1 John 5:14-15 Praying with Confidence December 18, 2022

1 John 5 Verses 14 to 15 Praying with Confidence December 18, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AAAA

Background Scriptures:

James 1:5-8 (NASB) 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Main Idea: We need to pray according to God’s will.

Study Aim: To understand that God does not hear me because of who I am or what I have done, but He will move heaven and earth to honor the name of His Son.

Create Interest:

· With the assurance of eternal life comes another confidence: answered prayer. R. A. Torrey (1856-1928--American Evangelist who wrote 75 books and hundreds of articles)…..said,

o Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is and all that God has is at the disposal of prayer. But we must use the key. Prayer can do anything that God can do and since God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent. (The Power of Prayer, 17)

· Confidence is a good thing to have when it refers to confidence before God. Self-confidence can be good or bad, depending on one’s view of God, others, and self. When confidence is good, it is another way of expressing the kind of assurance John wrote of in 1 John where we have seen assurance based on God’s grace and power. In this confidence we can know whether we have eternal life.[1]

· The Bible magnifies the importance of prayer in the lives of believers. The assurance of salvation cultivates and motivates prayer in the lives of people of faith. This emphasis on prayer runs throughout the Word of God.

· John used the Greek word parresia. This word for “boldness” or confidence was originally drawn from politics. It was the right or privilege of every citizen to represent his case before the judge with boldness.

o Such confidence is made possible through Jesus Christ, the believers’ High Priest (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19; cf. 10:35; 1 John 3:21; 5:14). This confidence is strengthened as they continue to live according to His design;

§ particularly, that confidence and obedience is expressed in love for God and one another. Such obedience will give assurance on the Day of Judgment (1 John 4:17; cf. 2:28).

§ That believers may confidently approach God as a result of Christ’s atoning sacrifice is one of the most consistent teachings of Scripture.[2]

· We might ask why anyone would want something contrary to God’s will. It is right and wise to pray according to God’s will. He knows and wants what is best for all people… His glory and our good. God wants to give you what you would want God to give you if you were wise enough to want it.

· George Mueller (1805–1898) was a great man of prayer who refused a regular salary and financial support for himself or the ministries he led. A leader of the Christian Brethren movement, Mueller said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness” (quoted in Be Real, 179). Therefore, nothing we ask for lies beyond the power of God except that which lies beyond His will, His purpose, His plan. Discuss.

o Now, God’s will may be different from what you want, but I believe this: it will always be better than what you want. Romans 12:2 tells us God’s will is “good, pleasing, and perfect.” I want what God wants for me. I want God’s will.[3]

· What kind of confidence did John commend? How can we believe that God answers our prayers? What conditions does the Bible make for prayer to be answered? When you realize that your Christian brother has sinned, what should you do? Let’s see in our lesson what John has to say about these questions.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Although it contains no clear historical indications of when or where it was written, John most likely composed this letter in the latter part of the first century at Ephesus. The testimony of the early church places John in that city during that period. The apostle’s repeated references to his readers as “little children” (2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) implies that he was much older than them and that he wrote 1 John toward the end of his life.

· The same author wrote both the gospel of John and 1 John. Evidence that the apostle John wrote the gospel is also evidence that he wrote the epistle. That evidence may be briefly summarized in five points that narrow the focus unmistakably to the apostle:

o First, the author of the gospel was a Jew, as his familiarity with Jewish customs and beliefs indicates.

o Second, he had lived in Palestine, as evidenced by his detailed knowledge of that region.

o Third, the author had to have been an eyewitness to many of the events he recorded, since he gave numerous details only an eyewitness would have known.

o Fourth, the author was an apostle. He was intimately acquainted with what the Twelve were thinking and feeling.

o Fifth, the author was the apostle John, since his name does not appear in the fourth gospel. No other writer could possibly have failed to mention such a prominent apostle.[4]

· “These things have I written … that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). However, John also wrote to defend the faith and to strengthen the church against false teachers and heretical doctrine. John confronted the first stages of the same heretical teachings that Paul often confronted—the beginning stages of Gnosticism. Briefly stated, Gnosticism said that the human body was evil. This teaching resulted in two different attitudes toward the body and life.

o Some said that the body needed to be disciplined, controlled, and taken care of as much as possible. By controlling its urges and appetites and keeping it fit, the corruption and evil of the body could be mastered more easily.

o Others said that what was done with the body mattered little, for it was evil and doomed to death. Therefore, if a person took care of his spirit, he could eat, drink, and be merry and do whatever else he wanted with his body.

§ The parallel with the false teaching of today is clearly seen.

§ Some concentrate upon the body and its health through recreation and discipline, seeking to overcome the evil, that is, the corruption, disease, aging, and dying of the body as much as possible.

§ Others live as they please, eating and drinking and partying as they wish, thinking that it matters little how they live. Just think how many people feel that they can do their own thing—what they want, when they want—just so they believe in God and worship occasionally and do a good deed here and there.

· The point to see is this: each person gives attention to the spiritual only as he wishes, only as much as he feels is necessary to keep his spirit in touch with God. But his concentration is the body and its pleasure, whether the pleasure is the exhibition of discipline and control or the stimulating of the flesh.[5]

· In our lesson, John is reaffirming what he has previously said to address this challenging situation with all the attacking outside influences on Christians.

· In light of that thought process I want to back up one verse to 1 John 5:13 for us to have a true understanding of John’s purpose and of the emphasis he has us focus on in our focal verses of 1 John 5:14-15.

Bible Study:

1 John 5:13 (NASB) 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

· Here John tells his readers the apparent purpose of his letter…

o The Gospel was written for unbelievers, that they might read the testimony of God to his Son, believe in Him to whom the testimony pointed, and thus receive life through faith.

§ Note my address to that purpose on page 10 of our lesson as a Great Commission gift of a witnessing tool to you, my readers.

§ Note on page 15 is attached a lesson I taught in Feb. 2000 and will suit the interactive teachers who engage the class with questions. Only 2.5 pages as a condensed version of this lesson.

o This letter, on the other hand, was written for believers. John’s desire for them is not that they may believe and receive, but that having believed, they may know that they have received, and therefore continue to have (present), eternal life.

§ That you may know (eidēte) means, both in word and tense, not that they may gradually grow in assurance, but that they may possess here and now a present certainty of the life they have received in Christ. They had been unsettled by the false teachers and become unsure of their spiritual state. Throughout the letter John has been giving them criteria (doctrinal, moral, social) by which to test themselves and others. His purpose is to establish their assurance. ‘This letter is to assure you that you have eternal life’ (neb).

· Putting together the purposes of Gospel and letter, John’s purpose is in four stages, namely that his readers may hear, hearing may believe, believing may live, and living may know.

o His emphasis is important because it is common today to dismiss any claim to assurance of salvation as presumptuous, and to affirm that no certainty is possible on this side of death.

o But certainty and humility do not exclude one another.

o God’s revealed purpose is not only that we should hear, believe and live, but also that we should know………………………

§ presumptuousness lies in doubting his word, not in trusting it.[6]

1 John 5:14 (NASB) 14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

· One important result of the believer’s assurance of eternal life is that he can have confidence and boldness in relation to God. In particular this applies to the situation of making requests to God in prayer.

· John has already told his readers: “we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him” (3:21f.).Now he repeats this assurance.

o God will hear us in respect of anything we ask of him.

o To “hear” means to hear favorably; God will answer our prayers. To be sure, there is a condition attached. Such prayer must be offered by those who remain in Jesus and let his words remain in them (Jn. 15:7); it must be offered in the name of Jesus (Jn. 14:13f.; 15:16; 16:23–26).

· John states that “if we ask anything prayer in 3:22 is that “we obey his commands and do what pleases him,” here it is that our petitions should be “according to His will.” In his Gospel, John records Jesus making similar statements.

o In 15:7 Jesus encourages us to “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” Again, there is a condition: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you.” Also, on several occasions Jesus indicates that He or the Father will do whatever we ask if we ask it in his “name” (14:13–14; 15:16; 16:24, 26).

§ Smalley (in Reformed Systematic Theology book series) writes, “The fundamental characteristic of all truly Christian intercession is that the will of the person who offers prayer should coincide with God’s will.”

📷 This does not mean that if a believer is sincere God will answer his prayer.

📷 Sometimes our desires are not God’s desires for us.

📷 Sometimes what we want is not what our heavenly Father wills.

Ø Faith will accept that God’s will is best, and it will trust His plan and purpose, even if it does not understand at the time.

· The believer has confidence when he prays according to God’s will. Having faith, then, is not the only prerequisite for obtaining what we ask for in prayer. Many pray believing that God will answer their prayers simply because they trust that He will answer them. James warns believers to be careful how they pray: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jas 4:3). John Stott aptly reminds us: (read to class and discuss)

o Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or for bending His will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his. It is by prayer that we seek God’s will, embrace it and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation of the theme “your will be done… He [God] hears us.” Whereas the condition of answered.”[7]

o Yet it is common Christian experience that such prayer is not always answered. Even Jesus himself knew the experience of pouring out his soul to God in order that He might not have to drink the cup of suffering, but he had to accept that what he wished might not be God’s will and so to pray: “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mk. 14:36).

o So too the Christian must offer his prayers “according to His will.” We do not always know what is God’s will for us or for the people we pray for;

§ but we have the joyful assurance that whatever is God’s will for us will be done….assuming we allow it!

§ At the same time, we are warned against the offering of prayers which we know will not be according to God’s will;

📷 prayer for sinful or selfish motives, however much we may attempt to disguise them, is excluded.

· But, if prayer is to be made according to God’s will, why pray at all? Surely His will is going to be accomplished, whether or not we pray for it to be done? (Discuss the following):

o To speak in such terms is to assume that God’s will must be understood in a static kind of way, as if God has made a detailed plan beforehand of all that is going to happen—including the fact that we are going to pray in a particular way and at a particular time.

o But while the Bible does speak of God’s plan and purpose for the world, to speak in such deterministic terms is inconsistent with the freedom which the Bible itself assigns to God’s children, and it wreaks havoc upon the biblical idea of the personal relationship which exists between God and his children.

§ The point is rather that the believer must seek to submit his will to God’s by saying, “Your will be done” (Mt. 6:10).

· It is as we freely yield ourselves to God that He is able to accomplish His will through us and our prayers.

o In a very real sense, therefore, the accomplishment of God’s will in the world does depend on our prayers.

§ Through prayer we make ourselves instruments of God’s will, and at the same time, in a manner that lies beyond human comprehension, He is able to act powerfully to answer our prayers.

§ When we learn to want what God wants, we have the joy of receiving His answer to our petitions.[8]

1 John 5:15 (NASB) 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

· The point is not, that if God hears our prayers He grants them (as if we could ever pray to Him without His being aware of it); but that if we know that He hears our prayers (i.e. trust him without reserve), we already have what we have asked in accordance with His will. It may be years before we perceive that our prayers have been answered: perhaps in this world we may never be able to see this; but we know that God has answered them.[9]

· There are many promises in the Bible that we can claim in prayer God has promised to supply our needs (Phil. 4:19)—not our greeds! If we are obeying His will and really need something, He will supply it in His way and in His time.

o Prayer is the way God wants His children to get what they need. God not only ordains the end, but He also ordains the means to the end—prayer. And the more you think about it, the more wonderful this arrangement becomes.

o Prayer is really the thermometer of the spiritual life. God has ordained that I maintain a close walk with Him if I expect Him to meet my needs.

· John does not write, “We shall have the requests,” but, “We know that we have the requests” (cf. 1 John 5:15). The verb is present tense. As noted before, we may not see the answer to a prayer immediately, but we have inner confidence that God has answered. This confidence, or faith, is “the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

o It is God witnessing to us that He has heard and answered.

· What breathing is to a physical man, prayer is to a spiritual man. If we do not pray, we “faint” (Luke 18:1).

o Prayer is not only the utterance of the lips; it is also the desire of the heart.

o “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) does not mean that a Christian is always saying an audible prayer. We are not heard for our much speaking (Matt. 6:7). No, “Pray without ceasing” suggests the attitude of the heart as well as the words of the lips.

§ A Christian who has his heart fixed on Christ and is trying to glorify Him is praying constantly even when he is not conscious of it.

Thoughts to Soak on

· The pages of the Bible and the pages of history are filled with reports of answered prayer.

o Prayer is not spiritual self-hypnosis.

o Nor do we pray because it makes us feel better.

o We pray because God has commanded us to pray and because prayer is the God-appointed means for a believer to receive what God wants to give him.

o Prayer keeps a Christian in the will of God and living in the will of God keeps a Christian in the place of blessing and service.

o We are not beggars; we are children coming to a wealthy Father who loves to give His children what they need.

· Though He was God in the flesh, Jesus depended on prayer. He lived on earth, as we must, in dependence on the Father. He arose early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35), though He had been up late the night before healing the multitudes. He sometimes spent all night in prayer (Luke 6:12).

o In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed with “strong crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7).

o On the cross He prayed three times.

§ If the sinless Son of God needed to pray, how much more do we?

· The most important thing about prayer is the will of God. We must take time to ascertain what God’s will is in a matter, especially searching in the Bible for promises or principles that apply to our situation. Once we know the will of God, we can pray with confidence and then wait for Him to reveal the answer.[10]

What are some lasting truths in from our lesson?

1. As believers, we should have confidence that God hears our prayers.

2. Our prayers are to be made in God’s will.

3. All Christians should pray for others and our nation.

4. You should pray for and seek to restore those who have fallen into sin.[11]

NOTE:

Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB) 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

· I would be remiss in my following the Great Commission if I did not tie this lesson up with a heavenly bow and close with a summary of what we need to share with the world. If you are clever, you can compress this and put in the back of your Bible for reference when the Holy Spirit leads you and you wonder what to say😊.

o This was first shared with me in the mid 60’s as a new Christian.

Witnessing

Definition: Sharing the love of Jesus through the power of the

Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.

General Notes:

1. Pray for opportunities to witness

2. Talk to people individually and privately

3. Look for normal opportunities to share

4. Use your personal testimony

5. Don’t argue theology

6. Learn a simple, short, plan of salvation

7. Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and

invite the person to respond if you feel led.

8. Give the person permission to say no

9. If the person does not have a clear understanding of

plan of salvation, continue to pray for and work

Elements of a good Evangelistic Presentation

I. Introduction

A. Who you are

B. Talk about the person’s secular background

C. Talk about the person’s religious background

II. The Bridge

A. Your church

B. Your testimony

C. Two transition questions

1. Have you come to the place in your life that if

you were to die, would you go to heaven?

2. Suppose you were to die now and stand before God,

and He said to you, “Why should I let you into

Heaven?” What would you say?

III. The Gospel Presentation

A. God loves all people and wants to give us eternal life.

1. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world…..

2. John 10: 10b “I came that they might have life…..

3. 1 Tim. 2:4 “Who desires all men to be saved…..

4. 2 Peter 3:9 “the Lord is not slow about His Promises…

B. All men are sinners and have been separated from God.

1. 1 John 3:4 “…sin is lawlessness” (disobedience)

2. Rom. 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short…”

3. Rom. 6:23 “the wages of sin is death but the free…”

4. Rom. 3:10 “there is none righteous…”

C. Jesus is God’s only provision for sinners.

1. Acts 4:12 “there is salvation in no one else…”

2. Acts 3:19-20 “repent therefore and return that your

sins may be wiped away..that He may send you Jesus”

3. Rom. 5:8-9 “God demonstrated His love for us…”

4. John 14:6 “…I am the way, the truth and the life…”

D. Each individual must receive Jesus by personal invitation.

1. Rom. 10:9-10 “If you confess Jesus as Lord, and..”

2. Rom. 10:13 “Whoever will call upon the Lord will be..”

3. Rev. 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door and knock…”

4. Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you…”

E. You cannot work for your salvation.

1. Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved…”

2. Rom. 4:5 “But to the one who does not work…”

3. Titus 3:5-7 “He saved us not on the basis of deeds…”

IV. Lead to a decision

A. Summarize the Gospel

B. Ask for decision

1. Do the things I have said make sense?

2. Is there any reason you can think of that would prevent you

from placing your trust in Jesus now?

C. Pray

1. Suggest that you pray first, and the person pray after you…

in their own words.

a. Acknowledge God’s love

b. Acknowledge being a sinner and in true repentance

seek God’s forgiveness

c. Acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son who died for them and

that God raised Him from the dead to show He has power

over death

d. Claim the promise that Christ wants to live in their heart,

cleans them, if they will invite Him to be their Lord

and Master

Common Questions Asked

1. When will I receive the Holy Spirit? Eph. 1:13-14

2. Does God really forgive and forget? 1 John 1:9

3. Did Jesus die for my sins? 1 John 1:7

4. Can I pray directly to God? 1 Tim. 2:5-6

5. Can I lose my salvation? John 10:28-29, John 11:25-26, 1 John 5:13

6. Can I be separated from God’s love? Rom. 8:38-39

Responsibility Assumed

Being used by God to lead a person to Christ is a life-changing

experience for you and the person receiving Christ. You must

assume the responsibility of nurturing the new Christian in his/her

walk with Christ. The new Christian will soon lose the excitement

if not prayed for, encouraged, trained, and brought into the body

of believers actively.

1 JOHN 5: 13-21 DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE FEB. 6, 2000

CENTRAL TRUTH: Christians can know that they have eternal live through faith

in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

TEACHING AIM: To lead adults to affirm their personal assurance of salvation in

Christ.

CREATE INTEREST:

1. Ask class to share an area in which their confidence level is strongest.

2. Ask a volunteer to share an area in which they are weakest.

3. Note: While our confidence in people or organizations may be shaken, believers can know they have eternal life when they place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

4. Note the preceding lessons have focused on specific actions that are to characterize Christian believers.

5. Today’s lesson is directed at believers for them to know they have Jesus and to follow him boldly.

1 JOHN 5:13 ASSURANCE OF ETERNAL LIFE

1 John 5:13 (NASB) 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

a. To whom is this verse written? —“to you who believe in the name of the Son of God”

b. Why was it written? —“so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

c. What are “these things” that are referred to? —all the preceding lessons up to that point in the letter.

d. Note that the “these things” were the doctrinal, moral, and social tests by which they could determine their true status before God.

i. 1 John 2:3…”the propitiation for our sins…” atoning sacrifice, canceling sin.

ii. 1 John 3:10.”who does not practice righteousness is not of God nor the one who does not love his brother”

iii. 1 John 3:18-19…”Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth….19..and shall assure our heart before Him”

iv. 1 John 3:24…”An the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit who He has given us.”

v. 1 John 5:10…”The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has born concerning His Son.”

e. Focus on the verb “know”. What does it mean? --Conveys absolute

confident assurance. Believers continually have eternal life in both

quality and quantity. It is spiritual in nature and endless in length.

f. Our certainty is based on God’s promise that He has given us this gift through His Son by grace through faith. Eph. 2:8-9.

g. When we accept Christ by faith the reality of our salvation is true whether or not we feel close to God or distant from Him. Eternal life is not based on our feelings. We can know that we have eternal life if we have believed God’s truth and accepted his Son. As Christians we should affirm that faith in Christ alone is sufficient for salvation.

h. If you have placed all you are and all you hope to be in Christ, you have no reason to doubt your salvation.

1 JOHN 5: 14-17 AFFIRMATION OF PRAYER

1 John 5:14-17 (NASB) 14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.

A. What is the confidence “we have before Him” that is referred to? --that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and that we have the requests we ask of Him.

B. How is it possible to be sure that we will receive what we ask?

C. Explain this very complicated but simple statement—“Through prayer we seek God’s will, accept it and align ourselves with His purposes.” Mark 14:36

D. What is more difficult – seeking, accepting, or aligning oneself with God’s purposes?

E. How can we know God’s will?

F. Focus on “the Will of God”

· God’s will conforms to what He has already revealed in His Word.

· The best way to know the will of God in any situation is to saturate us with God’s Word.

· God tells us that He does not want any to perish, but all to repent (2 Peter 3:9)

· God desires that His children continue to grow in Him (2 Peter 3:18)

· It is His will that we give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18)

· He wants us to demonstrate wisdom (James 1:5)

· He wants us to have assurance of salvation (1 John 5:13)

· As we attempt to discern and do God’s will we should wait patiently on Him, knowing that His timing may not match ours.

· We should not allow circumstances to confuse us.

· Decisions in line with God’s purposes will glorify Christ, bring us into conformity with His image, and free us for ministry.

G. Read verses 16 and 17

H. Focus on the idea of intercessory prayer instead of judgment.

I. Suggest that the sin not leading to death are sins against God’s teaching while a sin leading to death is rejection of Christ. (Mark 3:29 is a discussion issue here)

1 JOHN 5: 18-21 POWER OF CHRIST

A. Read Scripture

B. Identify three certainties or affirmations that characterize the Christian faith.

· He (Christ) who was born of God keeps you

· We are of God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

· The Son of God has come and has given us understanding to know Christ.

C. What common word in verses 18-20 expresses affirmation to believers in regard to their relationship with God? —know

D. Note that the first three uses of “know” refer to intuitive or absolute knowledge.

E. Note that verse 18 refers to Christ as “born of God” who “keeps him”(one who is born again through acceptance of Christ)

F. Verse 21: Why do you think John ended the letter with a warning for his readers to guard against idols? —worshiping other than God (discuss), heresy presented by the false teachers.

G. Verse sums up John’s concern that Christians live righteous lives and reject all heretical teachings about Christ.

H. Christians can be confident of Christ’s support and guidance as they live out their faith, but there is no knowledge of God and no power to live according to the truth apart from Jesus Christ and knowledge of Him comes from God’s Word.

[1]Robert J. Dean, Bible Studies for Life, Summer 2009, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2009), 39–40. [2]Thoralf Gilbrant, “Παῤῥησία,” The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary, The Complete Biblical Library (WORDsearch, 1991). [3]Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 1 Jn 5:14–17. [4] John MacArthur, 1, 2, 3 John, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007), 5. [5]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1 Peter–Jude, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 209. [6] John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 183–184. [7]Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 205–206. [8] I. Howard Marshall, The Epistles of John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), 244–245. [9] H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., 1 John, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 141. [10]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 529. [11]Robert J. Dean, Bible Studies for Life, Summer 2009, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2009), 42.