I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward 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 that we have asked of him.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5:13-21

Absolute certainty only comes through Jesus Christ. I am not writing about scientific certainty because science is not certain. We hear the phrase “settled science” to try and bolster the certainty of some supposedly scientific fact. This seemed to be ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that this phrase was being used should have alerted us to the fact that we were being gaslighted since there is no such thing as settled science. Scientists are always looking for fresh insight and further understanding. If science were settled, we would not have some of our present knowledge that took us beyond what used to be believed as fact.

Absolute certainty only comes from an absolute being, i.e., God. The only one who knows all things with certainty is the one who created it all and sovereignly rules over all he has created.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John writes, ” I write these things to you … that you may know that you have eternal life.” The question is, “What are the ‘these things?'” I believe he is referencing all the truths he espoused in his letter. He is bringing this letter to a finish and tells us why he has written it, “that you may know.” He is bringing certainty to the believers who have been attacked by false teachers. John wants us to have certainty about our eternal life in Jesus.

The first fruit of this eternal life is the confidence that God hears us when we talk with him. He is a God who hears. There is one caveat: we must ask him in accord with his will. When we know he has heard us, we know we have the requests we have asked of him. This passage, along with a few others, are often misconstrued as divine credit cards that allow us to get anything we want in answer to prayer.

Anyone who has walked with Jesus for any length of time knows that is not true. We must always interpret Scripture in its context. In this case, we need to see John’s entire letter as the context. Remember the frequency of John’s use of “abide” language. When we abide in Christ, when we are at home in him, and he is at home in us. John is highly concerned for the intimate fellowship of believers with Jesus. He wants everyone to experience the kind of friendship with Jesus that he has. I believe John was Jesus’ best friend while on his earthly mission. Is that still true today? I don’t know, but I long to have the kind of friendship with Jesus that John enjoyed. My friendship with Jesus would be much closer if I didn’t so often forget about him and ignore him. That doesn’t mean he isn’t my greatest love; it just means I fail at living it out fully.

How do we know we are asking according to his will? There are two levels, at least. The first is to soak your mind and heart in God’s word, which reveals God’s will. The second is to be the closest friend you can be to Jesus. After about seventy-five years of walking with Jesus, when I approach him with a particular request, I most often know instantly whether or not I should proceed with this request. My inner man is alerted by the Holy Spirit regarding the appropriateness of my request. I am made aware if it violates Scripture in any way, and when I am contemplating something that I know is permissible in Scripture, the Holy Spirit, who knows more than that, lets me know if this is a bad idea.

The folks who seem to struggle with this concept are what has been referred to as the Word of Faith, or name it and claim it, tribe. I can tell you now that if the target of your prayers is wealth for personal comfort and prestige, that prayer is not in God’s will. Am I saying God won’t answer prayers that focus on financial well-being? Not at all. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, a prayer for provision, which is a form of wealth. What the term wealthy means is interpreted contextually. Here in the United States, I am considered simply middle class, not poor or wealthy. If I lived in most of the world, I would be seen as extravagantly wealthy. If I lived in a few communities like New York City or San Francisco, I would probably be considered lower class. So, it is inappropriate for one to create an absolute standard of what is and what is not appropriate for a believer to pray for in terms of personal financial well-being.

There is a sin that leads to death. What is that? Theologians have struggled over this, trying to gain clarity on what John is referring to. Many people immediately go to the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. And that may be one answer. But it doesn’t seem to fit the context of John’s letter. One thing is clear: We can sin a sin unto death.

The context tells us something probably of more importance than identifying the sin unto death. That is the priestly duty of us all to pray for our fellow believers when we witness their sin. Our prayers for their benefit will result in their repentance and faith, which brings about their forgiveness and restoration to fellowship. I believe this is the most crucial point of this section. There is one interpretation of the sin unto death that makes sense to me. It is a sin to which a person has given themselves and refuses to repent of it. In verse eighteen, John tells us that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. That is, a life of continuing in sin does not happen with those who have been born of God. This implies that one who is committed to continuing in a particular sin has not been born of God.

Curiously, John doesn’t command us to pray for the person who has sinned unto death, nor does he say not to pray for them. He simply says, “I do not say that one should pray for that.” He leaves it up to us with no guidance to or not to pray.

Verse eighteen is reassuring, especially to a believer who struggles to overcome some sin in their life. The stated fact is that one who has been born of God does not continue in sin. When people repent and believe the gospel, they are changed; they become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17-20) and are not bound by old bondage. If a person claims to have become a Christian and there is no change, they have not become a Christian. Note that I did not write that there would be a complete overnight total change; I wrote “no change.” Jesus (the one born of God) protects his children from the ravages of the evil one. When we come to Christ, we are no longer alone.

The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Let that sink in. Many wonder why there is so much wickedness and evil in the world; This is the answer. I would like to explain this further, but there are significant books written explaining this, so there is not enough space to do so here. Just accept that the whole world, that is, that portion of humanity that has not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13), is still under the power of the evil one.

  • We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
  • We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
  • And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 

John’s final statement in this letter is to keep yourselves from idols. At first, it seems like this is completely disconnected from the rest of the letter, but it’s not. He has just made reference to “the evil one.” Idols are nothing other than demons expressing themselves through physical representations of various kinds, idols. To keep idols is to invite demonic powers to influence your life. If you have idols in your home, destroy them. Many persons in the West have Eastern idols in their homes as decorative items. From the perspective of the homeowner, those idols are not idols but interesting decorations, innocent decorations. However, when it comes to idols, there is no innocence. They are evil from the evil one. Be rid of them. I wrote to destroy them. I did not write to just get them out of your house. If you give them to someone else, you are just passing the demons on to someone else.

Keep yourselves from idols.