1 John 5:13–21

5:13 Using another purpose statement, John summarizes his aim in writing: he writes to provide assurance of eternal life to those who hold fast to faith “in the name of the Son of God.” Throughout this letter, John has been concerned with “eternal life,” and in the previous section he demonstrated how possession of such life depends on believing the full truth about who Jesus is. The whole letter has been concerned to help this congregation hold on to such truth and thus to know that they have eternal life.

The Greek word order puts emphasis on their belief. John is saying, in essence, “I am writing in order to provide you assurance, that is, assurance to those who hold fast to orthodox faith in Jesus.” Any pastor knows the challenge of providing assurance without providing false assurance. John makes clear here that the assurance on offer is available only through faith in Jesus.

5:14 Knowing that one has eternal life leads to “confidence” in prayer. John repeats the same basic point from 3:21–22. To say that God “hears” our prayers means he hears favorably, he pays attention with the intent to answer. The prayer he hears in this way is one that is “according to his will.” (Jesus makes similar remarks about prayer in John’s Gospel; cf. John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–27). This qualification keeps us from thinking of God as our cosmic servant, here to perform whatever task we desire.

5:15 John goes on to say that if God “hears” us in this way, he will answer us. Again, the hearing and granting are conditioned upon the request being “according to his will.” The prosperity teachers who suggest we can have all the health and wealth we want, if we would just believe enough, grossly distort this text and others. In the context of this letter, John is seeking to help his readers see God not as a vending machine but as a loving Father to whom they can bring all their concerns and requests. As such a Father, he is attentive to our needs and delights to answer us, although because he loves us he screens our requests through the filter of his wise awareness of what is best for us.

So, while we must rebuff any abuse of this text, we must also embrace what it does teach. Building on all he has taught concerning mutual abiding in God, and God’s deep, adopting love for us, John calls on us to pray and make our requests known to the Father. We ought to pray in boldness, knowing that God will respond to our prayers. Marshall calls such confidence in prayer “one of the most important fruits of Christian assurance.”¹

5:16 John restates another key emphasis of the letter—love for fellow believers—in light of what he has just said about prayer. Thus love for the brothers is expressed in terms of praying for the perseverance of one another. If a believer sees “his brother,” a fellow believer, fall into sin, he should pray for him with the aim that God might grant him life, that is, that God might preserve this brother in the faith. The deep value and importance of life together with other believers is implied and assumed here.

However, two key questions remain: (1) What is the “sin that leads to death”? (2) Why does John “not say” we should pray for people committing such sin?

While there has been much discussion about the identity of this “sin that leads to death,” we should look for clues within the context of this letter.² John has been particularly concerned throughout the letter with sins that show that one does not have eternal life abiding in him, that is, with sins that do, in fact, lead to death. John has particularly identified such sin as rejection of belief in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, unwillingness to obey God and pursue holiness, and failure to love fellow believers. Thus, “Sin that leads to death is deliberate refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, to follow God’s commands, and to love one’s brothers.”³ This was the behavior of those who were seeking to deceive John’s hearers (2:26). This interpretation makes the most sense within the context of the letter.

Therefore, John is not describing a sin that can be committed accidentally or even in a moment. Yet all sin is gradual. No one reaches full degradation overnight. Rather, every sin paves the way for deeper and greater sin. Thus, John calls for believers to pray for one another lest anyone be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (similar to Heb. 3:13) so that he eventually turns away from Christ and goes out from the company of the redeemed, proving that he was never truly saved (1 John 2:19). Marshall’s challenging words are apt: “It is not characteristic of the modern church prayer meeting (if we hold one at all) that we pray for specific members who have fallen into sin by name. . . . John’s words are a challenge to the quality of our intercession for others.”⁴

John tells us to expect such prayer for other believers to be answered: “God will give him life.” This is not presumption, but we can pray boldly for one another, knowing that as we pray for the perseverance of the saints, we pray according to God’s will (5:15).

Lastly, how should we understand John’s counsel regarding those who do commit a sin “leading to death”? In a letter where John has been quite blunt, his words here are very careful, almost hesitant. Notice that he does not forbid prayer for those who have committed such sin. He simply notes that he has “not” told us that we “should pray for that” (“I do not say . . .”). His words leave the door open for us to pray, and then perhaps at some point to stop praying, without feeling guilty about it.

There came a time when God told Jeremiah to quit praying for his people (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11). Jesus told his disciples there would be a time to shake from their feet the dust of a city that would not listen (Matt. 10:14). It seems John is acknowledging that people may come to the point beyond which prayer would do no good. However, it is not always clear when this point is reached, so John does not prohibit praying for such individuals. Rather, he gives permission for such praying to cease when the time comes.

5:17 Lest the differentiation between sins seem to downplay the gravity of sins that do not lead to death, John quickly affirms that “all wrongdoing is sin.” No sin is acceptable. All sin is rebellion against God (3:4) and qualifies as “unrighteousness” or “wrongdoing.” But there is a wide range of sin short of deliberate refusal to believe or obey. Thus, while we maintain the heinousness of sin, we must also maintain the greatness of God’s grace and his willingness to forgive. This truth about God is what should animate our prayers for one another.

5:18 Following the discussion of apostasy, this verse not only restates John’s teaching on holiness but also offers assurance. Those who have truly been born of God do not continue in sin leading to spiritual death. When we are born of God, we are changed in such a way that we begin to fight sin, as John has already argued.

Those born of God are protected by “he who was born of God.” This could possibly refer to a fellow believer, whose prayer protects his fellow brother (cf. v. 16). However, it is perhaps more likely that this refers to Jesus, highlighting the connection between Jesus as the “only Son” and believers as adopted children. Jesus protects the children of God so that the Evil One does not “touch” them. Jesus prayed for and thus protected Peter in a similar way (Luke 22:32).

But what does it mean that Satan cannot “touch” the protected brother? It would seem that Satan “touched” Job in one sense (Job 2:4–8, note the verb “touch” in v. 5). Jesus prayed not for his followers to be taken out of the world but for the Father to “keep” them (John 17:15). What this protection looks like can be deduced by the experience of the one “born of God.” Jesus suffered and died but was ultimately resurrected. So also we may suffer and even be killed, but our spiritual life cannot be touched.

5:19 John has been providing his readers with proofs that they are “from God.” As he summarizes his message, John tells them directly, in effect, “We have been through the evidence. We are weak and fail and do stumble. But we believe, obey, and love, and so we are from God.” This affirmation from the apostle must have meant much to this beleaguered congregation.

John reminds his readers that there are two clearly distinct spheres at work in the universe. In contrast to John and his hearers, the world “lies in the power of the evil one.” This is the “world” we are not to love (2:15). In contrast to the life given to believers, these people are under the domination of the Evil One. This should make John’s hearers grateful while protecting them from thinking that in any way those who have departed from the church might be better off.

This also fills out the promise of protection in the previous verse. We know we are protected and that we belong to God, but we also know we currently live in enemy-occupied territory. John wants his audience to be under no illusion about the difficulty of their setting. The ultimate victory is assured, but there will be battles and casualties along the way.

5:20 If people in the world are under the sway of the Devil, how do people move from the “world” to God? Such a transition is possible only because of the coming of Jesus. The incarnation was the divine invasion of the world in order to overthrow the usurper and rescue the people of God.

In his coming, Jesus gave us “understanding” so that we might recognize the reality of who he is. This is the language of grace. We did not in our own wisdom discern the truth of God and thus pursue him. Rather, we too were under the power of the Evil One, but by the work of Christ our eyes were opened, that we might know him (2 Tim. 2:25–26; 2 Cor. 4:3–6). Thus, John’s hearers are reminded that the ultimate reason they “understand” the truth about Jesus, while others have rejected that understanding, is grace.

In this one verse John three times describes Jesus as “true.” The word used here (alēthinos) occurs more often in John’s writings than anywhere else in the NT and refers to that which is the ultimate reality. It is most often used of God or Christ, taking on the sense of “divine.”⁵ We have come to know the only one who can be properly called “God.” As Yarbrough points out, “There is perhaps no loftier modifier for John to use as a substantive for the Son.”⁶ Thus, after all the ways in which John has argued for a proper understanding of who Jesus is, he closes with this crescendo: “Jesus, is the true, genuine, real God.” John’s hearers are encouraged to hold fast to this confession despite those who teach otherwise.

5:21 Instead of including a typical letter closing, John provides a final charge. The pastoral tone pervading the letter is sounded once more with the final use of the term of endearment “Little children.” Modern readers may wonder what “idols” are in view.⁷ The letter has dealt not with paganism (where images were worshiped) but with an aberrant version of Christianity. Most likely, what John has in mind are the false views of God proclaimed by the false teachers who deny Jesus’ incarnation, his messiahship, or his status as Son of God. If we worship as god any being that is not the triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are guilty of idolatry. John closes by urging his beloved hearers to hold fast to the one true God and to worship him only.