1 John 5:13-21

Observations:

v. 13, John wrote with the purpose of apparently assuring his audience that they had eternal life

v. 14-15, Any petition we should ask of God, so long as it is in the spectrum of His will, will never fall on deaf ears. This is our confidence before God, that anything within His will that we ask for is ours.

v. 16-17, This will require some research; what is this sin that leads to death vs. sin that does not lead to death?

v. 18-21, John reiterates from ch. 3 on how no one who is born of God, however he further notes how Christians will be preserved by Christ. After this he points to the distinction between Christians and the world.

He concludes with what Christians should be aware of, in that the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we may actually know Him; we are in God and in His Son Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Therefore, guard yourselves from idols.

Intro:

Recap on last week

The fundamental purpose of a Christian is to believe in Christ and to keep His commands. Through this faith, we have our victory.

John presents three testifiers (that we participate in; Rom 6:3-4, Jn 14:16-17, 26) to the validity of Christ’s identity:

His baptism

His Death/Resurrection

The Holy Spirit

Final conclusion:

Eternal life is in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus alone. Through faith in Christ and obedience to His commands, we have eternal life. Nothing more, nothing less.

Read 1 John 5:13-21

Head- What does it mean?

(10-15 min.)

v. 13-15,

v. 13, John wrote with the purpose of apparently assuring his audience that they had eternal life

v. 14-15, Any petition we should ask of God, so long as it is in the spectrum of His will, will never fall on deaf ears. This is our confidence before God, that anything within His will that we ask for is ours.

Summary:

What does confidence look like for the ones who have eternal life?

Anything that exists within the spectrum of God’s will is ours for the asking.

v. 16-17,

v. 16, having mentioned the confidence in prayer that Christians have, John transitions to praying for our brothers and sisters whom we see committing sin.

What do we make of the sin that does not lead to death vs. the sin that does lead to death?

A more profitable approach is to observe that in the Old Testament and Judaism there was a well-recognized difference between two kinds of sin, the unconscious or unintentional sins, for which forgiveness was provided by the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, and deliberate sins, for which the sacrificial ritual provided no forgiveness. The latter could be atoned for only by the death of the sinner. This distinction between sins which could be forgiven and those which led to the death of the sinner may well be part of the key to the problem.

Sin that leads to death is deliberate refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, to follow God’s commands, and to love one’s brothers. It leads to death because it includes a deliberate refusal to believe in the One who alone can give life, Jesus Christ the Son of God.

By contrast, sins that do not lead to death are those which are committed unwittingly and which do not involve rejection of God and his way of salvation. The sinner is overcome by temptation against his will; he still wants to love God and his neighbor, he still believes in Jesus Christ, he still longs to be freed from sin

v. 17, Sin remains sin, and sin is dangerous, because it is the characteristic of life apart from God.

Further, we have not been able to isolate any particular types of sin which fall into either of the two classes. The sins of believers include disbelief in Jesus Christ, failure to keep God’s commands, and lack of love for their brothers.

How, then, are we to interpret John’s advice on not prayerfully interceding for the one whose sin leads to death?

Surely we are to take from it a reminder that we have in fact become so unconcerned about the sins of our fellow Christians that we have ceased even to think about praying for them.

John’s words are a challenge to the quality of our intercession for others. If it is out of place for us to pray publicly about other people’s sins, at least we should be more concerned for their spiritual welfare and pray positively for it in public, while in our private prayers we may also intercede more specifically for those who fall into sin.

At the same time, we may note that while John says that God will certainly answer prayer for the brother who does not sin to death, he does not rule out the possibility of answered prayer for the person who commits sin that does lead to death.

“If we have in mind any case where, to our limited view, such a prayer seems unlikely to be answered, we may recall what Jesus said when a man had refused what looked like his only chance of salvation—For men it is impossible, but not for God; anything is possible for God (Mark 10:25-27).”

Summary:

To be a people who can have such confidence in knowing their prayers will be heard and answered, we must apply such prayers towards the intercession of our fellow brothers and sisters who are in the midst of spiritual warfare as it pertains to sin.

While John doesn not prohibit prayer for those who reject Christ and repentance, “If we have in mind any case where, to our limited view, such a prayer seems unlikely to be answered, we may recall what Jesus said when a man had refused what looked like his only chance of salvation—For men it is impossible, but not for God; anything is possible for God (Mark 10:27).”

v. 18-21,

v. 18-20, John picks up from v. 13, “These things I have written to you… so that you may know...” and presents three affirmations that should characterize Christian knowledge:

We know that no one who is born of God sins, but rather we kept by Christ, untouched by the evil one (1 John 3:6, 9)

We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one; while we are untouched, we are in the world

Despite being in the world, We know that the Son of God has come, giving us understanding so that we may know Him who is the true God and eternal life.

Therefore, guard yourselves from anything that would lead you away from these three truths essential for Christian knowledge!

Summary:

This conclusion is the perfect summary of this entire letter.

We know that no one who is born of God sins, but rather we kept by Christ, untouched by the evil one (1 John 3:6, 9)

We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one; while we are untouched, we are in the world

Despite being in the world, We know that the Son of God has come, giving us understanding so that we may know Him who is the true God and eternal life.

Guard yourselves from idols that would seek to compete with God for the throne of your heart.

Heart- Do I buy it?

(20-30 min)

What was something in this text that stood out to you?

Was there something significant?

Conclusion of the passage/letter

Is there anything in this passage that is challenging you?

What are some examples of idols? What does guarding yourself from idols actually mean?

Hands- So What? How then should I live?

(10-15 min)

Walk with God: What does guarding yourself from idols look like personally in your walk with God?

Keep Christ first: What does guarding yourself from idols look like personally when we keep Christ first?

Keep sin out of your life: What does guarding yourself from idols look like personally when you are keeping sin out of your life?

Personally, prayer and meditation exposes, leads me in repentance from, and guards me from idols in my life.

Money

Prestige

Sex

Power