Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 John
Chapter 5: This Is the True God
First John 5, the letter's close, ties faith, love, victory, and assurance together, and ends with one of the clearest confessions of the deity of Christ in Scripture. 'Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,' and such faith conquers: 'this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.' John points to the witnesses to Jesus: the water, the blood, and the Spirit, and, in the heavens, 'the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.' The witness is decisive, for 'he that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.' John writes 'that ye may know that ye have eternal life,' and gives confidence in prayer, 'if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.' Those born of God are kept, and 'that wicked one toucheth him not.' And the letter climbs to its summit: 'we know that the Son of God is come... and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.' This chapter shows us overcoming faith, sure assurance, and the true God, Jesus Christ.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 John chapter 5, the final chapter of the epistle. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here John shows that faith in Jesus overcomes the world, presents the witnesses to Christ, gives assurance of eternal life and confidence in prayer, and closes by declaring Jesus Christ to be the true God and eternal life. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Our Faith Overcomes
Faith that Jesus is the Son of God conquers the world.
These Three Are One
The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
Ye May Know
He that hath the Son hath life.
The True God
Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life.
This Is the Victory That Overcometh the World (1 John 5:1-12)
Faith that Jesus is the Son of God is born of God and overcomes the world; the witnesses of heaven and earth agree, and he that hath the Son hath life.
The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and These Three Are One
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This 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. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If 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. He 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. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
Word Study
"one," Greek hen (ἕν). The word is the neuter form of the numeral "one," used not of one person but of one thing, one unity, one and the same. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." The word John chooses is hen, the very word Jesus used in "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), one in being, not merely one in agreement. This heavenly witness, as the King James Version records it, names the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and then declares of them the great truth: "these three are one." Note carefully that the verse itself insists on oneness. It does not say the three are three separate persons or three Gods; it says they "are one", hen, one and the same God. The Apostolic reading holds exactly what the words say. "The Father" is God in His eternal deity; "the Word" is that same God expressed and made flesh, "the Word was God... and the Word was made flesh" (John 1:1, 14); and "the Holy Ghost" is that same God as His Spirit. These are not three who merely cooperate, but three that "are one", the one God revealing Himself as Father, in the Word (the Son), and as the Holy Ghost. And the earthly witnesses, "the spirit, and the water, and the blood," likewise "agree in one." So hen is the hinge of the verse: whatever else is said, the three bearing record in heaven are declared to be ONE, and that oneness is the confession of the Apostolic faith, one God, undivided, made known as Father, Word, and Spirit.
Explanation
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," and the born-again love both the Father and His children, keeping His commandments — which "are not grievous." For "whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." John then marshals God's testimony to His Son — the Spirit, the water, and the blood agree — and warns, "he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." The whole matter comes to a single point: "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
Gospel Focus
John draws his letter toward its close by tying faith, love, and victory together. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God", true faith in Jesus is the mark of the new birth, and everyone born of God loves both the Father ("him that begat") and His children ("him also that is begotten"). Love for God and love for His people go together, and both show themselves in keeping His commandments, which "are not grievous", not burdensome, for love makes obedience a delight. Then John gives a triumphant promise: "whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." The world, with all its pressure and allure, is overcome not by our strength but by faith, "he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God." To believe rightly in Jesus is to conquer the world. Then John presents the witnesses that establish who Jesus is. "This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ", pointing to His baptism (water) and His atoning death (blood), and to His whole saving work, real and complete. "And it is the Spirit that beareth witness," for the Holy Ghost testifies of Christ. Then, as the King James Version records, John names the heavenly witnesses: "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." The verse is often cited in debates about God, yet its own conclusion is the confession of oneness: "these three are one." The Father (God in His deity), the Word (that same God made flesh in the Son), and the Holy Ghost (that same God as Spirit) are not three separate Gods but "one", the one God bearing united witness to His Son. And "there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." Heaven and earth agree in their testimony to Jesus. John's point is that "the witness of God is greater" than any human testimony, and God has testified of His Son. To reject that witness is to call God "a liar." And the content of the witness is glorious: "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." Everything hangs on Christ: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Eternal life is not a thing separate from Jesus that we receive on the side; it is found in Him alone. To have the Son is to have life; to be without Him is to be without life. So overcoming faith rests on the sure witness of the one God to His Son, in whom alone is eternal life.
This Is the True God, and Eternal Life (1 John 5:13-21)
John writes that we may know we have eternal life, gives confidence in prayer, and closes by declaring Jesus Christ to be the true God and eternal life.
We Are in Him That Is True, Even in His Son Jesus Christ
"These 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. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If 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. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We 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. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
Word Study
"true," Greek alethinos (ἀληθινός). The word means true in the sense of real, genuine, the authentic reality as opposed to what is false or counterfeit. "We are in him that is true... even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." John uses alethinos three times in the closing verses, and it climbs to a breathtaking confession. God is "the true God," the real, genuine God, over against all the "idols" John warns of in the very next breath. And John says we are "in him that is true," and then defines exactly who that true One is: "even in his Son Jesus Christ." Then comes the climactic sentence: "This is the true God, and eternal life." The most natural reading, and the one the Apostolic faith gladly embraces, is that "this", the nearest antecedent, "his Son Jesus Christ", is "the true God, and eternal life." Jesus Christ is not merely sent by the true God; He is the true God, the genuine and only God, made manifest in flesh. And He is also "eternal life," the very life John has said "is in his Son" (5:11). So alethinos crowns the whole letter: the Son of God who came, in whom we are, is Himself "the true God, and eternal life." This is why the last words are "keep yourselves from idols", having found the true God in Jesus Christ, we cling to Him alone and turn from every counterfeit. Jesus Christ is the true God; there is no other.
Explanation
John states his aim: "These 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." Assurance, not doubt, is the intended fruit. That confidence extends to prayer — "if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." He closes with three great certainties: "we know" that the born-again do not go on in sin, "we know that we are of God," and "we know that the Son of God is come" and has given us understanding "that we may know him that is true." And the climax leaves no doubt about who Jesus is: "this is the true God, and eternal life." The letter ends with a last guard: "keep yourselves from idols."
Gospel Focus
John states his purpose in writing: "These 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." This is the goal of the whole letter, assurance. God wants His children to know, not merely hope, that they possess eternal life. That assurance rests on faith in the name of Jesus. From assurance flows confidence in prayer: "if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us," and if He hears, "we have the petitions that we desired of him." Prayer aligned with God's will is prayer God answers. John applies this to intercession for a sinning brother, distinguishing "a sin which is not unto death," for which we pray and God gives life, from "a sin unto death," likely the hardened, final rejection of Christ that marked the departing antichrists. Then John gives three great certainties that begin, "we know." First: "whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." Those truly born of God do not live in the grip of sin, and the evil one cannot lay hold of them to destroy them. Second: "we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." There are two realms, and believers belong to God while the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And third, the greatest of all: "we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ." The Son of God has come and opened our understanding to know the true God, and we are united to that true One, "in his Son Jesus Christ." Then comes the crowning declaration of the entire epistle: "This is the true God, and eternal life." Jesus Christ, the Son who came, is Himself "the true God," the one genuine God manifest in flesh, and He is "eternal life," the very life we have been promised. This is the summit of John's testimony and of the Apostolic faith: Jesus is not merely a way to God; He is the true God, and to have Him is to have eternal life. And so the letter ends with a fitting charge: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." Having found the true God in Jesus Christ, we are to guard our hearts against every false god and counterfeit. There is one true God, and He has made Himself known in His Son Jesus Christ, in whom is eternal life; to Him we cling, and from all idols we turn away.
Chapter 5 in Review
First John 5 brings the letter to its climax. Faith conquers: "this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith," the faith "that Jesus is the Son of God." John presents the witnesses to Jesus, the water, the blood, and the Spirit on earth, and "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" in heaven, so that "he that hath the Son hath life." He writes "that ye may know that ye have eternal life," and gives confidence that God hears prayer "according to his will." Those born of God are kept, "that wicked one toucheth him not." And the letter reaches its summit: "we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
For the Apostolic reader this final chapter gathers the whole letter into a confession of the one true God revealed in Jesus. Its heavenly witness, as the King James Version gives it, ends not in division but in oneness: "these three are one", the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost declared to be one and the same God, not three separate persons or three Gods. And its closing sentence is one of the plainest statements of the deity of Christ in Scripture: of "his Son Jesus Christ" it says, "This is the true God, and eternal life." Jesus is the true God, the genuine and only God, manifest in flesh, and He is Himself our eternal life. This is why John's last word is "keep yourselves from idols": having found the one true God in Jesus Christ, we cling to Him alone and refuse every counterfeit. So we overcome the world by faith in the Son of God, we rest in the assurance that "he that hath the Son hath life," we pray with confidence according to His will, and we hold fast to Jesus Christ, the true God and eternal life, keeping ourselves from all idols.
- "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (5:4).
- "The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (5:7).
- "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (5:12).
- John writes "that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (5:13).
- God hears us when "we ask any thing according to his will" (5:14).
- "This is the true God, and eternal life"; "keep yourselves from idols" (5:20-21).
Questions for Reflection
- Is your faith in the Son of God overcoming the world, or is the world overcoming you?
- Do you "know that ye have eternal life," resting on the witness God gave of His Son?
- Do you pray with confidence "according to his will"?
- Have you embraced Jesus Christ as "the true God, and eternal life," keeping yourself from idols?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Faith born of God overcomes the world: 1 John 5:1-5; John 16:33; 1 John 4:4; John 1:12-13. The witness of the Spirit, water, and blood; the oneness of God: 1 John 5:6-12; John 10:30; John 1:1, 14; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 15:26. Assurance of eternal life and confidence in prayer: 1 John 5:13-17; John 20:31; John 14:13-14; Matthew 12:31-32. Kept by God; Jesus Christ the true God and eternal life: 1 John 5:18-21; John 17:3; John 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Faith overcomes the world: 1 John 5:1-5; John 16:33; 1 John 4:4.
- The witnesses; "these three are one"; life is in the Son: 1 John 5:6-12; John 10:30; John 1:1, 14.
- Assurance of eternal life; confidence in prayer: 1 John 5:13-17; John 20:31; John 14:13-14.
- Kept from the wicked one; Jesus Christ the true God and eternal life: 1 John 5:18-21; John 17:3; 1 Timothy 3:16.