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In this chapter we will consider the lines of life, living, and the results of living in 1 John 5.
Strictly speaking, the unique point on life in 1 John 5 is God begetting us. Verse 1 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God.” God begets us by giving to us the eternal life that is in His Son. Therefore, 1 John 5:11-12 says, “God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” The above three verses reveal that God has begotten us so that in His Son we may have Him as our life.
The first supplemental point in 1 John 5 is in verse 20, which says, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” Here to know God is not merely to comprehend God but to have Him enter into us to be our enjoyment, strength, life, and everything. Hence, knowing God according to verse 20 is not objective but altogether subjective; it is not an outward understanding and acknowledgment but an inward enjoyment and experience. The Son of God has come and has given us an understanding; thus, we can obtain and enjoy God. Such an enjoyment is related to God having begotten us so that we may have life.
Another supplemental point, the testimony mentioned in the first half of the chapter, is revealed in verse 11, which says, “This is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son.” God Himself as eternal life has put this life in His Son so that man may obtain it. Moreover, God has testified in the universe concerning this matter, and that testimony “is the testimony of God...concerning His Son” mentioned in verse 9. First John 5:6-8 says, “This is He who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood; and the Spirit is He who testifies, because the Spirit is the reality. For there are three who testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are unto the one thing.” Based on the realization that every chapter of the Bible includes the entire Bible, we must consider the four Gospels and Acts in order to understand the Spirit, the water, and the blood mentioned as the three who testify, because the Spirit, the water, and the blood spoken of here are recorded in the Gospels and Acts.
The water as a testimony refers to the Lord’s baptism recorded in the Gospels. In John 1:31-34 John the Baptist testified concerning the Lord Jesus, saying, “I did not know Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing in water. And John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him. And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water, He said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, this is He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” The Lord Jesus was manifested before men through baptism. On the occasion of His baptism, His first public appearance, God said concerning Him, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight” (Matt. 3:17; cf. Mark 1:11). Hence, God testified through the water that the Lord Jesus is His Son. God put His life in His Son for man to receive.
The testimony of the blood refers to the death of the Lord Jesus. After the Lord was crucified on the cross and had died, a Roman centurion and those with him who guarded Jesus saw the earthquake and the other things that happened, and becoming greatly frightened, they said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54). Thus, the scene at the time of the Lord’s death and the blood that He shed were proof that He is the Son of God.
Whereas the water refers to the Lord’s baptism, and the blood, to His death, the Spirit refers to His birth and resurrection. Matthew 1:18 says, “Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary...was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.” This verse indicates that the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Luke also refers to the Lord’s birth; Luke 1:35 records that God sent an angel to speak to Mary, saying, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.” Here the Holy Spirit is also mentioned. At the time that the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and came upon Him (Matt. 3:16; Luke 3:22). In these processes that the Lord Jesus passed through, the Holy Spirit was present. Furthermore, in the evening on the day of the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, He breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples (John 20:22), and on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended according to the Lord Jesus’ word (Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4). All these appearings of the Holy Spirit testify that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, the One who gives life to men. This is the testimony of the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit, the water, and the blood in 1 John 5:8 refer to the Lord’s incarnation, baptism, death, resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, these three testimonies, spanning the four Gospels and Acts, testify that God in His Son desires to be obtained by man and to be man’s life.
The first crucial point on the line of living in 1 John 5 is faith. Verse 4 says, “Everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory which has overcome the world—our faith.” Here the apostle mentions faith in relation to overcoming the world, indicating that our faith enables us not only to receive life but also to enjoy life.
The second point on the line of living is loving God. First John 5:1-3 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God, and everyone who loves Him who has begotten loves him also who has been begotten of Him. In this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” This point is a continuation of the revelation of love in the preceding chapters.
The third point on the line of living is mentioned in verse 20, which says, “We are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.” It is a fact that we who have the life of the Son of God are in God. This fact is a point that may be considered as being either on the line of life or on the line of living, since our living is based on this fact; it is a point that applies to both lines. The foregoing verses considered together show that God has put His eternal life in His Son, and when we believe in and receive His Son, we are begotten of God, possess His life, and become people who are in God. This is a fact on the line of life. Thus, whether or not we feel that we are in God does not change the fact that we are nonetheless people who are in God. On the other hand, from the time that we receive the Son of God, we need to learn to live by believing in Him and to abide in Him by loving Him. We should always have faith in Him and love toward Him. As we continue believing in Him and loving Him, the fact that we are in Him is maintained. Such continuous belief in and love toward the Lord for the maintenance of the fact of our being in Him becomes our living.
The results of living in 1 John 5 include ten points: first, loving the brothers (vv. 1-2); second, keeping God’s commandments (v. 3); third, overcoming the world (v. 4); fourth, asking according to God’s will (v. 14b); fifth, having boldness, an item that the apostle John repeatedly addresses beginning with chapter 3, because it denotes the state or condition of a person who lives completely in God and has no barrier in his fellowship with God (5:14a); and sixth, asking on behalf of a sinning brother. First John 5:16 says, “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask and he will give life to him, to those sinning not unto death.” The asking mentioned here includes supplying the erring one with life. That is, when we ask concerning a brother, we supply life to him. Moreover, the giving of life indicated by the phrase he will give life to him refers not to God giving life directly but to God giving life through the asking one. Such asking is always life supplying. The seventh result of living is not sinning habitually (v. 18a); the eighth, keeping ourselves (v. 18b); the ninth, overcoming the evil one (cf. v. 18c); and the tenth, guarding ourselves from idols (v. 21).
All the foregoing points reveal that 1 John 5 also comprises the entire Bible. This chapter speaks of God being the eternal life, which He has put in His Son. Concerning this matter, God has already testified in the universe on behalf of His Son. As long as we receive His Son by faith, we are begotten of God, possess the eternal life, and become persons who are in God. All of this is on the line of life. After receiving the Son of God by believing, we must continue believing in and loving Him in order to maintain our condition of being in God. As we remain in God, there will be some spontaneous issues, or results, including the ability to love the brothers, to keep the Lord’s commandments, to overcome the world, to petition with boldness according to God’s will, to petition for the brothers and supply life to them, to not practice sin, to purify ourselves, to overcome the evil one, and to guard ourselves from idols. All such results indicate that we live in God completely and have been delivered from everything apart from Him. In other words, we are completely enjoying the tree of life, which is God in His Son for our enjoyment, and have stayed away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Epistle of 1 John speaks concerning one matter—God desires that we receive Him as the eternal life and live and dwell in Him continually. Chapter 1 reveals that the eternal life has come and that it brings with it a fellowship (vv. 1-3, 6-7). Chapter 2 shows how the interrupted fellowship can be restored, explaining that we have an Advocate with the Father and the anointing in us as the means to maintain our fellowship with God (vv. 1, 27). Chapter 3 presents the Spirit of God in us as the way to keep ourselves continually in the fellowship of life (v. 24). Chapter 4 shows that we should love God and live in Him because He loves us (v. 16). Then chapter 5 speaks concerning this love (vv. 1-3). This brief summary shows that 1 John 1 through 5 is connected and that the entire Epistle speaks of God begetting and abiding in us, our learning to love Him and abide in Him, and the spontaneous results of our abiding in Him.
