◄ 1 John Devotional Commentary ►
1 John 1:1
It was John the apostle in his Gospel who penned the incomprehensible words: "In the beginning was the Word." John's thoughts must have travelled back into the distant past when God's first revelation of Himself announced, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," and here at the start of his first epistle, John had not exhausted that weighty theme for he announced, "That which was from the read more...
1 John 1:2
The apostle John was one of Christ's chosen disciples who walked with the Lord Jesus from the very beginning of His earthly ministry. John was among those who heard the Baptist proclaim: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and who declared: "Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world." John was an eyewitness to the lovely life of Jesus Christ the righteous, and he saw and testified to the truth, that in Him was read more...
1 John 1:3
The apostle John earnestly desired to tell all that he knew and all he had experienced and witnessed of the glory and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. John had spent over three years walking and talking with the Lord and learning from Him. He had been with Jesus constantly, ever since that decisive day on the shores of Lake Galilee when Christ called out to John: "Follow Me."
John was eager to share all that he had learned read more...
1 John 1:4
In the introductory remarks of his first epistle, John quickly places his focus on Christ Jesus, the incarnate Word of God Who was manifest in the flesh and spoke the words of eternal life. John reminded his readers that the Man about Whom he was speaking existed from the beginning, and yet He lived with His disciples for three amazing years and walked with them, day by day.
Jesus was the Word made flesh, Whom they saw with their read more...
1 John 1:5
The heavens declare the glory of God to humanity, and the scriptures increasingly unveil His perfect character and holy attributes to all the children of men, as we see multiple examples of His loving-kindness, His long-suffering mercy, and His gracious faithfulness to all generations.
But in these last days, God has given us the greatest revelation of Himself in the person of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is read more...
1 John 1:6
When we trusted Jesus as Saviour we became children of God, entering into eternal union with Christ, a relationship that can never be broken. Having been born into God's family through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we enjoy a union with Him that can never be broken. Once we are in union with Christ, we can also commune with the Father and enjoy sweet fellowship with Him.
Only those who through the Spirit of God have been read more...
1 John 1:7
Fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ can be such a blessed experience, but to enjoy sweet fellowship with our Heavenly Lord is the pinnacle of being a sinner saved by grace. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, and walking in the warmth and radiance of His perfect light and communing with Him is the right and privilege of all believers - nevertheless, fellowship with our Father is a believer's choice.
read more...
1 John 1:7
Once enlightened by the Holy Spirit as born-again children of God, we have a true sight and sense of sin. Having first been convicted by the Holy Spirit of sin, righteousness, and judgment, we are brought face to face with our own depravity and utter sinfulness.
At one time, we were filled with darkness and walked according to the way of the world, but we are not of the world. John asks: "What fellowship has read more...
1 John 1:8
We are not only sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. We are inherently sinners because we are part of Adam's race and we entered this world with a sin nature, inherited from our human father. Sometimes the truth of what we were before we were saved by grace through faith, and the glory of who we presently are in Christ, can appear to conflict.
We move from being a sinner to being a saint. We transfer from the read more...
1 John 1:9
Although an unbeliever can gain much comfort from this verse, it is important to recognise that this is a verse that is addressed to Christians.
For the unbeliever, this verse is certainly a glorious word of truth that the one who confesses their sinfulness with a penitent heart of true repentance will be forgiven. But this truth must not be divorced from the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the anointed Messiah and read more...
1 John 1:10
While John's Gospel was written so that lost sinners might believe in the saving blood of Christ, be forgiven of their trespasses, be redeemed from the slave-market of sin, and have life in His name, the purpose of his first epistle is to enable born-again saints to enter into the fullness of the eternal life we received at salvation. This equips the believer to have fellowship with other Christians and enjoy sweet communion with God the Father and our Lord Jesus read more...
1 John 2:1
What gracious words to the Church are these wise instructions on holy living from the aging apostle John. The desire of his heart is that those who have come to faith through his ministry might not sin but would strive to live lives that are holy and acceptable to God: "My little children," he says, "I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin..."
As part of God's family, through faith in Christ, read more...
1 John 2:2
We have been brought into sweet fellowship with the Heavenly Father by grace through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, but this can only be maintained and strengthened as we walk in the light. But we live in a fallen world and are subject to the enticing lusts of the flesh, whether they be sinful actions of the body, prideful thoughts of the mind, or ungodly motives of the heart.
How important therefore to seek to live godly in read more...
1 John 2:3
Sinners are saved from the penalty of sin by God's grace, once and for all, through trusting in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation, but believers must mature in the faith and continue the process of ongoing salvation. This ongoing salvation process, or sanctification, happens moment by moment, as the life on Christ within, saves us from the power of sin in our lives. And this is a lifelong process.
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1 John 2:5
God wants us to hear His Word, to know His Word, to trust His Word, and to keep His Word. The Lord has placed His Word in a superior position above His holy name. Whether we are talking of the written Word of God or the Living Word of God - the God-breathed Scriptures or the Lord Jesus Christ in Person - God wants us to hear, to know, to trust, and to keep His Word.
We can only keep His Word if we trust His Word. We can read more...
1 John 2:6
The ultimate fruit of the Spirit towards which all Christians are pressing, is to be like Christ in His humanity: To live as He did, in total dependence upon His heavenly Father. To walk as He did; in spirit and in truth. To make decisions as He did, doing only those things that He heard from the Father. And for us, to live as God desires us to live, is to learn in all things to rejoice and say: "My bread is to do the will of My Father," so that read more...
1 John 2:7
Jesus proclaimed a new commandment to His disciples. The new instruction He implemented was to love one another, in the same way that Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us. The love we have for one another should mirror the love that the Lord Jesus demonstrated towards us - in that while we were yet sinners, at enmity with God and without hope in the world, Christ set aside His heavenly glory to be clothed in mortal flesh - and died, to save us from sin, Satan, read more...
1 John 2:8
It was the Father's love that Christ came to display, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And as His children we are to reflect this holy love of God in our lives.
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God is Love, and by this.. the love of God is manifested within us, in read more...
1 John 2:11
All of Scripture should be read in context, and this letter from John was written to fellow believers. The apostle is laying out the basic principles of fellowship within the Body of Christ, during times of increasing deception in the wider world, where the love of many has grown cold and Christians are instructed to act as lights in a world darkened by a web of deceit and duplicity.
The 'one' in this verse is a believer, and John states that the one read more...
1 John 2:12
In his later years, the apostle John was often called 'the apostle of love', for this fiery son of thunder displayed such a gentle grace in his twilight years.
Whether the brothers and sisters to whom he was writing were new into the faith or well-weathered, seasoned saints, they were often referred to as 'little children', for all had been sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, all had their sins forgiven through read more...
1 John 2:15
We live in a very beautiful world, but it is still a world that is under a curse and a world that is currently under the dominion of an evil, fallen angel. And over and again, we are warned of the dangers that befall any one of us when we start to love this world and the things of this world.
One cannot love this world system and the things that are in the world, and love the Lord our God at the same time. The whole reasoning and read more...
1 John 2:16
In this section, we receive a strong warning against the many influences of the world and our fallen, fleshly nature, which conflicts with all that is holy and true. As Christians, we have been forgiven of all our sins for the sake of Christ. Because of our faith in His sacrifice on the Cross, when He took the punishment for our sin, God looks at us through our covering of Christ, and because of Him we are declared righteous.
read more...
1 John 2:17
Man’s viewpoint of the world is very different from God’s perspective. Man likes to think that everything is going to continue on as it has in bygone days, but God has purposed that the world, with all it passions and lusts, is passing away and will one day be folded up like a blanket.
This present world system, with its fleshly desires and materialistic vices, is fading away, and we should live our lives keeping this truth read more...
1 John 2:18
As children of God, we are to walk in the light of the Lord as He is in the light. We are to shine as beacons of pure light in an increasingly darkening world. However, we are not to be dazzled by the counterfeit illumination of the fallen world system - which places the beautiful side of evil and the deceptive lies of false teachers in our path and seeks to entrap and ensnare us with their shallow enticements and ungodly philosophies.
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1 John 2:19
False teachers who profess to be Christians, and unbiblical doctrine that is not founded on Scripture, is not only evident today, but was starting to seep into church life during the times of the apostle. Together with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, false teaching was one of the main problems in the early Church and was vigorously addressed by all the apostles.
False doctrine and deceptive read more...
1 John 2:20
What blessings are given to those who believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. What joy is ours when we are born-again of the Spirit. We are regenerated. We are brought back into a relationship with God and declared righteous in His sight. The indwelling Holy Spirit, Who comes to reside within the body of all believers, empowers us from above with divine energy.
He gives us sufficient grace to carry out the good read more...
1 John 2:23
In the early days of Christ's ministry, John (the energetic 'son of thunder') was disposed to call down fire on those who refused to welcome Jesus into their village. But at the end of his life, we discover him to be a gracious old man of God whose desire was to build up the Body of Christ and teach us more of the love of God.
John wrote his epistles to remind us of the importance of personally knowing the Lord and maturing in read more...
1 John 2:27
There are two insidious dangers to Christian fellowship and the growth of believers - 1) the infusion of the world into the Church and 2) the false teachers that deliver a false gospel. Both the world and false teachers can have a devastating effect on a believer's spiritual growth... but knowing biblical truth and being able to discern what is false is key to standing firm in this evil day.
John knows that any true born-again read more...
1 John 2:28
John is not addressing unbelievers in this epistle - he is talking to fellow Christians. He is exhorting brothers and sisters in Christ to stand fast in the spiritual journey and abide in Christ. We are not to be influenced by the allurements of this world's system, nor hoodwinked by the many deceptions that play havoc with our Christian growth.
It was Jesus who first called His disciples to "abide in Me, and I in you." read more...
1 John 3:1
We are saved by the grace of God, and that grace proceeds from the Father-heart of divine love. It is the love of God that causes the Father to give His only begotten Son to die as the one and only perfect sacrifice for our sin. It is the love of God that caused the Lord Jesus to willingly stretch out His innocent hands and have them driven through with cruel nails. It is the love of God that sent the Holy Spirit to be our ever-present, indwelling heavenly read more...
1 John 3:2
I really do wonder whether we have even started to grasp the enormity of our position in Christ; the incredible love, the peculiar privilege, and the gracious gift that we have received from our Father in heaven: "That we should be called His children."
Not only are we called His children and have been permanently adopted into His family, by grace through faith in Christ, but we are told what we shall be in the read more...
1 John 3:3
What incredible love God has shown to us that we should be called His children. Being born of the Spirit through faith in Christ and cleansed of our sin through His shed blood, demonstrates the incredible love and generous grace that the Father has lavished upon us - His children. God loved us so dearly that He not only sent Jesus to be our Saviour but He purposed to transform all who trust in Him into His image and likeness so that when we see Him, face to read more...
1 John 3:4
The Scriptures are a treasure-trove that most people do not want to recognise as authoritative, nor do they want to adhere to its instructions... and so it is regarded as an outdated storybook which is ridiculed and rejected by the majority, rather than being treated with reverence and respect.
Nevertheless, the Bible is the Word of the living God and should be accepted as the plumb-line for truth. It is God's inerrant instruction read more...
1 John 3:5
God's love for us is astonishing in that: "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." The whole glorious plan of salvation, which was purposed before the foundation of the world, is a testimony to the grace of our Heavenly Father and His amazing love for each one of us.
We who were dead in trespasses and sins and without hope in the world, have been covered with His love, forgiven of our sins, saved by grace through read more...
1 John 3:6
Every believer is placed in Christ - baptised into Christ's Body the moment they believe. Every Christian is put into union with Christ, by the Holy Spirit, the instance they believe on Him as Saviour. Nothing can alter this position of permanence - we are placed in Christ when we are saved, and we become part of His Body forever. From that point on, we have a new nature in Christ.
The old sin nature is placed on the Cross: read more...
1 John 3:8
The unfathomable depths of Satan's habitual sin, lies in contradistinction to the immeasurable heights of Christ's eternal righteousness. From the genesis of God's revelation of Himself to mankind, the devil is identified as the slimy source of sin and subtle instigator of all that is evil.
We are warned that the man or woman who commits sin is of the devil. He is the father of sin. He is the instigator of sin. He is one who read more...
1 John 3:9
This is a verse that is so often misunderstood, misinterpreted, and even mistranslated, but when understood in its context, adds a beautiful symmetry to the truth of Scripture.
Some erroneously think that this verse means that believers have sinless perfection when they are born of the Spirit, but this is a false teaching: "For if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and we do not understand the truth." For read more...
1 John 3:10
One of the characteristics of the early Church is their love for one other and the fellowship that believers enjoyed together. Early writings about the Christian Church are reported to have said, "see how these Christians love one another." In John's first epistle to the saints of God, one of his main discussion points is about maintaining fellowship with the Lord and how to encourage Christian communion with one another.
The read more...
1 John 3:13
The Lord Jesus was sent to earth to redeem a fallen race of sinners who were dead in trespasses and sin, and enslaved by Satan, sin, death, and hell. Sin had alienated the entire human race from God and placed every one of us under His eternal condemnation. Man was without hope in the world, walking according to the ways of this world and under the power of Satan - the prince of the power of the air whose influence permeates every aspect of life around us.
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1 John 3:14
Christ Jesus is the incarnate Son of God Who came to earth to reveal the love of the Father towards fallen man so that by grace through faith in His death, burial, and Resurrection we might be forgiven of our sins, be brought back into fellowship with our Heavenly Father, and be given God's life, light, love, and compassion in our heart as we abide in Him and He in us.
But His work on the Cross would also invalidate and destroy read more...
1 John 3:16
Many believers like to focus on the love of Jesus because they think that this will cause unbelievers to get saved but they prefer to allow Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection to be side-lined in a blurry background, in case it offends or puts the unbeliever off the Christian faith!
But the shed blood of the incarnate Son of God Who was born into His own creation, and the immutable love of the eternal Father, are inseparably read more...
1 John 3:17
God is love, and the qualities of a Christian who is walking in spirit and truth and abiding in Christ, is a fervent love for God and a compassionate love for others. A profound love for the Lord and benevolence towards brothers and sisters in Christ is not a warm, fuzzy feeling or some romantic, emotional sensation, but an unselfish action that is quietly carried out in sprit, in truth, in reality, and in action.
God is also read more...
1 John 3:18
A godly character that reflects the likeness of Christ, is one that loves others as Christ loved us. The love about which the Bible speaks, is different from every other type of human love, and is uniquely imparted to the child of God from the indwelling Spirit of truth and love.
The Lord Jesus laid down His life for His friends... and for His enemies. He sacrificed His life for us and we are instructed to do the same for others. We are directed to lay read more...
1 John 3:19
Love is of God, and the fruit of the Spirit is love. It is as we obediently abide in Christ, on Whom we feed and through Whom we draw all we need for life and godliness, that we will know without a shadow of doubt, we are walking in spirit and truth. For as our heart is transparent before Him, so our inner, God-given conscience will not condemn us.
Love is the primary theme that weaves itself throughout this passage, and read more...
1 John 3:22
Many self-righteous Christians take this verse out of its Biblical context to mean that God has effectively signed a blank cheque, which allows His children to fill in a simple prayer request to ensure that they get whatever they want in order to fulfil their fleshly lusts. This is not what the verse is teaching.
Nor is this verse teaching that God is obligated to respond to our own positive confession and fulfil our own fleshly read more...
1 John 3:23
When asked what was the greatest commandment during Christ's earthly, pre-Cross ministry, one scribe gave the perfect answer: "Love God with all your heart," and he added, "love Your neighbour as yourself." Jesus commended this scribe, for both the Law and the Prophets are dependent upon these two commands. Indeed, Paul reminds us that such godly love is the fulfilment of the Law. But John takes this truth and combines it into read more...
1 John 3:24
How important that the Bible is interpreted literally and in context. How vital that the Word of truth is rightly divided and that none of us shrink from declaring the whole purpose and council of God. And in the previous verse, John summarises Christ's command to New Testament believers: "This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded read more...
1 John 4:1
We love God because He first loved us, and we demonstrate our love towards Him by obeying His command to love one another as He loved us. This can only be achieved as we abide in Him and He in us, as we rest from our strivings and submit to the leading of His Holy Spirit within.
Our love for one another is proof of our fellowship with the Father, a demonstration of our position in Christ as sons of God, and evidence of the read more...
1 John 4:2
Christendom is saturated with heretical and apostate teachings. The heretic believes but distorts God's Word and strays from the truth of Scripture, while the unbelieving apostate puts on a garment of pretence with the subtle, but deliberate intent, to lead Christians astray. Both exemplify a ploy of the enemy to prevent genuine believers from entering into spiritual maturity and the fullness of Christ.
The apostle John tells us read more...
1 John 4:3
As John was advancing in years, one of his main concerns for the Church was the increasing numbers of false teachers and demonic doctrines that were not only infiltrating the local churches, but also being accepted, embraced and believed by many gullible Christians.
John insisted that they stop believing every spirit. They needed to test the spirits to determine if they are from the true Spirit of God read more...
1 John 4:4
We have moved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Our filthy covering of sin has been replaced with a robe of righteousness. We have been transferred from an earthly position in-Adam, to a heavenly positioned in-Christ. We have left the family of Satan to become an eternally adopted child of God and joint-heirs with Christ. In Him we are seated in heavenly places. Hallelujah!
But there is read more...
1 John 4:5
As children of God, we have the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit of God, and it is in Him that we have complete victory over the world, with abiding and eternal results. Nevertheless, we are to be on our guard against the many false and deceptive spirits that are in the world today and are called upon to test each one, however benevolent or enticing they may appear, for not all are of God.
John reminds us that they are from read more...
1 John 4:6
As Christians born of God, we are urged to know the truth and to abide by the truth, for the truth will set us free. The truth of God is set out in the Word of God which points to Christ. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the Alpha and Omega of all grace and truth: "Those who know God will listen to us speaking His Word of truth, but those who are not from God will not pay heed to us. And by this we know the spirit of truth and the read more...
1 John 4:7
To John the apostle, and his brother James, Jesus gave the name "Boanerges, which means 'sons of thunder.'" No doubt, they possessed some 'thunderous' qualities to be given such a nickname. Indeed, Luke records an occasion where James and John were so incensed that Jesus was not welcomed in a certain village, they asked Jesus, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" for which Jesus rebuked them.
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1 John 4:8
What a beautiful truth it is... to know that God is love and that the love that we are called to manifest in our lives, has its source in the divine love of God. How amazing to realise the outpouring of His unique love flows through us to others because we have become his children.
However, to reverse the sentence from 'God is Love' to say that 'Love is God' as some have chosen to do, is emphatically wrong. It read more...
1 John 4:9
The heart of God is manifest in His Spirit of love. He demonstrated His love towards man in a multitude of ways, but the incarnation of His dearly beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the brightest and best signification of the love of God towards mankind. The love of God is not only demonstrated through Christ's supreme sacrifice of Himself on the cross, but is also revealed in the Father, Who sent the Son of His love to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the read more...
1 John 4:10
Having reminded us that God is Spirit and God is Light, the apostle John also now reminds us that God is Love, and each eternal quality of God by necessity must be indivisibly and eternally fused together with every other one of His holy attributes.
The essence of Who God is requires that each of His attributes are inseparably interlinked together. One single quality must never be divorced from His other holy attributes.
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1 John 4:11
The eternal God loves us in three tenses: past, present, and future, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is a divine love that cannot be compared with the inadequate love of fallen man, but is a love so penetrating that He sent the unique and only begotten Son of His love to be the propitiation for our sins.
That single act of the Father should stagger us to the core of our being, that God sent Christ as a gift of read more...
1 John 4:12
God is Spirit, and John tells us on a number of different occasions that no one has seen God at any time, apart from a brief season at Christ's First Coming, when the invisible God was made manifest to the world through His only begotten Son.
Christ had come to set up His kingdom, as foretold by the prophets, but He was mocked and crucified. He died, was buried, and on the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into read more...
1 John 4:13
The privilege and blessing of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God is beyond our comprehension, and yet God has given us the permanently indwelling Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us. And God has recorded this incredible gift of grace to us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Word.
In the Old Testament under the old covenant, the Holy Spirit would come upon certain people to empower them for a particular read more...
1 John 4:14
God's love is proclaimed throughout the Scriptures, and from Genesis to Revelation, we discover that God is love. We discover that His is a love that is beyond human comprehension, and a love that is rooted and grounded in His eternal righteousness, justice, long-suffering, and grace. His love for mankind is proved at the Cross of Calvary, for God sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for the sin of the whole world. And the love of God is perfected in read more...
1 John 4:15
How important it is to know what we believe and in Whom we have placed our trust. It is not sufficient to believe that Jesus was simply a good man and a moral teacher whose life should be emulated, but to know that He is the eternal Son of God Who was born into His own creation as the perfect Son of Man. It is not an intellectual assent as to His historical existence or the acceptance of His moral teachings that identify a believer, but whosoever confesses that read more...
1 John 4:16
Perhaps this verse in first John, is the verse of all verses that encapsulates the very essence of God and his plan of redemption. "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." Maybe this is the truth that helps us understand Who God is, what He has done for us, what He is doing, and what He will continue to do, in and through all read more...
1 John 4:18
Fear, guilt, and shame cannot coexist alongside faith, hope, and love. Fear and love are a contradiction in terms, "for there is no fear in love; because perfect love casts out fear," A confident loving-trust in God cannot cohabit alongside destructive fear. Fear is the antithesis of love and the person who is fearful has not reached the mature love God desires in His children.
The immeasurable strength from the read more...
1 John 4:19
The wonderful love of God for those that trust in Him is once again laid bare in this first epistle of John. Perfect love casts out fear, and our relationship with our heavenly Father, which is founded on Christ's finished work at Calvary, should give us inner joy and a profound peace.
As His blood-bought children, we are reminded that we should have boldness in the day of judgement and not be filled with fear or concern. read more...
1 John 4:20
John has often been called 'the apostle of love' and many of his writings express the depth of God's love for man. In his Gospel, we discover the amazing things God has done to demonstrate His immense love towards us: "In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
It was John who wrote: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but read more...
1 John 4:21
Love is a theme that threads its way through all the writing of John, but it is in the later chapters of his first epistle that he brings the important theme of divine 'love' to the very forefront of our attention: "God IS love," John reminds us, and He manifested that love towards us in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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1 John 5:1
God is no respecter of persons and there is not one man or woman that is excluded from God's gracious gift of salvation, for everyone that believes that Jesus is the Christ and is begotten of God – born of God – born-again – born from above. It is not simply believing that Jesus was a good man, for many false religions consider Jesus to be a great, ethical teacher or even a lesser god.
It is not even believing that Jesus read more...
1 John 5:2
The Lord Jesus said, "If you love Me you will keep My commandments," and one of the tests of a real love of God is willing obedience to His Word, a genuine trust in what He says, a readiness to believe His precious promises, and a desire to obey His commandments.
As the Cross of Christ loomed ever closer, we find the Lord Jesus saying to His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you - that you read more...
1 John 5:3
The facts of the Christian life are so simple that a little child can understand the good news of the gospel of grace, which is set out in Scripture. John tells us that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ (the promised Messiah of Israel), is born of God.
John tells us that Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God Who was made flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a sinless life and died willingly on the Cross to pay the price of read more...
1 John 5:4
There are three specific things that the Christian has been instructed to overcome - the world, the flesh, and the devil - and in each case, we have been equipped with the tools to do just that.
James informs us that when we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us... and Paul lists the weapons of spiritual warfare which we will need to overcome this spiritual enemy at the end of his epistle to the read more...
1 John 5:7
There is one God, for the Lord our God is One; one immortal, invisible, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, holy, and eternal God. He alone is to be worshipped for He alone is the Lord, and He will not share His glory with another. But that one God is manifested in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Consubstantial, co-eternal, and equal in being, in power, in essence, in substance, in reality, in person, and in great glory, for ever and ever, read more...
1 John 5:11
The testimony of the triune Godhead is faithful and true, and His Word stands fast for ever and ever. God's unshakable and irrefutable declaration to the fallen race of man is that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son, for He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and He alone has the authority to give eternal life to all who come to Him for salvation.
God gave the first witness of His Son's authenticity at read more...
1 John 5:12
This verse is further biblical clarification that eternal life is found only in Christ Jesus, for He is the eternal Son of God and perfect Son of Man.
Men search in many places to discover eternal life outside of Christ, but it is not found in good works, denominational membership, philosophic teachings, scientific discovery, religious leanings, educational qualifications, legalistic practices, genetic modification, or any of read more...
1 John 5:13
The apostle John loved his Lord, and throughout his writings, sought to bring others to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus and to trust in His salvation. Those that believe in Him are not condemned, but those that do not believe in Him are condemned already. How vital it is that we know and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour: "For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."
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1 John 5:14
The lost sinner is saved by grace through faith in Christ, but once that man or woman has been redeemed from the kingdom of Satan, and transferred into the kingdom of Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that believer is expected to continue living his or her life by faith.
All Christians are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight. We are instructed to pray in confident faith, by maintaining an unshakable trust in the read more...
1 John 5:18
It has often been said that you can make numbers say what you want them to say, in an attempt to prove something that is false. Similarly, this verse which states, "no one who is born of God sins," has often been used to teach 'sinless perfection', when this is clearly not what the whole counsel of God teaches about sin, salvation, and the doctrine of soteriology.
Some incorrectly interpret this verse to say read more...
1 John 5:19
When Adam sinned, he lost his God-given authority over the earth. Man had been made in the image and likeness of God to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air. He was given the responsibility to rule over the whole earth and subdue it. Man was to be God's representative on earth who would govern the world in righteousness.
However, because of sin this privilege was forfeited, the earth was cursed, and the whole read more...
1 John 5:20
Throughout His Gospel and his letters, the apostle John points to the Lord Jesus Christ as God incarnate: "The Word made flesh Who dwelt among us, full of grace and truth."
From beginning to end, John points to Christ as the only way to God, the only truth from God, and the only life of God, in Whom alone is abundant life, eternal life, and the forgiveness of sins.
The Spirit of truth is read more...
1 John 5:21
There is something so simple in these words of the aged apostle John, and yet they contain a depth of yearning towards his young converts when he warns, "Little children, guard yourselves from idols." John loved his Lord Jesus so passionately, and longed that nothing would estrange these converts from the only path of righteousness, peace and joy.
These believers in John's day were surrounded on every side by read more...