The First Epistle of John
1Jo 1:11 That
Paul’s ministry was to complete the divine revelation (Col. 1:25-27) of God’s New Testament economy, that is, the Triune God in Christ as the life-giving Spirit producing the members of Christ for the constituting and the building up of the Body of Christ, that the Triune God may have a full expression—the fullness of God (Eph. 1:23; 3:19)—in the universe. Paul’s writings were completed around A.D. 67. Paul’s completing ministry was damaged by the apostasy preceding and following his death. Then after a quarter of a century, around A.D. 90, John’s writings came forth. John’s ministry was not only to mend the broken ministry of Paul but also to consummate the entire divine revelation of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, of both the Gospels and the Epistles. In such a ministry, the focus is the mysteries of the divine life. John’s Gospel, as the consummation of the Gospels, unveils the mysteries of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. John’s Epistles (especially the first), as the consummation of the Epistles, unfold the mystery of the fellowship of the divine life, which is the fellowship of God’s children with God the Father and with one another. Then John’s Revelation, as the consummation of the New Testament and the Old Testament, reveals the mystery of Christ as the life supply to God’s children for His expression and as the center of the universal administration of the Triune God. Here John used the expression that which to open his Epistle and unfold the mystery of the fellowship in the divine life. That he did not use personal pronouns in reference to the Lord implies that what he was about to unfold is mysterious.
1Jo 1:12 from
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:12 [1] This differs from in the beginning in John’s Gospel (John 1:1). In the beginning traces back to eternity past before creation; from the beginning proceeds forward from the creation. This indicates that John’s Epistle is a continuation of his Gospel, which concerns the believers’ experience of the divine life. In his Gospel, John revealed the way for sinners to receive the eternal life—to believe in the Son of God. In his Epistle he pointed out the way for the believers, who have received the divine life, to enjoy that life in its fellowship—to abide in the Son of God. And in his Revelation he unveiled the consummation of the eternal life as the believers’ full enjoyment in eternity.
1Jo 1:12 [2] The phrase from the beginning is used four times in the Gospel of John, eight times in this Epistle, and twice in 2 John. In John 8:44; 1 John 1:1; 2:13-14; and 3:8, it is used in the absolute sense; whereas in John 6:64; 15:27; 16:4; 1 John 2:7, 24 (twice); 3:11; and 2 John 5-6, it is used in the relative sense.
1Jo 1:1a seen 1 John 4:14; John 19:35
1Jo 1:1b eyes 2 Pet. 1:16
1Jo 1:13 beheld
Gazed at with a purpose.
1Jo 1:14c handled Luke 24:39; John 20:27
First, have heard, then have seen; after having seen, beheld, gazed at with a purpose, and handled, touched with hands. These expressions indicate that the Word of life is not only mysterious but also tangible, because He was incarnated. The mysterious Word of life was touched by man, not only in His humanity before His resurrection (Mark 3:10; 5:31) but also in His spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44) after His resurrection (John 20:17, 27). At that time there was a heresy that denied the incarnation of the Son of God (4:1-3). Hence, such strong expressions to indicate the Lord’s solid substance in His touchable humanity were needed.
1Jo 1:15 Word
This is the Word mentioned in John 1:1-4, 14, who was with God and was God in eternity before creation, who became flesh in time, and in whom is life. This Word is the divine person of Christ as an account, a definition, and an expression of all that God is. In Him is life, and He is life (John 11:25; 14:6). The phrase the Word of life in Greek indicates that the Word is life. The person is the divine life, the eternal life, which we can touch. The mentioning of the Word here indicates that this Epistle is a continuation and development of John’s Gospel (cf. John 1:1-2, 14).
1Jo 1:16 life
The writings of John are books of mysteries. In this Epistle, life, that is, the divine life, the eternal life, the life of God, which is imparted into the believers in Christ and is abiding in them, is the first mystery (v. 2; 2:25; 3:15; 5:11, 13, 20). Issuing out of this mystery is another mystery, the mystery of the fellowship of the divine life (vv. 3-7). After that is the mystery of the anointing of the Triune God (2:20-27). Then there is the mystery of abiding in the Lord (2:27-28; 3:6, 24). The fifth mystery is the mystery of the divine birth (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). The sixth is the divine seed (3:9). And the last is the water, the blood, and the Spirit (5:6-12).
1Jo 1:21a life John 11:25; 14:6; Col. 3:4
This indicates that life is a synonym for Word of life in the preceding verse. Both denote the divine person of Christ, who was with the Father in eternity and was manifested in time through incarnation, and whom the apostles saw and testified and reported to the believers.
1Jo 1:22b manifested 1 John 3:5, 8; 1 Tim. 3:16
This manifestation of the eternal life was through Christ’s incarnation, which John stressed strongly in his Gospel (John 1:14) as an antidote to inoculate the believers against the heresy that said that Christ did not come in the flesh. Such a manifestation, corresponding with being touchable, indicates again the substantial nature of the Lord’s humanity, which is the manifestation of the divine life in the New Testament economy.
1Jo 1:2c testify 1 John 4:14; John 15:27
1Jo 1:23 the
Lit., the life the eternal. This life denotes the divine spiritual life, not the human soulish life or the physical life (see note 174 in Rom. 5). Eternal denotes not only duration of time, which is everlasting, without end, but also quality, which is absolutely perfect and complete, without any shortage or defect. Such an expression emphasizes the eternal nature of the divine life, the life of the eternal God. The apostles saw this eternal life and testified and reported it to people. Their experience was not of any doctrine but of Christ, the Son of God, as the eternal life, and their testimony and preaching were not of theology or biblical knowledge but of such a solid life.
1Jo 1:2d eternal 1 John 2:25; 3:15; 5:11, 13, 20; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 10:28; 17:2-3
1Jo 1:24e with John 1:1-2
The Greek word implies living and acting in union and communion with. The eternal life, which is the Son, not only was with the Father but also was living and acting in union and communion with the Father in eternity. This word corresponds with John 1:1-2.
1Jo 1:25 Father
The Father is the source of the eternal life; from Him and with Him the Son was manifested as the expression of the eternal life for the people of the Father’s choice to partake of and enjoy.
1Jo 1:26 manifested
The manifestation of the eternal life includes the revelation and impartation of life to men, with a view to bringing man into the eternal life, into its union and communion with the Father.
1Jo 1:31 seen
In v. 1 it was first have heard and then have seen; here it is vice versa. In our receiving of revelation, hearing is the basic thing; in our preaching, in our reporting, seeing should be the base. What we preach should be our apprehension and experience of the things we have heard.
1Jo 1:32 also
The apostles heard and saw the eternal life. Then they reported it to the believers that the believers also might hear and see it. By virtue of the eternal life, the apostles enjoyed fellowship with the Father and with His Son, the Lord Jesus. They desired that the believers also enjoy this fellowship.
1Jo 1:33a fellowship 1 John 1:6-7; 1 Cor. 1:9
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:33 [1] The Greek word means joint participation, common participation. Fellowship is the issue of the eternal life and is actually the flow of the eternal life within all the believers, who have received and possess the divine life. It is illustrated by the flow of the water of life in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1). All genuine believers are in this fellowship (Acts 2:42). It is carried on by the Spirit in our regenerated spirit. Hence, it is called “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) and “fellowship of [our] spirit” (Phil. 2:1). It is in this fellowship of the eternal life that we, the believers, participate in all that the Father and the Son are and have done for us; that is, we enjoy the love of the Father and the grace of the Son by virtue of the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). Such a fellowship was first the apostles’ portion in their enjoyment of the Father and the Son through the Spirit. Hence, in Acts 2:42 it is called “the fellowship of the apostles,” and in this verse “our [the apostles’] fellowship,” a fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. It is a divine mystery. This mysterious fellowship of the eternal life should be considered the subject of this Epistle.
1Jo 1:33 [2] Fellowship here indicates a putting away of private interests and a joining with others for a certain common purpose. Hence, to have fellowship with the apostles, to be in the fellowship of the apostles, and to have fellowship with the Triune God in the apostles’ fellowship is to put aside our private interests and join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s purpose. This purpose, according to John’s subsequent writings, is twofold: (1) that the believers grow in the divine life by abiding in the Triune God (2:12-27) and, based on the divine birth, live a life of the divine righteousness and the divine love (2:28—5:3) to overcome the world, death, sin, the devil, and idols (5:4-21); and (2) that the local churches be built up as the lampstands for the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1—3) and consummate in the New Jerusalem as the full expression of God for eternity (Rev. 21—22). Our participation in the apostles’ enjoyment of the Triune God is our joining with them and with the Triune God for His divine purpose, which is common to God, the apostles, and all the believers.
1Jo 1:34 Father
Only the Father and the Son are mentioned here, not the Spirit, because the Spirit is implied in the fellowship. Actually, the fellowship of the eternal life is the imparting of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—into the believers as their unique portion for them to enjoy today and for eternity.
1Jo 1:41 our
Some MSS read, your. The apostles’ joy is also the believers’ joy, because the believers are in the fellowship of the apostles.
1Jo 1:42a joy 2 John 12; John 15:11; 16:24; 17:13
Fellowship is the issue of the eternal life, and joy, that is, the enjoyment of the Triune God, is the issue of this fellowship, the issue of participation in the Father’s love and the Son’s grace through the Spirit. By such a spiritual enjoyment of the divine life, our joy in our Triune God can be made full.
1Jo 1:51 And
In addition to the three main things—life, fellowship, and joy—presented in the preceding verses, a further message, which the apostles heard from the Lord, is to announce to the believers that God is light.
1Jo 1:5a message 1 John 3:11
1Jo 1:52 God
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:52 [1] In the preceding verses the Father and the Son are mentioned in plain words, and the Spirit is implied in the fellowship of the eternal life. Here God is mentioned for the first time in this Epistle, and He is mentioned as the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This God, as revealed in the light of the gospel, is light.
1Jo 1:52 [2] The message that John and the other early disciples heard was, undoubtedly, the word spoken by the Lord Jesus in John 8:12 and 9:5—that He is the light. However, John said here that the message was that God is light. This indicates that the Lord Jesus is God, implying the essence of the Divine Trinity.
1Jo 1:53b light 1 John 2:8; John 1:4-5, 9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36; 1 Tim. 6:16; James 1:17
Expressions such as God is light, God is love (4:8, 16), and God is Spirit (John 4:24) are used not in a metaphoric sense but in a predicative sense. They denote and describe the nature of God. In His nature, God is Spirit, love, and light. Spirit denotes the nature of God’s person; love, the nature of God’s essence; and light, the nature of God’s expression. Both love and light are related to God as life, which is of the Spirit (Rom. 8:2). God, Spirit, and life are actually one. God is Spirit and Spirit is life. Within this life are love and light. When the divine love appears to us, it becomes grace, and when the divine light shines on us, it becomes truth. John’s Gospel reveals that the Lord Jesus brought grace and truth to us (John 1:14, 17) that we might have the divine life (John 3:14-16), whereas John’s Epistle unveils that the fellowship of the divine life brings us to the very source of grace and truth, which are the divine love and the divine light. John’s Epistle is the continuation of his Gospel. In John’s Gospel it is God in the Son coming to us as grace and truth that we may become His children (John 1:12-13); in John’s Epistle it is we, the children, in the fellowship of the Father’s life, going to the Father to participate in His love and light (see note 82 in ch. 4). The former was God’s coming out to the outer court to meet our need at the altar (Lev. 4:28-31); the latter is our entering into the Holy of Holies to contact Him at the Ark (Exo. 25:22). This is further and deeper in the experience of the divine life. After receiving the divine life by believing into the Son in John’s Gospel, we should go on to enjoy this life through the fellowship of this life in John’s Epistle. The entire Epistle discloses to us this one thing, that is, the enjoyment of the divine life through our abiding in its fellowship.
1Jo 1:54 darkness
As light is the nature of God in His expression, so darkness is the nature of Satan in his evil works (3:8). Thank God that He has delivered us out of the satanic darkness into the divine light (Acts 26:18; 1 Pet. 2:9). The divine light is the divine life in the Son operating in us. This light shines in the darkness within us, and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:4-5). When we follow this light, we shall by no means walk in darkness (John 8:12), which, according to the context, is the darkness of sin (vv. 7-10).
1Jo 1:61 have
To have fellowship with God is to have intimate and living contact with Him in the flow of the divine life according to the Spirit’s anointing in our spirit (2:27). This keeps us in the participation and enjoyment of the divine light and the divine love.
1Jo 1:62 with
According to the context, with Him denotes with God and equals with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (v. 3). Here again the Divine Trinity is implied.
1Jo 1:63 walk
Referring to our walk in general in our living; i.e., live, behave, and have our being. So in the next verse. See note 161 in Gal. 5. To walk in the darkness, that is, to walk habitually in the darkness, is to live, behave, and have one’s being in the nature of Satan’s evil works. According to 2:11, walking in the darkness equals practicing sin (3:4, 8).
1Jo 1:6a darkness 1 John 2:11; John 1:5; 12:35; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9
1Jo 1:64b lie 1 John 2:4; 4:20
Lying is of Satan; he is the father of liars (John 8:44 and note 3). The satanic darkness is versus the divine light, and the satanic lie is versus the divine truth. As the divine truth is the expression of the divine light, so the satanic lie is the expression of the satanic darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with God, who is light, and walk in the darkness, we lie in the expression of the satanic darkness and do not practice the truth in the expression of the divine light. This verse inoculates against the heretical teaching of the Antinomians, who taught that one is free from the obligation of the moral law and said that one can live in sin and at the same time have fellowship with God.
1Jo 1:65 practicing
This Greek verb denotes doing (things) habitually and continually by abiding (in the things); hence, it has the sense of practice. It is used also in 2:17, 29; 3:4 (twice), 7, 8, 9, 10, 22; 5:2; Rom. 1:32; and elsewhere. To practice the truth is to live the truth habitually, not merely to do it occasionally.
1Jo 1:66 truth
[ par. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ]
1Jo 1:66 [1] The Greek word means reality (the opposite of vanity), verity, veracity, genuineness, sincerity. It is John’s highly individual terminology, and it is one of the profound words in the New Testament, denoting all the realities of the divine economy as the content of the divine revelation, conveyed and disclosed by the holy Word as follows:
1Jo 1:66 [2] (1) God, who is light and love, incarnated to be the reality of the divine things, such as the divine life, the divine nature, the divine power, and the divine glory, for us to possess, that we may enjoy Him as grace, as revealed in John’s Gospel (John 1:1, 4, 14-17).
1Jo 1:66 [3] (2) Christ, who is God incarnated and in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Col. 2:9), as the reality of (a) God and man (John 1:18, 51; 1 Tim. 2:5); (b) all the types, figures, and shadows of the Old Testament (Col. 2:16-17; John 4:23, 24 and notes 4 and 5); and (c) all the divine and spiritual things, such as the divine life and resurrection (John 11:25; 14:6), the divine light (John 8:12; 9:5), the divine way (John 14:6), wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). Hence, Christ is the reality (John 14:6; Eph. 4:21).
1Jo 1:66 [4] (3) The Spirit, who is Christ transfigured (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17), as the reality of Christ (John 14:16-17; 15:26) and of the divine revelation (John 16:13-15). Hence, the Spirit is the reality (5:6).
1Jo 1:66 [5] (4) The Word of God as the divine revelation, which not only reveals but also conveys the reality of God and Christ and of all the divine and spiritual things. Hence, the Word of God also is reality (John 17:17 and note 3).
1Jo 1:66 [6] (5) The contents of the faith (belief), which are the substantial elements of what we believe, as the reality of the full gospel (Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5); these are revealed throughout the New Testament (2 Cor. 4:2; 13:8; Gal. 5:7; 1 Tim. 1:1 and note 1, points 1 and 2; 2:4 and note 2; 2:7b; 3:15 and note 5; 4:3; 6:5; 2 Tim. 2:15, 18, 25; 3:7, 8; 4:4; Titus 1:1, 14; 2 Thes. 2:10, 12; Heb. 10:26; James 5:19; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:12).
1Jo 1:66 [7] (6) The reality concerning God, the universe, man, man’s relationship with God and with his fellow man, and man’s obligation to God, as revealed through creation and the Scriptures (Rom. 1:18-20; 2:2, 8, 20).
1Jo 1:66 [8] (7) The genuineness, truthfulness, sincerity, honesty, trustworthiness, and faithfulness of God as a divine virtue (Rom. 3:7; 15:8) and of man as a human virtue (Mark 12:14; 2 Cor. 11:10; Phil. 1:18; 1 John 3:18), and as an issue of the divine reality (John 4:23-24; 2 John 1a; 3 John 1).
1Jo 1:66 [9] (8) Things that are true or real, the true or real state of affairs (facts), reality, veracity, as the opposite of falsehood, deception, dissimulation, hypocrisy, and error (Mark 5:33; 12:32; Luke 4:25; John 16:7; Acts 4:27; 10:34; 26:25; Rom. 1:25; 9:1; 2 Cor. 6:7; 7:14; 12:6; Col. 1:6; 1 Tim. 2:7a).
1Jo 1:66 [10] Of the eight points listed above, the first five refer to the same reality in essence. God, Christ, and the Spirit—the Divine Trinity—are essentially one. Hence, these three, being the basic elements of the substance of the divine reality, are actually one reality. This one divine reality is the substance of the Word of God as the divine revelation. Hence, it becomes the revealed divine reality in the divine Word and makes the divine Word the reality. The divine Word conveys this one divine reality as the contents of the faith, and the contents of the faith are the substance of the gospel revealed in the entire New Testament as its reality, which is just the divine reality of the Divine Trinity. When this divine reality is partaken of and enjoyed by us, it becomes our genuineness, sincerity, honesty, and trustworthiness as an excellent virtue in our behavior that enables us to express God, the God of reality, by whom we live; and we become persons living a life of truth, without any falsehood or hypocrisy, a life that corresponds with the truth revealed through creation and the Scripture.
1Jo 1:66 [11] The word truth is used in the New Testament more than one hundred times. Its denotation in each occurrence is determined by its context. For instance, in John 3:21, according to the context, it denotes uprightness (the opposite of evil—John 3:19-20), which is the reality manifested in a man who lives in God according to what He is and which corresponds with the divine light, which is God, as the source of the truth, manifested in Christ. In John 4:23-24, according to the context of that chapter and also according to the entire revelation of John’s Gospel, it denotes the divine reality becoming man’s genuineness and sincerity (the opposite of the hypocrisy of the immoral Samaritan worshipper—John 4:16-18) for the true worship of God. The divine reality is Christ, who is the reality (John 14:6), as the reality of all the offerings of the Old Testament for the worship of God (John 1:29; 3:14) and as the fountain of living water, the life-giving Spirit (John 4:7-15), partaken of and drunk by His believers to be the reality within them, which eventually becomes their genuineness and sincerity, in which they worship God with the worship that He seeks. In John 5:33 and 18:37, according to the entire revelation of the Gospel of John, truth denotes the divine reality embodied, revealed, and expressed in Christ as the Son of God. In John 8:32, 40, 44-46, according to the context of that chapter, it denotes the reality of God revealed in His word (John 8:47) and embodied in Christ, the Son of God (John 8:36), which sets us free from the bondage of sin (see note 321 in John 8).
1Jo 1:66 [12] Here in v. 6, truth denotes the revealed reality of God in its aspect of the divine light. It is the issue and realization of the divine light mentioned in v. 5. The divine light is the source in God; truth is the issue and realization of the divine light in us (see note 82 in ch. 4; cf. John 3:19-21). When we abide in the divine light, which we enjoy in the fellowship of the divine life, we practice the truth—what we have realized in the divine light. When we abide in the source, its issue becomes our practice.
1Jo 1:7a walk 1 John 2:6; 2 John 4, 6; 3 John 3, 4; Isa. 2:5
1Jo 1:71 is
We walk in the light, but God is in the light because He is light. “The light is the element in which God dwells: compare 1 Tim. 6:16.…this walking in the light, as He is in the light, is no mere imitation of God, but is an identity in the essential element of our daily walk with the essential element of God’s eternal being: not imitation, but coincidence and identity of the very atmosphere of life” (Alford).
1Jo 1:72 have
When we walk and live in the light of God, we have the joint enjoyment of the Triune God and the joint participation in His divine purpose. The fellowship of the divine life brings us the divine light, and the divine light keeps us in the fellowship, that is, in the joint enjoyment of God and the joint participation in His purpose.
1Jo 1:73b blood John 19:34; Matt. 26:28; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 1:5; 7:14
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:73 [1] When we live in the divine light, we are under its enlightenment, and it exposes, according to God’s divine nature and through God’s nature in us, all our sins, trespasses, failures, and defects, which contradict His pure light, perfect love, absolute holiness, and excelling righteousness. At such a time we sense in our enlightened conscience the need of the cleansing of the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus, and it cleanses us in our conscience from all sins that our fellowship with God and with one another may be maintained. Our relationship with God is unbreakable, yet our fellowship with Him can be interrupted. The former is of life, whereas the latter is based on our living, though it also is of life. One is unconditional; the other is conditional. Our fellowship, which is conditional, needs to be maintained by the constant cleansing of the Lord’s blood.
1Jo 1:73 [2] In this section of the Word there is a cycle in our spiritual life, a cycle formed of four crucial things—the eternal life, the fellowship of the eternal life, the divine light, and the blood of Jesus the Son of God. Eternal life issues in its fellowship, the fellowship of eternal life brings in the divine light, and the divine light increases the need for the blood of Jesus the Son of God that we may have more eternal life. The more we have of eternal life, the more of its fellowship it brings to us. The more fellowship of the divine life we enjoy, the more divine light we receive. The more divine light we receive, the more we participate in the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. Such a cycle brings us onward in the growth of the divine life until we reach the maturity of life.
1Jo 1:74 Jesus
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:74 [1] The name Jesus denotes the Lord’s humanity, which is needed for the shedding of the redeeming blood, and the title His Son denotes the Lord’s divinity, which is needed for the eternal efficacy of the redeeming blood. Thus, the blood of Jesus His Son indicates that this blood is the proper blood of a genuine man shed for the redeeming of God’s fallen creatures, with the divine surety as its eternal efficacy, an efficacy that is all-prevailing in space and everlasting in time.
1Jo 1:74 [2] The title Jesus His Son is also used by John as an inoculation against the heresies concerning the Lord’s person. One of the heresies insisted on the divinity of the Lord by denying His humanity. The title Jesus as the name of a man inoculates against this heresy. Another heresy insisted on the humanity of the Lord by denying His divinity. The title His Son as a name of the Deity is an antidote to this heresy.
1Jo 1:75 cleanses
The tense of this verb in Greek is present and denotes continuous action, indicating that the blood of Jesus the Son of God cleanses us all the time, continuously and constantly. Cleansing here refers to the instant cleansing of the Lord’s blood in our conscience. Before God, the redeeming blood of the Lord has cleansed us once for all eternally (Heb. 9:12, 14), and the efficacy of that cleansing lasts forever before God, so that that cleansing need not be repeated. However, in our conscience we need the instant application of the constant cleansing of the Lord’s blood again and again whenever our conscience is enlightened by the divine light in our fellowship with God. This instant cleansing is typified by the purification with the water of impurity mixed with the ashes of the heifer (Num. 19:2-10).
1Jo 1:76 sin
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 1:76 [1] The New Testament deals with the problem of sin by using both the word sin (singular) and the word sins (plural). Sin refers to the indwelling sin, which came through Adam into mankind from Satan (Rom. 5:12). It is dealt with in the second section of Romans, 5:12—8:13 (with the exception of 7:5, where sins is mentioned). Sins refers to the sinful deeds, the fruits of the indwelling sin, which are dealt with in the first section of Romans, 1:18—5:11. However, in this verse sin in the singular, used with the adjective every, does not denote the indwelling sin but every single sin we commit (v. 10) after we are regenerated; each such sin defiles our purged conscience and needs to be cleansed away by the blood of the Lord in our fellowship with God.
1Jo 1:76 [2] Our sin, the indwelling sin in our nature (Rom. 7:17), has been dealt with by Christ as our sin offering (Lev. 4; Isa. 53:10; Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:26). Our sins, our trespasses, have been dealt with by Christ as our trespass offering (Lev. 5; Isa. 53:11; 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 9:28). However, after our regeneration we still need to take Christ as our sin offering for the sin in our nature as indicated in v. 8, and as our trespass offering for the sins in our conduct as indicated in v. 9.
1Jo 1:81 do
I.e., do not have the indwelling sin (Rom. 7:17) within our nature. This was what the Gnostic heresy taught. The apostle was inoculating the believers against this false teaching. This section, 1:7—2:2, deals with the believers’ sinning after their regeneration. Such sinning interrupts their fellowship with God. If after regeneration the believers do not have sin in their nature, how could they sin in their conduct? Even if they sin only occasionally, not habitually, their sinning is adequate proof that they still have sin working within them. Otherwise, there would be no interruption in their fellowship with God. The apostle’s teaching here also condemns today’s teaching of perfectionism, which says that a state of freedom from sin is attainable or has been attained in this earthly life; and it annuls today’s erroneous teaching of the eradication of the sinful nature, which, misinterpreting the word in 3:9 and 5:18, says that regenerated persons cannot sin because their sinful nature has been totally eradicated.
1Jo 1:82 we
Or, we are leading ourselves astray. To say that because we have been regenerated we do not have sin is to deceive ourselves and to deny the actual fact of our own experience; thus we lead ourselves astray.
1Jo 1:83a truth 1 John 2:4; John 8:44
Truth denotes the revealed reality of God, the real facts, conveyed in the gospel, such as the reality of God and all the divine things, which are all Christ (John 1:14, 17; 14:6); the reality of Christ and all the spiritual things, which are all the Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6); and the reality of man’s condition (John 16:8-11). See note 66. Here, it denotes especially the reality of our sinful condition after regeneration, exposed under the enlightening of the divine light in our fellowship with God. If we say that we do not have sin after being regenerated, such a reality, the truth, does not remain in us; that is, we deny the true condition after our regeneration.
1Jo 1:91a confess Psa. 32:5; Prov. 28:13
This denotes the confessing of our sins, our failures, after regeneration, not the confessing of our sins before regeneration.
1Jo 1:92b faithful Heb. 10:23; Deut. 7:9; Psa. 143:1
God is faithful in His word (v. 10) and righteous in the blood of Jesus His Son (v. 7). His word is the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:13), which tells us that He will forgive us our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43); and the blood of Christ has fulfilled His righteous requirements that He might forgive us our sins (Matt. 26:28). If we confess our sins, He, according to His word and based on the redemption through the blood of Jesus, forgives us because He must be faithful in His word and righteous in the blood of Jesus; otherwise, He would be unfaithful and unrighteous. Our confession is needed for His forgiveness. Such forgiveness of God, which is for the restoration of our fellowship with Him, is conditional; it depends on our confession.
1Jo 1:9c righteous 1 John 2:29; Rom. 1:17; 3:21-22, 25-26; Psa. 92:15
1Jo 1:9d forgive Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:22; cf. 1 John 2:12
1Jo 1:9e sins 1 John 2:2; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:24
1Jo 1:93f cleanse Psa. 51:2
To forgive us is to release us from the offense of our sins, whereas to cleanse us is to wash us from the stain of our unrighteousness.
1Jo 1:94g unrighteousness 1 John 5:17; Rom. 6:13; Heb. 8:12
Unrighteousness and sins are synonyms. All unrighteousness is sin (5:17). Both refer to our wrongdoings. Sins indicates the offense of our wrongdoings against God and men; unrighteousness indicates the stain of our wrongdoings, which causes us not to be right with either God or men. The offense needs God’s forgiveness, and the stain requires His cleansing. Both God’s forgiveness and God’s cleansing are needed for the restoration of our broken fellowship with God, that we may enjoy Him in uninterrupted fellowship with a good conscience, a conscience void of offense (1 Tim. 1:5; Acts 24:16).
1Jo 1:101 have
Verse 8 proves that after our regeneration we still have sin inwardly. Verse 10 proves further that we even still sin outwardly, though not habitually. We still sin outwardly in our conduct because we still have sin inwardly in our nature. Both confirm our sinful condition after regeneration. In speaking of such a condition, the apostle used the pronoun we, not excluding himself.
1Jo 1:10a not cf. 1 John 2:1
1Jo 1:10b liar 1 John 5:10; cf. Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2; 1 John 1:6; 2:4; 4:20
1Jo 1:102c word John 5:38; 8:37; cf. 1 John 2:14; Col. 3:16
The word of God’s revelation, which is the word of truth (Eph. 1:13; John 17:17) and which conveys the contents of God’s New Testament economy. It is synonymous with truth in v. 8. In this word God exposes our true condition, which is sinful both before and after regeneration. If we say that after regeneration we have not sinned, we make God a liar and deny the word of His revelation.
1Jo 2:11 little
The Greek word for little children was often used by older persons in addressing younger ones. “It is a term of parental affection. It applies to Christians irrespective of growth. Used in vv. 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21; John 13:33; Gal. 4:19” (Darby). The aged apostle considered all the recipients of his Epistle his dear little children in the Lord. In vv. 13-27 he classified them into three groups: young children, young men, and fathers. Verses 1-12 and 28-29 are addressed to all the recipients in general, and vv. 13-27 to the three groups respectively, according to their growth in the divine life.
1Jo 2:12 these
The things mentioned in 1:5-10 regarding the committing of sin by the children of God, the regenerated believers, who have the divine life and participate in its fellowship (1:1-4).
1Jo 2:13 may
This word and if anyone sins in the succeeding sentence indicate that the regenerated believers can still sin. Though they possess the divine life, it is still possible for them to sin if they do not live by the divine life and abide in its fellowship.
1Jo 2:14 sins
Aorist subjunctive, denoting a single act, not habitual action.
1Jo 2:15a Advocate cf. 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15
The Greek word refers to one who is called to another’s side to aid him; hence, a helper. It refers also to one who offers legal aid or one who intercedes on behalf of someone else; hence, an advocate, counsel, or intercessor. The word carries the sense of consoling and consolation; hence, a consoler, a comforter. It is used in the Gospel of John (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) for the Spirit of reality as our Comforter within us, the One who takes care of our case or our affairs (see note 161 in John 14). It is used here in reference to the Lord Jesus as our Advocate with the Father. When we sin, He, based on the propitiation that He accomplished, takes care of our case by interceding (Rom. 8:34) and pleading for us.
1Jo 2:16 with
See note 24 in ch. 1. The Lord Jesus as our Advocate is living in communion with the Father.
1Jo 2:17 Father
Here this divine title indicates that our case, which the Lord Jesus as our Advocate undertakes for us, is a family affair, a case between children and the Father. Through regeneration we have been born children of God. After regeneration, if we sin, it is a matter of children sinning against their Father. Our Advocate, who is the sacrifice for our propitiation, undertakes for us to restore our interrupted fellowship with the Father that we may abide in the enjoyment of the divine fellowship.
1Jo 2:18b Righteous 1 John 3:7; Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14; 1 Pet. 3:18
Our Lord Jesus is the only righteous man among all men. His righteous act (Rom. 5:18) on the cross fulfilled the righteous requirement of the righteous God for us and all sinners. Only He is qualified to be our Advocate, to care for us in our sinning condition and restore us to a righteous condition that the relationship between us and our Father, who is righteous, may be appeased.
1Jo 2:21a propitiation 1 John 4:10; Heb. 2:17; cf. Heb. 8:12
I.e., the sacrifice for propitiation. See note 252 in Rom. 3. The Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:28), not only for our redemption but also for the satisfying of God’s demand, thus appeasing the relationship between us and God. Hence, He is the sacrifice for our propitiation before God.
1Jo 2:2b sins 1 John 1:9
1Jo 2:22 whole
The Lord Jesus is a sacrifice for propitiation, not only for our sins but also for the whole world. However, this propitiation is conditioned on man’s receiving the Lord by believing in Him. The unbelievers do not experience its efficacy, not because it has any fault but because they do not believe.
1Jo 2:2c world John 1:29; 3:16
1Jo 2:31 And
Verses 1-2 are a conclusion to the word in 1:5-10 regarding our confessing and God’s forgiving of our sins, which interrupt our fellowship with Him. That is the first condition of—the first requirement for—our enjoyment of the fellowship of the divine life. Verses 3-11 deal with the second condition of—the second requirement for—our fellowship with God: that we keep the Lord’s word and love the brothers.
1Jo 2:32 know
Or, perceive; not doctrinally but experientially by keeping His commandments.
1Jo 2:33a know 1 John 2:13; John 17:3; Heb. 8:11; Phil. 3:8, 10; cf. Matt. 11:27
Lit., have come to know Him; denoting that we have begun to know Him and that we continue to know Him until the present time. This refers to our experiential knowledge of God in our daily walk and is related to our intimate fellowship with Him.
1Jo 2:3b keep 1 John 3:22, 24; 5:3; John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10
1Jo 2:34 commandments
See note 341 in John 13. So throughout the book.
1Jo 2:41a liar 1 John 1:6; 4:20
See note 64 in ch. 1.
1Jo 2:42b truth 1 John 1:8
Denoting the revealed reality of God as conveyed in the divine word (see note 66 in ch. 1), which reveals that our keeping the Lord’s commandments should follow our knowing Him. If we say that we have known the Lord, yet we are not keeping His commandments, the truth (reality) is not in us, and we become liars.
1Jo 2:5a keeps John 14:23
1Jo 2:51b word Col. 3:16; cf. 1 John 1:10
Word is synonymous with commandments in vv. 3-4. The word here comprises all the commandments. Commandments emphasizes injunction; word implies spirit and life as a supply to us (John 6:63).
1Jo 2:52c love 1 John 2:15; 3:17; 4:7
The Greek word denotes the love that is higher and nobler than human affection (see notes 71 and 72 in 2 Pet. 1). Only this word with its verb forms is used in this Epistle for love. Here the love of God denotes our love toward God, which is generated by His love within us. The love of God, the word of the Lord, and God Himself are all related to one another. If we keep the Lord’s word, God’s love has been perfected in us. It is altogether a matter of the divine life, which is God Himself. God’s love is His inward essence, and the Lord’s word supplies us with this divine essence, with which we love the brothers. Hence, when we keep the divine word, the divine love is perfected through the divine life, by which we live.
1Jo 2:53d perfected 1 John 4:12, 17, 18
See note 124 in ch. 4.
1Jo 2:54e in John 14:20; 1 Cor. 1:30; cf. 1 John 3:24; 4:13
I.e., in the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1). This is a strong expression, stressing that we are one with the Lord. Since we are one with the Lord, who is God, the loving essence of God becomes ours. It is supplied to us by the Lord’s word of life for our walk of love that we may enjoy the fellowship of the divine life and abide in the divine light (v. 10).
1Jo 2:61a abides 1 John 2:24, 27, 28; 3:6, 24; 4:13, 15, 16; John 6:56; 15:4, 5, 7; cf. 1 John 2:10; 3:14; 2 John 9
To be in Christ is the beginning of the Christian life. Our being put in Christ was God’s doing once for all (1 Cor. 1:30). To abide in Christ is the continuation of the Christian life. This is our responsibility in our daily walk, a walk that is a copy of Christ’s walk on earth. See note 278.
1Jo 2:6b walk 1 John 1:7
1Jo 2:62d He 1 John 3:3, 5, 7; 4:17
Lit., that One; referring to Jesus Christ.
1Jo 2:7a new John 13:34; 2 John 5
1Jo 2:71 old
The commandment given by the Lord in John 13:34, which is the word the believers heard and had from the beginning.
1Jo 2:72 from
This phrase is in the relative sense. See note 12, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Jo 2:7b heard 1 John 2:24; 3:11
1Jo 2:81 new
The commandment regarding brotherly love is both old and new: old, because the believers have had it from the beginning of their Christian life; new, because in their Christian walk it dawns with new light and shines with new enlightenment and fresh power again and again.
1Jo 2:82 which
This relative pronoun, in the neuter gender, does not refer to commandment, which is in the feminine gender. It should refer to the fact that the old commandment regarding brotherly love is new in the believers’ Christian walk. That the old commandment is new is true in the Lord, since He not only gave it to His believers but also renews it in their daily walk continually. It is true also in the believers, since they not only have received it once for all but also are enlightened and refreshed by it repeatedly.
1Jo 2:83a darkness 1 John 1:6; 1 Thes. 5:4, 5
The passing away of the darkness is its vanishing in the shining of the true light. The true light is the light of the Lord’s commandment. Because this light shines, the commandment regarding brotherly love dawns in the darkness, making the old commandment always new and fresh in our entire Christian living.
1Jo 2:8b light 1 John 1:5
1Jo 2:91 light
Light is the expression of God’s essence and the source of truth (see note 53 in ch. 1). The divine love is related to the divine light. It is versus the satanic hatred, which is related to the satanic darkness. Hating a brother in the Lord is a sign of being in darkness (v. 11). Likewise, loving a brother is a sign of abiding in the light (v. 10). Love causes us to abide in the light, and light causes us to love the brothers.
1Jo 2:9b hates 1 John 2:11; 3:15; 4:20
1Jo 2:10a loves 1 John 3:10, 11, 14, 18, 23; 4:7, 11, 20, 21; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:7
1Jo 2:101b abides cf. 1 John 2:6
Abiding in the light depends on abiding in the Lord (v. 6), from which issues love toward the brothers.
1Jo 2:10c stumbling John 11:10; Prov. 4:19
1Jo 2:111a hates 1 John 2:9
See note 91.
1Jo 2:11b darkness 1 John 1:6; John 12:35
1Jo 2:112 going
The Greek word means to go away.
1Jo 2:113c blinded John 12:40; 2 Pet. 1:9
In John 12:35, 40 darkness is the issue of blinding; here it is vice versa.
1Jo 2:122a forgiven cf. 1 John 1:9
The forgiveness of sins is the basic element of God’s gospel (Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31; 10:43; 13:38). Through this, the believers who receive Christ are regenerated and become the children of God (John 1:12-13).
1Jo 2:12b name Acts 4:12; 10:43; Psa. 25:11
1Jo 2:131 fathers
The believers who are mature in the divine life. They are classified by the apostle as the first group among his recipients.
1Jo 2:132a know 1 John 2:3
The Greek verb is in the perfect tense, denoting that the state produced continues: you have known; therefore, you know all the time. Such living knowledge is the fruit of the experience of life.
1Jo 2:133 Him
The eternal, preexisting Christ, who is the Word of life from the beginning (1:1; John 1:1). Knowing in the way of life such an eternal Christ is the characteristic of the mature and experienced fathers, who were not and could not be deceived by the heresies that said that Christ was not eternal as the Father is. Knowing Christ as the eternal One who is from the beginning will cause us to mature and not be deceived by the heresies of modernism.
1Jo 2:134 from
In the absolute sense. See note 12, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Jo 2:135 young
The believers who are grown up in the divine life. They are classified by the apostle as the second group of his recipients.
1Jo 2:136b overcome 1 John 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev. 12:11
Overcoming the evil one is the characteristic of the grown-up and strong young believers, who are nourished, strengthened, and sustained by the word of God, which is abiding and operating in them against the devil, the world, and the lust of the world (vv. 14b-17).
1Jo 2:137c evil 1 John 3:12; 5:18; Matt. 6:13; John 17:15
Satan, the devil. See note 194 in ch. 5.
1Jo 2:138 write
The Greek word denotes have written; in other MSS, write. Although have written is more authentic according to a more recent discovery of MSS, write, which is used by the KJV and J. N. Darby’s New Translation, is more logical according to the context. The apostle in this verse addressed his writing to each of the three classes of his recipients, always in the present tense. In the succeeding verses, 14-27, he addressed each of the three classes again, but always in the aorist tense (v. 14, to the fathers and young men; v. 26, cf. v. 18, to the young children).
1Jo 2:139 young
The believers who have just received the divine life. They are classified by the apostle as the third group of recipients.
1Jo 2:13d know John 14:7; cf. Matt. 11:27
1Jo 2:1310 Father
The Father is the source of the divine life; of Him the believers have been reborn (John 1:12-13). To know the Father is the initial issue of being regenerated (John 17:3, 6). Hence, such an experiential knowledge in the youth of the divine life is the basic qualification of the young children, who are the youngest in John’s classification.
1Jo 2:141 written
Although the Greek here is in the aorist tense, it does not indicate that any previous Epistle was written by the apostle to these same recipients. It means that he was repeating what he wrote to them in the preceding verse to strengthen and develop what he said. Hence, it indicates have written.
1Jo 2:142 you
This word, ending with abides in you, strengthens the word you have overcome, which was written in the previous verse to the young men.
1Jo 2:14a strong Eph. 6:10; 2 Tim. 2:1
1Jo 2:14b abides Col. 3:16; cf. 1 John 3:9
1Jo 2:143 evil
See note 194 in ch. 5.
1Jo 2:151 Do
Verses 15-17 are the development of the word written in v. 13 to the young men.
1Jo 2:152a world John 17:16; Gal. 6:14; Rom. 12:2
The Greek word is used for different things, as follows: In Matt. 25:34; John 17:5; Acts 17:24; Eph. 1:4; and Rev. 13:8, it denotes the material universe as a system created by God. In John 1:29; 3:16; and Rom. 5:12, it denotes the fallen human race, corrupted and usurped by Satan to be the components of his evil world system. In 1 Pet. 3:3 it denotes adorning, ornaments. Here, as in John 15:19; 17:14; and James 4:4, it denotes an order, a set form, an orderly arrangement, hence, an ordered system (set up by Satan, the adversary of God), not the earth. God created man to live on the earth for the fulfillment of His purpose. But His enemy, Satan, in order to usurp the God-created man, formed an anti-God world system on this earth by systematizing men with religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, entertainment, etc., through men’s fallen nature, in their lusts, pleasures, and pursuits, and even in their indulgence in necessities for their living, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation (see note 312 in John 12). The whole of such a satanic system lies in the evil one (5:19). Not loving such a world is the ground for overcoming the evil one. Loving it just a little gives the evil one the ground to defeat and occupy us.
1Jo 2:15b loves 2 Tim. 4:10
1Jo 2:153d love 1 John 2:5
Lit., the love of the Father; referring to the Father’s love within us, which becomes our love toward Him. To love Him with such a love is to love Him with the love with which He has loved us and which is enjoyed by us.
1Jo 2:154 Father
The world is against the Father, the devil is against the Son (3:8), and the flesh is against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).
1Jo 2:161a lust Rom. 13:14; 1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Pet. 1:4; Mark 4:19
The lust of the flesh is the passionate desire of the body; the lust of the eyes is the passionate desire of the soul through the eyes; and the vainglory of life is the empty pride, boast, and display of material things, of the present life. These are the components of the world.
1Jo 2:16b eyes Prov. 27:20; Eccl. 4:8; 5:11
1Jo 2:162c life Luke 21:34; 1 Cor. 6:3
The Greek word denotes physical life, referring here to the present life; it differs from the word for life in 1:1-2, which refers to the divine life.
1Jo 2:17a passing 1 Cor. 7:31; James 1:10
1Jo 2:171 lust
As the world is against God the Father, so the things in the world (v. 15), which constitute its lust, are against the will of God. The lust of the world, along with him who loves the world, is passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
1Jo 2:172b does Matt. 7:21
See note 65 in ch. 1. I.e., does the will of God habitually and continually, not just occasionally.
1Jo 2:171c will Rom. 12:2
See note 171.
1Jo 2:181 Young
Referring to the young children in v. 13 as the third class of recipients. Verses 18-27, stressing the knowledge in life (vv. 20-21), strengthen the word “because you know the Father,” spoken to this class in v. 13.
1Jo 2:18a last 2 Tim. 3:1; Jude 18
1Jo 2:182b antichrist 1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7; cf. 2 Thes. 2:7
An antichrist differs from a false Christ (Matt. 24:5, 24). A false Christ is one who pretends, deceivingly, to be the Christ, whereas an antichrist is one who denies Christ’s deity, denying that Jesus is the Christ, that is, denying the Father and the Son by denying that Jesus is the Son of God (v. 22 and note 2; v. 23), not confessing that He has come in the flesh through the divine conception of the Holy Spirit (4:2-3).
1Jo 2:183 many
At the apostle’s time many heretics, such as the Gnostics, the Cerinthians, and the Docetists, taught heresies concerning the person of Christ, that is, concerning His divinity and humanity.
1Jo 2:18c come 1 John 4:1; 2 John 7; cf. Matt. 24:5, 24
1Jo 2:19a went Acts 20:29, 30; cf. Deut. 13:13
1Jo 2:191 not
These antichrists were not born of God and were not in the fellowship of the apostles and the believers (1:3; Acts 2:42); hence, they were not of the church, that is, of the Body of Christ.
1Jo 2:192 remained
To remain with the apostles and the believers is to remain in the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
1Jo 2:19b manifested cf. 1 Cor. 11:19
1Jo 2:201a anointing 2 Cor. 1:21; Heb. 1:9
The anointing is the moving and working of the indwelling compound Spirit, who is fully typified by the anointing oil, the compound ointment, in Exo. 30:23-25 (see Life-study of Exodus, Messages 157-166, and note 194 in Phil. 1). This all-inclusive life-giving Spirit from the Holy One entered into us at the time of our regeneration and abides in us forever (v. 27); by Him the young children know the Father (v. 13) and know the truth (v. 21).
1Jo 2:20b Holy Luke 1:35; Mark 1:24; Acts 2:27; 3:14
1Jo 2:202c all John 14:26; 16:13
Some MSS read, you know all things.
1Jo 2:20d know 1 Cor. 2:12
1Jo 2:211 truth
Denoting the reality of the Divine Trinity, especially of the person of Christ (vv. 22-25), as taught by the divine anointing (vv. 20, 27). See note 66 in ch. 1.
1Jo 2:212 know
This knowing is by the anointing of the indwelling and life-giving Spirit. It is a knowledge in the divine life under the divine light, an inner knowledge that originates with our regenerated spirit, indwelt by the compound Spirit; it is not mental knowledge produced by outward stimulation.
1Jo 2:21a lie 1 John 2:27; 1:6
1Jo 2:22a liar 1 John 2:4; 4:20
1Jo 2:221b denies 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7
This is the heresy of Cerinthus, a first century Syrian heresiarch of Jewish descent educated at Alexandria. His heresy was a mixture of Judaism, Gnosticism, and Christianity. He separated the maker (creator) of the world from God and represented that maker as a subordinate power. He taught adoptionism, saying that Jesus was merely God’s adopted Son and had become the Son of God by being exalted to a status that was not His by birth; thus he denied that Jesus had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. In his heresy he separated the earthly man Jesus, regarded as the son of Joseph and Mary, from the heavenly Christ and taught that after Jesus was baptized, Christ as a dove descended upon Him, and then He announced the unknown Father and did miracles. Further, he taught that at the end of His ministry Christ departed from Jesus, and Jesus suffered death on the cross and rose from the dead, while Christ remained separate as a spiritual being, and, finally, that Christ will rejoin the man Jesus at the coming of the Messianic kingdom of glory.
1Jo 2:222c Jesus 1 John 5:1; 4:15
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 2:222 [1] To confess that Jesus is the Christ is to confess that He is the Son of God (Matt. 16:16; John 20:31). Hence, to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny the Father and the Son. Whoever so denies the divine person of Christ is the antichrist.
1Jo 2:222 [2] The fact that denying that Jesus is the Christ equals denying the Father and the Son implies the thought that Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son are all one. They all are the elements, the ingredients, of the all-inclusive compound indwelling Spirit, who is now anointing the believers all the time (vv. 20, 27). In this anointing, Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son are all anointed into our inner being.
1Jo 2:22d antichrist 1 John 2:18
1Jo 2:231 denies
Since the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30; Isa. 9:6), to deny the Son is to be without the Father, and to confess the Son is to have the Father. Here to deny the Son is to deny the deity of Christ, to deny that the man Jesus is God. This is a great heresy.
1Jo 2:23a Father John 15:23
1Jo 2:23b Son 2 John 9; cf. John 8:19; 14:7
1Jo 2:241 that
The Word of life, i.e., the Word of the eternal life that the believers heard from the beginning (1:1-2). Not to deny but to confess that the man Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (v. 22), is to let the Word of the eternal life abide in us. In so doing we abide in the Son and in the Father and are not led astray by the heretical teachings concerning Christ’s person (v. 26). This indicates that the Son and the Father are the eternal life for our regeneration and enjoyment. In this eternal life we have fellowship with God and with one another (1:2-3, 6-7) and have our being in our daily walk (v. 6; 1:7).
1Jo 2:242 from
In the relative sense (see note 12, par. 2, in ch. 1).
1Jo 2:24a heard 1 John 2:7; 3:11
1Jo 2:24b abides 1 John 2:27; 2 John 2
1Jo 2:243c abide 1 John 2:6
See note 278.
1Jo 2:24d Son John 14:23
1Jo 2:251 He
The singular pronoun He, referring to both the Son and the Father in the preceding verse, indicates that the Son and the Father are one. As far as our experience of the divine life is concerned, the Son, the Father, Jesus, and Christ are all one. It is not that only the Son, and not the Father, is the eternal life to us. It is that Jesus, being the Christ as the Son and the Father, is the eternal, divine life to us for our portion.
1Jo 2:252 promised
In the Gospel of John, such as in 3:15; 4:14; 6:40, 47; 10:10; 11:25; and 17:2-3.
1Jo 2:253a eternal 1 John 1:2
According to the context of vv. 22-25, the eternal life is just Jesus, Christ, the Son, and the Father; all these are a composition of the eternal life. Hence, the eternal life also is an element of the all-inclusive, compound indwelling Spirit, who moves within us.
1Jo 2:261 concerning
This indicates that this section of the Word was written to inoculate the believers with the truth of the Divine Trinity against the heresies concerning Christ’s person.
1Jo 2:262a lead 1 John 3:7
Or, deceive you. To lead the believers astray is to distract them from the truth concerning Christ’s deity and humanity by means of heretical teachings concerning the mysteries of what Christ is.
1Jo 2:271 anointing
See note 201.
1Jo 2:273 abides
This is the indwelling of the all-inclusive, compound life-giving Spirit (Rom. 8:9, 11).
1Jo 2:274 no
Concerning the indwelling of the Divine Trinity (John 14:17, 23), we do not need anyone to teach us; by the anointing of the all-inclusive, compound Spirit, who is the composition of the Divine Trinity, we know and enjoy the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as our life and life supply.
1Jo 2:275a teaches Heb. 8:11; John 6:45; 1 Thes. 4:9
It is not an outward teaching by words but an inward teaching by anointing, through our inner spiritual consciousness. This teaching by anointing adds the divine elements of the Trinity, which are the elements of the anointing compound Spirit, into our inner being. It is like the repeated painting of some article: the paint not only indicates the color, but also by coat upon coat being added, the elements of the paint are added to the thing painted. It is in this way that the Triune God is transfused, infused, and added into all the inward parts of our being that our inner man may grow in the divine life with the divine elements.
1Jo 2:276 all
According to the context, all things refers to all things concerning the person of Christ, which are related to the Divine Trinity. The teaching of the anointing concerning these things keeps us that we may abide in Him (the Divine Trinity), that is, in the Son and in the Father (v. 24).
1Jo 2:277 true
The anointing within us of the compound Spirit as the composition of the Triune God, who is true (5:20), is a reality, not a falsehood. It can be proven by our actual and practical experience in our Christian life.
1Jo 2:27b lie 1 John 2:21
1Jo 2:278 abide
The Greek word means to stay (in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy); hence, to abide, remain, and dwell. To abide in Him is to abide in the Son and in the Father (v. 24). This is to remain and dwell in the Lord (John 15:4-5). It is also to abide in the fellowship of the divine life and to walk in the divine light (1:2-3, 6-7), i.e., abide in the divine light (v. 10). We should practice this abiding according to the teaching of the all-inclusive anointing, that our fellowship with God (1:3, 6) may be maintained.
1Jo 2:281 little
See note 11. The word that begins in v. 13, written to the three different classes of recipients, ends in v. 27. Verse 28 turns back to all the recipients. Hence, the address is again to the little children, as in vv. 1 and 12.
1Jo 2:282 abide
The word addressed to the three groups of recipients in vv. 13-27 concludes in the charge to abide in Him as the anointing has taught. In this section, 2:28—3:24, the apostle continued to describe the life that abides in the Lord. The section begins (v. 28), continues (3:6), and ends (3:24) with abide(s) in Him.
1Jo 2:283 He
Here the pronoun He refers definitely to Christ the Son, who is coming. This, with the preceding clause abide in Him, which is a repetition of the clause in the preceding verse involving the Trinity, indicates that the Son is the embodiment of the Triune God, inseparable from the Father or the Spirit.
1Jo 2:28a manifested 1 John 3:2; Col. 3:4
1Jo 2:28b boldness 1 John 3:21; 4:17; 5:14
1Jo 2:284 put
This indicates that some believers, those who do not abide in the Lord (i.e., remain in the fellowship of the divine life according to pure faith in Christ’s person) but are led astray by the heretical teachings concerning Christ (v. 26), will be punished by being put to shame from Him, from His glorious parousia.
1Jo 2:285 from
See Matt. 7:23, note 511 in Matt. 24, and Matt. 22:13 and note 2.
1Jo 2:286 at
Lit., in His presence (parousia).
1Jo 2:28d coming 1 Thes. 2:19; 3:13
1Jo 2:291 know
The Greek word denotes perception with a conscious knowledge, a deeper inward seeing. This is for knowing the Lord.
1Jo 2:292 He
Here He denotes the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—all-inclusively, because it refers to He and Him in the preceding verse, which denote the coming Son; it also refers to Him in this verse, denoting the Father, who has begotten us. This indicates strongly that the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30).
1Jo 2:293a righteous 1 John 1:9
This refers to the righteous God in 1:9 and Jesus Christ the Righteous in v. 1 of this chapter. In this word to all the recipients, beginning from v. 28, the apostle turned his emphasis from the fellowship of the divine life (1:3—2:11) and the anointing of the Divine Trinity (vv. 12-27) to the righteousness of God. The fellowship of the divine life and the anointing of the Divine Trinity should have an issue, that is, the expression of the righteous God.
1Jo 2:294 you
Or, know that…(imperative).
1Jo 2:295 know
The Greek word denotes outward, objective knowledge (see notes 551 in John 8, 172 in John 21, and 111 in Heb. 8). This is for knowing man.
1Jo 2:296b practices 1 John 3:7
See note 65 in ch. 1. This is not to do righteousness occasionally and purposely as some particular act but to practice righteousness habitually and unintentionally as a common daily living. It is the same in 3:7. This is a spontaneous living that issues from the divine life within us, with which we have been begotten of the righteous God. Hence, it is a living expression of God, who is righteous in all His deeds and acts. It is not just an outward behavior but the manifestation of the inward life; not just an act of purpose but the flow of life from within the divine nature, of which we partake. This is the first condition of the life that abides in the Lord. It is all due to the divine birth, which is indicated by the word has been begotten of Him and the title children of God in the succeeding verse (3:1).
1Jo 2:29c righteousness Phil. 4:8
1Jo 2:297 begotten
John’s writings on the mysteries of the eternal divine life stress very much the divine birth (3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; John 1:12-13), which is our regeneration (John 3:3, 5). It is the greatest wonder in the entire universe that human beings could be begotten of God and sinners could be made children of God! Through such an amazing divine birth we have received the divine life, which is the eternal life (1:2), as the divine seed sown into our being (3:9). Out of this seed all the riches of the divine life grow from within us. It is by this that we abide in the Triune God and live out the divine life in our human living, i.e., live out the life that does not practice sin (3:9) but practices righteousness (2:29), loves the brothers (5:1), overcomes the world (5:4), and is not touched by the evil one (5:18).
1Jo 3:11 Behold
The passage from 2:28—3:3 is a single paragraph on the righteous living of God’s children.
1Jo 3:12a love 1 John 4:9-10; John 3:16
See note 52 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:13 Father
Of the Triune God implied in the preceding verse (see 2:29 and note 2), here the Father is mentioned particularly. He is the source of the divine life, the One of whom we have been born with this life. The love of God was manifested by His sending of His Son to die for us (4:9; John 3:16) in order that we might have His life and thus become His children (John 1:12-13). God’s sending of His Son was that He might beget us. Hence, the love of God is a begetting love, particularly in the Father.
1Jo 3:14b children 1 John 3:10; John 1:12; Rom. 8:16
This word corresponds with begotten of Him in the preceding verse. We have been begotten of the Father, the source of life, to be the children of God—God being the Owner of the children. We partake of the Father’s life to express the Triune God.
1Jo 3:15 Because
Or, on this account, for this reason. Because we are the children of God by a mysterious birth with the divine life, the world does not know us.
1Jo 3:16 know
See note 295 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:17 because
The world is ignorant of our being regenerated by God; it does not know us, because it did not know God Himself. It was ignorant of God, so it is also ignorant of our divine birth.
1Jo 3:1c know John 16:3; 17:25
1Jo 3:21 it
Since we are the children of God, we will be like Him in the maturity of life when He is manifested. To be like Him is “what we will be.” This has not yet been manifested. This indicates that the children of God have a great future with a more splendid blessing: we will not only have the divine nature but will also bear the divine likeness. To partake of the divine nature is already a great blessing and enjoyment, yet to be like God, bearing His likeness, will be a greater blessing and enjoyment.
1Jo 3:22 know
See note 291 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:23 He
He refers to God in the previous sentence and denotes Christ, who is to be manifested. This not only indicates that Christ is God but also implies the Divine Trinity. When Christ is manifested, the Triune God will be manifested; when we see Him, we will see the Triune God; and when we are like Him, we will be like the Triune God.
1Jo 3:2a manifested 1 John 2:28; cf. 1 John 3:5, 8
1Jo 3:2b like Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:21
1Jo 3:24c see cf. John 17:24; 1 Cor. 13:12
By seeing Him we will reflect His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), which will cause us to be as He is.
1Jo 3:31 this
The hope of being like the Lord, of bearing the likeness of the Triune God.
1Jo 3:3a hope Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:23-25; 1 Pet. 1:3
1Jo 3:32b purifies 2 Cor. 7:1; James 4:8; Isa. 1:16
According to the context of this section, 2:28—3:24, to purify ourselves is to practice righteousness (v. 7; 2:29), to live a righteous life that is the expression of the righteous God (1:9), the righteous One (2:1). This is to be pure without any stain of unrighteousness, even as He is perfectly pure. This also describes the life that abides in the Lord.
1Jo 3:33c He 1 John 3:5, 7; 2:6; 4:17
Lit., that One; referring to Jesus Christ. So in vv. 5 (first time) and 7.
1Jo 3:41a practices 1 John 3:8-9
See note 65 in ch. 1. To practice sin is not merely to commit sin in occasional acts but to live in sin (Rom. 6:2), to live a life that is not under the principle of God’s ruling over man.
1Jo 3:42 lawlessness
I.e., having no law, being without law. This does not denote being without the Mosaic law (cf. Rom. 5:13), because sin was already in the world before the Mosaic law was given. To be without law here denotes being without, or not under, the principle of God’s ruling over man. To practice lawlessness is to live a life outside of and not under the principle of God’s ruling over man. Hence, lawlessness is sin, or, reciprocally, sin is lawlessness.
1Jo 3:4b sin 1 John 5:17
1Jo 3:5a manifested 1 John 1:2; Heb. 9:26; cf. 1 John 3:2
1Jo 3:51 take
The same Greek word as in John 1:29. There Christ as the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, which came into the world through Adam (Rom. 5:12). Here He takes away sins, which are committed by all men. John 1 deals with the totality of sin, including the sinful nature and sinful deeds. This chapter deals only with the fruits of sin, that is, the sins committed in man’s daily life. Both are taken away by Christ.
1Jo 3:5b sins Isa. 53:5, 6, 11, 12; 1 Pet. 2:24
1Jo 3:52 Him
In that One who takes away both sin (the sinful nature) and sins (sinful deeds), sin is not. Hence, He did not know sin (2 Cor. 5:21), He committed no sin (1 Pet. 2:22), and He was without sin (Heb. 4:15). This qualified Him to take away both the indwelling sin and the sins committed in man’s daily life.
1Jo 3:61a abides 1 John 2:6
I.e., remains in the fellowship of the divine life and walks in the divine light (1:2-3, 6-7). See note 278 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:62b does 1 John 5:18
I.e., does not sin habitually. This too is a condition of the life that abides in the Lord. It does not mean that the children of God do not commit sin at all; they may commit sin occasionally. It means that the regenerated believers who have the divine life and live by it do not practice sin. Their character and habit are not to sin but to abide in the Lord. Abiding in the Lord is a believer’s living; sinning is a sinner’s life.
1Jo 3:63 sins
I.e., practices sin, lives a sinful life.
1Jo 3:64 has
I.e., has not received any vision of the Lord and has no realization of Him. Such a condition is like that of an unbeliever.
1Jo 3:6c not 3 John 11; cf. Matt. 5:8
1Jo 3:6d known 1 John 2:4; 4:8
1Jo 3:71 Little
See note 11 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:72a lead 1 John 2:26
Or, deceive you.
1Jo 3:73b practices 1 John 2:29
See note 65 in ch. 1. To practice righteousness is to live a righteous life (see note 296 in ch. 2), to live rightly under the principle of God’s ruling. This is, according to the next verse, not to practice sin and, according to v. 4, not to practice lawlessness. All these are the purifying of ourselves (v. 3).
1Jo 3:74c righteous 1 John 3:12; Rom. 2:13; Ezek. 18:5-9; 2 Pet. 2:7
According to the context, righteous here equals pure in v. 3. To be righteous is to be pure, without any stain of sin, lawlessness, and unrighteousness, even as Christ is.
1Jo 3:7d righteous 1 John 2:1
1Jo 3:81a practices 1 John 3:4
See note 65 in ch. 1. This verse indicates that to practice sin (see note 41) and to sin in this book are synonymous, denoting living in sin, committing sin habitually. Such a life is of the devil, whose life is one of sin and who has sinned continually from the beginning. Sin is his nature, and sinning is his character.
1Jo 3:82b devil 1 John 3:10; Matt. 13:39; John 8:44; Rev. 2:10; 12:9-10
See note 101 in Rev. 2.
1Jo 3:83 from
In the absolute sense, that is, from the time the devil began to rebel against God and attempted to overthrow God’s rule. See note 12, par. 2, in ch. 1.
1Jo 3:84 For
Lit., unto this; i.e., to this end. The devil has sinned continually from ancient times and begets sinners that they might practice sin with him. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the sinful deeds of the devil, that is, condemn, through His death on the cross in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil (Heb. 2:14); and take away both sin and sins (note 51).
1Jo 3:8c manifested 1 John 3:5
1Jo 3:85d destroy Heb. 2:14; cf. Gen. 3:15
Or, dissolve, undo.
1Jo 3:91 begotten
See note 297 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:92 not
Not to practice sin does not mean that we do not commit sin in occasional acts, but that we do not live in sin. See note 41.
1Jo 3:93a seed cf. Matt. 13:4; 1 Pet. 1:23
Denoting God’s life, which we received of God when we were begotten of Him. This life, as the divine seed, abides in every regenerated believer. Hence, such a one does not practice sin and cannot sin.
1Jo 3:9b abides cf. 1 John 2:14
1Jo 3:94 cannot
I.e., cannot live in sin habitually. A regenerated believer may fall into sin occasionally, but the divine life as the divine seed in his regenerated nature will not allow him to live in sin. This is similar to a sheep: it may fall into the mud, but its clean life will not allow it to remain and wallow in the mud as a swine would.
1Jo 3:101 In
To practice or not practice sin, that is, to live in or not live in sin, is not a matter of behavior but of whose children we are, the children of God or the children of the devil. Hence, it is a matter of life and nature. Men, as fallen descendants of Adam, are born children of the devil, the evil one (John 8:44), and possess his life, partake of his nature, and live in sin automatically and habitually. Practicing sin is their life. But the believers, who are redeemed from their fallen state and are reborn in their spirit, are the children of God, who possess His life, partake of His nature, and do not live in sin. Practicing righteousness is their life. Whether one is a child of God or a child of the devil is manifested by what he practices, righteousness or sin. A reborn believer may commit sin, and an unsaved man may do righteousness. Both are their outward behavior, not their outward living, and thus do not manifest what they are in their inward life and nature.
1Jo 3:10a children 1 John 3:1
1Jo 3:10b children Matt. 13:38; cf. John 8:44
1Jo 3:10c practice 1 John 3:7
1Jo 3:10d does 1 John 3:14; 4:8, 20
1Jo 3:102 love
Righteousness is the nature of God’s acts; love is the nature of God’s essence. What God is, is love; what God does is righteousness. Love is inward; righteousness is outward. Hence, love is a stronger manifestation that we are the children of God than righteousness. Therefore, from this verse through v. 24 the apostle proceeds from righteousness to love in the manifestation of the children of God, as a further condition of the life that abides in the Lord.
1Jo 3:111 message
See note 71 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:11a heard 1 John 1:5; 2:7, 24
1Jo 3:112 from
In the relative sense (see note 12, par. 2, in ch. 1).
1Jo 3:113b love 1 John 3:14, 18, 23; 2:10; John 13:34; 15:12
This is a higher condition of the life that abides in the Lord.
1Jo 3:12a Cain Gen. 4:3; Heb. 11:4; Jude 11
1Jo 3:121 of
Cain’s being of the evil one equals his being a child of the devil; Cain’s brother Abel was of God, i.e., was a child of God (v. 10).
1Jo 3:122b evil 1 John 2:13
See note 194 in ch. 5.
1Jo 3:12c slew Gen. 4:8; cf. John 8:44
1Jo 3:12d righteous 1 John 3:7
1Jo 3:131 world
That is, the people of the world, who, like Cain, are the children of the devil (v. 10) and the components of Satan’s cosmic system (the world—John 12:31). If the people of the world, who lie in the evil one, the devil (5:19), hate the believers (the children of God), we need not marvel; it is natural for them to do so.
1Jo 3:13a hates John 15:18-19; 17:14
1Jo 3:141 death
Death is of the devil, God’s enemy, Satan, signified by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which brings death; life is of God, the source of life, signified by the tree of life, which issues in life (Gen. 2:9, 16-17). Death and life are not only of two sources, Satan and God; they are also two essences, two elements, and two spheres. To pass out of death into life is to pass out of the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of death into the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of life. This took place in us at our regeneration. We know this, i.e., have the inner consciousness of it, because we love the brothers. Love (the love of God) toward the brothers is strong evidence of this. Faith in the Lord is the way for us to pass out of death into life; love toward the brothers is the evidence that we have passed out of death into life. To have faith is to receive the eternal life; to love is to live by the eternal life and express it.
1Jo 3:14b love 1 John 3:11
1Jo 3:14c does 1 John 3:10
1Jo 3:142 not
Not loving the brothers is evidence that one is not living by the essence and element of the divine love and is not remaining in the sphere of that love; rather, this one is living in the essence and element of the satanic death and abiding in its sphere.
1Jo 3:151a hates 1 John 2:9, 11; cf. Matt. 5:22-23
In relation to the divine attributes, hatred is versus love, death is versus life, darkness is versus light, and lies (falsehoods) are versus truth. All the opposites of these divine virtues are of the evil one, the devil.
1Jo 3:152b murderer John 8:44; Rev. 21:8; 22:15
Murderer here does not denote an actual murderer but indicates that in spiritual ethics hating equals murdering. No actual murderer (an unsaved person), as Cain was (v. 12), has eternal life abiding in him. Since we know this, we, who have passed out of death into life and have eternal life abiding in us, should not behave like an unsaved murderer by hating our brothers in the Lord. This section concerns the life that abides in the Lord. A believer who has eternal life but does not abide in the Lord and let the Lord, who is the eternal life, abide and work in him might hate a brother and commit other sins occasionally. But this would not be habitual.
1Jo 3:15c eternal 1 John 1:2
1Jo 3:16b laid John 10:11, 17, 18; 15:13; Eph. 5:2
1Jo 3:161 life
Lit., soul.
1Jo 3:16c lay Phil. 2:17; 1 Thes. 2:8
1Jo 3:162 lives
Lit., souls.
1Jo 3:17a need James 2:15-16
1Jo 3:17b shuts Deut. 15:7
1Jo 3:171 affections
Lit., bowels.
1Jo 3:172c love 1 John 4:20
See note 52 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:181 Little
See note 11 in ch. 2.
1Jo 3:18a love Rom. 12:9; 1 Pet. 1:22
1Jo 3:182 deed
Deed is versus word, and truthfulness is versus tongue. Tongue denotes the play of vain talk, and truthfulness, the reality of love.
1Jo 3:183b truthfulness 2 John 1; 3 John 1
See note 66, point 7, in ch. 1.
1Jo 3:191 truth
Denoting the reality of the eternal life, which we received of God in our divine birth, enabling us to love the brothers by the divine love (vv. 14-18). By loving the brothers with the divine love, we know that we are of this reality. See note 66 in ch. 1.
1Jo 3:192 persuade
Or, conciliate, convince, assure, tranquilize. To persuade our heart before God is to have a good conscience, void of offense (1 Tim. 1:5, 19; Acts 24:16), that our heart may be conciliated, convinced, assured, and tranquilized. This too is a condition of the life that abides in the Lord. To abide in the Lord requires a tranquil heart with a conscience void of offense. This is also vital to our fellowship with God, which was covered in the first section of this Epistle. A heart disturbed by an offended conscience frustrates our abiding in the Lord and breaks our fellowship with God.
1Jo 3:201 heart
Actually, it is our conscience, which is a part not only of our spirit but also of our heart, that blames (condemns) us. The conscience in our heart is the representative of God’s ruling within us. If our conscience condemns us, surely God, who is greater than His representative and knows all things, will condemn us. The consciousness of such condemnation in our conscience alerts us to the danger of breaking our fellowship with God. If we attend to this, it will be a help to our fellowship with God and will keep us abiding in the Lord.
1Jo 3:20a blames cf. 1 Cor. 4:4
1Jo 3:20b greater 1 John 4:4
1Jo 3:20c knows Psa. 139:1-6, 23-24; cf. John 2:24-25
1Jo 3:21a heart cf. Heb. 10:22
1Jo 3:211b boldness 1 John 2:28; Job 11:13-15
The Greek word means boldness of speech, confidence. We have such boldness in tranquility to contact God, to fellowship with Him, and to ask of Him, because there is no condemnation of the conscience in our heart. This preserves us in the abiding in the Lord.
1Jo 3:221 whatever
Offenses in the conscience of a condemning heart are obstacles to our prayer. A conscience void of offense in a tranquil heart straightens and clears the way for our petition to God.
1Jo 3:22a ask John 14:13-15; 15:16; 16:24
1Jo 3:222b keep 1 John 2:3
This is not the keeping of the commandments of the Mosaic law by one’s own endeavor and strength; rather, it is a part of the believers’ living as the issue of the divine life that abides in them, by the habitual keeping of the Lord’s New Testament commandments through the inner operation of the power of the divine life. The keeping of the Lord’s commandments accompanies the practicing, the habitual doing, of the things that are pleasing in His sight, and it becomes the prerequisite for God’s answering our prayers and constitutes a condition of the life that abides in the Lord (v. 24).
1Jo 3:223 do
Lit., practice. See note 65 in ch. 1.
1Jo 3:22c pleasing John 8:29; Heb. 13:21
1Jo 3:231a commandment Rom. 16:26
This is a summary of the commandments in the preceding and succeeding verses. All the commandments are summarized in two: to believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another. The first concerns faith; the second, love. To have faith is to receive the divine life in our relationship with the Lord; to love is to live the divine life in our relationship with the brothers. Faith touches the source of the divine life; love expresses the essence of the divine life. Both are needed for the believers to live a life that abides in the Lord.
1Jo 3:23b believe John 1:12; 2:23; 20:31
1Jo 3:23c love 1 John 3:11; John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Rom. 13:8
1Jo 3:24a keeps 1 John 2:5
1Jo 3:241b abides 1 John 2:6
This verse is the conclusion of this section, which begins in 2:28, on our abiding in the Lord according to the teaching of the divine anointing, as unfolded in the preceding section (2:20-27). This section reveals that abiding in the Lord is the living of the children of God by His eternal life as the divine seed (vv. 15, 9, and note 297 in ch. 2), which grows in the practicing of the righteousness of their begetting God (2:29; 3:7, 10) and the love of their begetting Father (vv. 10-11, 14-23). Such an abiding and its bases—the divine birth and the divine life as the divine seed—are mysterious yet real in the Spirit.
1Jo 3:24c in John 14:20; 17:21
1Jo 3:242 He
We abide in the Lord; then He abides in us. Our abiding in Him is a condition for His abiding in us (John 15:4). We enjoy His abiding in us by our abiding in Him.
1Jo 3:243 by
Lit., out of. The phrase by the Spirit… modifies we know.
1Jo 3:244d Spirit Rom. 8:9, 11
Thus far in this Epistle the Spirit has not been referred to, though the Spirit is anonymously implied in the anointing in 2:20 and 27. Actually, the Spirit, that is, the all-inclusive compound life-giving Spirit (see note 194 in Phil. 1), is the vital and crucial factor of all the mysteries unveiled in this Epistle: the divine life, the fellowship of the divine life, the divine anointing, the abiding in the Lord, the divine birth, and the divine seed. It is by this Spirit that we are born of God, we receive the divine life as the divine seed in us, we have the fellowship of the divine life, we are anointed with the Triune God, and we abide in the Lord. This wonderful Spirit is given to us as the promised blessing of the New Testament (Gal. 3:14); He is given without measure by the Christ who is above all, who inherits all, and who is to be increased universally (John 3:31-35). This Spirit and the eternal life (v. 15) are the basic elements by which we live the life that abides in the Lord continuously. Hence, it is by this Spirit, who witnesses assuringly with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16) and that we know that the Lord of all abides in us (4:13). It is through this Spirit that we are joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). And it is by this Spirit that we enjoy the riches of the Triune God (2 Cor. 13:14).
1Jo 4:11 every
Verses 1-6 are parenthetical and are a warning to the believers to discern the spirits (since the Spirit, whereby we know that the Lord abides in us, is mentioned in the preceding verse, 3:24) that they may know the false prophets. A similar warning was given in 2:18-23. The expressions every spirit and the spirits refer to the spirits of the prophets (1 Cor. 14:32), which are motivated by the Spirit of truth, and the spirits of the false prophets, which are actuated by the spirit of deception. Hence, there is the need to discern the spirits by proving them to determine whether they are of God.
1Jo 4:1b spirit 2 Thes. 2:2
1Jo 4:12c prove Rev. 2:2; cf. 1 Cor. 14:29
I.e., discern the spirits (1 Cor. 12:10) by putting them on trial.
1Jo 4:13 of
Lit., out of. So also in succeeding verses.
1Jo 4:14d false Matt. 24:24; 2 Pet. 2:1
In Matt. 24:24 the false prophets differ from the false Christs. But here the false prophets are the antichrists (v. 3), those who teach heretically concerning the person of Christ (2:18 and note 2; 2:22-23).
1Jo 4:1e gone 1 John 2:18; 2 John 7
1Jo 4:2a Spirit 1 Cor. 12:3
1Jo 4:21 spirit
The spirit of a genuine prophet, which is motivated by the Holy Spirit of truth; such a spirit confesses the divine conception of Jesus, affirming that He was born as the Son of God. Every such spirit is surely of God. In this we know the Spirit of God.
1Jo 4:22 in
Jesus was conceived of the Spirit (Matt. 1:18). To confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is to confess that He was divinely conceived to be born as the Son of God (Luke 1:31-35). Since He was conceived of the Spirit to be born in the flesh, the Spirit would never deny that He has come in the flesh through divine conception.
1Jo 4:2b flesh John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; 1 Tim. 3:16
1Jo 4:31 spirit
The spirit of a false prophet, which is actuated by the spirit of deception; such a spirit does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh. This is the spirit of the errors of the Docetists (or, Docetes). This name was derived from the Greek word meaning to seem, to appear to be. The heretical view of the Docetists was that Jesus Christ was not a real man but simply appeared to be; to them He was merely a phantasm. Docetism was intermixed with Gnosticism, which taught that all matter was essentially evil. Hence, the Docetists taught that since Christ is holy, He could never have had the defilement of human flesh. They taught that His body was not real flesh and blood but was merely a deceptive, transient phantom, and thus that He did not suffer, die, and resurrect. Such a heresy undermines not only the Lord’s incarnation but also His redemption and resurrection. Docetism was a characteristic feature of the first antichristian errorists, whom John had in view here and in 2 John 7. The spirit of such errorists is surely not of God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.
1Jo 4:3a not 1 John 2:22-23; 2 John 7
1Jo 4:32 antichrist
See note 182 in ch. 2.
1Jo 4:41 of
The believers are of God because they have been begotten of God (v. 7; 2:29; 3:9).
1Jo 4:42 little
See note 11 in ch. 2.
1Jo 4:4a overcome 1 John 2:13
1Jo 4:43 them
The false prophets (v. 1), the antichrists (v. 3), who taught heretically concerning Christ’s person. The believers have overcome them by abiding in the truth concerning Christ’s deity and concerning His humanity through divine conception, according to the teaching of the divine anointing (2:27).
1Jo 4:4b greater 1 John 3:20; Titus 2:13; Psa. 48:1; 77:13; 95:3; 96:4; 99:2; 135:5; 145:3; 147:5
1Jo 4:44 He
The Triune God, who dwells in the believers as the all-inclusive, life-giving, anointing Spirit and who strengthens them from within with all the rich elements of the Triune God (Eph. 3:16-19). Such a One is much greater and stronger than Satan, the evil spirit.
1Jo 4:4c in 1 John 4:13; 3:24; Eph. 4:6
1Jo 4:45 he
Satan, the fallen angel, who as the evil spirit usurps fallen mankind and who operates in evil persons, the components of his world system. This one is lesser and weaker than the Triune God.
1Jo 4:4d world 1 John 5:19; John 12:31; 17:15; 1 Cor. 2:12
1Jo 4:51 of
Both the heretics and the heresies concerning Christ’s person are of the satanic world system.Hence, the people who are the components of this evil system listen to them and follow them.
1Jo 4:5a world John 8:23; 15:19
1Jo 4:61a of 1 John 4:1, 4
The apostles, the believers, and the truth that they believe and teach concerning Christ are of God. Hence, the God-knowing people, who have been begotten of God (v. 7), listen to them and stay with them.
1Jo 4:6b hears cf. John 8:47; 10:3, 16; 18:37
1Jo 4:62 not
The worldlings are not of God, because they have not been begotten of God. Hence, they do not listen to the believers.
1Jo 4:63 From
Lit., out of this. This refers to what was mentioned in vv. 5 and 6. From the fact that the heretics and what they speak out of their spirit, actuated by the spirit of deception, are of the world, and we and what we speak out of our spirit, motivated by the Spirit of truth, are of God, we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. This implies that the Holy Spirit of truth is one with our truth-speaking spirit and that the evil spirit of deception is one with the heretics’ deception-speaking spirit.
1Jo 4:64 Spirit
The Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of reality (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13); the spirit of deception is Satan, the evil spirit, the spirit of falsehood (Eph. 2:2).
1Jo 4:65 truth
Denoting the divine reality revealed in the New Testament (see note 66 in ch. 1), especially, as seen here, concerning the divine incarnation of the Lord Jesus, to which the Spirit of God testifies (v. 2). This reality is in contrast to the deception of the evil spirit, the spirit of the antichrist, which denies the divine incarnation of Jesus (v. 3).
1Jo 4:64c spirit 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Cor. 2:12
See note 64.
1Jo 4:71a love 1 John 4:11; 3:11, 23; 2:10; 1 Pet. 4:8
Verses 7-21 are an extension of the section from 2:28—3:24 and further stress brotherly love, already covered in 3:10-24, as a higher condition of the life that abides in the Lord.
1Jo 4:72 love
See note 52 in ch. 2.
1Jo 4:73 loves
The believers, who have been begotten of God and know God, love one another habitually with the love that is out of God and is the expression of God.
1Jo 4:74b begotten 1 John 2:29
The apostle’s emphasis here is still the divine birth, through which the divine life has been imparted into the believers, the life that affords them the life ability to know God. This divine birth is the basic factor of brotherly love, which is a higher condition of the life that abides in the Lord. See note 297 in ch. 2.
1Jo 4:75 knows
A knowing by the divine life (John 17:3) received from the divine birth.
1Jo 4:8a does 1 John 4:20; 3:10
1Jo 4:81 not
He who has not known God does not have the knowing ability of the divine life received from the divine birth. Such a one, who has not been begotten of God and does not have God as his life, does not love with God as love, since he does not know God as love.
1Jo 4:8b known 1 John 3:6
1Jo 4:82c love 1 John 4:16
See note 52 in ch. 2. This Epistle says first that God is light (1:5) and then that God is love. Love, as the nature of God’s essence, is the source of grace, and light, as the nature of God’s expression, is the source of truth. When the divine love appears to us, it becomes grace, and when the divine light shines upon us, it becomes truth (see note 66, final par., in ch. 1). Both of these were manifested in this way in John’s Gospel. We received both grace and truth there through the manifestation of the Son (John 1:14, 16-17). Now in John’s Epistle we come in the Son to the Father and touch the sources of both grace and truth. These sources, love and light, are God the Father Himself for our deeper and finer enjoyment in the fellowship of the divine life with the Father in the Son (1:3-7) through our abiding in Him (2:5, 27-28; 3:6, 24). See note 53 in ch. 1.
1Jo 4:9a love Rom. 5:8; cf. 1 John 2:5; 3:17
1Jo 4:91 among
Lit., in us; i.e., in our case, or, in regard to us. In God’s sending of His Son into the world that we might have life and live through Him, the higher and nobler love of God was manifested among us.
1Jo 4:9b sent 1 John 4:10, 14; John 3:17; Rom. 8:3
1Jo 4:92 world
As in 1 Tim. 1:15, the place where fallen mankind is.
1Jo 4:93 have
We, the fallen people, are not only sinful in nature and conduct (Rom. 7:17-18; 1:28-32) but also dead in our spirit (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13). God sent His Son into the world not only to be a propitiation for our sins that we might be forgiven (v. 10) but also to be life to us that we might have life and live through Him. In the love of God, the Son of God saves us not only from our sins by His blood (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5) but also from our death by His life (3:14-15; John 5:24). He is not only the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29); He is also the Son of God who gives us eternal life (John 3:36). He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that we might have eternal life in Him (John 3:14-16) and live through Him (John 6:57; 14:19). In this the love of God, which is God’s essence, has been manifested.
1Jo 4:9d live Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21
1Jo 4:101 Herein
Referring to the following fact: it is not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins. In this fact is the higher and nobler love of God.
1Jo 4:10a love 1 John 3:1
1Jo 4:10b loved 1 John 4:20-21
1Jo 4:10c loved 1 John 4:19; cf. John 15:16
1Jo 4:102 propitiation
See note 21 in ch. 2.
1Jo 4:111a love 1 John 4:7
To love with the love of God, as He loved us.
1Jo 4:121a beheld 1 John 4:20; John 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16; cf. 1 Pet. 1:8
This indicates that if we love one another with the love of God, as He loved us, we express Him in His essence, so that others can behold in us what He is essentially.
1Jo 4:122 love
To love one another is a condition of our abiding in God (v. 13), and our abiding in God is a condition of His abiding in us (John 15:4). Hence, when we love one another, God abides in us and His love is manifested perfectly in us.
1Jo 4:123 His
The love of God in 2:5 denotes God’s love within us that becomes our love toward Him, and it is with this love that we love Him. His love here denotes God’s love within us that becomes our love toward one another, and it is with this love that we love one another. This indicates that we should take God’s love as our love with which we love Him and love one another.
1Jo 4:124b perfected 1 John 2:5
The Greek word means to complete, to accomplish, to finish. In God Himself the love of God itself is perfect and complete. However, in us it needs to be perfected and completed in its manifestation. It was manifested to us in God’s sending of His Son to be both a propitiatory sacrifice and life to us (vv. 9-10). Yet if we do not love one another with this love as it was manifested to us, that is, if we do not express it by loving one another with the love with which God loved us, it is not manifested perfectly and completely. This love is perfected and completed in its manifestation when we express it in our living by habitually loving one another with it. Our living in which we love one another in the love of God is the perfection and completion of this love in its manifestation in us. Thus, in our living in God’s love, others can behold God manifested in His essence, which is love.
1Jo 4:131 this
In that God has given to us of His Spirit, we know that we abide in Him and He in us. The Spirit, whom God has given to dwell in us (James 4:5; Rom. 8:9, 11), is the witness in our spirit (Rom. 8:16), witnessing that we dwell in God and God in us. The abiding Spirit, that is, the indwelling Spirit, is the element and sphere of the mutual abiding, the mutual indwelling, of us and God. By Him we are assured that we and God are one, that we abide in each other, indwelling each other mutually. This is evidenced by our living, a living in which we love one another habitually with His love (v. 12).
1Jo 4:132a abide 1 John 2:6
To abide in God is to dwell in Him, to remain in our fellowship with Him, that we may experience and enjoy His abiding in us. This is to practice our oneness with God according to the divine anointing (2:27) by living a life that practices His righteousness and His love. It is all carried out by the operation of the all-inclusive compound Spirit, who dwells in our spirit and who is the basic element of the divine anointing.
1Jo 4:133 of
Lit., out of. God has given us out of His Spirit. This closely resembles, and almost repeats, the word in 3:24, which proves that this does not mean that God has given us something of His Spirit, such as the various gifts in 1 Cor. 12:4, but that He has given the Spirit Himself as the all-inclusive gift (Acts 2:38). Out of His Spirit is an expression that implies that the Spirit of God, whom God has given to us, is bountiful and without measure (Phil. 1:19; John 3:34). By such a bountiful, immeasurable Spirit we know with full assurance that we and God are one and that we abide in each other.
1Jo 4:14a beheld 1 John 1:1-2; John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16
1Jo 4:14b testify John 15:27
1Jo 4:141c sent 1 John 4:9
The Father’s sending of the Son to be our Savior is an external act, so that through our confessing of the Son He can abide in us and we in Him (v. 15). The apostles have beheld and testify this. This is the outward testimony. In addition to this, God’s internal act toward us is the sending of His Spirit to dwell in us as inward evidence that we abide in Him and He in us (v. 13).
1Jo 4:14d Savior Luke 2:11; John 4:42
1Jo 4:142 world
Fallen mankind, as in John 3:16.
1Jo 4:151a confesses 1 John 4:2 (cf. 3); 2:23 (cf. 22); Rom. 10:9
God the Father sent His Son as the Savior of the world (v. 14) that men may believe in Him by confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, so that God may abide in them and they in God. But the heretical Cerinthians did not confess this; hence, they did not have God abiding in them, nor did they abide in God. Whoever confesses this, God abides in him and he in God. He becomes one with God in the divine life and nature.
1Jo 4:15b Son 1 John 5:5; Matt. 14:33
1Jo 4:15c abides 1 John 4:13; 3:24; 2:6
1Jo 4:161 love
In sending the Son to be our Savior (v. 14).
1Jo 4:163 love
See note 82. That God is love was manifested in His sending of His Son to be our Savior and life (vv. 9-10, 14).
1Jo 4:164 abides
To abide in love is to live a life in which we love others habitually with the love that is God Himself, that He may be expressed in us.
1Jo 4:165 abides
To abide in God is to live a life that is God Himself as our inward content and outward expression, that we may be absolutely one with Him.
1Jo 4:166 God
God abides in us to be our life inwardly and our living outwardly. Thus He can be one with us practically.
1Jo 4:171 this
I.e., our abiding in the love that is God Himself (v. 16). In this the love of God is perfected in us, that is, perfectly manifested in us, that we may have boldness without fear (v. 18) in the day of judgment.
1Jo 4:172 perfected
See note 124.
1Jo 4:173 boldness
See note 211 in ch. 3. There the boldness is for us to contact God in fellowship with Him. Here the boldness is for us to face the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ.
1Jo 4:174 judgment
The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) at His coming back (1 Cor. 3:13; 4:5; 2 Tim. 4:8).
1Jo 4:175 He
As in 3:3, 7, this refers to Christ, who lived in this world a life of God as love and who is now our life that we may live the same life of love in this world and be the same as He is.
1Jo 4:181a fear Rom. 8:15
Fear does not refer to the fear that we will offend God and be judged by Him (1 Pet. 1:17; Heb. 12:28) but to the fear that we have offended God and will be judged by Him. Love refers to the perfected love mentioned in the preceding verse, the love of God with which we love others.
1Jo 4:182 perfect
Perfect love is the love that has been perfected (v. 17) in us by our loving others with the love of God. Such love casts out fear and has no fear of being punished by the Lord at His coming back (Luke 12:46-47).
1Jo 4:183 not
I.e., not lived in the love of God that it might be perfectly manifested in him. See note 124.
1Jo 4:191 first
God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers (vv. 20-21).
1Jo 4:19a loved 1 John 4:10
1Jo 4:201a hates 1 John 2:9
He who hates a brother habitually proves that he is not abiding in the divine love or in the divine light (2:9-11). When we abide in the Lord, we abide in both the divine love and the divine light; we do not hate the brothers but love them habitually, living the divine life in the divine light and the divine love.
1Jo 4:20b liar 1 John 2:4
1Jo 4:20c does 1 John 4:8
1Jo 4:20d not 1 John 4:12
1Jo 4:21a commandment 1 John 2:7-11; John 13:34
1Jo 4:21b loves 1 John 4:10; 5:1-2; Mark 12:30; cf. John 14:21, 23; 21:15-17
1Jo 4:21c love 1 John 2:10
1Jo 5:11a believes John 20:31
The Gnostics and the Cerinthians did not believe that Jesus and the Christ were identical (see notes 221 in ch. 2 and 31 in ch. 4). Hence, they were not the children of God, were not begotten of God. But whoever believes that the man Jesus is the Christ, God incarnate (John 1:1, 14; 20:31), has been begotten of God and has become a child of God (John 1:12-13). Such a one loves God the Father, who has begotten him, and also loves the brother, who has been begotten of the same Father. This explains, confirms, and strengthens the word in the preceding verses (4:20-21).
1Jo 5:1b Jesus 1 John 5:5; 2:22; 4:15; Matt. 16:16
1Jo 5:1c loves 1 John 4:21
1Jo 5:1d begotten James 1:18; cf. 1 Cor. 4:15
1Jo 5:1e loves 1 John 4:21
1Jo 5:2a know 1 John 2:5; 3:24; 4:13
1Jo 5:2b children John 1:12; Rom. 8:16
1Jo 5:21 love
Loving God and practicing His commandments are the prerequisites for our loving the children of God. This is based on the divine birth and the divine life.
1Jo 5:22 do
Lit., practice. See note 65 in ch. 1.
1Jo 5:2c commandments 2 John 4, 6
1Jo 5:31 love
See notes 52 and 153 in ch. 2.
1Jo 5:32a keep 1 John 2:3
Keeping the commandments of God constitutes our love toward Him and is an evidence that we love Him.
1Jo 5:33b burdensome cf. Matt. 11:30
Lit., heavy. To the divine life with its capability, the commandments of God are not heavy.
1Jo 5:41 everything
Referring to every person who has been begotten of God. Yet such an expression should refer especially to that part, i.e., the spirit of the regenerated person, that has been regenerated with the divine life (John 3:6). The regenerated spirit of the regenerated believer does not practice sin (3:9) and overcomes the world. The believer’s divine birth with the divine life is the basic factor for such victorious living.
1Jo 5:42 begotten
Both in his Gospel and in this Epistle John stressed the divine birth (John 1:13; 3:3, 5; 1 John 2:29 and note 7; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18), through which the divine life is imparted into the believers in Christ (John 3:15-16, 36; 1 John 5:11-12). This divine birth, which brings in the divine life, is the basic factor of all the mysteries concerning the divine life, such as the fellowship of the divine life (1:3-7), the anointing of the Divine Trinity (2:20-27), the abiding in the Lord (2:28—3:24), and the divine living that practices the divine truth (1:6), the divine will (2:17), the divine righteousness (2:29; 3:7), and the divine love (3:11, 22-23; 5:1-3) to express the divine Person (4:12). The divine birth with the divine life is also the basic factor in this section, vv. 4-21. It assures the God-begotten believers, giving them confidence in the ability and virtue of the divine life.
1Jo 5:43a overcomes 1 John 2:13; John 16:33; Rom. 8:37
Since regenerated believers have the capability of the divine life to overcome the world, the powerful satanic world system, the commandments of God are not heavy or burdensome to them (v. 3).
1Jo 5:44 world
See note 152 in ch. 2.
1Jo 5:4b victory 1 Cor. 15:54, 57
1Jo 5:45 faith
The faith that brings us into the organic union with the Triune God and that believes that Jesus is the Son of God (v. 5) that we may be begotten of God and have His divine life, by which we are enabled to overcome the Satan-organized-and-usurped world.
1Jo 5:51 believes
Such a believer is one who has been begotten of God and has received the divine life (John 1:12-13; 3:16). The divine life empowers him to overcome the evil world energized by Satan. The Gnostics and the Cerinthians, who were not believers of this kind, remained pitiful victims of the evil satanic system.
1Jo 5:5a Jesus 1 John 5:1
1Jo 5:61 He
He, Jesus Christ, came as the Son of God that we might be born of God and have the divine life (John 10:10; 20:31). It is in His Son that God gives us eternal life (vv. 11-13). Jesus, the man of Nazareth, was attested to be the Son of God by the water He went through in His baptism (Matt. 3:16-17; John 1:31), by the blood He shed on the cross (John 19:31-35; Matt. 27:50-54), and also by the Spirit He gave not by measure (John 1:32-34; 3:34). By these three God has testified that Jesus is His Son given to us (vv. 7-10), that in Him we may receive His eternal life by believing into His name (vv. 11-13; John 3:16, 36; 20:31). The water of baptism terminates people of the old creation by burying them; the blood shed on the cross redeems those whom God has chosen from among the old creation; and the Spirit, who is the truth, the reality in life (Rom. 8:2), germinates those whom God has redeemed out of the old creation, by regenerating them with the divine life. Thus they are born of God and become His children (John 3:5, 15; 1:12-13) and live a life that practices the truth (1:6), the will of God (2:17), the righteousness of God (2:29), and the love of God (3:10-11) for His expression.
1Jo 5:6a water Matt. 3:11
1Jo 5:6b blood Matt. 26:28; John 6:53-55
1Jo 5:62
Some MSS add, and Spirit.
1Jo 5:63 in
Or, by.
1Jo 5:6c Spirit Matt. 3:16; Acts 5:32
1Jo 5:64 testifies
The Spirit, who is the truth, the reality (John 14:16-17; 15:26), testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, in whom is the eternal life. By thus testifying, He imparts the Son of God into us to be our life (Col. 3:4).
1Jo 5:65 reality
Denoting the reality of all that Christ as the Son of God is (John 16:12-15). See note 66 in ch. 1.
1Jo 5:81 unto
I.e., unto the one point or purpose in their testimony.
1Jo 5:9a testimony John 1:6-7; 5:33
1Jo 5:91b testimony John 3:33; 5:34, 36-37; 8:18
The testimony by the water, the blood, and the Spirit that Jesus is the Son of God is the testimony of God, which is greater than that of men.
1Jo 5:9c Son Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17-18
1Jo 5:101a believes John 3:36
God testified concerning His Son so that we might believe into His Son and have His divine life. If we believe into His Son, we receive and have His testimony in ourselves; otherwise, we do not believe what He has testified, and we make Him a liar.
1Jo 5:10c liar 1 John 1:10
1Jo 5:11a testimony 1 John 5:9; 3 John 12
1Jo 5:111 gave
The testimony of God is not only that Jesus is His Son but also that He gives to us eternal life, which is in His Son. His Son is the means through which He gives us His eternal life, which is His goal for us.
1Jo 5:11b eternal 1 John 5:13, 20; 1:2
1Jo 5:11c life John 1:4; 5:24, 26; 11:25; 14:6
1Jo 5:121 has
Because the life is in the Son (John 1:4) and the Son is the life (John 11:25; 14:6; Col. 3:4), the Son and the life are one, inseparable. Hence, he who has the Son has the life, and he who does not have the Son does not have the life.
1Jo 5:12a life John 3:36; 10:10; Col. 3:4
1Jo 5:131 these
The written words of the Scriptures are the assurance to the believers, who believe into the name of the Son of God, that they have eternal life. Our believing to receive eternal life is the fact; the words of the Holy Writings are the assurance concerning this fact—they are the title deed to our eternal salvation. By them we are assured and have the pledge that as long as we believe into the name of the Son of God, we have eternal life.
1Jo 5:13a believe John 1:12; 20:31; 1 John 3:23
1Jo 5:141 this
Verses 4-13 show us how we have received eternal life, which is mentioned in 1:1-2. Then vv. 14-17 tell us how we should pray in the fellowship of eternal life, which is mentioned in 1:3-7.
1Jo 5:142 boldness
Referring to the boldness that we have for our prayer in fellowship with God. See note 211 in ch. 3.
1Jo 5:143a ask 1 John 3:22
Based on the fact that we have received eternal life through the divine birth by believing into the Son of God, we can pray, in the fellowship of eternal life, by contacting God in the boldness of a conscience void of offense (Acts 24:16), according to His will, assured that He will hear us.
1Jo 5:151 know
This knowing is based on the fact that after receiving the divine life we abide in the Lord and are one with Him in our praying to God in His name (John 15:7, 16; 16:23-24).
1Jo 5:152 ask
Not in ourselves according to our mind but in the Lord according to God’s will.
1Jo 5:161 unto
Lit., toward.
1Jo 5:162a ask Job 42:8
This must be a prayer made while we are abiding in fellowship with God.
1Jo 5:163 will
The subject is still he, the subject of the first predicate shall ask, indicating that the asker will give life to the one for whom he is asking. This does not mean that the asker has life of himself and can give life by himself to others. It means that such an asker, who is abiding in the Lord, who is one with the Lord, and who is asking in one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), becomes the means by which God’s life-giving Spirit can give life to the ones for whom he is asking. This is a matter of life-imparting in the fellowship of the divine life. To be one who can give life to others, we must abide in the divine life and walk, live, and have our being in the divine life. In James 5:14-16 the prayer is for healing; here the prayer is for life-imparting.
1Jo 5:164b life Rom. 8:11
Undoubtedly, this refers to spiritual life imparted, through the prayer of the asker, into the one for whom he is asking. However, according to the context, this spiritual life will also rescue the physical body of the one for whom the asker is asking, from the danger of suffering death because of his sinning (cf. James 5:15).
1Jo 5:165 sin
Concerning sin unto death, Bible teachers have different interpretations. Some say that it refers to the sin of the antichrists in denying that Jesus is the Christ (2:22), which keeps them in death forever. But according to the context of this verse, sin unto death is related to a sinning brother, not to an antichrist or any other unbeliever. Since this section, vv. 14-17, is related to prayer in the fellowship of eternal life (covered in 1:3—2:11), whatever it deals with must be related to the matter of the fellowship of the divine life. In the fellowship of the divine life there is the governmental dealing of God according to the spiritual condition of each of His children. In God’s governmental dealing, some of His children may be destined to physical death in this age because of a certain sin, and others may be destined to physical death because of other sins. The situation is like that of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, who were dealt with by physical death because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11), and like that of the Corinthian believers, who were dealt with by the same judgment because they did not discern the Body (1 Cor. 11:29-30). This was typified by God’s dealing with the children of Israel in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:5-11). All the Israelites except Caleb and Joshua were judged by God with physical death because of certain sins. God’s governmental dealing is severe. Miriam, Aaron, and even Moses were not spared from this kind of dealing, which came because of certain of their failures (Num. 12:1-15; 20:1, 12, 22-29; Deut. 1:37; 3:26-27; 32:48-52). The punishment of God’s governmental dealing with His children is not at all related to eternal perdition; it is a dispensational dealing according to the divine government, a dealing that is related to our fellowship with God and with one another. Whether or not a sin is unto death depends on God’s judgment according to the sinning believer’s position and condition in the house of God. In any case, for the children of God to sin is a serious matter. It may be judged by God with physical death in this age! The apostle did not say that we should make request concerning a sin that is unto death.
1Jo 5:16c death cf. Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; Heb. 10:28-29
1Jo 5:16d make cf. Deut. 3:26; Jer. 7:16; 14:11
1Jo 5:171a unrighteousness 1 John 1:9; John 7:18
Every wrongdoing, everything that is not just or righteous, is sin (cf. 3:4 and note 2).
1Jo 5:181 begotten
That we might avoid sinning, which not only interrupts the fellowship of the divine life (1:6-10) but may even bring in physical death (vv. 16-17), here the apostle again stressed, by the assurance of the capability of the divine life, our divine birth, which is the basis of the victorious life. The basic fact of our divine birth prevents us, the regenerated ones, from practicing sin (3:9 and note 2), that is, from living in sin (Rom. 6:2). See note 297 in ch. 2.
1Jo 5:18a does 1 John 3:6
1Jo 5:182 he
Some teachers say, based on John 17:15, that he here refers to Christ, who was begotten of God and keeps the regenerated one. But the phrase begotten of God in this clause, a repetition of the phrase in the preceding clause, is the factor that, according to logic, determines that he refers still to the regenerated believer. A regenerated believer (especially his regenerated spirit, which is born of the Spirit of God—John 3:6) keeps himself from living in sin, and the evil one does not touch him (especially his regenerated spirit). His divine birth with the divine life in his spirit is the basic factor of such a safeguard (see note 41).
1Jo 5:183b keeps James 1:27; cf. John 17:11, 12, 15
I.e., guards himself by watchful care.
1Jo 5:185 touch
I.e., grasp, lay hold of, for doing harm and fulfilling evil purposes.
1Jo 5:191 of
Lit., out of. Since we have been begotten of God, we are out of Him and thus possess His life and partake of His nature. By this we are separated unto God from the satanic world, which lies in the evil one.
1Jo 5:192 whole
“The whole world” comprises the satanic world system (2:15 and note 2) and the people of the world, the fallen human race.
1Jo 5:19a world 1 John 4:4; John 12:31; 17:15; cf. Luke 4:6
1Jo 5:193 lies
I.e., remains passively in the sphere of the evil one’s influence, under the evil one’s usurpation and manipulation. While the believers are living and moving actively by the life of God, the whole world (and especially the people of the world) is lying passively under the usurping and manipulating hand of Satan, the evil one.
1Jo 5:194b evil 1 John 2:13
The Greek word does not refer to an essentially worthless and wicked character, nor does it indicate worthlessness and corruption, degeneracy from original virtue. It refers to one who is pernicious, harmfully evil, one who affects others, influencing them to be evil and vicious. Such an evil one is Satan, the devil, in whom the whole world lies.
1Jo 5:201a come 1 John 5:6; John 10:10
I.e., come through incarnation to bring God to us as grace and reality (John 1:14) that we may have the divine life, as revealed in John’s Gospel, to partake of God as love and light, as unveiled in this Epistle.
1Jo 5:202b understanding Luke 24:45
The faculty of our mind enlightened and empowered by the Spirit of reality (John 16:12-15) to apprehend the divine reality in our regenerated spirit.
1Jo 5:203 know
This is the ability of the divine life to know the true God (John 17:3) in our regenerated spirit (Eph. 1:17) through our renewed mind, enlightened by the Spirit of reality.
1Jo 5:204 Him
The genuine and real God.
1Jo 5:205c true John 7:18; 8:26; Rev. 3:7
The Greek word (an adjective akin to the word reality in John 1:14; 14:6, 17) means genuine, real, as opposed to false and counterfeit.
1Jo 5:206 in
We not only know the true God; we are also in Him. We not only have the knowledge of Him; we are in an organic union with Him. We are one with Him organically.
1Jo 5:207 in
To be in the true God is to be in His Son Jesus Christ. Since Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the very embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), to be in Him is to be in the true God. This indicates that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the true God.
1Jo 5:208 This
This refers to the God who has come through incarnation and has given us the ability to know Him as the genuine God and be one with Him organically in His Son Jesus Christ. All this is the genuine and real God and eternal life to us. All that this genuine and real God is to us is eternal life to us, that we may partake of Him as everything to our regenerated being.
1Jo 5:20e eternal 1 John 5:11, 13; 1:2
1Jo 5:211 Little
See note 11 in ch. 2.
1Jo 5:212 guard
I.e., garrison yourselves against attacks from without, such as the assaults of the heresies.
1Jo 5:213a idols 1 Cor. 10:7, 14; 1 Thes. 1:9
[ par. 1 2 ]
1Jo 5:213 [1] Referring to the heretical substitutes for the true God that were brought in by the Gnostics and the Cerinthians, as revealed in this Epistle and in John’s Gospel and as referred to in the preceding verse. The idols here also refer to anything that replaces the real God. As genuine children of the genuine God, we should be on the alert to guard ourselves from these heretical substitutes and from all vain replacements for our genuine and real God, with whom we are organically one and who is eternal life to us. This is the aged apostle’s word of warning to all his little children as a conclusion to his Epistle.
1Jo 5:213 [2] The center of this Epistle’s revelation is the divine fellowship of the divine life, the fellowship between the children of God and their Father God, who is not only the source of the divine life but is also light and love as the source of the enjoyment of the divine life (1:1-7; 4:8, 16). To enjoy the divine life we need to abide in its fellowship according to the divine anointing (2:12-28; 3:24), based on the divine birth with the divine seed for the development of the divine birth (2:29—3:10). This divine birth was carried out by three means: the terminating water, the redeeming blood, and the germinating Spirit (vv. 1-13). By these we have been born of God to be His children, possessing His divine life and partaking of His divine nature (2:29—3:1). He is now indwelling us through His Spirit (3:24; 4:4, 13) to be our life and life supply that we may grow with His divine element unto His likeness at His manifestation (3:1-2). To abide in the divine fellowship of the divine life, that is, to abide in the Lord (2:6; 3:6), is to enjoy all His divine riches. By such abiding we walk in the divine light (1:5-7) and practice the truth, righteousness, love, the will of God, and the commandments of God (1:6; 2:29, 5; 3:10-11; 2:17; 5:2) by the divine life received through the divine birth (2:29; 4:7). To preserve ourselves in this abiding in the divine fellowship, three main negative things need to be dealt with. The first is sin, which is lawlessness and unrighteousness (1:7—2:6; 3:4-10; 5:16-18); the second is the world, which is composed of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of this life (2:15-17; 4:3-5; 5:4-5, 19); and the last is idols, which are the heretical substitutes for the genuine God and the vain replacements for the real God (v. 21). These three categories of exceedingly evil things are weapons used by the evil one, the devil, to frustrate, harm, and, if possible, even annihilate our abiding in the divine fellowship. The safeguard against his evildoings is our divine birth with the divine life (v. 18); and, based on the fact that through His death on the cross the Son of God destroyed the works of the devil (3:8), we overcome him by the word of God that abides in us (2:14). By virtue of our divine birth we also overcome his evil world by our faith in the Son of God (vv. 4-5). Moreover, our divine birth with the divine seed that was sown into our inner being enables us not to live habitually in sin (3:9; 5:18), because Christ has taken away sins through His death in the flesh (3:5). In case we sin occasionally, we have our Advocate as our propitiatory sacrifice to take care of our case before our Father God (2:1-2), and His everlasting efficacious blood cleanses us (1:7). Such a revelation is the basic and substantial element of the apostle’s mending ministry.