1 John 3.22-Answered Prayer Requests are Conditioned Upon the Believer's Obedience
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday February 21, 2018
First John: 1 John 3:22-Answered Prayer Requests Are Conditioned Upon the Believer’s Obedience
Lesson # 136
1 John 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (ESV)
“And whatever we ask” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) accusative neuter singular form of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς), “whatever” (3) conditional particle ean (ἐάν), “whatever” (4) first person plural present active subjunctive form of the verb aiteō (αἰτέω), “we ask.”
The conjunction kai is a marker of result which means that it is introducing a fifth class conditional statement which presents the result of the previous fifth class condition in verse 21.
The conditional particle ean is employed with the subjunctive mood of form of the verb aiteō, “we ask” in order to form the protasis of a third class condition which offers a condition, the fulfillment of which is realized in the present time which is also called a fifth class condition.
This fifth class condition is simply presenting an eternal spiritual principle which asserts that if the believer makes a request of the Father in prayer, He will fulfill this request because they obey His commandments.
The relative pronoun hos means “whatever” or “something” since the word is a relative reference referring to unspecified and unidentified request the believer presents to the Father in prayer on behalf of himself or herself or for others.
The verb aiteō means “to ask for” or “request” something with urgency, thus it speaks of an urgent request.
The present tense of the verb aiteō is a gnomic present which is expressing the idea of a believer who “at any time does” present a request of the Father in prayer.
“We receive from him” is composed of the following: (1) first person plural present active indicative form of the verb lambanō (λαμβάνω), “we receive” (2) preposition apo (ἀπό), “from” (3) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “him.”
The verb lambanō means, “to receive, to receive the fulfillment of a particular request” since the word pertains to acquiring possession of something.
The genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos means “him” referring to the Father and not Jesus Christ since all prayer is directed toward the Father and not the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Luke 11:1-2; Matt. 6:6; John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; 1 Pet. 1:17).
This word is the object of the preposition apo, which means “from” since it functions as a marker of source indicating that the Father is the origin of a believer’s fulfilled prayer request.
Therefore, this verb lambanō is expressing the idea of the recipients of this epistle and John receiving the fulfillment of their prayer request from the Father as a result of obeying the command to love one another.
The present tense of this verb is a gnomic present which indicates that if any believer does at any time request something of the Father in prayer, then, they are “as an eternal spiritual truth” receiving the fulfillment of this prayer request as a result of obeying the command to love one another.
“Because we keep his commandments” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction hoti (ὅτι), “because” (2) articular accusative feminine plural form of the noun entolē (ἐντολή), “commandments” (3) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “His” (4) first person plural present active indicative form of the verb tēreō (τηρέω), “keep.”
The conjunction hoti is employed with the indicative mood of the verb tēreō, “keep” in order to form a causal clause, which presents the reason for the believer receiving the fulfillment of their prayer request from the Father.
The verb tēreō means “to conscientiously obey” and is used in relation to the phrase τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, “His commandments,” which refers to the commands the Lord Jesus Christ issued to the church to the apostles through the Spirit.
The noun entolē refers to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ which were communicated by Him through the Spirit directly to the apostles and can be summarized as loving one another as He loved the believer and which command is recorded in John 13:34 and 15:12.
“And do what pleases him” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) articular accusative neuter plural form of the adjective arestos (ἀρεστός), “what pleases” (3) improper preposition enōpion (ἐνώπιον), “pleases” (4) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “Him” (5) first person plural present active indicative form of the verb poieō (ποιέω), “do.”
This time the conjunction kai is functioning as a marker of correspondence, which means that it is introducing a declarative statement which corresponds with the previous causal clause which asserts that the believer is conscientiously obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s commands.
The verb poieō is transitive and means, “to practice” and its object is the articular accusative neuter plural form of the adjective arestos, which means “pleasing” since the word pertains to that which pleases someone and here it refers to that which pleases the Father.
Therefore, the verb poieō is expressing the idea of John and the recipients of First John practicing that which in the judgment of the Father is pleasing to Him.
The present tense of the verb poieō is a gnomic present which is expressing the idea of the believer who “does” practice that which in the judgment of the Father is pleasing to Him.
The genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos means “Him” referring to the Father and is the object of the improper preposition enōpion, which pertains to value judgment and means “in the opinion” or “in the judgment of” God the Father.
1 John 3:22 Consequently, if any of us does at any time request something, then each one of us are receiving the fulfillment of our request because each one of us are conscientiously obeying His commands. Correspondingly, each of us are practicing that which is pleasing in His judgment. (My translation)
1 John 3:22 is composed of a fifth class conditional statement which presents the result of the previous fifth class condition in verse 21, which asserts that if the believer’s heart is not being convicted they are obeying the command to love one another, then they are experiencing confidence in the presence of God the Father.
This fifth class conditional statement in verse 22 asserts that if any believer does at any time request something, then they are receiving the fulfillment of their request.
The fulfillment of their request is the direct result of obeying the command to love one another, which is indicated by John’s statements in 1 John 3:16-21.
Obviously when John speaks about receiving the fulfillment of a request, he is speaking in the context of the believer presenting their requests in prayer and the Scriptures teach that all prayer requests are to be presented to the Father and not Jesus.
Both Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles taught that there is a protocol to prayer in that the believer-priest must address God the Father in prayer (John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18; 3:14; 5:20; Col 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Pe 1:17; Rev 1:6).
Even the Lord Jesus Christ taught to address the Father in prayer.
When His disciples asked Him how to pray, His response was, “pray to your Father” (Mat 6:6; Lk. 11:1-2).
In His Upper Room Discourse, which appears in John 13-17, the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that prayer must be made in His name or His person, since He is the intermediary to the Father (Eph 5:20; Col 3:17),
Paul taught the churches, throughout the Roman Empire, to address the Father in prayer (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18; 3:14; Col 1:3; 1:12) and in 1 Peter 1:17. the apostle Peter also stated that prayer was to be addressed to the Father.
In 1 John 3:22, John asserts that conscientious observance of the Lord’s commands is the reason why the believer receives the fulfillment of their prayer request.
These commands refer to the various Spirit inspired one another commands, the apostles received from the Lord Jesus Christ which are summarized by the command to love one another (cf. John 5:44; Rom. 12:10, 16; 14:9, 13; 15:7; 1 Cor. 6:7; 11:33; Gal. 5:15, 26; Eph. 4:2, 32; 5:19, 21; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11; James 4:11; 5:9, 16; 1 Pet. 4:9, 10; 5:5; Heb. 10:24).
“His commands” does not refer to the Father since John is speaking in the context of the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love one another which originated with the Father.
The apostle John employs a declarative statement to complete his thought here in 1 John 3:22, which asserts that the believer is practicing that which is pleasing in the judgment of God, which corresponds to the previous causal clause which asserts that the believer is conscientiously obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s commands.
Therefore, John is teaching that conscientiously obeying the Lord’s commands corresponds to practicing that which in the judgment of the Father is pleasing to Him and the context indicates clearly that obedience to the command to love one another is what pleases the Father.
To summarize, John is teaching that as a result of obeying the command to love one another, if the believer requests something in prayer from the Father, then they are receiving the fulfillment of this request because they are conscientiously obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s commands which originate with the Father.
Correspondingly, they are practicing that which is pleasing in the judgment of the Father.
Thus, John is teaching the recipients of First John that answered prayer requests from the Father are conditioned upon their obedience to the command to the various one another commands of the apostles which are summarized by the command to love one another.
Consequently, he is teaching that the love between the Father and His children is reciprocal in the sense that God the Father demonstrates His love for His child by giving them what they ask for and His child demonstrates their love for Him by doing what pleases Him.
John’s teaching in 1 John 3:22 echoes the Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching in His Upper Room Discourse in John 14:13 and 16:23.
The apostle John teaches in 1 John 5:13-14 that these requests must be in agreement with the will of the Father according to 1 John 5:13-14.