understood, affectionately
believed, and obeyed.” [Eureka, vol 5, p358]
1 John
73
To Be Spiritually Minded is Life
 “The power is in the Word, but it must be made
operative, as we are not forced to read it, or forced to
follow its wisdom when we have read it. When it is read,
and the example in the character of Christ has been
learned by the mind, and worked out practically, then
does the Spirit dwell in us ‘richly and in all wisdom.’
The words written by the Spirit… find their living
expression in and through the human heart.
 “Possession of the Spirit is possible in this manner and
‘if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead,
shall also quicken your mortal bodies, because of His
Spirit which dwells in you.’ Here we find that possession
of the Spirit which, if preserved till the day of Christ,
will, indeed, be a guarantee of salvation.” [RR 1883 p504]
1 John
74
Belief—agape love—fellowship
 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him, and he in God. [1John 4:15]
» We have known and believed the love that God
has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God in him. [v16]
 To confess that Jesus is Son Of God is to believe that
God was in Christ and that His character and purpose
was manifested in flesh.
» We have fellowship with the Father and Son if
we keep His commands, with selfless love for
one another, and believe the truth about Jesus
as Son of God.
1 John
75
There is no fear in love
 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may
have boldness [confidence, assurance] in the day of
judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world.
» There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out
fear, because fear has to do with torment [punishment].
He who fears has not been made perfect in love.
» We love him because he first loved us. [1Jn 4:17-19]
 Abide in him, that when he appears, we may have
confidence and not be ashamed before him at his
coming. [1John 2:28]
» Love removes fear by removing all cause of fear.
» If our love for God is fully developed so that we
keep His word, we do not need to live in fear of
the judgment of God.
1 John
76
As he is, so are we in this world
 I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name
those whom you have given me, that they may be one
as we are. [John 17:11]
» They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world… As you sent me into the world, I also have
sent them into the world. [v16,18]
 Who are kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [1Peter 1:5]
» Their desire and intent is to walk “even as he walked”;
to purify themselves “even as he is pure”; and to
“love one another” even as he has loved them.
1 John
77
Love God and love one another
 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. [1Jn 4:20]
» This commandment we have from Him: that
he who loves God must love his brother. [v21]
 If we love one another… His love has been
perfected in us. [v12]
» We show the reality of our love for God
when we love one another.
1 John
78
Love God enough
 “Contemplate your blessings: principally the eternal,
spiritual, unchanging ones. Contemplate your
unworthiness. Contemplate God’s greatness and
holiness and marvelous condescending love. Get a
constant sense of gratitude and desire to reciprocate
that love with an overwhelming urgency.
 “This is the power and the motive that creates a
perpetual and irresistible yearning and striving for
worthiness and holiness. It is the only power and motive
that can resist and overcome and triumph over the fatal,
unremitting, downward pull of the flesh. [Search Me p31]
 An intense life-dominating love of God is the only power
in the universe that can overcome the flesh, and the
promise of God’s glorious eternal future is only to “him
that overcomes.” [p68]
1 John
79
Three tests that we are
born of God:
1. We believe the truth concerning Jesus:
Whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God;
everyone who loves Him who begot loves him who is
begotten of Him. [1John 5:1]
2. We love God and love one another:
Let us love one another, for love is of God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God. [4:7]
3. We practice righteousness as a way of life:
Whoever has been born of God does not sin; His seed
remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has
been born of God. [3:9]
1 John
80
How we know our love is genuine
 By this we know that we love the children of God, when
we love God and keep His commandments. [1John 5:2]
 Sanctify [set them apart, purify, consecrate] them by your truth.
Your word is truth… For their sakes I sanctify myself, that
they may be sanctified by the truth. [John 17:17]
 Pray for one another… the effective, fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much. [James 5:16]
» Keeping His commandments is proof of the sincerity
and selfless devotion of our love for God, and equally
attests to our love of the brethren, as we earnestly
seek to sanctify our own lives for their sakes.
1 John
81
Faith overcomes the world
 This is the love of God, that we keep [guard, preserve]
His commandments. His commandments are not
burdensome. [1John 5:3]
» Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This
is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. [v4]
» Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God? [v5]
 In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world [the assurance that we
too can if we abide in him]. [Jn 16:33]
 In all things we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us. [Rom 8:37]
 Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. [1Cor 15:57]
1 John
82
Three witnesses to the real Christ
 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ;
not only by water, but by water and blood. It is the Spirit
who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. [1John 5:6]
» There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the
water, the blood; and these three agree as one. [v8]
 Jesus is in the fullest sense the Christ, both in his
baptism (by water) and his death (by blood), to which
the spirit also bears witness in his birth, baptism, the
words he spoke, the miracles he did, his perfect life
that condemned sin, and his glorious resurrection.
» The three witnesses agree as one: that Jesus is the
Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and that he
came in the flesh.
1 John
83
1John 5:7 is not genuine
 “The verse is entirely spurious and is so recognized by
all competent and unbiased commentators. The words
do not appear in a single Greek manuscript of the NT
before the 15th century, and did not find their way into
the text of the Latin Vulgate version until 800AD.
 “They were omitted from the first printed edition of
the Greek NT of Erasmus (1516), but against his own
better judgment were later incorporated into the third
edition (1522); and thence found a place in other early
printed versions including the ‘Textus Receptus’ (1550),
on which the AV is based. [N Smart, p121]
 “One writer sums up: ‘If there is one thing that is certain
in textual criticism, it is that this passage is not genuine;
the Revisers have performed an imperative duty in
excluding it from both text and margin’.” [A Plummer, p160]
1 John
84
God’s testimony of His Son
 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater; this is the witness of God which He has testified
of His Son. [1John 5:9]
 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 God has
given of His Son. [v10]
» If we believe the 3-fold witness of the Spirit,
the water, and the blood, we experience its
truth within ourselves.
» Christ becomes so inwrought into the mind and heart
that it governs all our actions. Our conduct, in word,
in thought, in deed, manifests the Father and Son.
1 John
85
He who has the Son has the life
 This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has
the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life. [1John 5:11,12]
» These things I have written to you… that you may
know that you have eternal life. [v13]
 He has promised us eternal life. [2:25]
 We know when he is revealed, we shall be like him [3:2]
Paul―there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness. [2Tim 4:8]
Peter―I who am a partaker of the glory that
will be revealed. [1Peter 5:1]
1 John
86
Ask according to His will
 This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask
[keep asking] anything according to His will, He hears us.
» If we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we
know that we have the petitions that we have asked
of Him. [1John 5:14,15]
 Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we
keep His commandments and do those things that
are pleasing in His sight. [3:22]
 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will
ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [Jn 15:7]
» An attitude of mind towards God that is totally
committed to doing His will.
1 John
87
If it be possible…
 He fell on his face, and prayed, “O my Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you will.” [Matt 26:39]
 There are circumstances in our lives when we have
strong natural concerns and yearnings for self or for
others, but when we cannot be certain of the will of
God, and “we do not know what we should pray for as
we ought”.
» At such times Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane should be
our guide and pattern: “If it is possible, let this cup
pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will”.
1 John
88
Sin not leading to death…
 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not
lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for
those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin
leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about
that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not
leading to death. [1John 5:16,17]
 If anyone among you goes astray from the truth, and
someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns
a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from
death and cover a multitude of sins. [James 5:19]
 Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in
ceasing to pray for you. [1Sam 12:23]
» We need to pray earnestly for the spiritual recovery
of any brother or sister who has stumbled in the
way and is ensnared in a sinful course of life.
1 John
89
Sin leading to death
 All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men… but whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has
forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. [Mark 3:28]
 It is impossible for those once enlightened… who have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age
to come, if they fall away, to renew them to repentance,
since they crucify again the Son of God. [Heb 6:4]
 If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a fearful expectation of judgment. [Heb 10:26]
 If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world
through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled in them and
overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the
beginning. [2Pet 2:20]
1 John
90
Born of God does not sin
 We know that whoever is born of God does not
[practice/continue in] sin; but he who has been born of God
[by water and spirit] keeps [guards] himself, and the wicked
one [the undisciplined propensities of the flesh] does not touch
him [lay hold of him]. [1John 5:18]
» We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies
under the sway of the wicked one. [v19]
 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His
[God’s] seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because
he has been born of God. [3:9]
 As many as received him, to them he gave the right to
become children of God, to those who believe in his
name: who were born… of God. [John 1:12]
 Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but
incorruptible, through the word of God. [1Pet 1:23]
1 John
91
This is the true God and eternal life
 We know that the Son of God has come [in the flesh] 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.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. [1John 5:20,21]
 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent. [John 17:3]
 He who seeks the glory of the One who sent him is true,
and no unrighteousness is in him. [7:18]
 He who sent me is true; I speak His words. [John 8:26]
» Christ revealed to us the only true God.
Anyone who serves the flesh erects another
god in his life and becomes an idolater.
1 John
92
We become Spiritual people
 By giving ourselves wholly to the Spirit's
Word. [John 6:63; 1John 3:9,24; 1Peter 1:22-23]
 By constant prayer with strong crying and
tears. [Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; Heb 4:16]
 By the continuous working of the Angels in
our lives. [Heb 1:14; Gen 48:15-16]
1 John
93
The great purpose of God
through Christ….
 …is to purify and perfect for Himself a glorious
community of spiritually minded brothers and sisters,
cleansed from all unloveliness of flesh, who have put
away everything of this perishing world, and who, not
of themselves, but by the operation of the mighty power
of the Spirit, can stand before God holy and blameless
in love.
 We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same
image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.
[2Cor 3:18]
1 John
94
1st Epistle of John
Our life should reflect Christ
1 John
95
Some comments distilled from:
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Epistles of John, Neville Smart
ExpositorJames to Jude, H P Mansfield
Elpis Israel, John Thomas
Eureka, John Thomas
Phanerosis, John Thomas
Law of Moses, Robert Roberts
Be Ye Transformed, G V Growcott
Christadelphian Magazine
Epistles of John, A Plummer (Cambridge Bible for
Schools and Colleges)
Bro Roy Styles, Detroit-Royal Oak Ecclesia, 2005
1 John
96