1 John 5 Study Notes

5:12 There is no salvation outside of faith in Christ.

5:13 Assurance was one of John’s major goals in writing this epistle.

5:14-15 The deepest answer to prayer is to know that he hears us. To know this is to have what we have asked of him. For believers, prayer seeks communion with the Father more than the acquisition of favors or the satisfaction of desires.

5:16 A sin that doesn’t lead to death (cp. v. 17) is a sin for which forgiveness is possible (1:9). Sin that leads to death may be the flagrant offenses against God that so much of 1 John warns against. John may have been speaking about apostasy (falling away from Jesus; denying the apostolic truth). John called on his readers to leave these offenses and offenders in God’s hands rather than agonizing in prayer about them. “Death” means spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

In the Greek OT, eidolon (idol) refers to the physical representation of a god (Ex 20:4; Dt 5:8). By extension, it points not only to that physical representation, but to the supposed existing god behind that form. The worship of these idols was evidence of that fact (Ex 20:5; Nm 25:2; Dt 5:9) and some were even understood to have demonic powers (Dt 32:17). This usage provides the background for the NT use of eidolon. Paul regards idols as false gods, powerless compared to the true God (1Th 1:9). He acknowledges the existence of demonic powers behind idols but understands them to have no real power over the Christian, who knows that idols are but false gods (1Co 8:4-7; 10:19-21). Christians are exhorted to abstain from association with idols and the false gods they represent (Ac 15:20; 1Jn 5:21), for there is only one God (1Co 8:4).

5:17 As grave as all sin is, and granting that particular evil deeds can bespeak terminal opposition to God, there is also sin that can be overcome through prayer, repentance, and renewed faith resulting in reform and restoration. John’s instruction ends on a cautionary and hopeful note.

5:18 On does not sin, see note at 3:6.

5:19 We know refers both to apostles like John and to his readers. The whole world is under the sway of Satan, but his reign is fleeting and fading (2:8,17).

5:20 With the phrase he is the true God, John clearly affirmed the full divinity of Christ.

5:21 This closing verse of the epistle has puzzled interpreters for centuries. Idols may be John’s shorthand for all the lies, errors, hate, and rebellion that his letter warned against—in the hope that his readers would satisfy their souls with true knowledge of Christ.