1 John 5:6-196This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 16If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5:6‑19)
THERE is an apparent abruptness in the way in which the final scene on the cross is brought prominently forward in ver. 6. After saying in ver. 5, that Jesus is the Son of God, it is added, “This is he that came by water and blood; not by water only, but by water and blood.”
The chapter is full of the truth of the new life given of God to those who believe on the name of His Son. But if a sinner is to receive life from God, His Son must die for that sinner. The testimony of the Lord to Nicodemus was clear and definite as to this (John 3:1414And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14)), and (in John 19:3434But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (John 19:34)) the fact that blood and water flowed after death from the pierced side of Jesus is related with special emphasis. The moral necessity for cleansing the sinner and making propitiation for his sins arises from his condition. He is unclean, and he is guilty God has met both in judgment on His Son; and He sets before us (believers) these remarkable signs as abiding witnesses, with the Spirit, that He has given us eternal life in His Son.
For ver. 7 there is no sufficient authority. Read— “For they that bear witness are three: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree in one” (ver. 8).
The Spirit, received from Christ in glory, bears witness that Christ's death cleanses the believer from the defilement of his nature: “sin in the flesh” is condemned (Rom. 8:33For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:3)). He is, in the sight of God counted as having died under judgment. He died with Christ, and is so to reckon himself, to count with God as to himself (Rom. 6) The flesh is not cleansed, but he is cleansed from it; and this, when seen in the clear light of the Spirit's witness in the Epistles, is exceedingly cheering and strengthening to the true but timid Christian. This is the meaning of the sign “water,” as interpreted by the Spirit in connection with the blood.
The blood testifies to justification from all the doings of the flesh. “Being now justified by His blood we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:99Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9)). God, the Judge of all, has set forth Jesus Christ (before the day of judgment) as a propitiation (mercy-seat) through faith in His blood (Rom. 3:23-2623For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:23‑26)), and declares His righteousness in justifying him who believes in Jesus. “Christ our passover hath been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:77Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7)), and God is saying, still, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:1313And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)). The combined testimony of the water and the blood, with the Spirit also witnessing, is most powerful, and deeply affecting too: the voice from the Cross and from the Throne.
In the presence of such testimony, not to believe God is to make Him a liar. How grave, how solemn, how wicked, thus to dishonor Him! seeing that in far less important matters we receive the witness of men. Is not His witness greater? And this the more so, since he that believeth receiveth in the Son what is witnessed; the cleansing, the justification, and the life are his (vers. 9-10). Unbelief dishonors God and robs man beyond measure.
The apostle presses this. Much that he had written before might be misused to lead sincere souls to look to themselves, their experience and their walk, for full assurance of having eternal life. Surely the fruits of life are to be theirs, as well as the life itself. Hence such passages as 2:5-29, 3:7-14, 18, 19, 24, 5:4. But he would not close the Epistle without making the clearest statement that the one sure ground of assurance is faith in God's testimony, not making light of the comfort flowing from other assurances. “These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life, (even) you that believe on the name of the Son of God.” And remark, that here the verb “know” means conscious knowledge (chap. 5:13, R.V.). Divinely assured of the possession of eternal life, our thoughts are led to that which is proper to it—confidence in God (ver. 14). This is remarkably beautiful, because blessedly practical. We are still in the body, still in the world where we have tribulation (John 16:3333These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)); but the relationship of children to God is known, and is proper to eternal life (John 17:33And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)). The Spirit of His Son in our hearts cries, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:66And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)), and our very groanings are heard (Rom. 8:26-2726Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26‑27)); so that in the depths, as to circumstances, we have all the resources of God. When we think of all He has done for us, how can we limit Him? He has a delight in our prayers (Prov. 15:88The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. (Proverbs 15:8)), and would secure to us exceeding quietness and rest of spirit, whatever the turmoil and distractions around us.
There is an “if” in ver. 14. “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us,” but an “if” we need not fear. It conveys a warning against self-confidence, as if, in any of our matters, we knew what was best. No: faith leaves all to God. It is enough to know how He careth for us (1 Peter 5:77Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)).
“So will He by His Spirit lead
In ways unknown to us indeed,
And, our well-ordered conflicts o'er,
Bring us where sorrows are no more.”
Verse 15 will check all impatience, as ver. 14 all self-confidence. The answer may not come at once; “but we know (are inwardly conscious) that we have the petitions which we have desired of Him,” petitions for ourselves, petitions for others. Ver. 16 shows clearly that in our petitions we must not lose sight of the direct government of the Father in the family (according to 1 Peter 1:1717And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (1 Peter 1:17)); and, while soul prosperity is ever to be the first consideration, the health of the body is of account also (3 John 22Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 2)). There is to be no prying into evil, nor suspecting it; “but if any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and (God) will give him life for them that sin not unto death.” What an honor to put upon one, perhaps of no account in the church, but one with a tender heart that enters into a brother's affliction, yet jealous for the glory of God! Precious grace! precious in the sight of Him Who is the alone witness of it. To be in haste to deal with evil in another has often made matters worse. To be brought on our knees before God for a brother is to love him with a pure heart.
“There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” Cases of extreme heinousness, as some in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:3030For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:30)) and Ananias and Sapphira are in point. It is a very solemn view of sickness in the family of God; and therefore the responsibility is put upon us (seeing how many of the children of God are sick) to be exercised as to what is fitting to pray for in certain cases. “I do not say that he shall pray for it” —that is, for the forgiveness of it. The apostle is clearly writing about physical death, and the Father's dealings in discipline, not the final judgment of the last day. In all this, His glory and our brother's blessing should be very dear to us.
Now, in the sight of God “all (or every) unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death” (ver. 17), that is, not calling for that severe discipline. There is much need to be reminded of this. Every unrighteousness toward God or man is sin. We own to failures, inconsistencies, slips and mistakes; but to drop these euphemisms and to substitute “sin,” would quicken the moral sense. In how many things, even religious things, do we need to have our senses exercised to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:1414But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14))!
It is quite true that all discipline is not for sin, and also, as one in sore affliction said— “The Father does not send the rod, He brings it;” but there is always a cause. The real state of the soul in the sight of God is the point. The case of Job is most instructive. The truth is, the flesh often escapes detection and must be discovered and kept down. When this was accomplished in Job, he prayed for his friends, not they for him. If the flesh escapes our observance, the wicked one is not blind to any movement of it in us; hence the truth in ver. 18, A.V.
“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is born of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” In Jesus he had nothing to touch. He came to Him and found sinless perfection, infinite love, absolute obedience (John 14:30, 3130Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. (John 14:30‑31)). But if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (i. 8). As born of God, we enter on a life of conflict. While on earth, we are in the field of warfare. Armor and weapons are provided, the wiles of our enemy are exposed (Eph. 6:22Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (Ephesians 6:2); 1 Thess. 5:88But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8); Rom. 13:1212The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)), and we are called to fight (1 Tim. 6:12; 212Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12) Tim. 4:7). Happy it is to serve others; but let us not forget that there is oneself to keep watch and guard over, and to see to it that, by the word of God and in His strength, the wicked one shall do us no hurt. In God our Savior there is power to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 2424Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (Jude 24), 25), “So fight I,” said Paul in a passage full of energy (1 Cor. 9:26, 2726I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:26‑27)). All this (and more might be added) leads one to think that in this ver. 18— “keepeth himself” is the inspired reading, and not “keepeth him,” as in the R.V. The next verse discloses the power of the enemy and his success in the world. “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness (or, the wicked one).”