First John 5:1-5 explains obedient faith in God’s promises and complete trust in the God whose word we believe and obey, so we by faith and obedience obey God’s written word, and become God’s born-again child, and by us believing Jesus, in John 16:33, overcame the world for us, then we can keep the world overcome in us, and this exercise of faith and trust omits works of any kind. The pronoun “Whoever” in verse 1 is anyone who believes Jesus is the Christ and believes they are God’s child, but the pronoun “whatever” in verse 4 is our faith in what Jesus, God’s Son, has already done for us.
1 John 5:1-5—1 Whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (heavy, hard to keep, obey).4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes Jesus is the Son of God?
Romans 10:8-10 is part of faith and part of works; whereas 1 John 5:1-5 is all of faith.
Fist John 5:6-13 confirms by explaining how in Romans 8:12-17, the Holy Spirit must give witness to our spirit that we are a legal, born-again, blood-washed, sin-forgiven, child of God, for well-meaning people can tell us this, but when no change is revealed in us, it proves they were wrong, but when the Holy Spirit gives witness (conformation) we have received Jesus Christ, as Savior, Salvation, Lord, Master, and complete Owner, then the change in us will prove it.
1 John 5:6-13—6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ, not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three ARE one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three AGREE AS one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son (John 5:39-40). 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness (of Romans 8:12-17) in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life, and you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
First John 5:14-21 is the complete confidence our prayers are heard and answered, when our prayers agree with God’s word, so we know and have a lifestyle of truth, so we immediately reject satanic lies, by never allowing anyone or anything to become to us more important than our Lord Jesus, the resurrected Christ, in whom Colossians 2:8-10 says, is our Completeness, meaning Christ Jesus is all we need in this life and in the life to come—only Christ, our Head.
The “sin which does not lead to death” and the “sin leading to death” are explained in James 1:12-20, for James reveals why we should never yield to temptation that will eventually lead to death, if not repented of, received forgiveness for, and stopped, so always resist temptation.
1 John 5:14-21—14 Now this is the confidence we have in Him, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions we have asked of Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 18 We know whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself (from idols), and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20 And we know the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may 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. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Obeying God and His word is easy, when we commit ourselves to obedience and thankfulness, but when we love the world and lust for the selfishness it offers, we continue to defeat ourselves, for it is impossible to love God with all our being and love the world with all its lust for the ungodliness it offers (1 John 2:15-17; James 4:1-4). No! Either we totally love God or totally love the world; there is no mixing love between the two.
Jim Nabors
