Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson IX) 10/06/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

Marianne Meye Thompson (1964) hears the Apostle John tell us that God commands us to love. Whether speaking of our love for God or others, love exemplifies His divine will for humanity since God is love. Therefore, all God’s children, who confess that Jesus is the Anointed One, are to love each other. There are two parallel statements in verse one that begins with “Everyone who.” One points to the importance of faith in Jesus, the other to the significance of loving each other. These are not two separate commands that a believer must keep to become a child of God; instead, they are two expressions of what the child of God does. Faith and love are each an expression of God’s work in a person’s life. Each center on the person of Jesus the Anointed One. It’s because our faith is in Jesus as God’s Messiah, who provides the fundamental manifestation of God’s love for us.

To have such faith, says Thompson, is to possess the same trust children have in their parents. And they have such confidence because of their experience of the faithfulness and love of their parents for them. So, the call for faith and the call for love is one. Although John repeatedly emphasizes the importance of Christian love for each other, that obligation is not randomly obligatory. Instead, the call to love comes from God’s very nature, who is love, who loves us and encourages, commands, and empowers us to love. Indeed, God’s saving Word is at heart a work of love, for it brings us into a household of brotherly and sisterly relationships, in which Jesus is the foundation. So, we are called to trust in the God who is Love. For John, God as Love is not some romantic idea or an opportunity to show off: it is the ultimate truth.^[1]

Peter Pett (1966) states that those with genuine faith who believe in Jesus the Anointed One who was crucified and resurrected as God’s Son are God-born. Pause for a moment to consider the wonder of that. They have received a new life; they are a new creation.[2] As a result, they received a life of such quality as “eternal life.” And it is understood that we will love Him. But, says John, if we love the One Who birthed us, we will also love those to whom He has given birth. For they are one with us in the Anointed One, they share the same life as we do, they are our spiritual brothers and sisters, and our future is tied together.^[3]

Duncan Heaster (1967), a Christadelphian,[4] agrees that whoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed One is born of God, and whoever loves Him that gives birth loves those also to whom He has given the identical birth. Heaster notes that the phrase “born of” implies the initiative was with the birth giver. The conception is through the Holy Spirit, activated by water baptism and accepting Jesus as the Anointed One, the Messiah, God’s Son.[5] So I would read this, says Heaster, to mean that belief in Jesus as the Anointed One precedes the birth through the Spirit. Admittedly, however, the grammar also implies that being birth of God (by the Spirit) results in belief in Jesus as the Anointed One. He is the prime mover in our spiritual birth, and we are the objects of such conception rather than the prime movers. Being God’s born-again children makes us spiritual brothers and sisters with His only begotten Son. We naturally love the Father who birthed us, yet we cannot love God vertically without horizontally loving those others He birthed. For His Spirit has worked in many other lives apart from ours, bringing even the most challenging and uncooperative of our fellow believers likewise to be God’s birthed children. And as explained throughout chapter four, we cannot claim to have any love for God if we don’t love His children.^[6]

Karen H. Jobes (1968) states that anyone coming into faith in the Anointed One is born again as a child into the Father’s family.[7] This faith in the Anointed One produces love for God the Father, “the birth-giver.” Thus, a person who loves the Father also loves all His children. This statement builds on the idea that Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of God, is the begotten of the Father.[8] Still, John uses this Christological point to argue that all who have come to faith in the Anointed One are also children of the Father to be likewise loved. It is striking that Christian believers are brought into a relationship with the Father described in the same terms as a child’s relationship with a father. This distinction is clear when John refers to Jesus as God’s Son and all believers as His children. Therefore, anyone who loves God necessarily loves a God who births offspring and gives birth to love others who like oneself.” In fact, not loving one’s fellow believers is evidence that one has not truly been born of God.[9] ^[10]

^5:2 How do we know that we love God’s children? We know because we love God, and we obey His commands.

EXPOSITION

The Apostle John agrees that love is an act of one’s will to obey God’s will. When you turn the opposite ends of a magnet toward each other, they need not decide whether they like each other or even appeal to each other; a power within them automatically draws them together. John says that this same power within believers is love. It was one of Jesus’ last messages to His disciples before being arrested and crucified. With this in mind, John begins his second test – the Test of Love.

Our Lord had the same word of advice after washing the disciple’s feet, “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. So, all people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”^[11] And our Master had every right to give this commandment because He tells them emphatically, “You did not choose me. I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. So just in case, his readers didn’t get the full impact of what he was saying, John, added: “This is My command: Love each other.”^[12]  

The Apostle did not say these words as an impromptu comment. Instead, he heard the Savior when He told His disciples that He was giving them a new commandment, that they “love one another” as much as He loved them. Jesus gave them this command because it had a significant purpose. Loving one another with unbreakable love would prove to the world that they were His true disciples. And to show them that this was not a one-time rule, the Master repeated it again and again.^[13]

Another mark noted in verse one by which we can test our love towards our fellow believers is that faith in the Incarnation involves His love. Here in verse two, obedience to God is the test. Obeying God proves love for Him, which requires loving His children. Let us note that the first twelve verses of chapter five explain the importance of the witness of God. God bears clear testimony about His Son. John also shows how the nature of one’s faith gives significance to love. In fact, the message of chapter five grows out of the end of chapter four.[14]

Another critical thing John told us is that spiritual birth rests on the trust that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. Therefore, it makes faith the only condition for salvation. John refers to belief three times in this section:[15]  It gives victory (5:4), It provides validity (5:9), and It brings vitality (5:11)

The connection between belief and love brings John’s argument to a meaningful point in his epistle. It involves love in God’s family. Meanwhile, the Greek word “Christus” means the Messiah, “the Anointed One.” This name emphasizes His ministry, especially His shedding of blood for our sins. He died holding our sins next to His heart. Isaiah speaks of the Messiah in this regard.[16] The Gnostic heretics had a problem identifying the son of man, Jesus, with the Son of God, the Messiah, because Jesus is not only human but also divine.[17]

We also see that the phrase “born of God” occurs seven times in John’s epistle[18] and three times in this verse.[19] All born-again people have the nature of God residing in them. It is spiritual life from God. If we have the life of God in us, we will naturally love God’s family. When the Scripture says, “is born,” it means spiritually made alive at a point in the past, with the results continuing permanently. So, what principle do we find here? The only condition for salvation is faith in the person and work of the Anointed One for our redemption from sin.

How, then, do we apply this to our Christian lives? According to their declaration of faith, many people and churches add additional things to assure salvation. For example, some say that a person must repent at an altar, be baptized in a certain way, and join the church to receive spiritual birth. Such opinions add conditions to the plan of salvation that God never required; God’s only prerequisite for redemption is to trust Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross and resurrection from the dead.

On another occasion, Jesus talked to the Jewish Rabbi Nicodemus and told him that with all the earnestness He possessed, unless he submitted to being born again, he could never get into the Kingdom of God.  “Born again!” exclaimed Nicodemus. “What do you mean? How can an old man return to his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus said, listen to what I’m trying to tell you; unless a person is born of water and the Spirit, they cannot become part of God’s Kingdom. Humankind can only reproduce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives spiritual life from heaven, so don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again! Just as you can hear the wind but not see it, the same is true of God’s Spirit. We do not know on whom He will place this blessing from heaven until it arrives.

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[1] Thompson, Marianne M., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, 1-3 John, op. cit., pp. 129, 132

[2] 2 Corinthians 5:17

[3] Pett, Peter: Commentary on the Bible, 1 John, op. cit., loc cit.

[4] Christadelphians regard themselves as Christians but don’t accept some mainstream Christian doctrine. For example, they believe God is not a Trinity but the single being God the Father. They believe that Jesus Christ was (and is) the Son of God but was also a man as he was born of a woman, though this birth was miraculous. They believe that the Holy Spirit is the power of God. They believe that Jesus now lives in Heaven but will return to the earth to set up God’s Kingdom. All those who have believed and been baptized will be raised to be judged by Jesus. Those who are found worthy will live in the Kingdom forever; those who are not, or those who have not been raised, will stay dead forever. They are a millennial church and believe that Jesus will co-exist on earth with his followers for a thousand years (the millennium) before the ultimate battle of Armageddon. Due to their interpretation of prophecies and, in particular, the Olivet Prophecy, they believe that the day of Jesus’ return will be soon. The Olivet Prophecy describes the signs that Christadelphians believe indicate the return of Jesus. The signs of His return are described by Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and include war, famine, “men’s hearts failing them for fear,” and people being more interested in themselves than in God. Christadelphians believe these signs have been fulfilled and that Jesus will soon return.

[5] John 3:3-5

[6] Heaster, Duncan, The New European Christadelphian Commentary: op. cit., The Letters of John, pp. 67-68

[7] Cf. 1 John 2:29; 3:9

[8] Ibid. 5:18

[9] 1 John 2:9–11; 3:9–10, 14–17; 4:20

[10] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament Series Book 18), op. cit., p. 208

[11] John 13:34-35

[12] Ibid. 15:16-17

[13] Ibid. 15:12, 17

[14] 1 John 4:20-21

[15] Ibid. 5:1, 5, 10

[16] Isaiah 53:5-6

[17] John 20:30-31

[18] 1 John 3:9; 4:7

[19] Ibid. 5:1, 4, 18

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson VIII) 10/05/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

Ben Witherington III (1951) sees the Apostle John returning a basic definition of the Christian doctrine that Jesus is the Anointed One. Having this faith is evidence that a person is born of God. Notice once more that “Christus” is used here as a Jewish title, not a name, and as such, it reflects one of the earliest confessions made about Jesus when the Church only existed in the Holy Land.[1] We suppose this demonstrates the controversy between the two groups John has in mind. In that case, it points to the fact that some denied Jesus’ testimony about Himself that He shared during His ministry.[2] It put them on the same path as the Jews who rejected Jesus and His mission. It offers us more supporting evidence here that Jews who left the community were rebels in this case.

Witherington then summarizes their denials (1) Jesus is the Messiah; (2) Jesus is God’s Son incarnated; (3) Jesus’ death was actual, all-important, and atoning. If this is correct, then those who split from the Church denied the preexistence and divinity of God’s Son and the Messianic aspects of His humanity. They were not Christians on either score. Nevertheless, John does believe that there is any intellectual content in his demand for faith. It is something one must understand Jesus correctly to have a saving relationship with Him.[3]

Judith Lieu (1951) points out that the inseparable bond between love for God and siblings relies on fundamental truths. The Apostle John described believers as being born from God, not by their effort but by God’s birthing power.[4] The opening words (“every one who. . . “) either come from the same source or are used as a model. Although the birthing image points to the individual and their relationship with God, it carries a sense of accompaniment. Such a figure of speech focuses on those who also owe their spiritual life to God’s birthing power more than the language of indwelling or possessing, which can restrict any focus on the individual.

The argument might appear that anyone who loves God loves the God who births born-again offspring. Consequently, it supports an undeniable truth that the love of others, like oneself, is birthed by God. Not realizing this reality would be failing to love the God who brought about one’s spiritual birth. The Apostle John does not see believers as merely a family, ordered to love one another. Nor does he use the language of “brothers” alongside birthing because he knows that brotherly relationships are not necessarily loving any believers.[5] God mediated the horizontal brother-to-brother, sister-to-sister, and brother-to-sister relationship. It is as “children of God” believers love those also born of God, not as newly discovered spiritual brothers or sisters. ^[6]

Gary M. Burge (1952) believes it is critical to include the first four verses of chapter five as a part of any discussion on his first epistle. John does not change the subject but gives it a different distinction. In verse one, we learn that making a meaningful confession of faith is evidence of rebirth. In other places, instead of “confession,” the evidence is “love.”[7] Then elsewhere, it is “obedience.”[8] Verse one also adds a general principle, which, unfortunately, we often miss that loving the One who gave us new life means loving all those He birthed. The Apostle John may have something specific in mind. If you love your parents, surely you will love their other children. Or, again, if you love God (as a parent), you will love all His children (including Jesus). Therefore, using a family metaphor, John is broadening the ethical challenge. God has many children. To love Him – or to love Jesus – demands that we also love God’s other children.^[9]

Bruce B. Barton (1954) advises that to discern whether a person is a genuine Christian, one needs to look at what that person truly believes about Jesus the Anointed One. The true believer openly accepts that Jesus is the Anointed One. To “believe” means to put one’s trust and confidence in, to be convinced of, the truth. To believe in Jesus as “the Anointed One” means to trust Him as God’s Messiah and have faith in Him. It means being convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s only Son and that God’s Spirit-anointed Him to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, die on the cross for sin, and rise from the dead to become the Savior.[10] The Greek verb tenses, notes Barton, indicate that belief is the result, not the cause, of the new birth. The continuing activity of believing proves that a person is God-born. By believing this, they become true Christians. Likewise, having faith that Jesus is God’s Anointed One must produce love for God and fellow Christians. As a result, we must not separate these two key elements. The new birth nurtures the transformation in believers.

Therefore, all who accept Jesus as the Anointed One are spiritual brothers and sisters in Him. So, no matter where these people live, what their race is, the different languages they speak, or their thoughts about other biblical issues (such as the Rapture, the millennial kingdom, speaking in tongues, baptism, eternal punishment, and so on), they are genuine children of God. Believers should love all those who share the same faith in Jesus as the Anointed One. They have the same Father, and everyone who loves the Father loves His children. Christians are a part of God’s family, with fellow believers as spiritual brothers and sisters. God determines who the other family members are. Believers are simply called to accept and love them because they love God.^[11]

Daniel L. Akin (1957) reemphasizes that the regenerated new birth brings us into a special relationship with God as Father. He’s the One who loved us first so we could understand love to Him and others with the same kind of Love.[12] This gift of Love is what He did for us to bring us into union with the Anointed One.[13] However, we not only love the Father, but we also love the family the Father is building. We will treasure our spiritual brothers and sisters who are born of Him.[14] But John then makes an interesting statement in verse two that seems out of order at first. He says we can “know that we love God’s children when we love God and obey His commands.” But is this backward? Shouldn’t the Apostle John say that we know we love God because we love His children?

I don’t think so, says Akin. John’s point is grounded in Jesus’ teaching on two great commandments.[15] To begin with, my love for others is the natural complement and companion to my “first love” for God. So, when I love God, I keep His commands. And following His teachings involves loving others, His daughters and sons in particular. Furthermore, verse three informs us that obeying the command to love one another will not be burdensome. On the contrary, it will be a joy and a delight because the new birth makes it the natural thing to do. And our love for the Father inspires and motivates us to love those He loves and to love them as He loves us.^[16]

Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) implies that verse one is the first of three strategically situated references to “Jesus,” together with two similar references to Him as the “Anointed One.” It also highlights the passage’s goal of upholding the importance of faith in the man Jesus as the Anointed One, God’s Son. The first of these references to those born of God asserts that to believe that Jesus is the Anointed One is to be born of God. Thus, born “not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the human will, but of God,”[17] means you accept Jesus as God’s Anointed One whom He raised from the dead.[18] Therefore, it is not possible apart from the Son nor from “the originator and source from above, who gives birth”[19] that we might believe. And everyone who loves the one who has given birth loves the one who is born of him.

Again, Schuhard notes, faith and love go hand in hand. John refers to God as “the One who gives birth.” John also assumes that those born of God will naturally love the One to whom they owe their existence. The second of these three references[20] is to the one born of God.[21] It further amplifies the meaning of faith and love. To believe, then, means one is born of God. To be born of God is to love Him and those who owe their existence to Him who birthed us all. To love in such a way is to be in the family of God.^[22]

David Guzik (1961) sees that the Apostle John’s great emphasis has been on love, but he never wants anyone to believe they earn salvation by loving others. We are born of God when we trust Jesus and in His saving work in our lives. We also understand that John was not talking about mere intellectual assent to Jesus being the Messiah (as even the demons might have).[23] Instead, he means trusting and relying on Jesus as the Messiah. Additionally, John makes it plain we must believe Jesus is the Anointed One. Many with new-age thinking believe Jesus had the “Anointed One’s spirit” – as they also claim, Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, and certain moderns did too. But we would never say Jesus “has” the Anointed One – Jesus is the Anointed One.

This is the Christians’ common ground, says Guzik, not race, class, culture, language, or anything except for an exceptional birth through Jesus the Anointed One and the joint Lordship of Jesus. Thus, to love all others in God’s family means that you do not limit your love to your church or group, your social or financial status, your race, your political perspective, or your exact theological persuasion. If any of these things mean more to you than your shared salvation and Lordship of Jesus the Anointed One, then something needs fixing. Parents become frustrated and even disgusted when their children fight and hate one another. How must God feel when He sees His children fight among themselves?^[24]

Marianne Meye Thompson (1964) hears the Apostle John tell us that God commands us to love. Whether speaking of our love for God or others, love exemplifies His divine will for humanity since God is love. Therefore, all who are God’s children, who confess Jesus as the Anointed One, are to love each other as He did them. There are two parallel statements in verse one that begin with “every one who.” One points to the importance of faith in Jesus, the other to the significance of loving each other. These are not two separate commands that a believer must keep to become a child of God; instead, they are two expressions of what the child of God does. Faith and love are each an expression of God’s work in a person’s life. Each centers on the person of Jesus the Anointed One. It’s because our faith is in Jesus as God’s Messiah, who provides the fundamental manifestation of God’s love for us.

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[1] See Acts of the Apostles 11:26

[2] Cf. John 5:18

[3] Witherington, Ben III, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Titus, 1-2 Timothy and 1-3 John, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[4] John 1:13; see Leviticus 19:34

[5] 1 John 3:12

[6] Lieu, Judith: The New Testament Library, I II & III John, op. cit., pp. 199-200

[7] 1 John 4:7

[8] Ibid. 2:29; 3:9

[9] Burge, Gary M., The Letters of John (The NIV Application Commentary), op. cit., pp. 191-192

[10] Cf. Matthew 10:7-8

[11] Barton, Bruce B., 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., pp. 105-106

[12] 1 John 4:19

[13] Ibid. 4:10

[14] Ibid. 5:1

[15] Matthew 22:36-40

[16] Akin, Dr. Daniel L., Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary), op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[17] John 1:13

[18] Ibid. 1:10-12

[19] John 3:3

[20] 1 John 5:14

[21] See also ibid. 5:1, 4

[22] Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary, 1-3 John, op. cit., p. 522

[23] James 2:19

[24] Guzik, David: Enduring Word, 1,2 & 3 John & Jude, op. cit., pp. 86-87 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson VII) 10/04/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

Zane Clark Hodges (1932-2008) states that if someone asks who their Christian spiritual brothers and sisters are, the answer is “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One is born of God.”[1]  Whether or not a believer exhibits an admirable life, they should be an object of their fellow Christian’s love. This love does not spring from something lovable in the person themselves, but their fatherhood, since everyone who loves the Father also loves His children. Moreover, love for God’s children is not mere sentiment or verbal expression but is inseparable from loving God and obeying His commands.[2] If someone asks about what it means to love God, the answer is to follow His instructions. Thus, by this series of statements, the Apostle John reduces love for God and one’s fellow Christians to its fundamental character. A person obeys God’s rules by doing what is right toward God and his fellow believers, thus loving God and them. But it must be remembered that this includes the willingness to sacrifice for one’s spiritual brother or sister.[3] ^[4]

Ian Howard Marshall (1934-2015) sees the Apostle John moving to the theme of faith and divine sonship due to John’s concentration on faith in the following verses. But the second part of the verse is still concerned with love. Therefore, the first part of the verse should probably be understood as an introduction to further thoughts about love. He begins by affirming that everybody who makes a true confession of faith about Jesus has been born of God. Thus, faith is a sign of the new birth, just as love is,[5] and doing what is right indicates that a person has been born again. At the same time, faith is a condition of the new birth: “to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become God’s children.”[6] However, John is not trying to show how a person experiences the new birth. Instead, he aims to indicate that a person stands in a continuing child relationship with their Father God. That is further evidence that they have solid faith in who Jesus was and who Jesus is.^[7]

John Painter (1935) points out that all eleven statements in the form of (“whosoever”) are related positively or negatively to these three: believing, loving, and righteousness. These three examples in verse one (born, begat, and begotten – KJV) are evidence of the children of God birthed by God. Probably because of the orientation to provide such tests, the Apostle John did not clarify whether belief precedes birthing,[8] whether receiving Him is understood as a metaphor for believing,[9] or whether birthing precedes belief. He aims to show the necessary connection between the two so that it becomes evident that correct belief, along with loving and doing righteousness, reveals the children of God while their opposites reveal the devil’s brood.[10] From this, we can see that the argument in 1 John was widespread in the Asia Minor (Middle East today) area. There is a familial logic to it. To love the Father implies loving those He loves. In loving each other, they will love their divine parent more. John’s first epistle does not take this step but affirms that to love one’s spiritual brother and sister is immediate proof of love for God. It is instantaneous in John’s letter because he knows no other evidence to verify the claim, “I love God.”^[11]

Muncia Walls (1937) feels that the Apostle John is still dealing with the arguments the Cerinthian Gnostics raised in this epistle. These heretics argued that Jesus was not Christus – the “Anointed One.” By this, they denied the incarnation of God in human form. John’s argument here is that those who genuinely believe that Jesus is the Anointed One are of God. Like other such statements found in John’s writings and elsewhere in the Final Covenant, says Walls, we are not to take the expression as meaning the only thing necessary for salvation is a mere expression of belief in the Anointed One.^[12]

James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) asks, “Which comes first, faith or life?” It expresses whether a person chooses God by believing in the Anointed One or God determines whom He decides to make alive in the Anointed One. John’s first verse answers this question about the new birth. Unfortunately, in none of the English versions is the full sense of the verse adequately communicated, for the differences in tenses are not as striking in English as in Greek. The verb pisteuō (“believe”) is in the present tense in the Greek text, indicating a present, continuing activity. For instance, the word “born” (in the phrase “born of God”) is also in the perfect tense. The perfect tense indicates a past event with continuing consequences. In other words, we are the result and proof of our new birth in the past by which we became and remained God’s children. In fact, we believe and do everything spiritual in nature precisely because we have first been made alive. If this were not the order, then the tests of life would have no value as indicators that an individual is truly God’s child.^[13]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) (1) says that in his quest to produce a loving company of followers, the Apostle John starts this section by defining what having a spiritual brother or sister means. He begins: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One has been born of God.” In other words, the new birth is by having faith. There are five times in this epistle where John clearly states that the new birth results from faith: (i) New birth produces righteousness.[14] (ii) New birth prevents sinful tendencies from being in control.[15] (iii) New birth produces love.[16] (iv) New birth overcomes the world.[17] (v) New birth gives us protection from Satan.[18] One might think that verse one says, “Faith causes new births.” However, the parallel statements and the tenses that John uses make it clear that the point is the other way round. Therefore, we must add a sixth to the five new birth results mentioned elsewhere: (vi) new birth is the source of faith.[19] ^[20]

William Loader (1944) says that the phrase “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One” is what it means to be a Christian. Indeed “Christian” is derived from this confession of faith.[21] Originally it was an affirmation of the belief that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christus. Usually, the hope for the Messiah was associated with Jewish religious hopes. He would be a leader who would liberate the people from their oppressors, particularly the Romans. He would be a new David, a Son of David, the anointed king of Israel.[22] Only Christianity could use such a term for Jesus by significantly modifying its content.^[23]

David Jackman (1945) notes that to describe the nature of faith, the Apostle John again uses the phrase. “Everyone who does such-and-such,” as he has done on several previous occasions in the letter.[24] It is a phrase that includes all who satisfy the requirements for salvation (in this case, all who believe that Jesus is the Anointed One) and excludes everyone else. It is designed to increase the faithful Christian’s blessed assurance and exclude all those who would try to climb into the Great Shepherd’s sheep pen some other way than entering through the only door, the Anointed One.[25] ^[26]

John W. (Jack) Carter (1947) believes that many church teachers had something preventing them from realizing their faith’s true and lasting reward. For instance, their Jewish background demanded that Christians follow strict Mosaic Ceremonial Laws. Others taught methods of salvation that were inconsistent with God’s Word, causing believers to doubt and making them vulnerable to being led away from the truth. However, the Apostle John’s message was that those born again fully accept Jesus’ nature as described in God’s Word. This characteristic is a person’s choice, not an action. It is a belief, not some moral accomplishment. One who loves the LORD accepts Him fully for who He is: the Messiah, the Christus, YAHWEH who came in the flesh, born of a human woman, lived as a human, and returned to His former status in eternity. The idea that God could inhabit a person makes no logical sense. No mechanism in this physical universe serves as a model of this truth.  Acceptance of Jesus the Anointed One is an act of faith. It is through this faith that salvation is awarded to the believer.^[27]

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) notes that the birth language in verse one has the effect of highlighting God’s explicit work in the community to whom John is writing.[28] It doesn’t include human factors like natural affection and religious assent. It may or may not be a fitting account of what some believe today, but it does not describe the Christian experience as John understands it. Faith’s tie to God is not grounded in its tenacity, much less in self-serving spiritual autism,[29] says Yarbrough; instead, it is a willing response to a saving message brought home by divine regeneration through faith. The sublime authorship of Christian redeeming faith – for which John gives God all the credit – makes possible an inspiring outcome: love for others. The singular nature of early Christianity’s fundamental characteristic, love, which had no close parallels in pagan religions of the era, may help explain John’s determination to show that the impulse that gives rise to faith and then results in love comes from God and not from humans themselves.^[30]

Colin G. Kruse (1950) mentions that verse one begins: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One is born of God.” Here the Apostle John reintroduces a theme he developed earlier in the letter, reminding his readers that only those who believe that Jesus is the Anointed One are born of God. It is something the secessionists deny [31], but true believers acknowledge. The secessionists’ modified Christology is reflected in John’s various references to their beliefs in the letter. When one puts them all together, it becomes clear that their Christology involved a denial that Jesus the Anointed One is the Messiah, God’s Son, come in the flesh and whose death was actual and necessary.[32] However, John refers to the whole by mentioning one part at different places in the letter. Accordingly, in the present context, where John says that those who believe that Jesus is the Anointed One are born of God, he stresses the content of the true Christian confession against the denials of the secessionists.^[33]

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[1] Cf. “born of God” in 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:4, 18

[2] Ibid. 5:2; cf. 2:23; 3:22, 24; 5:3

[3] Cf. 3:16-17

[4] Hodges, Zane C., John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, op. cit., vol. 2, pp. 900–901

[5] 1 John 4:7

[6] John 1:12

[7] Marshall, Ian Howard: The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 226-227

[8] See John 1:12-13

[9] Ibid. 20:21

[10] Cf. 1 John 3:10 and see 2:29-3:3

[11] Painter, John: Sacra Pagina: 1, 2, and 3 John: Volume 18, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[12] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., p. 81

[13] Boice, James Montgomery, The Epistles of John, An Expositional Commentary, op. cit., p. 125

[14] 1 John 2:29

[15] Ibid. 3:9

[16] Ibid. 4:7

[17] Ibid. 5:4

[18] Ibid. 5:18

[19] Ibid. 5:1

[20] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3 John op. cit., p. 172

[21] Acts of the Apostles 11:26

[22] See Psalms of Solomon 17

[23] Loader, William: Epworth Commentary, The First Epistle of John, op. cit., pp. 58-59

[24] 1 John 2:29; 3:3-4; 4:2-3,7

[25] John 10:1-9

[26] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 134

[27] Carter, Dr. John W. (Jack). 1,2,3, John & Jude: (The Disciple’s Bible Commentary Book 48), op. cit., p. 116

[28] Cf. Philippians 2:12-13

[29] Autism (ASD) refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.

[30] Yarbrough, Robert W. 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 270-271

[31] See 1 John 2:22-23

[32] Cf. ibid. 4:2-3, 15; 5:1, 6-8

[33] Kruse, Colin G., The Letters of John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson VI) 10/03/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

Robert Cameron (1839-1904) mentions that the condition of this union with the Father and shared possession of the new life is faith in the Anointed One. This faith is also a sign of life. Believing is used here in its complete and definite sense. The third chapter of John’s Epistle expresses belief in the revelation made concerning the Anointed One,[1] and in chapter four, belief in the love manifested through Him.[2] But here, in chapter five, verse one expresses the personal relation of a believing soul to the Anointed of God. In addition to this truth about the Anointed One and the love manifested in Him, reliance upon Him brings the believer into vital contact with Him.

Cameron then adds that the one who believes that Jesus is the Anointed of God for salvation not only admits an intellectual truth but receives all that is involved in that truth. The Apostle John has previously considered the confession of the Anointed One concerning society, but he has in mind solely the faith of a soul in the person of the Anointed One without any regard to another. It is mankind meeting God in the Anointed One and with heart and mouth echoing God’s testimony about themselves and their Savior. It is the essence of what is needed to make a child of God. It is more than assenting to a proposition or expressing the truth. It is the uncontrolled contact of a soul with God through His Anointed One. Martha did not understand a word the Master said to her while grieving over her brother Lazarus’ death. When Jesus asked her if she believed what He said, she answered: “Yes, Lord, I have believed that You are the Messiah, the Son of God.”[3] Apparently, she did not comprehend what the Master said, but she believed in Him: His salvation and rest. She had faith in the right person, which is the right kind of faith. Everyone who believes this way is born of God.^[4]

Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918) says the Apostle John’s message should not be impossible for the natural mind to comprehend. In the wildest myths of false religions, there is nothing more incredible than the story of the life and death of the Son of God. However, for someone who knows who Jesus was and what “Messiah” means, to believe that Jesus is the Anointed One is so beyond the possibilities of human reason that it is proof of being born of God. Those who believe that Jesus is God’s Son are people with supernatural faith, which overcomes the world.[5] Yet just as in Him, the physical eye could see no beauty;[6] Likewise, the human mind can see no wonders in His Gospel. But John finds it fitting to preach the Gospel that the Holy Spirit may empower the Word to reveal the mighty mysteries and marvels of redemption. The Spirit has no desire to inspire John to lower and humanize it to bring it within reach of the natural individual apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.^[7]

Erich Haupt (1841-1910) states that Apostle John presents the synthesis of our relationship to God and the Church, drawn from the love of God that is supposed to exist in us. In God’s eyes, being right is confirmed and verified only by a right relationship with fellow Christians. Now John looks at the matter from the other side: brotherly love is measured by our fellowship with God. This thought expressed in verse two is the fundamental note of the verses that follow, the chapter’s first verse forming only a transition. Several new ideas enter here. Instead of brethren used for the neighbor, the phrases “born of God” and “child of God” is selected for replication. It serves the synthesis that we love our fellow believers as children of God as God loves us. The validity of our love for them then is proven by the genuineness of our love for God. If this love for God is absent, I cannot love my neighbor as a child of God and therefore do not regard them with the right kind of sentiment. Since charity to the neighbor depends upon the infusion of divine love, that is, of the divine Spirit, such compassion will always be absent when the right relationship with God is unsustained. The first verse of chapter five asserts that between our relationship with God and our relationship with the brethren, there must be a reciprocal influence. It explains how the approval of our union with God is a sure token of our proper connection to spiritual brothers and sisters.^[8]

George G. Findlay (1849-1919) states that the Incarnation is the basis of the loftiest and most potent human affections. Love to God and mankind are, according to the Apostle John, the same love toward like-minded believers. No matter how distant, they are one in the person of God’s Son and made children of God through Him. It is God’s nature in us to love other believers. If no one has that mindset, what will one value in the hereafter? The devoted believer who is not friendly is contradicting themselves. John is very short with people in this class; he calls them liars![9] Either they are hypocrites, willfully deceiving others, or they continue to deceive themselves. There is something of God in every born-again Christian; if one does not see and love that something, it is because their eyes of love have become dim. According to John’s doctrine in the closing verses of chapter four, one cannot truly love God without embracing their fellow believers with the same love.^[10]

William Macdonald Sinclair (1850-1917) points out that when the Apostle John says, “Whoever believes,” we should not busy ourselves questioning who are those that still do not believe. This failure in trust is because so many have never heard the Gospel and its message of salvation. What’s important to John is that those who have this privilege of being God’s children are those who have accepted the message and the messenger, Jesus the Anointed One. To be born of God, in a general sense, is quite distinct from “only-begotten.”^[11]

James B. Morgan (1859-1942) implies that this verse may contain the original theory of brotherly love John refers to in other parts of the Epistle. There he explains and enforces its meaning, but nowhere is it more fully expressed than here. We have seen it represented as rising out of love for God. We can assume then that loving God cannot exist without loving others. This assumption is reasonable and scriptural, for, in both exercises, it is one principle branching off in different directions. They are two streams issuing from the same fountain. Not only is there this necessary connection between them, but the same divine and supreme authority require both. Therefore, for a person to say they love God while hating their fellowman is to say they love God whom they disobey and dishonor. Still, as necessary as mandatory brotherly love is, there is only one way in which it can remain secure. That is what John explains in the text. Hence, we have said it contains the theory of brotherly love. As such, then, let us agree: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed One, is born of God; and everyone that loves Him that gave them birth, also loves those whom He has birthed into everlasting life.” ^[12]

Robert Law (1860-1919) cautions that the Apostle John asserts that our relationship with our fellow believers is ordained for this reason. “And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love their fellow believers.”[13] The first reason we realize our love for God to others is an opportunity.[14] The second is the express revelation of the Divine purpose for mankind. The ultimate end for which all social relations exist is that they may be, so to say, the arteries through which the Divine Life of Love flows. We find the third reason in verse two – its role in nature. The commandment, “They who love God also love their spiritual brothers and sisters,” is based on the profound universal law of kinship. Here in verse one, the clause is strictly introductory to the second. The statement, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed is born of God,” is made only to define the persons to whom the brotherly love of Christians is due and the grounds on which it is owed. In opposition to the Gnostic’s exclusiveness, it claims the full measure of brotherly love for all believers. It does so because all are children of One Father. Those who love their parents as the source of their life must love those whose life is derived from the same origin. The psychological necessity for family love follows love for one’s spiritual brothers and sisters. In other words, those who are “born of God” cannot but love those who share the life that unites humans in their deepest convictions, dispositions, aspirations, and hopes.^[15]

Archibald T. Robertson (1863-1934) mentions that the antichrist followers of Cerinthus[16] denied the identity of Jesus as the Messiah.[17] Hence John insists on this form of faith (Greek pisteuō; “to believe”) here in the fullest sense.[18] Nothing less will satisfy the Apostle John, not merely intellectual conviction, but a total surrender to Jesus the Anointed One as Lord and Savior. Divine birthing is the forerunner, not the consequence of believing. Being “born of God” is expressed in other parts of this Epistle.[19] John appeals here to family relationships and family love. So then, our love for a mutual Father is proven by our conduct towards our spiritual brothers and sisters in the Anointed One.^[20]

Alan England Brooke (1863-1939) notes that a new birth has occurred where true faith in Jesus as God’s appointed messenger is present. The Apostle John does not state whether faith is the cause or the result of the new birth. The point is not present in his thoughts, and his argument does not require an explanation. What he wishes to emphasize is the fact that they go together. Where true faith dwells, the new birth is a reality and has lasting and permanent consequences. The believer has been born of God. But incidentally, the tenses “make it clear that Divine birthing precedes believing, not the consequence of believing.”  Therefore, Christian belief, essentially the spiritual recognition of spiritual truth, is a function of the Divine Life imparted to those who believe.

Brooke then points out that the phrase used in John’s Gospel, “to those who believed in His name,” [21] suggests complete and voluntary submission to the guidance of a Person who possessed the character their name implies. Although John is careful not to conceive of any genuine faith stopping short of being convinced of the statement, “He gave the right to become children of God.” They would have regarded the belief that Jesus is the Anointed One as inseparable from faith in Jesus as the Anointed One. Neither belief nor knowledge is, for John, a purely intellectual process. The antichrist’s denial affects this confession of faith.[22] It stresses the identity of Jesus as the incarnated Anointed One, as opposed to the prevalent theories of a higher power descending at Jesus’ baptism and leaving at His crucifixion. The child’s love for their parents naturally carries a divine passion for spiritual brothers and sisters. The step in the argument, “Everyone born of God loves God,” is passed over as too obvious to require a statement. We are reminded again that we must deal with the language of meditation.^[23]

Ronald A. Ward (1920-1986) finds that the Apostle John makes no exceptions in distinguishing the facets of faith: (a) I believe that Jesus is God’s Son, (b) I believe, trust, and have faith in Jesus. John combines belief and faith, which can exist separately but only when combined can they be called “saving faith.”[24] When putting both together, it reads: “I believe that the Anointed One is Jesus.” [25]

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[1] 1 John 3:10

[2] Ibid. 4:9

[3] John 11:27

[4] Cameron, Robert: The First Epistle of John, or, God Revealed in Life, Light, and Love, op. cit., p. 207

[5] 1 John 5:5

[6] Isaiah 53:2; Mark 6:3

[7] Anderson, Sir Robert: The Gospel and Its Ministry, op. cit., p. 25

[8] Haupt, Erich: The First Epistle of St. John: Clark’s Foreign Theological Library, Vol. LXIV, op. cit., pp. 285-286

[9] 1 John 4:20

[10] Findlay, George G: Fellowship in the Life Eternal: An exposition of the Epistles of St. John., op. cit., Ch. XXII, p.368

[11] Sinclair, W. M: New Testament Commentary for English Readers, Charles J. Ellicott, (Ed.), op. cit., Vol. III, p. 490

[12] Morgan, James B., An Exposition of the First Epistle of John, op. cit., Lecture XXXIX, pp. 384-385

[13] 1 John 4:21

[14] Ibid. 4:20

[15] Law, Robert: The Tests of Life: A Study of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., pp. 252-253

[16] Cerinthus taught that Jesus, the offspring of Joseph and Mary, received the Spirit of the Anointed One at His baptism as a divine power revealing the unknown Father. This Anointed One left Jesus before His death and the Resurrection.

[17] 1 John 2:2

[18] Stronger than in 1 John 3:23; 4:16

[19] 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:4,18

[20] Robertson, Archibald T., Word Pictures of the New Testament, op. cit., p. 1966

[21] John 1:12

[22] 1 John 2:22

[23] Brooke, Alan E., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary of the Johannine Epistles, op. cit., pp. 128-129

[24] See James 2:19

[25] Ward, Ronald A., The Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., p. 53 

Undoubtedly, most of us in our lifetime have been told to have confidence in who we are, in what we do, and in our ability to accomplish whatever we may take on as a cause or project. Psychologists tell us that confidence is a belief in oneself, the conviction that one can meet life’s challenges and succeed – and the willingness to act accordingly. Being confident requires a realistic sense of one’s capabilities and feeling secure in that knowledge. Projecting confidence helps people gain credibility, make a strong first impression, deal with pressure, and tackle personal and professional challenges. It’s also attractive, as confidence helps put others at ease.

Furthermore, confidence is not an innate, fixed characteristic. It’s an ability that can be acquired and improved over time. Anxiety can take hold when people are plagued by self-doubt, so putting themselves in and getting accustomed to the specific situation they fear can assure people that nothing terrible will happen. And the activity gets easier with practice. Outside of a social context, one can gain a sense of confidence from personal and professional accomplishments. Continuing to set and meet goals can enable the belief that one is competent and capable.

Lindsay Tigar, a lifestyle and travel writer based in Boston, imagines that we’ve all come across those special people who ooze natural confidence and strength. Whether they’re a member of your work or friend circle, these individuals carry themselves with grace, have excellent eye contact and a firm handshake, and speak with conviction. You may have previously envied their ability to handle an audience and wondered how you could build your confidence to the same level. The truth is it takes practice. It comes from investing in ourselves.

Dr. Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based Psychologist, says that having confidence means believing in and feeling emotionally secure about yourself. It means you have healthy self-esteem and a sense of self. Confidence involves feeling self-assured in an unassuming way rather than being pretentious or arrogant about your characteristics or abilities. 

Kristi Coppa, founder of Wondergrade, a psychological service to help build emotional well-being, states that our confidence reminds us that not only can we make goals, but we must also reach them. So, no matter if we’re working toward getting a promotion at work, making healthier food choices, maintaining a self-care routine, or choosing a life partner, we can trust ourselves. What a beautiful thing. 

Confidence also helps when things don’t turn out as expected. For example, when failure or mistakes happen, confident people are more likely to look at the situation positively, learn from their mistakes, and move forward. This ability to adapt to setbacks allows confident people to pursue higher reaching goals and remain open to changes in the environment or situation.

Also, while everyone experiences periods of sadness and bouts of anxiety, those who are confident are better equipped to push past these feelings. When fears do arrive, confident people typically can calm fearful thoughts with positive self-talk and are less likely to concentrate on worries. This allows confident people to move through anxiety and difficulty and positively cope with challenging emotions. Confidence is associated with almost every aspect of a fulfilling and satisfying life.

So, how can a person build confidence? First, give yourself a break. Having an eradicator sense of confidence doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, it blooms from practice, patience, and continuously trying to be your greatest fan. Here’s a look at some ways to strengthen your self-esteem. Second, invest in your natural skills. Take the things you are good at and start using them more often. Third, accept your emotions. Don’t let fear or anxiety discourage you from completing a task. Fourth, track what’s going well. Don’t spend time on shortcomings; rather, celebrate achievements. Fifth, stop formulating your statements. Don’t soften your opinion so they’ll come across more likable. When we do this, we take power away from ourselves by handing over our thoughts on a silver platter. Sixth, rephrase what you say to yourself. All day, every day, we have an inner dialogue running. While this is a natural, everyday human practice that we should embrace, we must also take an in-depth look at how we speak to ourselves. We will never build confidence if we’re constantly talking down to ourselves. If we want to grow in confidence, we must train our brains to look for positive qualities in ourselves and our situation and turn that into positive self-talk.

This is all well and good, but what does God’s Word have to say about confidence? The Psalmist David has a great idea, “Even if an army surrounds me, I will not be afraid. Even if people attack, I will have confidence in the Lord” (Psalm 27:3). David’s son, Solomon, promoted the same idea by saying, “You can have confidence in the Lord to protect you. He will not let you fall into harm” (Proverbs 3:26). Then later Solomon states that “Reverence for God builds up confidence and makes a world safe for your children” (Proverbs 14:26).

The Prophet Isaiah has this word from the Lord, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you; don’t be dismayed, for I am your God; I will give you confidence, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Then the Apostle Paul tells us that “We must not be confident in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our confidence is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5), and “that you have confidence in the Lord that you will not believe the ideas with which someone is trying to confuse you” (Galatians 5:10). Furthermore, “You can do all things through Him who gives you confidence” (Philippians 4:13).

The writer of Hebrews also has a few things to say about confidence. First, he tells us not to “Lose the confidence we had in the past. Our confidence will be rewarded richly. We must be patient. After you have done what God wants, you will get what He promised you” (Hebrews 10:35-36), “so you can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid of what people might do to me’” (Hebrews 13:6).

Finally, the Apostle John states, “If we have a bad conscience and feel that we have done wrong, the Lord will surely feel it even more, for He knows everything we do. So, dearly loved friends, if our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with confidence and trust” (1 John 3:20-21). So, as we can see, as we are told to have confidence in ourselves, the Bible tells us it will be even better when we also have confidence in God.

You might find that saying Love is a sponge seems a little odd. Aren’t we supposed to be a fountain of Love? But there’s more to it than that. Let me tell you a story involving the once-great mining town of Butte, Montana, where my next oldest sister was born. Back when it was a bustling mining town, Butte made a full third of the copper used in the United States. But as time went on, things turned sour, even after the mining company blew the shaft open to make copper extraction more efficient. Finally, in the early 1980s, economic forces forced it into bankruptcy. 

And it wasn’t just the company’s lights that got turned off, but on their way out of town, the firm shut off the pumps it used to keep water from collecting at the bottom of the mining pit. Slowly, over the years, the water level at the bottom of the quarry began to rise. It started as a puddle. Then it got fuller and fuller until, at 40 billion gallons, it became one of the largest lakes in the United States.

One oddity of geology in this region of Montana is that the ground is full of iron pyrite (which looks like “fool’s gold”). And it turns out that when air, water, and pyrite get together, they produce sulfuric acid. So, this huge lake became a massive vat of sulfuric acid, which hastened the rate at which heavy metals in the remaining copper ore seeped into the water. The lake became a toxic brew.

Then one night in the mid-1990s, a great storm swept over Butte just as a flock of snow geese passed overhead. Not knowing any better, the birds took refuge in the waters of this pit. When the residents of Butte woke up the next morning, they discovered the carcasses of approximately 350 geese floating on the lake’s surface. This was a pit of death, inhospitable to life.

One day, several years later, someone walked into the nearby University of Montana biology department brandishing an algae-covered stick. The researchers gasped when they learned it had been pulled from the lake. They had written off the lake for years. Nothing could live in it, right? But somehow, life had found a way. 

The researchers got curious. They decided to see what else they might find in the lake. And after a year of looking, they discovered this black, blobby glob floating around in the water. It turned out to be a kind of yeast. And it had the most remarkable property. It was absorbing the heavy metals from the water around it. It was acting like a sponge.

Scientists and engineers have used bacteria and other microorganisms to filter heavy metals from contaminated water for years. Usually, these bacteria remove about 10-15% of contaminants. But this black blob absorbed 85-95% of the heavy metals in the water around it. So it was purifying the water in what was once a toxic brew. Excited about their find, the researchers worked up a profile and ran it through their databases to see where else this yeast might exist in the natural world. They certainly, weren’t the first people to find it. 

Their search came up with a single hit. This yeast occurs in only one place – in the digestive tracts of geese. As I say, love is a sponge. Think about it for a moment. If the love revealed in Jesus’ death on the cross can, like yeast, soak up the world’s violence, brokenness, hatred, and division, then purify it, transform it, and reorient it into a new life, then let us never lose sight that at the heart of our faith is this conviction that God’s love can take what is the very worst in us and turn it into good.

With that being true, why can’t we use God’s love to do the same for those around us – in our homes, churches, businesses, and neighborhoods, so that it becomes a great blob acting as a sponge? The Apostle Peter was the first one to come up with this idea. He wrote his constituents, “Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so keep your minds clear and control yourselves. Stay wide awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes you willing to forgive many sins. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything. Then, God will be praised in everything through Jesus the Anointed One. Power and glory belong to Him forever and ever. Amen!” (1 Peter 4:7-8, 11b)

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson V) 09/30/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

William Kelly (1822-1888) mentions another relationship of more profound significance than loving one’s spiritual brother or sister in general but individually. How are they related to God? It is essential to have an answer from God to this question, “Who is my brother?” Many sincere and devoted individuals in the Apostle John’s congregation seem to have difficulty answering this. Undoubtedly, the scattering of God’s children, who once resided in one area like Antioch, adds to the perplexity. Are my fellow believers only those who compose the same congregation? The answer is, “No!” God expects our love to go out into the community, whether right or wrong. Other spiritual communities may have different doctrines or ordinances. But when they share the same beliefs, the present state of disharmony in the church is a reproach on God and makes the path slippery for most. The reason is that it may feel they are the ones who are correct instead of looking to God’s Word and Spirit for guidance. Undoubtedly, the Spirit is grieved[1] by the confusion and disorder in holiness matters. That opens the danger of swerving from His will.^[2]

William Burt Pope (1822-1903) states that faith in Jesus as the Anointed One is, in verse one, the only one the Apostle John ever gives. It is that divinely fashioned trust in the work the Holy Spirit produces through the person of Jesus. Though he does not say so here, John will mention that the Spirit certifies this work. The exact link between faith and regeneration is left untouched. The argument is similar in content and meaning elsewhere,[3] but in verse one, John emphasizes loving one another as a requirement.^[4]

Daniel Steele (1824-1914) states that what the Apostle John says here is more than a casual assent to the truth of the doctrines and claims in the life of the Anointed One. Such reliance upon His person for salvation causes us to abandon every other hope and plea to enthrone Him as the supreme Lawgiver. True faith embraces permission, consent, and trust. It also requires our intellectual approval, sensibilities, and complete submission of the will.

The perfect tense in the Greek verb gennaō implies the continuous effectiveness of this spiritual change. Thus, faith and love are inseparable. The Apostle James expresses the same sentiment respecting those who profess to have faith without the fruitage of Love.[5] It is natural. The love for God and the children of God do, in fact, include each other, just like sodium and chloride must be joined to make salt. It is equally valid if we reverse the order and say, “they who love the children of God love God.” Either form is suitable as the foundation or conclusion of the argument.

Here’s a little logic for you: Upon conception, children inherit the image of their parents. No one can love their parents and yet hate their photographs. True Christians are more or less perfect representations of God’s moral character. In logic, this verse is called an “irregular sorites.”[6] Here’s how it reads: “Every child of God believes in His Incarnate Son. Every child of God loves their heavenly Father. The heavenly Father loves all His children. Therefore, every believer who believes in God’s Incarnate Son, who loves their heavenly Father who loves His children are a child of God who loves God’s children.”This verse demonstrates that the Father’s agápē is the source of love for His children, not the reverse.^[7]

Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) finds that the transition from chapter four lies in the thought of brotherhood. Brotherhood emerged because of the sensitivity concerning the revelation of the Anointed One given by God. It is not an arbitrary command that those who love God also love their fellow Christians. They must do so. They consciously share the principle of their new being with every spiritual brother and sister. The Apostle John uses the Greek verb pisteuō (“believe”) here, but in 1 John 3:23, it expresses a belief in the truth of the revelation as to the Anointed One. In 1 John 4:16, pisteuō describes the general position with regard to the Divine purpose. And here, in verse one, pisteuō presents that belief in a direct and personal form. It not only admits an intellectual truth but enters into a direct relationship with the powers of a spiritual order. The assumption is that the child will love the Author of their being spiritually alive. Love follows directly from life. In this spiritual connection, love must be directed to the Character, not the Person, apart from their character. Therefore, it follows that it extends to all those to whom God’s nature is communicated.^[8]

The Rev. Jacob Isidor Mombert (1829-1913) was born in Cassel, Germany. A Christian convert from Judaism, he was ordained a deacon in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury and began ministering in Quebec, Canada. As a scholarly man and gifted linguist, the University of Pennsylvania conferred a Doctor of Divinity Degree on him. In examining this verse, Mombert says that the only limitation on “salvation for all” is believing and faith. And although someone’s faith may be weak and immature, as long as it is sincere (subjective), and genuine (objective), it will suffice. This belief involves knowledge, inclination, yielding, and trust to create an opening for receiving. Consequently, only a child of God believes in Jesus as the Son of God.^[9]

Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) amplifies that “Whoever believes (from the heart, from the center of being, with a faith that is a part of one’s self) that Jesus is the Anointed One (the one prophesied and anointed of God) is born (or birthed) of God, and “from,” or “out of” God’s nature, by the Holy Spirit, becomes a child in God’s family.”[10] The Apostle John presents the object to be loved in the light of its true nature. For everyone who loves Him that God birthed also loves others, He birthed – that is, God’s children who are of one Spirit with Him. John establishes this fact; if we love God, we also love all in union with Him. Hence, we love our spiritual brothers and sisters who have His nature. It is an argument previously implied [11] but restated here in certain words that we may certainly know who the believers are to be loved and the divine reason for loving them. Does anyone know the full impact of believing in Jesus by tracing out the profound truths and facts involved in that beautiful description applied to Him as the Anointed One of God? Also, note the importance of this verse proving the relationship of regeneration to faith. Shining like the sun; believing is the action of the regenerate heart. So then, you see the activity of belief and know that regeneration is its source.^[12]

John James Lias (1834-1923) notes different wording in verse one: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the One born of Him.” These words are in close connection with what was said before. Though they lead to the definition of the place of faith in the Christian scheme, this definition, nevertheless, according to the subtle law of development characteristic of the Apostle John’s Epistle and Gospel, flows gradually and indiscernibly from the thought with which the last chapter concludes. Here’s how it unfolds: It is a fundamental principle of the Gospel that each disciple should love their spiritual brothers and sisters. And why? Because each is the possessor of a new life, coming directly from God. We are to love our fellow Christians because every believer shares the gift of the supernatural life.[13]

The next question is regarding the meaning of the Greek verb pisteuō (“believed”). In 1 John 3:23, it’s coupled with love. However, it does not represent in any sense the channel through which love flows. It involves the recognition of Jesus the Anointed One and complete trust and confidence in Him as Savior. But there is no specific definition of its character. So then, in 1 John 4:16, it is even more restricted but fuller in scope. It is not belief in God or the Anointed One, but His love. It is indeed connected immediately with the assertion that love is His essence. But what we are in that passage specially asked to contemplate is the action of God towards us, as witnessed by our experience. However, here in verse one, says Lias, the nature of faith is made clear. It accepts the truth that Jesus is the Anointed One, and this, of course, involves all the doctrinal statements of chapter four. Those who believe that Jesus is the Anointed One believe in Him as the personal manifestation of God in human form.^[14]

John James Lias (1834-1923) states that faith is not the cause but the consequence of the new birth. This statement might be viewed as a paradox, so firmly is it believed by many that faith is the necessary condition of the “new birth.” But the paradox is asserted here. No better interpretation fits John’s words than this, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed One has already been born anew from God.” In other words, faith is not the cause but the effect of the new birth. So, the Apostle Paul thinks it necessary to caution us that “Salvation” is not our work but God’s; faith is not achieved by claiming to be a Christian. Instead, it is a Divine gift and the dynamic that makes salvation work.

Many in our day want to earn salvation and the new birth through a person’s actions, not God’s. So, first, a person believes, and then God operates. The opposite is the case. With the spiritual, as with the natural life, the divinely given seed is the first starting point, which gathers shape and form by God’s holy laws. Wildlife develops according to the law of Nature. If it grows, the spiritual life develops according to a spirit of faith. Faith is undoubtedly a person’s “response to their environment” to use modern scientific language. But even that power is God’s gift. Humans have nothing beyond their free will, which accept or reject what God offers them.^[15]

Augustus Hopkins Strong (1836-1921) states that the Church’s doctrine on faith is a necessary outgrowth of the doctrine of regeneration. This fundamental spiritual change is mediated not by external applications but by internal and conscious reception of the Anointed One and His truth. As such, union with the Church logically follows, not precedes, the soul’s spiritual partnership with the Anointed One. We have seen that God’s family is the body of the Anointed One. We now perceive that the Church is made a living body with duties and powers of its own by the impartation to it of the Anointed One’s life. A. J. Gordon emphasizes that the church, a voluntary association of believers united for worship and edification, is most inadequate, if not incorrect.[16] It is no more accurate than that hands and feet are voluntarily united in the human body for movement and work. The Church is formed internally. The Anointed One, present through the Holy Spirit, regenerating people by the sovereign action of the Spirit and organizing them around Himself as the living center, is the only principle that can explain the existence of the Church. Therefore, the Head and the body are One – both in fact and name.[17] ^[18]

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[1] Isaiah 63:10; Philippians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19

[2] Kelly, William: An Exposition of the Epistles of John the Apostle, op. cit., p. 346

[3] See 1 John 4:20

[4] William Burt Pope: The International Illustrated Commentary on the New Testament, Philip Schaff (Ed.), op. cit., pp. 36-37

[5] James 2:26

[6] An instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion. For example, all believers are Christians; all Christians are born again; therefore, all believers are born again.

[7] Steele, Daniel: Half-Hours with St. John’s Epistles, op. cit., loc., cit.

[8] Westcott, Brooke F., The Epistles of St. John Greek Text with Notes, op. cit., pp. 176-177

[9] Mombert, Jacob Isidor: John Peter Lange, First Epistle of John, op. cit., Vo. IX, p. 158

[10] The American Amplified Version (1964) reads: Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.

[11] 1 John 4:20

[12] Sawtelle, Henry A: Commentary on the Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 54

[13] John 1:12-13

[14] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, op. cit., pp. 352-356

[15] Ibid. With Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 349-350

[16] Gordon, A. J., The Ministry of the Spirit, American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1894, p. 53

[17] 1 Corinthians 12:12

[18] Strong, Augustus H., Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, op. cit., pp. 212-213

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson IV) 09/29/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

Candlish continues, can this be any different than after Mary gave birth to a boy, God spoke from heaven at his baptism, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased?”[1] God has little interest in receiving honor, worship, or affection from us unless expressed to Him as the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. So, God pleads: “If you would love Me the way I desire to be loved, you must love Me as a Father. And the only sure proof of your so loving Me is loving my only begotten Son.” So, hear Him – worship Him – if you desire to love me – love me as the Father from everlasting to everlasting. Love me as the One sending Jesus to save and raise Him from the dead with this acknowledgment, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.”[2]

And now, says the heavenly Father, I am fathering others to be my sons and daughters through my Son. They are born anew by the power of my Spirit to make them one with the Anointed One, who is my only begotten Son, first-born among many spiritual brothers and sisters. Thus, I am birthing children for my spiritual family, one after another. And every one of them is to Me what my only begotten Son is. Can you say that He is the same to you? He will be so if you love Me, says God. So, it says here in verse one, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him.”^[3]

Johann Eduard Huther (1807-1880) states that verse one shows that believers, born of God, love their spiritual brothers and sisters out of necessity. The two elements of the Christian life – faith and love, represent their unity. John says Christos is motivated by the counter-argument of the false teachers. Loving others is not the manifestation of faith but faith itself. Keep in mind faith is not part of human nature. As the Apostle Paul explains, it is a gift from God.[4] This first sentence forms the premise from which the Apostle John draws his conclusion. John is not expressing fiction but fact.^[5]

Daniel D. Whedon (1808-1885) states that when a person believes they are in union with God through the Anointed One, it requires one’s full consent of intellect, heart, and will that Jesus is the Anointed One. This faith embraces Him as God’s Son, with all His offices as Savior and giver of eternal life. Furthermore, those who believe in God are His children, just as the Anointed One is God’s only begotten Son of God. They that love the Father love the Father’s Son and all the Father’s other sons and daughters. They are, indeed, His brothers by a celestial parentage. Our family love ascends to our Father, God, and then comes down upon all His children. In other words, all are communicated by love in one way or another.[6]

Henry Alford (1810-1871) begins by asking, “Who is our brother?” Then, again, “Why does this term carry such an obligation to love?” In close connection with the previous verse, the Apostle John answers these questions: “Anyone who loves God must also love their spiritual brothers and sisters.”[7] Those who believe this does so by faith. Faith has spoken that Jesus the Anointed One is born of God. From what follows, spiritual brothers and sisters see this as necessary to love God. Then the connection between this and the following clause, some abbreviated as, “born of God = loving God.” But this is far-fetched, says Alford, and has shown above that the object points to are those we are bound to love if we love God. So then, having made this prediction of all God’s children, John takes it up again[8] as a general reference and talks about our faith as the principle which overcomes the world. Consequently, everyone who loves the One born of God cannot help but love those He is responsible for birthing.^[9]

Karl Gottlieb Braune (1810-1877) says we must never separate faith and love! It is forbidden. Here’s why, 1) by its origin in the regeneration from a loving God, 2) by its object, Jesus the Anointed One, in whom the love of God was manifested, and 3) by its task, to conquer the world through love. Therefore, we must distinguish between faith and love in the work of regeneration. The first is secured by the last, but do not remove them from the sphere of sanctification where faith is the root of love, and love the many-branched crown of faith. Here is, says Braune, how you may ascertain whether you have faith and are born again from 1) your love to God the Father, 2) from your love of the brethren, 3) from your obedience to the Divine commandments, 4) and from your fight with the world in and around you.

Dr. Christian Friedrich Richter, a physician at the Orphan House of Halle, Germany, during Anne Franke’s time, was the author of a Christian song titled: “Es kostet viel ein Christ zu sein.” The lyrics in English say, “It costs a lot to be a Christian to live according to the mind of the pure spirit, for it sours nature to give itself forever to Christ’s death.” But John is saying that it is not difficult to be a Christian and live conformably to the mind of the pure Spirit, although nature finds it very hard. Both are true and good. The Law is only a burden to the person hampered by sin, not the Christian strengthened by grace. While the weak believer is encouraged to be good, enabling the firm believer to be good. Obedience to the Divine commandments marks the recovery of the Spirit; disobedience notes its decay. Nothing is more natural; nothing more adapted to human nature created by God after His image than the Will of God. It is consistent with His Nature and expressed in the Law for the benefit of His Kingdom. God did not give His Word to frustrate humanity but facilitate mankind, not as a barrier to humans, but in opposition to sin.^[10]

William Graham (1810-1883) says the believer’s relation to God is another truth asserted in verse one. From this, we learn that chosen followers of the Savior are members of God’s family. First, it allowed them to call Him their Father and approach Him, at all times, as His dear children. But to do so with holy reverence and respect, knowing He will not withhold anything else after giving His beloved Son for them.[11] Secondly, love for God is of necessity connected with love for fellow believers. It is vain to talk of loving the Father in heaven while we disregard, despise, and dislike His children on earth. But this idea of the Father and the family being so intimately related to one another is very precious and consoling to the church of God. In our loving the Father, we love the family, and in our loving the family, we love the Father. We observe, here, that there is no hint of any distinct groups in the family, which, in other passages, are very conspicuous. It is because they are all born of the same Father; this quality unites them with Him, no matter how diversified they are in other respects, and makes them the objects of the love of all that love the Father.^[12]

William E. Jelf (1811-1875) sees the Apostle John giving another reason for brotherly and sisterly love from Christians spiritually born of the same Father and grounded on the position in which faith puts them. It comes in its prominent characteristic: believing He was known on earth by His human name Jesus and in heaven as the Anointed One. But, on the other hand, John considers faith the same as belief, separate from the fruit of love, because he will speak of love as a necessary part of faith. This faith is the work of the Holy Spirit and shows that the new birth has taken effect. Not only are the faithful ones adopted as God’s children, but they also have a unique nature. This new birth includes and implies that the believer loves the Father. After all, He was the One who birthed them, and by the ordinary laws of mankind’s moral nature, a child shows love to their Father. Therefore, if someone says they love God, they must admit that they are also bound to love their siblings. In all these passages, John seems to be contemplating cases in which a person would separate faith and brotherly love.^[13]

John Stock (1817-1884) elaborates that those who receive the Anointed One acknowledge Him as both Son of God and Son of man in one. They also declare Him as their only Savior and way to the Father. The Anointed One is their sole Advocate with the Father and their living and triumphant Head and King. In doing so, they likewise claim Him as their prophet and High Priest. Furthermore, He is their Lord who gives them strength and hope. They affirm every part of this as they grow in Him as a mustard seed into a great tree. Their souls enjoy His saving grace and lead to a glad confession of His name, the only name under heaven given whereby we must be saved and proves they are born of God.

Theologian Stock claims that such believers love the Lord and follow Him, genuinely repenting their past sins and daily endeavor to walk with Him on the path of holiness. To such, the Anointed One gives the power, privilege, and permission to those not born naturally resulting from the passion of the flesh or the will of mankind but of God to be called God’s children. God owes no one anything for their spiritual existence; His mercy is at His disposal, for the Almighty has compassion on whom He will understand.[14] God has no interest in condemning anyone. We heap damnation upon ourselves. Vessels of wrath are fashioned for destruction, but not as God’s vessels of mercy, which God has already prepared for glory.

Professor Stock continues with his exciting proclamation about God’s offer of salvation to all. The Great Commission is to preach the Gospel to every creature. Rejectors of salvation are such by their attitude and actions. So, the Apostle Paul said to the Jews; that they rejected the message of salvation by judging themselves unworthy of eternal life. Then our blessed Lord said, Jerusalem, you would not let me gather you as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings.[15] So it was Jerusalem that refused. Isaiah also prophesied of such and said, the hearts of these people are so hard, and their ears are completely deaf and have shut their eyes so tight, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.[16] ^[17]

Johannes H. A. Ebrard (1819-1893) follows a further establishment of this point by the Apostle John. And it is not to be explained simply on the assumption that from verse twenty in chapter four, John had in view the relationship between genuine Christians and Christians in name only. His goal is to show the requirement of brotherly love in its organic connection with faith in the incarnation of the Son of God. Now, those who have this faith are born of God. A true believer loves God, as outlined earlier by John.[18] Therefore, we must accept that the obligation to love God is acknowledged even by those who may not love many Christian brothers or sisters. Hence, without adding anything else, John can connect the major proposition, “whosoever,” with the minor proposal of “loving.” The concluding clause then demonstrates that those who believe are born of God. And because they are born of God, they carry in them the nature of God.^[19]

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[1] Matthew 3:17

[2] Psalm 2:7

[3] Candlish, Robert S., The First Epistle of John Expounded in a Series of Lectures, op. cit., Lecture XXXV, p. 434

[5] Huther, Johann E., Critical and Exegetical Handbook to General Epistles, op. cit., pp. 600-601

[6] Whedon, Daniel D., Commentary on the New Testament, op. cit., p. 276

[7] 1 John 4:21

[8] Ibid. 5:4

[9] Alford, Henry: The Greek Testament, Vol. IV, op. cit., p. 497

[10] Braune, Karl Gottlieb, Johann Peter Lange: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical, Vol. IX, p. 165

[11] Romans 8:22

[12] Graham, William: The Spirit of Love, op. cit., p. 307

[13] Jelf, William E., A Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., pp. 68-69

[14] Romans 9:15

[15] Luke 13:34

[16] Matthew 13:15; cf. Isaiah 6:9-10

[17] Stock, John: An Exposition of the First Epistle General of St. John, op. cit., pp. 397-398

[18] 1 John 4:7-20

[19] Ebrard, Johannes H. W., Biblical Commentary on the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 310-311

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson III) 09/28/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

But how should we deal with a sinning believer, asks Pierce, especially one who committed a sin leading to spiritual death? John told the saints not to pray for them. Those born of God are preserved from it. So also, the acceptance that God’s Son came, coupled with John and his fellow apostles’ enlightenment, declared their interest in the Anointed One. And the chapter is closed with this appeal, little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.^[1] Deciphering this statement about taking anyone off your prayer list who sinned, punishable by being lost forever, is that it interferes with the Holy Spirit’s work. Once a person refuses to repent and rejects the Gospel of salvation as the only way to eternal life, praying to God for their salvation is needless. God does not save people based on our prayers.[2]

George Haydock (1778-1862) amplifies verse one by saying that Jesus is the Anointed One, the promised Messiah, the world’s Redeemer, is born of God, and is made His adoptive child by His grace in baptism. Thus, “born of God” means “a justified baptized child of God.” That is, provided belief in this fundamental article of the Christian faith accompanies all the other conditions God’s Word outlines. That includes confidence in everything God has revealed and promised: hope, love, repentance, and a desire to keep God’s Holy Law.^[3]

Augustus Neander (1789-1850) describes faith as nothing but conviction, having passed through the awareness of sin, acknowledging Jesus as the center of it all, and embracing the sum of it all. It is the act whereby the soul, renouncing itself and joyfully accepting the offered union with Jesus as its Redeemer and Lord, wholly gives itself to Him so that it may no longer belong to itself but Him alone. That means everyone who believes in this sense, says the Apostle John, is born of God. John regards this as something which can only proceed from divine power entering the heart, a work of God in mankind, a blessed fact. Where this occurs, the person receives a new existence whose fountain and root are in God. Thus, they become a new person born of God in the true sense, which has the source of divine life in them.

By this, says Neander, a person born of a woman entering the world to take their place among humans is now raised to a higher existence. Therefore, as by natural descent, the Son of God derived a holy essence from His Father to reflect this image so that those who believe, by the quality of this new spiritual birth from God, are called God’s children. And thus, they reflect this feature of the holy life the Father gave them through His Son. Hence, John says they who love God, from whom this born-again experience is derived, must love this relationship and likeness in others because those who love Him and are born of God have this same eternal life. Therefore, love, the source of being a new creation in the Anointed One, necessarily includes love for all partakers in this life. For this reason, everyone united in fellowship as God’s children feel drawn toward each other because of the mutual agápē they share, unlike no other relationship among mankind.^[4]

Gottfried C. D. Lücke (1791-1855) states that genuine love for God and fraternal love for others are inseparably connected; they serve each other on a mutual basis and condition. And since brotherly and sisterly love is the indispensable manifestation of loving God, loving God is the basis of loving others. Accordingly, the divine love of God’s children is grounded in a deep love for God as long as it consists of the faithful keeping of God’s holy commandments.^[5]

Charles Hodge (1797-1878) talks about the Apostle John’s terms for admission into God’s kingdom. Any human authority cannot rightfully alter these. No one can add or subtract from them. The rule He laid down on this subject is what He requires for admission into heaven’s kingdom as a condition of access to God’s earthly kingdom. No one can demand anything more and nothing less. We are to receive all those who the Anointed One welcomes. No degree of knowledge, no confession, beyond that which is necessary to salvation, can be required to recognize anyone as a Christian brother or sister and treat them as such. Philip baptized the Eunuch on the confession, “I believe that Jesus the Anointed One is the Son of God.”[6] For believers to reject those God has received into His fellowship is an intolerable assumption. All those terms of Church communion set up beyond the credible profession of faith in the Anointed One are violations of an authority that belongs to God alone.^[7]

Albert Barnes (1798-1870) comments on the meaning of the word “Christus” Of course; it means that the proposition that “Jesus is Christus” should be believed or received in the true and proper sense. It cannot be supposed that a mere intellectual acknowledgment of the proposition that Jesus is the Messiah is all it means, for that is not the proper interpretation of the word in the Scriptures. That word, “Christus,” is not a name but a title. If, in the appropriate sense of the phrase, a person believes that Jesus is Christus, receiving Him as the Anointed One and Savior, it is undoubtedly true and constitutes them being called a Christian.

The point the Apostle John is trying to make is that believers constitute one family since all Christians are children of the same Father. And because they all bear the same image, they also share alike in His favor. Therefore, they all owe a debt of gratitude to the Anointed One and are committed to promoting His Kingdom in this world. After all, they will share the same home in heaven one day forever. Therefore, as all the children love their father, it should be the same in the great family of which God is the Head.^[8] 

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) makes it clear that it is impossible to love God without at the same time loving their brothers and sisters on account of the essential equality of the objects of this twofold love. Our Christian brothers or sisters are born of God and are similar in relationship to God. How, then, is it psychologically possible that anyone can love God and not their fellow Christian related to God? John says: if only we do not forget that, in virtue of their faith in Jesus as the Anointed One, a Christian is essentially born of God and a child of God. Consequently, it must be evident that God our Father’s nature and characteristics are reproduced in our Christian family members.

So, the question is, how can they who claim to have the supernatural essence and attributes of the Father in them not love these same virtues in their fellow Christian? The conclusion of the argument is unexplained in this verse. John states two premises: First, they who believe in Jesus as the Anointed One must love. Secondly, they must love God and all other believers in union with Jesus as the Anointed One.  John leaves it up to the reader to draw these conclusions for themselves.^[9]

Heinrich A. W. Meyer (1800-1882) points out that there seems to be a close connection between verse one in this chapter and verse twenty-one of the previous chapter. It is indicated by the corresponding thought of 1 John 4:16, bringing forward the idea of God’s children and fulfilling God’s commandment to love one another. Believers are born of God before entering into a child’s relationship with Him. The natural and necessary result of a child’s connection to a father is love and love for the other children born of him. Therefore, God’s children must love their spiritual siblings.[10] You will notice in the text that the Greek verb gennaō is used three times in verse one. The KJV translates them as “born,” “begat,” and “begotten.” You will observe that the first refers to Jesus, the second to the believer, and the third to all other believers. John’s message to Christians is that love must encompass all three, or else it is not God’s love.

John N. Darby’s (1800-1882) version of the New Testament reads: “Everyone that believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God, and everyone that loves Him that has begotten also loves Him that is begotten of Him.” The NIV has, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well.” And the NLT “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too.” Since they all use the exact Greek text, it doesn’t show that they changed the original reading, but that time has changed how we read it for better understanding. That’s why I am so interested in comparing translations. Paraphrases are another matter. Those we must take as expressions rather than verbatim translations. Never base a sermon on a paraphrase. Instead, use paraphrases as a way of amplifying the original text. Remember, the KJV was only the Authorized Version of the Church of England in 1611 AD and among the Puritans who brought it to America. The KJV kept that position until the beginning of new English translations in the 1950s.

Henry Cowles (1802-1881) says that genuine faith in Jesus as the Anointed One is proof of the new birth. Such souls, new-born to God, naturally love their divine Father and consequently all His spiritual children. To love God as their Father, they must love all those possessing this same relationship with this loving Father. The love of father and mother reproduces the same passion in sons and daughters. It has been a well-known law of the human family through all ages. It is why believers enjoy the same relationship and fellowship with God and others in mutual love.^[11]

Robert Jamieson (1802-1880), Andrew Fausset (1821-1910), and David Brown examine the Apostle John’s statement that believers who accept Jesus as the Messiah are God’s children because to love the Father means loving all His children. They point out that in 1 John 4:21, our spiritual brothers and sisters are entitled to such love because they are “born of God:” so if we want to show our love to God, we must show it to God’s visible representative. The Greek adjective pas “Whosoever” (KJV); “Everyone” (NIV) [collectively] or “Every one” [individually] claiming Jesus as their Savior is not possible unless the man from Galilee is God’s Messiah, revealing the way of salvation as a Prophet. In addition, the Son of God could not work out our salvation without being a Priest, nor confer everlasting life on us without being our King. Therefore, everyone that loves the One who generated them,[12]  by secured possession, not a mere profession, also loves all others born of Him – namely, “their spiritual brothers and sisters.[13] [14]

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[1] Pierce, Samuel E., An Exposition of the First Epistle General of John, Comprised of Ninety-Three Sermons, sermon LXXIII, 1 John 5:1

[2] See Romans 9:18

[3] Haydock, George: Catholic Bible Commentary, N. T., pp. 518-519 (This Catholic commentary on the New Testament, following the Douay-Rheims Bible text, was originally compiled by a Catholic priest and biblical scholar Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849). This transcription is based on Haydock’s notes as they appear in the 1859 edition of Haydock’s Catholic Family Bible and Commentary printed by Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, New York.

[4] Neander, August: The First Epistle of John, Practically Explained, op. cit., pp. 276-278

[5] Lücke, Friedrich C. F., A Commentary on the Epistles of St. John, Section Eight, p. 249

[6] Acts of the Apostles 8:37; cf. Romans 14:1, 4; 1 John 5:1

[7] Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology: Vol. 2, The Nature of this Kingdom, p.607

[8] Barnes, Albert: New Testament Notes, op. cit., p. 4872

[9] Rothe, Richard: Exposition of the First Epistle of John, The Expository Times, November 1894, p. 88

[10] Meyer, Heinrich A. W., Critical and Exegetical Handbook on New Testament, op. cit., p. 811

[11] Cowles, Henry: The Gospel and Epistles of John: with Notes, p. 353

[12] 1 John 4:20

[13] Ibid. 4:21

[14] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s New Commentary on the Whole Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, Wheaton, IL, New Testament Volume, 1990, p. 728

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson II) 09/27/22

^5:1 If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One – that He is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are God’s child. And all who love the Father love His children too.

The Lord Jesus the Anointed One is the Rock for all Christians. Race, place, and face are a distant second. It is effortless to test our love for God. How committed are we to fully applying His principle every day? That is the measure of our love. Fellowship with God transmits power. The person who trusts in Jesus the Anointed One joyfully rises to God’s standards for Christian living. They receive direction from their divine Parent. Therefore, their identity as Christians and the dignity of being part of their spiritual family; motivate them to love all members of God’s family.

COMMENTARY

Bishop Irenaeus (130-202 AD), in his writings against heresies, stated that all those outside of the dispensation of Grace who imagines having some divine knowledge that Jesus and the Messiah were not one person are deluding themselves. Sadly, to them, the Anointed One and the Only-begotten are two different people. They also contend that the Word and Savior don’t exist in one man named Jesus. Unfortunately, they are nothing more than disciples of erroneous thinking by those still in a state of depravity. Such individuals appear as sheep, trying to be like us, but their public behavior, even when repeating the exact words we do, does not hide that they are undercover wolves. Their doctrine is homicidal, conjuring up, as it does, any number of gods but lowering and dividing the Son of God in many ways. These are those against whom the Lord cautioned us beforehand, and His beloved disciple, in this Epistle, commands us to avoid them at all costs.

Irenaeus goes on to say that in his day, many deceivers were going around who did not confess that the Anointed One of God came to earth in human form. Such impostors are antichrists. Beware of them, says John; you don’t want to lose what you already have.^[1] And again, John says in this Epistle: “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if their spirit comes from God, for there are many false prophets in the world. Here’s how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus the Anointed One came in a human body, that person has the Spirit of God.”^[2] These words agree with what John records in his Gospel, that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,”[3] and “Every person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is God-born.”^[4] So, knowing that Jesus and the Anointed One is the same person to whom heaven’s gates opened for us because of His becoming human: is coming again in the same flesh in which He suffered, revealing the glory of the Father.^[5]

Bede the Venerable (672-735 AD) asks, who believes Jesus is the Anointed One? It is the person who lives according to the Anointed One’s teachings. Therefore, let no heretic or divisive person falsely say they believe that Jesus is the Anointed One. Even the demons believe and tremble because they know that much. But those who do not have His love or loving ministry are not of God.^[6]

Matthew Poole (1624-1679) states that for someone to say they believe that Jesus is the Anointed One either makes a genuine affirmation or a superficial confession. For a confession to count as being authentic, it must be a lively, productive, unifying, soul-transforming, and obedient faith in Jesus as the Anointed One, which proclaimed the effect of God’s regenerating power and grace.[7] And as nothing can be more natural to such a heaven-born faith than loving God who birthed us, nothing can be more consequential and agreeable than loving the characteristics and image of God within those born of the same Father.^[8]

Hugh Binning (1627-1653) exclaims what a royal heritage this is! How it makes a person’s human nature nobler! Indeed, all other degrees of birth among humanity are unsuccessful imaginary things that have no worth but in society’s fantasies. They put no noble excellence in people. What the Anointed One offers is true nobility. It alone extracts individuals from the multitudes on the world’s garbage pile. No underlying differences between blood types or races disqualify anyone. It is called a divine second birth. All other distinctions are but opinions; this is reality. It puts the image of that blessed Spirit upon humanity. Truly, such a creature is not conceived in the womb of any natural cause, human persuasion, appealing words of a person’s wisdom, or any external mercy or judgment. No instruction, influence, allurement, or fear of hell can make anyone a Christian in the Spirit. The Spirit breathes spiritual life when and where He pleases. He alone can make you new again. It must come from above – power that can set your hearts right and cause you to look straight toward the Kingdom of Heaven.[9] ^[10]

John Flavel (1627-1673) points out that if believers fail to unify with those who bear God’s image, how can they be in union with God? What is being at peace with the Father and at war with His children? It cannot be. Is it true that some believers who hope they have made peace with God but still dislike, despise, and discriminate against God’s other children? Surely, when we are submissive to the Lord, we are in harmony with His people: we will then love a believer as a Christian, and by this, we may know that we have passed from death to life.^[11]

In a sermon on Wednesday, May 11, 1693, John Howe (1630-1705) says that the Apostle John’s opening words about acknowledging Jesus as God’s Anointed One is a doctrinal assertion. It only needs explaining and application. Hearing such an assertion for the first time might may you think it unnecessary. It may seem strange to unaccustomed ears, at least, that such a thing as this should be affirmed universally. Hearing that a person can be born of God might even scare a person to think of such a thing. Being sinful creatures, we might say to sin, “you are my father,” and to corruption, “you are my mother.” Thus, knowing where we came from, how can we now suppose that we are divine offspring, heavenly children, as someone born of God? How wonderful and transforming that would be if it were so.^[12] The Jews gloried that they were God’s children and had God for their Father; they were called His children and firstborn.[13] Nevertheless, the Apostle John informs them that this earthly relationship would be useless unless they were born again of water and the Spirit.[14] Therefore, they must be born again and baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[15]

Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) paraphrases verse one to read: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loves Him that gave birth also loves those born of Him” (as being by their new birth partakers of Divine nature and created anew after the image of God).”[16] ^[17]

William Burkitt (1662-1714) observes: (1) The proposition laid down as the object of our faith, namely, that Jesus of Nazareth, who was born and lived among the Jews, was the world’s Savior, the person whom Moses and the Prophets foretold to be the Messiah. (2) The duty requiring us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah is historically accurate and to express the truth of that faith in a conforming lifestyle. (3) Only those who declare that Jesus is the only Anointed One; can claim to be born of God. (4) The affection that every person born of God offers must also be shared with others. (5) What are the actual effects and natural products of this to God? It is, without doubt, a sign of sincere fondness for all His children. Every Christian that genuinely loves God loves the image of God in His saints. How can we love God and His Son and not love any of His other children?^[18]

Johann Bengel (1687-1752) says that the scope and design of this paragraph are plain from the conclusion:[19] “If you don’t love your fellow believer, then you do not love God.”[20] So, with great elegance, the Apostle John mentions love in this part of the discussion. This affection we have toward any believer is spiritual love. Where there is dislike, the new life is immediately injured. The conclusion is that those who delight in God’s love for all will, in turn, love all those who call Him “Father.”^[21]

James Macknight (1721-1800) states we should not consider this verse as speculation but with firm persuasion to influence those who possess it, leading to obeying Jesus implicitly, from a sense of His authority, as the Anointed One, the Son of God, sent into the world to save humanity. The unbelieving Jews thought themselves the children of God because they were descendants of Abraham through Isaac and possessed knowledge of the true God. Some Jewish converts added that title to that high honor on the same foundation. But the Apostle John assured both that God confirmed Jesus as the Anointed One. Thus, the only thing under the Gospel dispensation that made believer’s His children was their belief in Jesus as the Anointed One, God’s Son loving God’s children. The Apostle John knew that all God’s children loved God as their Father. Now he declares it a characteristic mark of God’s children that they love all their spiritual brothers and sisters because they bear the image of their Father. ^[22]

John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) said we should fix it in our minds that whoever affectionately believes that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and depends on Him, as the anointed Prophet, Priest, King, and Head of His Church, is regenerated by God’s Spirit. Furthermore, from this principle of faith, they have supreme love, esteem, desire, and delight in the Almighty. Such believers cannot but have an excellent will to delight in every Christian brother and sister as beloved of God and spiritually born again in His image.^[23]

Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) finds that verse one contains a couple of statements condensed into irregular logic of passing from a major point to a minor issue. The Apostle John states, “Whoever has God’s Son has spiritual life; whoever does not have His Son, does not have spiritual life.” Everyone who accepts the Incarnated One is a child of God, and every child of God loves their Father and all His children. Consequently, to acknowledge that Jesus is the Anointed One is to understand that One who was known as a man fulfilling His Divine commission by being crucified is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. To have faith in this is to accept both the First and the Final Covenants; it is to conclude that Jesus is what He claimed to be. Therefore, for believers to have union with the Father demands the surrender of self to Him. As the Apostle James says, faith without love is “the belief of demons.”[24] ^[25] This message cannot be treated lightly since your claim to love God depends solely on your love for one another.

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[1] 2 John 1:7-8

[2] 1 John 4:1-2

[3] John 1:14

[4] 1 John 5:1

[5] Irenaeus: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, Bk. III, Ch. XVI, p. 443 ⁋8

[6] Bede the Venerable, Ancient Christian Commentary, Bray G. (Ed.), Vol XI, op. cit., p. 221

[7] John 1:12-13

[8] Poole, Matthew, Commentary on the Holy Bible – Book of 1st, 2nd & 3rd John (Annotated), Kindle Edition.

[9] Matthew 6:33

[10] Binning, Hugh: The Sinner’s Sanctuary, Sermon XVI, p. 184

[11] Flavel, John: The Method of Grace: How the Spirit Works, op. cit., Ch. 3, p. 62

[12] Howe, John: On Regeneration, Sermon XXXVIII, pp. 484-485

[13] Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:19; l Psalm 72:15

[14] 1 John 3:5

[15] Matthew 28:19

[16] Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10

[17] Whitby, Daniel: Critical and Paraphrase of the N.T., op. cit., Vol. VI, Chapter V, p. 469

[18] Burkitt, William: Expository Notes, Vol. II, p. 734

[19] 1 John 5:13

[20] See ibid. 4:20

[21] Bengel, Gnomon of the New Testament, Vol. 4, pp. 134-135

[22] Macknight, James: Apostolical Epistles with Commentary, Vol. VI, p. 102

[23] Brown, John of Haddington: Self-Interpreting Bible, N.T. Vol IV, op. cit., p. 506

[24] Cf. James 2:19

[25] Plummer, Alfred: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 155