Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XL) 12/09/22

^5:6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XL) 12/09/22

^5:6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

• The context requires “water” and “blood” as referring, not so much to anything characteristic in the person, as to some matter of fact in the Apostles of Jesus the Anointed One. If anything of this kind were meant, “water” and “blood” would not have been represented as something independent and distinct from the Anointed One, bearing witness in favor of His dignity. But the facts here alluded to must clearly be of such a nature, that, in conformity with the prophecies of the First Covenant, and with the expectations respecting the “coming One” at the time of the Anointed One, the principal and most essential credentials for the Messiahship of Jesus are contained in them, and, indeed, a particular reference to the Anointed One’s work of atonement or purifying world-overcoming power.

• By the emphatic addition: “did not come by water only, but by water and blood,” John hinted that he meant such facts in the life of Jesus as were somehow distinct, as facts, each of which contained a Messianic credential, but which, in their import being essentially one, and mutually serving each other as a compliment, only united together and in conjunction with the Spirit could first afford the perfect Spirit of God concerning the Messianic dignity of Jesus the Anointed One.

• By “water” and “blood,” only such facts can be meant as, in the Christian consciousness of the readers were, by their recollection, both the history of Jesus and the whole tenor by John’s symbolism, easily recognized.^[1]

With plain talk, Albert Barnes (1798-1870) notes that the object of the Apostle John in verse six, in connection with verse eight, is to state the nature of the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. He refers to three well-known things he probably had insisted on in his preaching – the water, the blood, and the Spirit. He says this furnished evidence on the very point he was illustrating by showing that Jesus on whom they believed was God’s Son. “This,” says John, “is the same one, the very Person, to whom the well-known and important testimony bears witness, and to Him alone. The fact these undisputed things relate only to Him, and not to any other who might claim to be the Messiah; and they all agree on the same one point,”[2] that He came by water and blood. But, of course, this does not mean that He was accompanied by water and blood when Mary delivered Him into the world. Still, the idea is that the water and the blood were manifest during His continued appearance, or that they were remarkable testimonials in some way to His character and ministry.

The idea is that the water and the blood were manifest during His appearing on earth, or that they were remarkable testimonials in some way to His character and work. An ambassador might be said to come with credentials; a warrior might return with the spoils of victory; a prince might arrive with the insignia of royalty; a prophet comes with signs and wonders, and the Lord Jesus came with power to raise the dead, and to heal disease, and to cast out devils. But John here fixes the attention on a fact so impressive and remarkable in his view as worthy of special remark that He came by water and blood.^[3]

With impressive theological and spiritual vision, Richard Rothe (1799-1867) talks about this faith in Jesus as the Anointed One, which the Apostle John just presented as the only world-conquering power.^[4] John now shows that it rests upon the secure witness of God to Jesus as His Son.^[5] He also warns about the fearful danger associated with the refusal of the faith in Jesus that is required. To reject this faith, John says, is to make God a liar and renounce eternal life. The witness of God to Jesus is essentially a witness to the fact that God has given us eternal life, namely, in Jesus His Son, in whom alone it is possessed.^[6] In verses six and seven, John states the basis on which the assurance is grounded is that Jesus is the Anointed One, the (Messiah).^[7]

Consistent with the Apostle John’s way of thinking, Heinrich A. W. Meyer (1800-1873) notes the discussion about the genuineness of the disputed words in verses seven and eight has reached a point where substantially all competent and candid scholars agreed that external and internal evidence is powerful against leaving these words in the text. The introduction of three who bear witness in heaven is unconnected with developing thoughts of the context and the chapter. This thinking, so far as a matter of fact or truth is concerned, is this: Jesus is God’s Son; so far as evidence is concerned, the design of the passage presents the evidence which is brought to mind by the water and blood (for example, by the remarkable facts at the beginning and end of the ministry of Jesus), and by the Holy Spirit working in the soul and bearing testimony to it. The passage speaks to a truth to be seized by everyone in their earthly life and of evidence presented here on earth.

The fact that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit are three bearing witness in heaven, notes Meyer, and that they are one, does not suggest evidence of the same sort; but, so far as it indicates proof at all, it suggests what is of a different kind. This fact comes to the mind in another way and is understood in its force only after the truth, that Jesus is God’s Son has been accepted and believed. The fact that the first three speak of bearing witness in heaven takes the words out of the passage’s context. In other words, it depends upon the testimony given on earth. Moreover, verse nine strongly diminishes any genuineness of these added words, either because these disputed words, if admitted, make it unintelligible what the Spirit of God’s witness means in this verse. If we regard the witness of God as involving the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the contrast must be with the testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the blood to mankind. In contrast, this latter is not a human but a divine testimony.

The non-Johannian character of the Father and the Word expression is worthy of consideration. In connection with the external evidence, the extreme improbability that such a formal statement involving the doctrine of the Trinity, if initially contained in the Epistle’s text, could have disappeared from all Greek manuscripts from the fourth to the fifteenth century.^[8]

According to Robert Jamieson (1802-1880), Andrew Fausset (1821-1910, and David Brown (1803-1897) we should note that “He” at the beginning of verse six refers to Jesus God’s Son at the end of verse five. The Apostle John wants to validate the claim He is God’s Son by pointing out that He came with water and with blood. He did not come by water only. No, Jesus came by both water and blood. And the Spirit of Truth tells us that this is true. Thus, they tell us that – “by water,” refers to His ministry being inaugurated by baptism in the Jordan, and He received the Father’s testimony to His Messiahship and divine Sonship.[9]

He also came by “bleeding on the cross.“[10] It was His shed blood that first gave water baptism its spiritual significance. John adds the Holy Spirit as an additional witness.[11] The Spirit attested these truths at Jesus’ baptism by descending on Him and throughout His ministry by enabling Him to speak and do what no one ever said or did before. The Spirit continues to serve as a witness that the Anointed One is now permanently in the Church: both in the inspired Scriptures, and in the hearts of believers, by spiritual reception of baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. His essential truth gives the Spirit’s witness such infallible authority.[12]

With noticeable spiritual comprehension Henry Cowles (1802-1881) believes that “water” is related to the spiritual life is universally the symbol of moral cleansing; “blood” of the propitiation^[13] wrought by the Anointed One’s atoning death. Most fundamental scholars believe no other interpretation is acceptable. The usage of the Scriptures – First Covenant and the Final alike – goes solid in support of this simple construction and application of these words. The Spirit of Truth bears witness to these great facts as to the work of the Anointed One. His mission is to teach these truths and impress them on human hearts. His witnessing agency came after the Anointed One’s ascension, in and after the scenes of the great Day of Pentecost.^[14]

With a spiritually activated inquiring mind, Daniel D. Whedon (1808-1885) states that this Jesus is the great “He that came.” He was God’s predicted messenger, and His coming was Advent. And the fact that He came is attested by two tokens divinely appointed, namely, water and blood. There are many fanciful interpretations of “water” and “blood.” Still, the best commentators now agree that the water was the Anointed One’s baptism and the blood the redeeming blood of His crucifixion. These two elements symbolize the commencement and the end of our Lord’s ministry. “He came” refers not to His birth but to His office and earthly life, which are one extended coming. Yet John uses the past tense “is come” to denote that definite historical fact, not any continuous spiritual coming through the ages. The preposition “by” should be “through,” meaning that He was manifested to prove He was God’s Son and Messiah by these two attesting tokens.

We note that John the Baptizer came by water only, not blood. His water would have been of no avail but for the Redeemer’s blood. It was the blood with the Sufferer’s divine self-sacrifice and reconciling power that gave value to the water. So, the Greek prepositions here before water and blood are neither by nor through but are expressively changed to in the water and in the blood. Thus, John beholds the mystical coming, as the coming of His person, enveloped in these elements.

Then concerning the Spirit as a witness, Whedon points to Jesus’ baptism where the descending Spirit, in the form of a dove, identified Him as the Son in whom God was “well pleased.” The same Spirit was secured by His death to be the witnessing heritage of the Church, commencing his work on the memorable day of Pentecost. The same goes for the Spirit as the Truth. The Spirit is authentic and truth itself, even as God is Love. The Spirit’s testimony gives force to the tokens, “water” and “blood,” which elevates and transforms them into witnesses, which means the witnesses are three.^[15]

In line with Apostle John’s theological conclusions, Henry Alford (1810-1871) points out that the word “This” at the beginning of verse six is the same person spoken of in verse five, Jesus. “This,” which most commentators maintain, asserts the identity of the Son of God with the historical Jesus, not the converse. It is validated on two grounds: 1) the fact that Jesus came by water and blood needed no proof even to Heretics: 2) that on the ordinary interpretation, the following words, “of Jesus the Anointed One,” are altogether unneeded.  But to these, it is quickly replied, a) that although the fact might be confessed, it was not acknowledged which fact provided testimony, namely, that Jesus who came in the flesh was the Son of God. b) that the appositional clause “of Jesus the Anointed One” is by no means redundant, being only a solemn reassertion of our Lord’s Person and Office as testified by these signs.^[16]

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[1] Lücke, Gottfried C. F., A Commentary on the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., p. 253

[2] 1 John 5:8

[3] Barnes, Albert: New Testament Notes, op. cit., 1 John 5, pp. 4875-4876

[4] See 1 John 4:1ff

[5] Cf. 1 John 5:6-10

[6] Ibid. 5:11-21

[7] Rothe, Richard: Exposition of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., The Expository Times, April 1895, p. 326

[8] Meyer, Heinrich A. W., Critical Exegetical Handbook New Testament, op. cit., Vol. 10, p. 814

[9] Cf. 1 John 5:5 with John 1:33-34

[10] See Hebrews 9:12

[11] Cf. 1 John 5:7

[12] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, New Testament Volume, op. cit., p. 729

[13] Propitiation means, “A payment that satisfies,” From a sermon I heard by Dr. Bruce Frank, Lead Pastor of the Biltmore Church in Asheville, N. C, preached on Sunday, July 18, 2021, at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.

[14] Cowles, Henry: The Gospel and Epistles of John: with Notes, op. cit., p. 355

[15] Whedon, Daniel D., Commentary on the New Testament, op. cit., pp. 277-278

[16] Alford, Henry: The Greek Testament, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 499

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXIX) 12/08/22

^5:6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

Consequently, notes Macknight, it was with great modesty that Jesus began His ministry immediately after receiving this miraculous confirmation. Jesus’ coming was proven by blood; He was authenticated to be the Anointed Son of God through His death, as follows: 1) In His sufferings and death, all the ancient prophecies concerning the sufferings of the Anointed One were fulfilled. 2) During His trial, Jesus expressly called Himself the Anointed Son of the blessed God before the Jewish council and Pontius Pilate. Such renaming calls his witnessing a good confession:[1] He was put to death as a blasphemer for that confession. 3) During His sufferings and death, God bears witness to Him as His Son by the three hours of darkness, the earthquake, the rending of the rocks, and the splitting of the Temple’s veil. 4) Jesus being put to death for calling Himself the Anointed Son of God, His resurrection from the dead was an infallible proof of His being God’s Son. Suppose He had falsely claimed that high title, God would never have raised Him from the dead. On all these accounts, therefore, John had good reason to affirm that Jesus came as the authentic Son of God by blood and water.

It is the Spirit who joined as a witness by the water and the blood. So, the Spirit bears witness to Jesus utilizing water, for the heavens opened after Jesus came out of the water in which He was baptized. The Holy Spirit was seen descending in the bodily shape of a dove and landing upon Him while He prayed. By this miracle, the Spirit pointed Him out to all present as the person of whom the voice from heaven spoke. Accordingly, John the Baptizer told the Jews that Jesus was pointed out to him as the Anointed One by that witness of the Spirit. So likewise, the Spirit witnessed that Jesus is God’s Son through blood. For it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and thereby gave Him that great endorsement as the Son of God. Therefore, the Apostle Peter also testified.[2] The apostle’s meaning is that the Spirit was employed to bear witness to Jesus as God’s Son, by means or on the occasion of the water and the blood, because He is a witness who can neither deceive nor be deceived.^[3]

After skillfully scrutinizing the Apostle John’s theme John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) says that Jesus’s being God’s Anointed Son was well attested at His baptism and in His bloody death. But, after His resurrection, the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit, in applying His saving grace to multitudes and in the miraculous gifts bestowed and cures put into effect for the confirmation of the Gospel, make it an even more potent truth.^[4]

For example, a man with a heartfelt friendship with hymn writer^[5]John Newton (1726-1807), Thomas Scott (1947-1821) comments that after the Apostle John mentioned Jesus as “God’s Son,” he observed that this was the anointed Savior who “came by water and blood.” Then, as He entered His ministry on earth after being baptized by John the Baptizer, He closed it by shedding His blood on the cross. “Water and blood” flowed from His pierced side immediately upon His death. It became symbolic of the removal of our guilt by His atoning sacrifice and the purifying of our souls by His grace. We are to follow His example according to His commandments.[6] For He came to save sinners, not only by water nor by teaching the way of holiness but enabling the obeying of His commandments not burdensome. It opened the way to sanctification and doing works of faith in love as God’s children.

It came both in the miracles wrought by those who taught this doctrine and lived holy lives. They were patient in suffering and the blessed assurances that came with it.[7] Thus, the Spirit gave testimony to the principle of His atonement, as God’s Son, come in the flesh, to save sinners by His blood, which could not be objected to or rejected. The Spirit is the Truth, even the essential Truth itself, which cannot possibly deceive or be deceived. The two ordinances of baptism with water, the outward sign of regeneration and purifying from the pollution of sin by the Holy Spirit. It appears that the Lord’s Supper, as the outward sign of His body and the shedding of His blood and receiving Him by faith for pardon and justification, also seems to be intended by John.[8] ^[9]

At age fifteen, a potential young theologian who preached and conducted cottage and prayer meetings, Joseph Benson (1749-1821), speaks about the Anointed One’s offices, exhibited emblematically by water and blood, and of the witnesses in heaven and earth who testify of Him and His salvation.[10]  Here, the Apostle John evidently alludes to his testimony in his Gospel that when the soldier pierced the Anointed One’s side, out came blood and water.[11] This fact John represents as of great importance; adding, (“This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.”)[12]

John then offers full proof, in opposition to the doctrine of the Docetæ, that the Anointed One came in the flesh and died. But, because the offices were emblematical, our Lord sustained salvation; He procured for His people. The water symbolized the purity of His doctrine, instructing people in the purest morals and His pure and holy example. What is of still greater importance is the purifying grace of which He is the fountain, sanctifying and cleansing, those that believe in Him, from all filthiness of unwilling flesh and rebellious spirit.

Additionally, the blood issued from Him was an emblem of His and His followers’ sufferings that awaited them. They, too, were expected to seal the truth with their blood, for which He made atonement for the world’s sins. Therefore, He procured for His followers a free and full justification. Thus, He manifested Himself to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah, by fulfilling those types and ceremonies of the law performed by water and blood. The former of which, denoting purification from sin, He fulfilled by cleansing us by His Spirit[13] (signified by water, from the corruption of nature, and the power and pollution of sin) and restoring God’s image in us.[14] This restoration prefigured the compensation of our sins, fulfilled by shedding His blood to atone for our sins and procure for us deliverance from their guilt and punishment.[15]

It restored us again to God’s favor. Not only was His doctrine pure and His life holy, and may purifying grace be derived from Him, but He came by blood, shed for the punishment of our guilt, for these things must go together. It will not avail us to avoid sin and live in a holy manner until the sins of the time past are paid for. The Spirit bears witness to these things in the writings of the ancient prophets, who spoke mainly concerning both, and in the discourses and reports of the apostles, who have a more precise and fuller testimony. So, also, in the hearts of the faithful, who, convinced of their need for pardon and holiness, receive both through the merits and Spirit of the Anointed One.[16]

A straightforward full Gospel preacher Charles Simeon (1759-1876) says we should be alert that we never attempt to separate what God has joined together. Unfortunately, some self-righteous individuals look to sanctification only as the means of recommending them to God. In contrast, others of good works and merit think little of justification through the Redeemer’s blood. But both are involved in the most grievous of errors, and if they do not obtain a clearer view of the Gospel’s truth, they will forever be separated from God by the lake of fire.

On the one hand, notes Simeon, there is no other fountain opened for sin and uncleanness than that which flows from Mount Calvary; nor, can anyone that is unsanctified behold the face of God in peace: for “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”[17] On the other hand, if any take refuge in the doctrines of predestination and election, let them know that God ordained the means as well as the end; and that “God planned long ago to choose you and to make you His holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey Him and to be made clean by the blood sacrifice of Jesus the Anointed One.”[18] Whichever of these truths any person may consider as exclusive importance, we would say to them, as our Lord said to the self-deceiving Pharisees, “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law. You hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law – justice, mercy, and faith. It would be best if you tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”[19] ^[20]

Considering everything the Apostle John has said so far, Adam Clarke (1774-1749) makes note that Jesus was attested to be the Son of God and promised Messiah by water, namely, His baptism, when the Spirit of God came down upon Him, and the voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus the Anointed One also came by blood. He shed His blood for the world’s sins, and this was in accordance with all that the Jewish prophets wrote concerning Him. Here the Apostle John says that the Spirit witnesses that Jesus came not by water only – being baptized and baptizing in His name that they might be His followers and disciples. But He also came by blood – by His sacrificial death, without which the world would remain unsaved, and He could have no disciples.

Perhaps John makes a mental comparison between the Anointed One and Moses who came by water – all Israelites were baptized with him in the cloud and the sea, becoming his flock and disciples.[21] (Some scholars think this refers to Moses’ rescue from the Nile River). Aaron came by blood – he entered the holy of holies with the victim’s blood to make atonement for sin. Moses initiated the people into the covenant of God by bringing them under the cloud and through the water. Aaron confirmed that covenant by shedding the blood, sprinkling part of it upon them, and the rest before the Lord in the holy of holies. Moses came only by water, Aaron only by blood, and both came as types.^[22]

After spiritually analyzing John’s conclusions, Gottfried C. F. Lücke (1791-1855) says that all agree in this, that the symbolical expressions “water” and “blood” are to be explained from the emblem of the First and Final Covenants in general and more particularly from the symbol of the Apostle John. But what meaning they convey in this verse is very much contested, particularly among modern interpreters.

• From the total impression and the context of the whole, let us endeavor to gain such exposition as may securely guide our judgment of the several disagreeing interpretations.

• Since this passage contains no contentious points of view, the entire reasoning, as is quite evident from the context of the preceding passage,[23] as well as the subsequent verse thirteen, has no other object to justify the belief of Christians in God’s Son, and to counter the world’s unbelief. Therefore, it naturally follows that any explanation of the complex expressions in this epistle in any particular or controversial way must be false.

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[1] 1 Timothy 6:13

[2] 1 Peter 3:18

[3] Macknight, James: Apostolic Epistles with Commentary, Vol. VI, pp. 105-107

[4] Brown of Haddington, John: Self-Interpreting Bible, New Testament, Vol. IV, p. 506

[5] Newton, John: Composer of “Amazing Grace,”

[6] Note John 19:31, 37; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 11

[7] John 15:26, 27; Acts of the Apostles 5:32; Hebrews 2:14

[8] 1 John 4:18; John 14:4-6; 15-17; 16:12-13

[9] Scott, Thomas: Commentary on the Holy Bible, pp. 406-407

[10] 1 John 5:6-9

[11] John 19:34

[12] Ibid. 19:35

[13] John 7:38-39

[14] Ezekiel 36:25, 27; Ephesians 5:25-26; Titus 2:14; 3:5

[15] Romans 5:9; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7

[16] Benson, Joseph: Commentary on the Old and New Testament, op. cit, p. 342

[17] Hebrews 12:14

[18] 1 Peter 1:2

[19] Matthew 23:23

[20] Simeon, Charles: Horæ Homileticae, op. cit., Vol. XX, Discourse 2464, pp. 525-531

[21] 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

[22] Clarke, Adam: Wesleyan Heritage Commentary, op. cit., Hebrews-Revelation, pp. 394-396

[23] 1 John 5:1-5

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXVIII) 12/07/22

^5:6 And Jesus the Anointed One was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

Now, this removal of guilt cannot make us completely happy. What is it less than hell on earth to be under the dominion and pollution of every immoral lust? Therefore, to complete the happiness of the redeemed, the Anointed One is made for them not only wisdom and righteousness, the curing of our ignorance, our guilt, and our sanctification, to relieve us from the dominion and pollution of worldly corruption.[1] Jesus came not only by water but by blood, for purifying and pardoning. How complete and perfect a cure is the Anointed One.

Indeed, our sanctification cannot defend us before God, but it can verify our justification before the world. Is there no necessity or use for a holy life because it does not reward us with a right to stand innocent before God? Is the soul’s preparation for heaven, by altering its frame and temperament, nothing? Is the glorifying of our Redeemer, by a life of faith in the world, nothing? Does the work of the Anointed One render the work of the Spirit needless? God forbid! He came not only by blood but also by water.

We must realize that sin pollutes all nations of the world by nature and practice, which they will see and bitterly lament when the Light of the Gospel shines among them. This same Light will also determine that the only remedy for evil lies in the Holy Spirit of the Anointed One. It is the only fountain opened to all nations for sanctification and cleansing, making the Lord Jesus incomparably desirable in their eyes. O, how welcome the Messiah who comes to them, not by blood only, but also by water.^[2]

Influenced by his Arminian view of salvation, Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) has much to say about verse six. His comments focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in verifying that Jesus was the true Messiah and Son of the Living God. Whitby writes that the witness, in this verse, is only styled as the Spirit, which enabled the Anointed One to heal diseases, cast out devils, raise the dead, and work all sorts of miracles, for confirmation of His mission. But in verse seven, the Holy Spirit distinctly signifies the inward gifts by which the understanding is amplified. The believer is enabled to perform things they could not do without the immediate workings of the Spirit, such as the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, prophecy, discerning of spirits, the gift of tongues, and the interpretation of them.[3] The basis for this distinction appears in the following considerations:

1. Our Savior, while He was on earth, gave His apostles and the seventy disciples power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.[4] Yet the Apostle John informs us that the Holy Spirit was not in them as a comforter and guide because Jesus had not yet been glorified.[5] Our Savior also tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit would not come until He departed.[6] So also, the Apostle Peter says that with our Lord exalted to the right hand of God, the Father fulfilled our Lord’s promise of the Holy Spirit.[7] Therefore, the Holy Spirit must signify something distinct from the power of working miracles.

2. The Apostle Peter’s mention of Joel’s prophecy as the promise on which the giving of the Holy Spirit has founded promises, visions, dreams, and predictions, but not miracles.[8] Furthermore, the gifts of the Spirit mentioned by the prophet Isaiah are only those of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, courage, holiness, and reverence for the Lord; no mention consists of signs and wonders.[9]

3. Throughout the book of Acts, where Luke mentions the miracles that the apostles and primitive believers performed, he always uses these words, signs, and wonders.[10] But Luke always indicates the Holy Spirit coming on them when people prophesied or spoke in tongues.[11] And lastly, where the Scripture mentions these things together, it puts a manifest distinction between signs and wonders and the gifts and distributions of the Holy Spirit. Thus God, said the apostles, bear witness to the doctrine they preached, by signs and wonders, many miracles, and distributions of the Holy Spirit.[12]

Therefore, the Spirit of God bears witness to the Anointed One on earth by enabling Him to do many mighty works to confirm His mission, to heal all manner of diseases, sicknesses, and disorders. Jesus commanded the wind and the seas to obey Him, cast our devils, and raise the dead. The Spirit also assisted Jesus’ Apostles and disciples in doing these same things in His name. And not only for His disciples but even our Lord himself, cast out devils by the Spirit of God, He expressly testifies.[13] Because Jesus fulfilled the words of Isaiah,[14] the Apostle Peter speaks like this to Cornelius and his friends. So you know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and healed all that the devil oppressed.[15] And to these works wrought by the assistance of the Spirit of God, our Lord frequently appealed, as to a sure testimony that God had sent Him: “For, the works that I do in my Father’s name, bear witness of Me.”[16] It showed that the Father was in Jesus and He was in the Father.[17] ^[18]

With meticulous Greek text examination and confirmation, Johann Bengel (1687-1752), author of the “Gnomon of the New Testament,”[19] sees the Apostle John giving reasons why he attributes victory over the world to those who genuinely believe that faith in Jesus as the Son of God has invincible strength. Not only from the testimony of human witnesses but much more from the testimony of God, which has overcoming power. He does not say, coming, in the present, but “is come,” in the aorist tense, having the force of expressing a past action or state “was continuously manifested.”[20] Jesus is the One expected on account of the promises respecting Him; and who is genuinely come: whom the Spirit, water, and blood confirm with their testimony. 

The water, says Bengel, signifies baptism; hence John is called the Baptizer so Jesus might be manifested as the Son of God.[21] Moreover, baptism was monitored by Jesus’ disciples.[22] The blood is indeed the blood of One, and Jesus the Anointed One, which was shed at His passion, is drunk in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus, the Anointed One who came by water and blood, is, by this very fact, pointed out as the Messiah, not in water only. In verse six, “by” seems to refer more particularly to the water and the blood. John, who baptized with water, preceded the coming of Jesus, and Jesus came by (through) water: but Jesus, finished the work which the Father gave Him to do by shedding His blood; therefore, earlier He came by water, and now blood.

Jesus only undertook the task of fulfilling all righteousness when He came to baptism,[23] but He also completed it by pouring out His blood. When this was done, blood and water came forth from the side of Jesus the Anointed One, being dead on the cross. The apostle then declares what he means by the word Spirit, namely, the truth. But what does John mean by the word truth? There is no doubt that, in this professed list, he embraces in some way all things which connect to the testimony concerning Jesus the Anointed One, except the Divine testimony itself. The Scriptures testify of Jesus the Anointed One: Moses and the prophets,[24] John the Baptizer, testified.[25]

Afterward, the apostles testified,[26]  Now when the apostle collects the testimonies concerning Jesus Christ, as concerning Him who is come, be by no means overlooked the Gospel. He never calls it the Gospel; he generally calls it the testimony. But in this passage, it would be inconvenient to say there are three that bear witness, the testimony, the water, and the blood; therefore, instead of testimony, he tells the truth, namely, not only concerning knowledge but also with respect to its publication: and he distinguishes the truth by the name of the Spirit; with which subject the predicate, to bear witness, elegantly agrees. Therefore, let the name of Spirit be highly considered.

In this Spirit the prophetic testimony of the First Covenant, together with its fulfillment and demonstration. Again, John says, “Jesus the Anointed One came both by water and blood:” he does not here say, “and the water and blood are they which bear witness.” Once more, John says, with great emphasis, “it is the Spirit which bears witness.” He does not say Jesus the Anointed One came “by the Spirit” or “in the Spirit.” The Spirit was bearing witness, even before the coming of the Anointed One, but the water and the blood were intimately connected with His very appearance. And the testimony is more appropriately ascribed to the Spirit than to the water and the blood: inasmuch as the Spirit has the power of bearing witness, and the water and blood obtain and exercise the same passion when the Spirit is added to them.^[27]

After scholarly meditation and reflection on the text, James Macknight (1721-1800) offers the following points for us to consider: (1) He came by water and blood, even Jesus the Anointed One. Here, speaking of Jesus, the Messiah is His coming into public life, attested, or proved to be the Anointed Son of God. Jesus came certified, first, through His baptism in water; secondly, by means of His blood or death, and thirdly, His resurrection. The proof by water is mentioned before the evidence by blood because His baptism was before His death.

Concerning the Anointed One’s baptism, let it be remarked that it was not the baptism of repentance, for Jesus had no sin to be repented of.[28] But it was the baptism of righteousness,[29] that is, a baptism by which Jesus called Himself God’s Son, was manifested to the surrounding multitude. That’s what John the Baptizer declared.[30] Therefore, he should be made manifest to Israel; therefore, I am baptizing Him. John was sent to baptize people in water, that gathered they might hear and see Jesus proved to be the Son of God. Accordingly, when Jesus was baptized, coming up out of the water, “Behold a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”[31] This miraculous confirmation, Jesus called a greater witness of His being God’s Son than the witness which John the Baptizer provided Him. And this witness after His baptism, John had good reason to say, this is He who came attested as the Son of God by means of water.

---

[1] 1 Corinthians 1:30

[2] Flavel, John: The Method of Grace: How the Spirit Works, Ch. 1, pp. 14, 23; Ch. 13, p. 231

[3] 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

[4] Matthew 10:8; Luke 10:9

[5] John 7:39

[6] Ibid. 16:7

[7] Acts of the Apostles 2:33

[8] Ibid. 2:17; Joel 2:28

[9] Isaiah 11:1-3a

[10] Acts of the Apostles 2:43; 5:12

[11] Ibid. 10:44; 11:15

[12] Hebrews 2:4; See Romans 15:19; Galatians 3:5

[13] Matthew 12:28

[14] Luke 4:18-29

[15] Acts of the Apostles 10:38

[16] John 5:36; 10:24

[17] Ibid. 10:37-38; 14:10-11

[18] Whitby, Daniel: Critical Commentary and Paraphrase, op. cit., pp. 439-470

[19] Gnomon has various meanings from sundial pillar to carpenter’s square ruler, but Bengel’s used it as an “interpreter”

[20] See 1 John 1:2; see also 4:2; 5:20 “is come”

[21] John 1:33-34

[22] Ibid. 4:1-2; Acts of the Apostles 2:38

[23] Matthew 3:15

[24] Ibid. 5:46; 1:46; Acts of the Apostles 10:43

[25] John 1:7

[26] Ibid. 15:27; 19:35; 1 John 1:2; 4:14; Acts of the Apostles 1:89; 2:32

[27] Bengel, Johann: Gnomon of the New Testament, op. cit., Vol. 4, pp. 143-144

[28] 1 Peter 2:22

[29] Matthew 3:14-15

[30] John 1:31

[31] Matthew 3:17

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXVII) 12/06/22

^5:6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

So, John summarizes all that he has just written about how Jesus is rightfully declared to be the Son of man, the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Lamb of God and the testimonies that it is true.  He begins with the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps John recalls God’s dynamic message to Isaiah: “Come closer and listen. I have always told you plainly what would happen so that you could clearly understand. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent me (with this message): The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘I am the Lord your God, who punishes you for your benefit and leads you along the paths that you should follow.’”^[1]

In other words, these teachings, instructions, guidelines, and mandates are not for our harm or obstruction, but just like traffic signs, they are to protect us and keep us safe.  That’s why Jesus could stand up in the synagogue in Nazareth and open the scroll to Isaiah 61:1 and read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind.”

Jesus made this abundantly clear at His last supper with the disciples: “He took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Each one of you drink some of it. This wine is my blood, which will be poured out to forgive the sins of many and begin the new agreement from God with His people.’”^[2] So, Jewish law only requires two witnesses.^[3] And of course, there is the great commission Jesus gave to all His followers to go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.^[4]

The Apostle Paul points out that God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere, but they all function by the power of God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of strength and authority are in action here, but God is behind it all. God gives each person something to do that demonstrates who they are.^[5] Paul also emphasizes that God’s Holy Spirit speaks deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.^[6] And in case someone wanders away from the truth found articulated by the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, the writer of Hebrews says once people have seen the Light in the Gospel, tasted of heaven, and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and felt the yearning for what awaits them in heaven, if they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, they can’t start over as if nothing happened.

That’s impossible; they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated Him in public!^[7] That’s why we must remain faithful to Him, His Son, His Spirit, and His Word. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect; we will make mistakes. But we must keep this in mind; He put his brand upon us – His mark of ownership – by giving us His Spirit to abide in our hearts to guarantee that we belong to Him. However, this is just the first installment that He will provide us with later.^[8]

COMMENTARY AND HOMILETICS

This verse has comments, interpretations, and insights of the Early Church Fathers, Medieval Thinkers, Reformation Theologians, Revivalist Teachers, Reformed Scholars, and Modern Commentators.

With apostolic overtones, Œcumenius of Trikka (500-600 AD) asks, “Why did Jesus come?” He came to give us a new birth and make us God’s children. “How are we born again?” Through water and blood. The same Jesus who came and gave us a new birth by water and blood. The water represented His baptism when He was revealed as God’s Son. The blood, of course, stands for His crucifixion when He prayed that the Father would glorify Him and a voice answered from heaven: “I have glorified, and I will glorify.”[9] [10]

With his prophetic-inspired mind, Andreas of Caesarea (563-614) comments that what flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross was the blood that cleanses us from sin and sanctifies the people of God. It was not a mere man who appeared at the Jordan but the incarnate Word of God, to whom the Father also bore witness: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”[11] Similarly, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, what sounded like thunder was the voice of God speaking at the moment His blood splattered on the ground.[12]

With a studious monk’s spiritual insight, Bede the Venerable (673-735), points out that God’s Son did not just come to be baptized in water in order to show us how to be cleansed from our sins, but also with the blood of His passion by which He consecrates the sacrament of baptism, giving His blood for us, redeeming us by His suffering and nourishing us with His teachings so that He might save us from sin.[13]

After a stealthy investigation of the Apostle John’s letter, Isho’dad of Merv (800-900 AD) feels that the Apostle John calls the Anointed One’s baptism “water” and His passion “blood.” Therefore, he fulfilled all the dispensations for our sake by means of His baptism, His passion, and by the Holy Spirit.[14]

Reformation writer Matthew Poole (1624-1679) says that we must proceed by degrees to explain this obscure narrative. (1) We cannot literally take the Apostle John’s reference to water and blood. (2) Therefore, they must be intended to signify somewhat or other by symbolical representation or have some mystical meaning. (3) They ought to have such a meaning assigned to them, as both will be agreeable to the expressions and the Apostle John’s present scope and design. (4) It will be very agreeable to the expressions, understand by water the purity of our blessed Lord, and blood His sufferings. (5) The Spirit’s manifest scope and design show the credibility of the witness and testimony to assure us that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah. Furthermore, to persuade us to believe this of him, with effectual and transforming faith to prove our being born of God. This faith will make us victorious over the world. Therefore, we must constantly cling to Jesus with trust and obedience against all the allurements and opposition of the world.^[15]

As a young theological sage, Hugh Binning (1627-1653) asks if anyone thinks they can hide their sins if they mourn and pray. They may ease their consciences by reflecting on this, but their iniquity still marks them as sinners. Isaiah said, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our self-righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.”[16] Seeing stretched-out hands and many prayers will not do it; what can a person do? The Lord showed you what to do; do nothing about removing those sinful stains. In other words, do not try to wash away the tiniest spot with all your remorse. The means for cleansing is new to you, even the blood of Jesus, the Anointed One that cleanses from all sin. Wash in this blood, and you will be clean. And what is it to wash in this blood?

For anyone to believe in Jesus as God’s Anointed One is to comprehend and believe in the all-sufficient virtue of His work on the cross. Furthermore, to trust our souls to it as a sufficient ransom for all our sins. Finally, it is to spread the covering of the Anointed One’s righteousness over all our self-righteousness and unrighteousness, as both alike needs to be hidden from His holy eyes. Jesus the Anointed One came by water and by blood. By water to sanctify, and by blood to justify; by the power and cleansing virtue of the Holy Spirit, to take away sin by virtue of His blood, to take away sin in the guilt and condemnation of it.^[17]

But Binning is not finished. He quotes from the First Covenant, “Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.”[18] First, sin has two evils: its nature and unfortunate effect; both are filthiness contrary to God’s holiness, a demeaning of the immortal soul, a spot in the face of the Lord of all creatures. But though it is unnatural to us, it now seems natural in our fallen estate, so people agree with it as if it were a part of mankind’s soul. Second, sin’s guilt and deserved punishment. Everyone hates this, but they cannot get away from it. If they eat the fruit Satan offers, they will be eating spiritual death. They earn the wages of sin.[19]

However, the Gospel has a remedy for all lost souls in Jesus the Anointed One; He appears in the Gospel with a twofold blessing, and a twofold virtue: a sanctifying virtue, and a pardoning virtue found in the water and the blood.[20] He came to forgive sin, subdue sin, and eliminate its guilt by doing away with evil. The Anointed One did not come to dissolve the law but to fulfill it. If He had taken away the punishment and left sin in our being, he would have weakened the law and the prophets.^[21]

In addition, the heart formerly was a troubled fountain that sent out filthy streams. Corruption was the mud among the affections and thoughts, but a pure heart is like clear running water, clean and bright like crystal. This purity consists of washing, regeneration, and sanctification by the Spirit of holiness. Jesus the Anointed One came by blood to sprinkle and purge the conscience, that it might have no more conscience of sins.[22] Jesus also came by water, the washing and cleansing virtue of the Spirit of grace, to purge and cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. There are two things in sin that Jesus came to destroy, the guilt and offense of sin, whereby the sinner is condemned and lies under the Judge’s curse upon evil, which also the Anointed One came to destroy.^[23]

In his fiery manner, John Flavel (1627-1691) follows the same thinking by pointing out a twofold evil in sin, its guilt, and its pollution. Thankfully, justification cures the former, sanctification the latter. That’s because both justification and sanctification flow out of the death and resurrection of the Anointed One. And though it is proper to say the Spirit sanctifies, the blood of the Anointed One did indeed obtain for us the Spirit of sanctification. Had the Anointed One not died, the Spirit would have never come down from heaven for such a purpose. The pouring out of the Anointed One’s blood for us obtained the pouring forth of the spirit of holiness upon us. Therefore, the Spirit is said to come in His name, to take of His, and show it to us. Hence it is said, “He came both by blood and by water;” by blood, washing away the contamination of guilt; by water, purifying from the stain of sin. Now this fruit of the Anointed One’s death, even our sanctification, is incomparable mercy.^[24]

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[1] Isaiah 48:16-17

[2] Matthew 26:27-28

[3] Deuteronomy 17:6

[4] Matthew 28:19

[5] 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

[6] Romans 8:16

[7] Hebrews 6:4-6

[8] 2 Corinthians 1:22

[9] John 12:28

[10] Oecumenius: Ancient Christian Commentary, Bray, Gerald, ed., op. cit., Vol. IX, p. 223

[11] Matthew 3:17, cf. 17:5

[12] Andreas:  Ancient Christian Commentary, Bray, Gerald, ed.,, op. cit., Vol. IX, p. 223

[13] Bede, The Venerable: Ancient Christian Commentary, Bray, Gerald, ed., op. cit., Vol. XI, p. 223

[14] Isho’dad of Merv: Ancient Christian Commentary, Bray, Gerald, ed., op. cit., Vol. XI, p. 223

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

[16] Isaiah 64:6a

[17] Binning Hugh: Heart-Humiliation, Sermon, X, p. 409

[18] Isaiah 1:16 – New Living Testament (NLT)

[19] Romans 6:23

[20] 1 John 5:6

[21] Binning, Hugh: Heart-Humiliation, Sermon XI, pp. 412, 416

[22] Cf. Hebrews 9:14; 10:2

[23] Binning, Hugh: Practical Sermons, Sermon XIII, p. 614

[24] Flavel, John: The Fountain of Life, Sermon 38, p. 470

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXVI) 12/05/22

^5:6 And Jesus the Anointed One was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and shedding His blood on the cross – not only by water but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with His testimony.

Interestingly, the Apostle John’s comment is that he is relaying what the Holy Spirit was telling him. He had no reason to doubt because of what Jesus told him and the others, “This Friend I’m asking the Father to send you is the Spirit of Truth.” The godless world can’t recognize Him because it doesn’t have spiritual eyes to see Him and doesn’t know what He looks like. But you already know Him because He resides in you!^[1]

This, of course, is a reference to when the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, came down upon Jesus and a voice announced from above, “This is My Son.”[2] And it is that same Spirit that will testify to this on earth after Jesus ascends back into heaven.  Jesus told His disciples this very clearly, “I will send you the Helper from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When He comes, He will talk about me. And you will tell people about me too because you have been with me from the beginning.”^[3]

John wants his readers to know one thing for certain; the Holy Spirit does not lie.  In teaching His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus explained it to them this way: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will lead you into all truth. He will not speak His own words. He will only speak what He hears and tell you what will happen. The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me by telling you what He receives from me. All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will tell you what He receives from me.”^[4]

No doubt John remembers what Jesus told Nicodemus about the two elements involved in his search for the true meaning of God’s kingdom, the water, and the Spirit.  To every Jew, what happened to sacrifices in the Temple was well known when water and wine [symbol for blood] were poured out on the altar.  These were representations of the water of the Red Sea that was parted so they could escape after the blood of the Passover lamb had set them free from Egyptian bondage.

Proof of Jesus being God’s Son was given at His baptism by John the Baptizer when the voice from heaven and the dove confirmed Him as God’s Son.  That’s where John the Baptizer pointed to Jesus and called Him the Lamb of God that would take away the world’s sins.  So, on the cross, the blood of this Lamb was poured out, and the ransom price was paid.

The Apostle Paul had a similar message for his protégée young Timothy. He acknowledges to his companion in missionary work that it is very accurate that living a godly life is not an easy matter. But the answer lies in the Anointed One, who came to earth in a human body, was proved genuine by the invisible Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached to all kinds of people, believed in worldwide, and then taken into heavenly glory for His planned return.^[5]

On the other hand, the Apostle John was an eyewitness when he heard the Master tell Thomas, who was afraid that they would be like sheep without a shepherd once the Savior left. His message was, “I am the road that leads to everlasting life; also, I only repeat what is true, and eternal life can only come through Me. No one gets to the Father apart from Me.”^[6] So they need not fear, for when this Friend, the Spirit of the Truth, My Father is sending comes, He will take you by the hand and guide you by the light of complete truth. He won’t draw attention to Himself but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all I have done and spoken. He will honor Me; He will take from Me and deliver it to you.^[7]

At the same time, we have the combined testimony of three witnesses to the Anointed One as the Messiah. All three testimonies point to the same end – that Jesus is the Son of God. John has emphasized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who stepped foot into humanity as Jesus. John stresses the nature of the testimony about the incarnation in verses six to eight and His deity in verses nine to twelve. The Greek verb martyreō for “witness” occurs five times in verses six to twelve, translated by different English words.[8]  Thus, John employs legal testimony to ratify his argument.

In using the Greek pronoun hoytos (“that”) at the beginning of verse six, John refers to Jesus the Anointed One as God’s Son in the previous verse. The purpose of Jesus’ coming was to save sinners.[9] The “water” here may refer to Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptizer. However, it may refer to the water that flowed from His side on the cross.[10]  Some believe it is best to take “water” as the Anointed One’s baptism because the false teachers of John’s Day thought that the Messiah came upon Jesus at His baptism and not at His birth. The emphasis on His blood indicates that Jesus was the Messiah not only in His life but even in His death.

Then, “blood” refers to the shed blood of the Anointed One on the cross. Despite this evidence, heretic Cerinthus and other false teachers of the first century taught that the Messiah spiritually descended on the human Jesus at His baptism and left Him before His crucifixion. John argues here passionately against this heresy. John’s Gospel is the only additional passage where “water” and “blood” occur together.[11] In that case, the “water” was what flowed from the side of the Anointed One on the cross. John uses “blood” in this book for the sacrificial death of the Anointed One.[12] As a principle, it is undoubtedly possible for Christians because they rest their belief on objective witnesses. Now, faith also leans on testimony. The validity of the testimony about the Anointed One is at the heart of Christian belief.

Renowned inventor Ben Franklin once said, “Nothing is for certain but death and taxes.”[13] The Bible disagrees with this assertion. The Bible proclaims the concept of certainty because it offers categories whereby, we can know something for sure. Unfortunately, the spirit of our age is relativism, which emphasizes that there are no absolutes. People who declare conviction or certainty about something are viewed as odd and rigid by those who say, “We cannot know anything for sure.  Who are you to tell me that I am wrong?” Unfortunately, this spirit has pervaded some churches leaving the congregants with little or no conviction. 

Christianity rests upon truth, a truth beyond ourselves about Jesus the Anointed One. A finite man cannot come to the ultimate truth by reasoning. Their opinion is no better than anyone else’s. However, Christians have two dynamics that afford them certainty: 1) the objective Word of God and 2) the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an additional witness to the Messiahship of the Anointed One beyond “water” and “blood.” John uses the word “know” thirty-nine times in 1 John. It is an emphasis on certainty. “Witness” as a verb or noun occurs nine times in this immediate section of 1 John.[14] 

John then steps beyond the apostolic testimony of Final Covenant writers to the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit cannot give testimony to anything but the “truth.” He is the primary revealer of truth, and He cannot lie. The Holy Spirit is the inspiration for the writing of the Scriptures.[15]  Therefore, He must tell the truth by His very nature. Thus, the mission of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Anointed One, who is the truth. 

The Holy Spirit bears witness to our human spirit in several ways. To begin with, He bears witness that we belong to God and are God’s children.[16] Any ministry that glorifies the Holy Spirit above the Lord Jesus the Anointed One is off-target. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus as the Savior of our souls. If we want to please the Holy Spirit, we must point to Jesus as the center of life. We glorify the Anointed One when we emphasize what He did for us, not what we do for Him. Emphasizing what we do for Him is self-centeredness. Emphasizing what He did for us is Christ-centeredness.

As a matter of fact, we may regard verse six as one of the main propositions of this Epistle – that the eternal Son of God is identical to the historical Jesus. The phrase “water and the blood” in verse eight has received widely differing interpretations. It would be tedious and unprofitable to enumerate all of them. However, even when we use John’s Gospel[17] to support this interpretation of John’s statement, it becomes “the most perplexing incident in the Gospel,” which will probably influence our understanding of this “most puzzling passage in John’s Epistle.” In verse eight, we don’t find a reference to the piercing of the Anointed One’s side and its results, as we see in verse six. Yet, both passages teach similar spiritual truths, for example, the ideas that underlie the two sacraments and guide them by referencing facts in the life and death of Jesus the Anointed One. But the facts are not the same in each case. It is difficult to believe that this passage contains any definite and immediate allusion to what John said in his Gospel. Why, in that case, the marked change of order, “water and blood” instead of “blood and water?” And if some scholars think they can explain by saying that the Epistle is “the mystical subjective order” and the Gospel “the historical and objective order” and that we can use whichever one in either place has not put an end to the difficulties.

If the Apostle John is referring to the outpourings from the Anointed One’s dead body, what can be the meaning of “not in water only, but water and blood”? It was the water, not the blood, that was especially astonishing. And “in” in this case seems a strange expression to use. We should have expected instead, “not shedding blood only, but blood and water.” Moreover, how can blood and water flowing from the Lord’s body be spoken of as His “coming through water and blood?” The most straightforward interpretation refers to the baptism of water to which He submitted and passed on to His disciples, raising it from a sign to a sacrament. John the Baptizer came baptizing in water only, [18] but Jesus came baptizing in water and blood, namely, in water which washed away sin through the effectiveness of His blood.

Jesus achieved His work through the baptism of water and shedding of blood; baptism in these elements means He comes to His followers. Moreover, this interpretation harmonizes with the critical purpose of the Epistle, that is, to invalidate the errors of Cerinthus. Cerinthus taught that the Divine Logos or the Anointed One descended upon Jesus at the baptism and departed again when Jesus was arrested. Cerinthus argued that a natural human was born of Mary, and a mere man suffered on the cross. John assures us that there was no such severance. The Divine Son Jesus, the Anointed One, came not only by water at His baptism but also by blood at His death. Besides these two abiding witnesses, a third is still more convincing. And that is the Holy Spirit that bears witness (to the Divinity of the Anointed One); because the Spirit is truth. There can be no higher testimony than that of the truth itself.[19]

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[1] John 14:17; cf. 15:26

[2] Matthew 3:17; 17:5

[3] Ibid. 15:26-27

[4] Ibid. 16:13-15

[5] 1 Timothy 3:16

[6] John 14:6

[7] Ibid. 16:13

[8] Witness (v.6); Record (v.7); Testified (v.8); Gave (v. 10) KJV

[9] 1 Timothy 1:15; cf. Hebrews 10:5

[10] John 19:34

[11] Ibid. 19:34

[12] 1 John 1:7; cf. Hebrews 9:12

[13] From a letter, Ben Franklin wrote to French scientist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in November 1789

[14] Cf. John 5:31-40

[15] 2 Peter 1:21

[16] Romans 8:16; cf. John 14:16; John 15:26; 16:14

[17] John 19:34

[18] Ibid. 1:31, 33

[19] Ibid. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXV) 12/02/22

^5:5 But who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is indeed God’s Son?

As stated in his interpretation of the Apostle John’s subject matter, Daniel L. Akin (1957) endorses “Son of God” as an essential title for Jesus in the Bible. It informs us that He is more than a man. He is also God. He is the God/man. “Jesus” identifies Him as a man. “Son of God” identifies Him as God. He has both the nature of humanity and the supernature of God. He is the eternal Son who always existed and will forever exist as the Second Person of the Triune God.

The birthmark of God’s children is that they believe Jesus is God’s only begotten Son. This belief, this faith, is both particular and persevering. Jesus alone is the object of this faith’s confession. And this confession is continuous and ongoing. “Believe” is a present tense verb noting nonstop action. It is not a one-time belief but a lifetime commitment! And it is a personal and individual trust. No one can have faith in nor trust God for you. Everyone must believe the Gospel themselves. You must trust Jesus the Anointed One, God’s Son yourself.^[1]

With classical thinking, Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) points out this passage’s strong interest in the necessity of belief that Jesus is the Anointed One, God’s Son. So, who is the one that overcomes the world? Rhetorical questions like those introduced here utilize the interrogative “who” [2] to function as a statement. Yet, they come with the added advantage of evoking the listener to ponder the implications of what was said. The secessionists who refused to abide and were wooed by the world have instead gone out.[3] But, they will not prevail “because they lack the true faith.” With the last of three references to victory over the world, John asserts again and finally that only the one who abides in God is assured of triumph.^[4]

Great expositional teacher, David Guzik (1961) notes that the Apostle John begins with a principle that is simple yet powerful – if we are “born of God, we will overcome the world.” The idea that this world could defeat anything born of God was odd to John. But, since believing in Him is the key to being born of God, the needed element for victory is “faith,” not only an initial, “come-to-the-altar-and-get-saved” faith, but a “consistently abiding faith,” an ongoing reliance, and trust in Jesus the Anointed One. This tells us we are triumphant primarily because of “who we are” in the Anointed One, not because of “what we do.” We subdue the world’s influence because we are born of God, and we are born of God because we “believe that Jesus is God’s Son” – again, not in a mere intellectual sense, but we build our lives on the fact that Jesus is the Son of God for us.[5]

As a lover of God’s Word, Peter Pett (1966) comments that being born of God results in loving those who have also been birthed by Him and enables us to overcome worldliness. Those born of God do not follow the world’s ways, desires, and hopes; instead, they triumph over them. And what causes them to win? Their faith! Yes, their faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus as God’s only Son. Indeed, this faith has already enabled them to conquer. The conquering power has promised them victory because He, whom they believe in, has completed the conquest. As the Apostle Paul said, “Through Him who loved us, we are more than conquerors.”[6]

We begin from a position of victory because we start in Him. Thus, the faithful Christian is a guaranteed victor. They defeat the Evil One,[7] conquer the antichrist, and defeat worldliness. This conquest is because their faith is anchored in Jesus the Anointed One, God’s Son, who lifts them above the world. It also gives them conquering power and reveals to them the inadequacy of the false teaching about the non-human, mythical Anointed One of the false prophets and the deceitfulness of the Evil One. they enjoy royal protection.[8]

In his unorthodox way, Duncan Heaster (1967) notes that the “faith” spoken of in verse four, the Apostle John now defines as faith that Jesus is the Son of God, the confession of which led to being cast out of the synagogue and active persecution from the Jewish world.[9] This faith provoked the world’s opposition and overcame those opponents. The Lord Jesus was the one who overcame the world;[10] perhaps the implication is that whoever believes that He is God’s Son and thereby identifies with Him will have His overcoming power applied to them. His Spirit becomes theirs, so His disabling sinfulness is also theirs in practice and not issued to them by grace.^[11]

Bright seminarian Karen H. Jobes (1968) feels that the Apostle John is pressing the identity of Jesus not simply as a great teacher, prophet, or even the Messiah. Instead, he consistently identifies Jesus with God the Father as His Son who shares the divine nature.[12] Without faith in the Anointed One, no one can face down the evil, the hopelessness, and the self-defeat that this world presses against us day by day. Many self-help gurus may write and speak about how to live a better life, and some of what they say may be helpful and worthwhile. But the world cannot give us victory over worldliness. Without trust in the Anointed One, who came into the world from God, even the most successful life is swallowed up in spiritual death.^[13]

A skilled sermonizer, David Legge (1969), comments that there are three interwoven threads throughout this letter of five chapters. These are the tests, the proofs, the evidence of spiritual eternal life. To put it another way, they are the tests of how we can be assured that we indeed are God’s children, or as John often puts it, “are born of God.” So, this is a small epistle chiefly related to the issue of fellowship, how we can know we’re in union with God – namely, how we know that we are born of God, the children of God, and how we can have the assurance of that fact.

Legge tells us the three tests are: 1) the doctrinal test, 2) the social test, and 3) the moral test. [First], the doctrinal test is “that we believe the Scriptures and history records regarding our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.” [Second], the social test “do you love your spiritual brothers and sisters in the Lord?” And [third], the moral test “do you obey God’s commandments?”[14] Can the world look at us outside the church and see the love we have toward the other inside the church, and witness the new commandment the Apostle John built upon Jesus’ mandate to love one another as He loved us?

EXPOSITION

^5:6 Jesus the Anointed One is the one who came. He came with water and with blood. He did not come by water only. No, Jesus came by both water and blood. And the Spirit tells us that these are the facts. The Spirit is the truth.

Now John switches subjects and starts his fourth test, the Divine Unity test. All of what he has said so far is contingent upon Jesus being who He said He was.  John does not want to leave any doubt in the reader’s mind. But for many readers, his language here is difficult to understand without some explanation.  Initially, we must understand that John is talking about how Jesus was proven to be the Redeemer and Savior of the Word.  By putting all three of these together, we get the whole picture.  John the Baptizer told those who would listen, “I would not have known who the Messiah was until the One who sent me to baptize with water told me.”^[15] And the Apostle Peter said that water is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus the Anointed One.^[16]

Jesus alludes to this same combination when speaking to Nicodemus: “Believe me when I say that everyone must be born from water and the Spirit. Anyone who is not born from water and the Spirit cannot enter God’s kingdom.”^[17]  Therefore we can conclude that John speaks about Jesus being verified as the Messiah through what happened at His baptism.  Then John continues, “…and blood.” 

When God explained to Moses how the sacrifices were efficient in covering the sins for which they were being slain, He told him, “This is because the life of the body is in the blood. Therefore, I have told you that you must pour the blood on the altar to purify yourselves. It is the blood that makes a person pure.”^[18] This was established for the many sacrifices back then and remained valid for the one final sacrifice on Calvary.

We find a compelling message from God to Israel through the prophet Zechariah concerning the coming King, “I have delivered you from death in a dry hole because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood.”^[19] Here, of course, John talks about God’s stamp of approval on His new covenant of salvation by the shedding of blood on the cross by His Son, the Messiah, and Savior sent to free the world from sin.

We do not know what Jesus told His disciples about His birth. But the prophet Isaiah made it clear to King Ahaz, who wanted a sign that he would survive any attack from the kings of Syria. So, God told him, ask Me anything to prove that I will protect you. But Ahaz was reluctant to ask. So, then God told Ahaz that the Lord would choose the sign – a child will be born to a virgin. And she will call Him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”).^[20] So from that earliest time, it was known that a woman would give birth to the Messiah.

However, the Apostle John may have been aware of all the suppositions and propositions of Messiah’s coming. Some scholars think that John no doubt heard they thought Jesus would be another Moses, whom Pharaoh’s daughter rescued out of the Nile River. Others believe that because the High Priest poured out water and wine (representing cleansing and blood) on sacrifices, that would show Him to be like a lamb sacrificed for the sins of Israel. Even some astute Bible scholars feel that verses six through eight are the most difficult to explain in the whole Bible. Then some accept that “water” refers to the Anointed One’s baptism when God spoke and called Him His beloved Son, and “blood” to His death on the cross where He committed His spirit to God.

There is no universally agreed interpretation, so each person must be comfortable with the one that fits best into their theological mindset. However, let’s take that John was speaking in spiritual terms. Then, we can see where “water” is identified with baptism and “blood” with His blood^[21] that washes away all sin, in reference to the born-again believer’s victory over the world to enjoy eternal life. Then, hopefully, when we see the Apostle John in heaven, we can ask him for his explanation.^[22]

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

[2] 1 John 2:2

[3] Ibid. 2:19

[4] Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary, 1-3 John, op. cit., pp. 528-529

[5] Guzik, David: Enduring Word, 1,2 & 3 John & Jude, op. cit., pp. 89-90

[6] Romans 8:37

[7] 1 John 2:14

[8] Pett, Peter: Commentary on the Bible, op. cit., loc. cit.

[9] John 9:22

[10] Ibid. 16:33

[11] Heaster, Duncan. New European Christadelphian Commentary: op. cit., The Letters of John, pp. 69-70

[12] 1 John 1:3, 7; 2:22-24; 3:8, 23; 4:9-10, 14, 15; 5:5, 9-13, 20

[13] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament Series Book 18), op. cit., p. 217

[14] Legge, David: Preach the Word, op. cit., Sermon 16

[15] John 1:33

[16] 1 Peter 3:21

[17] John 3:5

[18] Leviticus 17:11

[19] Zechariah 9:11

[20] Isaiah 7:14

[21] Cf. Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7Hebrews 9:7, 14; 10:29; 12:24; 13:20; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 1:5; 5:9; 7:14

[22] See Leviticus 17:11

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXIV) 12/01/22

^5:5 But who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is indeed God’s Son?

Ministry & Missions Overseer Muncia Walls (1937) defines faith as the overcoming factor against this world that seeks to pull us into its snares and entanglements. The Apostle John is emphasizing his argument against the erroneous dogma of the Gnostics, for they denied the Deity of Jesus the Anointed One. But our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior enables us to be overcomers of this world’s attractions. Overcomes is a familiar statement with John. He employed it in 1 John 2:13,14 when he spoke of overcoming the devil. We also find it used in each of the letters he wrote to the seven churches of Asia. John is writing to people who have experienced the new birth. They are conquerors (overcomers) – of this world and its snares. A child of God is an achiever, victorious in their lifestyle, and not a quitter – but a winner.^[1]

Expositor and systematic theologist Michael Eaton (1942-2017) asks, who can love the way the Apostle John requires in verses one to three? Verse four answers: we all can! John says God’s commands are not burdensome, “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcame the world; it is our faith.” Eaton then defines the content of that faith in verse four. It is because of the Christian’s spiritual birth and persistent belief. The movement of thought from verses 1-3 to verse 4 shows that the “world” is characterized by a lack of faith (verse 1) and deficient love (verses 2-3). The present tense, “overcomes,” points to the endless possibility of overcoming the world; the simple past (or ‘aorist’) tense of “overcame” points to the recent victory the followers of John experienced. The departure of John’s enemies resulted from persistent faith on the part of John’s disciples. In verse five, John changes back to the present tense. The confidence that has recently won a victory may do so constantly. Finally, John points to what it means to love. It is to persist in faith no matter what is happening to us. When we conquer the world; we conquer lovelessness. ^[2]

Great Commission practitioner David Jackman (1945) sees verse five as moving the reader into the present tense and possible daily experience of the Anointed One’s victory in our discipleship, available to us all as Christian believers. Everything depends upon our union with the Anointed One. It comes by faith, through which the divine resources are made available to all who trust Him so that they may be victorious in their battle with worldliness, sinful tendencies, and devilish traps. We cannot share God’s victory if we do not believe in His Son, for Jesus is the only source of the divine power that is strong enough to overcome our enemies. Of course, that must be put into practice, or there will be no power. But wherever that faith is central and active, there is victory.

Finally, no one says that the conflict is over but that the outcome is settled. Now, nothing in this world or beyond can overcome the believer rooted in the Anointed One.[3] But, this was what Jesus promised: “In this world, you will have trouble,” He told His disciples on the last night He was with them. “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”[4] And all those who are united to Him in this faith have also overcome.^[5]

After studying the context surrounding this verse, John W. (Jack) Carter (1947) reminds us that God created us in “His image.” It simply means that humans are unique among all the creatures of this world in that God has given them an eternal spirit, one that has the capacity to know that God exists and to have a personal relationship with Him. Consequently, every civilization has sought this higher power, knowing it exists. However, our search for God has often been so influenced by our sinful nature that we fail to find Him in a way He will accept.  God’s plan is that we come to Him in faith, finding forgiveness for our sins. However, that forgiveness is found only in the work of Jesus the Anointed One on the cross of Calvary. He is the One who is the Messiah, God’s Son. If we reject Jesus the Anointed One, His divine nature, and salvation, we have rejected God.  Consequently, though all world religions will eventually result in the final judgment (“since every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD”),[6] the only way to come to that judgment with forgiveness is through faith in Jesus as Savior. There is simply no other way to overcome the eternal consequences of the sin of this world.^[7]

As a person who loves sharing God’s Word, Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) sees verse five as taking the victory attributed to faith in verse four and extending it to the person who exercises it. To accomplish this, John uses a rhetorical question, for which he supplies the answer in verse five: “But who is the one who conquers the world? It is none other than the person who believes that Jesus is God’s Son.” The conqueror is the person who makes this profession of faith. Such confession should be regarded as including His status as the Anointed One and His incarnation.[8] The phrase’s meaning is informed by all that the epistle has said of “the Son” thus far.[9] The term “Son of God” has already occurred twice in this epistle[10] and is conceivably related to its use in John’s Gospel. “Son of God” is what John the Baptizer, Nathanael, and Martha, the sister of Lazarus, all called Jesus.[11] Martha combines all of the elements stressed so far by John: “I believe that you are the Anointed One, God’s Son, who was to come into the world” (NIV).^[12]

Skilled in Dead Sea Scroll interpretation, Colin G. Kruse (1950) concludes that when the Apostle John says, “this is the victory that overcomes the world’s actions and attractions, even our faith,” he defines what it is that enables those born of God to defeat worldliness – their faith. It is the only place in the Johannine writings where we find the noun “faith” (pistis). Elsewhere, the author uses the verb (pisteuo)[13] that portrays dynamic faith. The nature of the belief that overcomes is explicit in the following rhetorical question and answer: “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God enables believers to overcome the world.” In this context, the influence of the “world” comes primarily through the secessionists and their false teaching.[14] To overcome the world, the readers must persist in their faith in Jesus despite the propaganda of the secessionists. In 1 John, “the Son of God” is equivalent to “the Anointed One.”[15] Therefore, only those who believed that Jesus was the Son of God could be said to have overcome the world. As far as John was concerned, the secessionists who denied these things were still part of the world[16] and subject to the power of the evil one.[17] ^[18]

Believing that Christians can fall away from the faith, Ben Witherington III (1951) notes the Apostle John’s rhetorical question that begins verse five: “Who is it that overcomes the world?” It neatly balances the rhetorical question John asked earlier: “Who is the liar?”[19] John then explains this in more detail: “the faith” pistis [the only occurrence of this noun in the Johannine Epistles] is defined as believing that Jesus is God’s Son. But one may ask, why is this said to conquer the world? The answer goes back to where Jesus says that He has already overcome the world.[20] With this being so, faith in Him as Messiah, Son of God, world’s Savior, is the means of overcoming as He did. The Anointed One’s victory was gained on a small hill and in a shallow tomb. Still, it was worldwide in its effects. The context does not suggest that “overcoming” here has the connotation of martyrdom as it does in Revelation.[21] [22]

With her crafted spiritual insight, Judith Lieu (1951) says that from the neuter language of verse four, the Apostle John says it’s the individual in verse five who believes and participates in the victory over all that opposes God. Again, the opposition is summarized as “the world.” Here John repeats his core confession of a belief that Jesus is the Son of God.[23] Then, after expanding it in verse six, John will not mention “Jesus” again until the end of the letter.[24] Consequently, “the Son of God” becomes the focus of each letter’s remaining sections.[25]

As has become evident, John acknowledges that Jesus is God’s Son and gives shape to and adequately defines the belief that Jesus is the Anointed One.[26] On one level, we might read this declaration as completing the circle that began in verse one of the chapter: everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One = has been born God; everything born of God = conquers the world; the one who conquers the world =  the one who believes that Jesus is God’s Son. This imagery of birth/birthing offers a possibility of exploring a new tone within which both “Anointed One” and “Son of God” are to be understood. Still, John has not yet finished such exploring, and verse five, therefore, not only looks back but drives forward.^[27]

Contextual interpretation specialist Gary M. Burge (1952) finds that the Apostle John’s interest in spiritual victory in the previous section led him to develop a specific reconciliation. In chapter four, verse seven and onward, John urged that Christian maturity (anchored in a correct understanding of God’s love and commitment) should result in a loving, reconciled community. Such an experience of God’s love results in rebirth and victory, victory even over worldliness. But should we pursue such a resolution at all costs? Should passionately held beliefs be set aside if there are differences of opinion? As he did in 1 John 4:9-10, John refuses in 5:5b-12 to let these affirmations about God and community healing drift away without a Christological anchor. Only through the Anointed One’s incarnation and sacrifice can we gain a clear, undistorted view of God’s commitment to us. Therefore, regeneration and ethical inspiration must be theologically informed, and christologically centered.^[28]

Emphasizing the Apostle John’s call to Christian fellowship, Bruce B. Barton (1954) has the Apostle John ask the rhetorical question, “Who can win this battle against the world?” He follows it with John’s answer, “Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” Thus, verse five confirms verse four with a triumphant affirmation. Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are the only ones who will win this battle against the world so permeated with false, anti-Christian teachings by holding fast to their faith in Jesus as God’s Son. In fact, they will win the battle, no matter what form it may take. Believers have faced false teachings, persecution, assault on the church through the ages and will continue to encounter them. But no matter how strong these powers may seem, those who trust in Jesus the Anointed One have already decided and won the battle. That confidence cannot be overcome by any worldly power because, as John already stated, “He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.”[29] ^[30]

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[1] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., p. 84

[2] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., pp. 176-177

[3] See Romans 8:37-39

[4] John 16:33

[5] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 143

[6] Philippians 2:10

[7] Carter, Dr. John W. (Jack). 1,2,3, John & Jude: (The Disciple’s Bible Commentary Book 48), op. cit., pp. 120-121

[8] See 1 John 4:2

[9] 1 John 1:3, 7; 2:22–24; 3:23; 4:9-10, 14; cf. Holtzmann 1908: p. 354; Loader 1992: p. 62

[10] Ibid. 3:7-8; 4:15

[11] John 1:34, 49; 11:27

[12] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 277-278

[13] Cf. 1 John 3:3; 4:1, 16; 5:1, 5, 10, 13

[14] Cf. 5:9-10

[15] Cf. 1 John 2:22, 23; 5:1, 5

[16] Ibid. 2:18-19; 4:1-3; cf. 2 John 1:7

[17] Ibid. 5:1

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

[19] 1 John 2:22

[20] John 16:33

[21] Revelation 11:7; 13:7; 17:14

[22] 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

[23] Cf. 1 John 4:15

[24] 1 John 5:20

[25] Ibid. 5:10^x2; 12; 13^x2; 20^x2

[26] Ibid. 2:23; 5:1; cf. 3:23

[27] Lieu, Judith: The New Testament Library, I, II, & III, op. cit., pp. 207-208

[28] Burge, Gary M., The Letters of John (The NIV Application Commentary), op. cit., pp. 200-201

[29] 1 John 4:4

[30] Burton, Bruce B., 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., pp. 108-109

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXIII) 11/30/22

^5:5 But who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is actually God’s Son?

In this, as in all His views, says Morgan, the Apostle John agrees. In verse three, John describes the life of the godly, saying, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not a burden.” John knew they would be hindered, tempted, and opposed in the attempt to maintain it. Hence, he delivers the counsel and warning in verses four and five, “Every child of God can obey Him, defeating sin and sinful tendencies by trusting the Anointed One to help them. So, who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God?”[1]

One who appreciated Jesus’ embodiment of divine emotion to transform how we live in this world, Robert Law (1860-1919) is that one peculiarity of the Johannine vocabulary is the frequency with which the Greek verb pisteuō (“believe”) appears.[2] Another is that, in contrast with the usage of other Final Covenant writers, the object of this verb is much more commonly a fact or a proposition than a person. Consequently, the result of its action is to be expressed by the word Belief rather than Faith or Trust. It does not signify that the portrayal of Jesus has in any degree replaced the person of the Anointed One; it only reveals the fact that the writer uses a phraseology and a mode of thought peculiar to himself.

If the Apostle Paul says, “That life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in God’s Son.”[3] John expresses the same truth when he writes, “And now, little children, abide in Him,”[4]or “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus the Anointed One.”[5] However, the fact remains that with John, “believing” denotes less frequently the action of the will in trust and self-committal, and more often the perception of truth or the crediting of a testimony which is the requirement for such action. So also, “believing” is less frequently a direct personal relationship to the Anointed One and more often a theological conception of Him.^[6]

Thinking as a dispensationalist, Arno C. Gaebelein (1861-1945) states that what the Apostle John says in verse one is logical. Then he gives a counter test in verse two to show that it is genuine. So, if we love God and keep His commandments, we can also rest assured that we love His children. If the soul goes out to Him in love, shown by unreserved loyalty to His will, then love for other members of God’s family will follow. It differs from the Law, called elsewhere “a yoke that no one could bear.”[7] Keeping His commandments means being obedient to His Word and being in subjection to Him in all things, for loving God is the spirit of obedience.

Therefore, although the children of God are in the world, they are no longer part of it. In addition, there are hostile forces in the world which did not know Him and don’t recognize God’s children. All in this world are opposed to God, hindering faithful obedience. But those who are born of God overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that conquerors worldly intimidation and temptations. What faith is it? The faith occupied with the Son of God, which yields obedience to Him, does His will. Such faith is the victory that overcomes the world and its attractions.^[8]

In reviewing what the Apostle John says in this verse, Archibald T. Robertson (1863-1934) states that his question about who overcomes the world is not rhetorical[9] but an appeal to experience and reality.[10] ^[11]

Characteristically, Alan England Brooke (1863-1939) takes the Apostle John’s question as an appeal to practical experience. The one who realizes who and what Jesus of Nazareth was, has the power that overcomes the world’s forces that draw people away from God.[12] The fuller phrase “Son of God” in verse five clarifies the meaning more clearly than “the Anointed One” in verse one, although John refers to the same person by both titles. He varies his expression to leave no doubt about his intention. The spirit of the false teachers was the denial, not that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews, but that He was not the complete revelation of the Father and the assertion that the Higher Power in Him was with Him temporarily during His earthly life.^[13]

With an eye for detail, David Smith (1866-1932) notes that before saying, “Everyone born of God conquerors the world,” he already said: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Anointed One has been born of God.” So now he asks: “Who is it that conquers the world but the one that has faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” His doctrine, therefore, is that faith in the wonder and glory of the Incarnation makes God’s commandments easy to follow – love for God and love for one another. The remembrance and contemplation of that amazing manifestation drive out the world’s affection and floods the heart with heavenly love.^[14]

With academic precision, Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) notes that the opening statement of this section directs the reader’s attention at once to its Christologically centered content – keeping faith in Jesus, the Son of God. Verse five now bridges the previous subdivision in 1 John 4:7-5:4 and the present one (5:5-13). Note these links: (a) verse five connects with the subject of faith (and victory) in verse four; (b) it restates verse four in the form of a question and makes it concrete; (c) verses four and five together develop the thought expressed at 2:13-14; (d) verse five echoes 5:1, where John speaks of faith in Jesus as the Anointed One “who is He that conquered the world?” The pronoun (“who?”) makes the reference in verse five personal. (e) The individual believer takes the place of an anonymous individual in verse four, “faith,” for, in the end, the believing Christian conquers the world rather than a belief by itself. For the practical dimension to the ideas in verse five and John’s appeal to the experience of his church members.[15] ^[16]

As an insistent believer in God’s Grace, Zane Clark Hodges (1932-2008) highlights several parts of verses three to five. He begins by pointing out that, as a matter of fact, God’s mandates are not oppressive.[17] This is because the principle of victory resides in everyone born of God, for they have overcome the world.[18] Their faith in the Anointed One constitutes a win over Satan, who blinds those who are unregenerated to the Gospel.[19] Who is it then that overcomes the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is God’s Son. John affirms that a believer is a world conqueror utilizing faith in the Anointed One with these words in verse five. It suggests that such faith is the secret of their continuing victory and that obedience to God’s commands need not be burdensome.^[20]

Inspired by Jesus’ words, “go into all the world,” Edward J. Malatesta (1932-1998) says that in this section (1 John 5:1-5), the theme of love, which appears only here, is joined to that of faith in two ways. First, by means of the concept of divine generation. Everyone who believes in Jesus has necessarily been born of God. If such a one loves the Father who birthed them, they also love the others born of God’s Spirit, who are their spiritual brothers and sisters. Second, bringing love and faith together in the observance of God’s commandments. Our fellow believers’ love is grounded in God’s love and the observance of His teachings. As God’s children, we are able to keep His Word and be victorious over the world because of our faith. ^[21]

As a capable scripture analyst, Ian Howard Marshall (1934-2015) notices that verse five forms the bridge from John’s discussion of the power of faith to his presentation of the content of true faith and his statement of the evidence which confirms it. Rhetorically he asks if anybody can overcome the world if they do not believe that Jesus is God’s Son. There is a slight shift in terminology. In verse one, the content of true faith was that Jesus is the Anointed One, whereas here, He is to be confessed as the Son of God. This idea suggests that the two titles are virtually synonymous; we may compare the similar alternation in this epistle.[22] But the title “Son of God” is more appropriate here because John is thinking of the power of God revealed in His Son, Jesus. Thus, only the person who recognizes that Jesus is God’s Son can believe that Jesus supplies divine power to overcome the world. God’s Son is the world’s Savior only because He shares God, who is greater than the devil. To believe anything less about Jesus is to believe in somebody who does not have the ability to save us from the power of the godless world.^[23]

As an expert on the Apostle John’s writings, John Painter (1935) says that the rhetorical question concerning “who is the one who conquers the world?” uses the masculine present participle with the definite article in characteristic Johannine style. It sets the one who conquers in parallelism with the one who believes.[24] The form of the symbolic question, “which is the one who conquers the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” balances the rhetorical question of 2:22, “who is the liar except the one who denies, [saying] that Jesus is not the Anointed One?” The one who conquers is over against the liar: “This is the Antichrist.”[25]

Nevertheless, in verse four, there is this assurance: “You are of God, little children, and you have conquered them” [the spirit of the Antichrist who inspires his antichrist followers].[26] In verses one and five, the verb “he is” is followed by the conjunction hoti (“that” believes), giving the content of what is to be taken as true. The content of faith is also expressed using the verb “to confess,” followed by hoti. Both constructions stress correct belief against the false religion of the opponents.[27]

The problem seems to have been that the opponents refused to identify the human life of Jesus with the Anointed One, the Son of God. Consequently, they refused to confess (believe) that Jesus (the human) was the Anointed One, God’s Son, who has come in the flesh. Thus, the one with correct faith is seen as the victor, that is, over the power that occupied the world and goes on conquering as believing continues. Perhaps the present tense is used in the first instance to emphasize that this was an ongoing process, as people came to believe. The content of belief signaled using hoti reminds us that “to believe in Jesus” requires a known identity and that Jesus’ identity is made known to us in these terms: the Anointed One, the Son of God, is come in the flesh.^[28]

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[1] Morgan, James B., An Exposition of the First Epistle of John, op. cit., Lecture XLI, pp. 404-405

[2] See 1 John 3:23; 4:1, 16; 5:1, 5, 10,^x3 13^x2

[3] Galatians 2:20

[4] 1 John 2:28

[5] Ibid. 1:3

[6] Law, Robert: The Tests of Life: A Study of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 258

[7] Acts of the Apostles 15:10

[8] Gaebelein, Arno C., The Annotated Bible, op. cit., pp. 157-158

[9] Cf. 1 John 2:22

[10] See 1 Corinthians 15:57 for the same note of victory through the Anointed One

[11] Robertson, Archibald T., Word Pictures in the New Testament, op. cit., p. 1967

[12] Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:57

[13] Brooke, Alan E., Critical and Exegetical Commentary of the Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 131

[14] Smith, David: Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1 John, op. cit., p. 194

[15] 1 Corinthians 15:57

[16] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., p. 275

[17] Cf. Matthew 11:30

[18] Cf. 1 John 4:4

[19] Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

[20] 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, p. 901

[21] Malatesta, Edward J., Interiority and Covenant, op. cit., p. 310

[22] 1 John 2:22

[23] Marshall, Ian Howard: The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 230-231

[24] Cf. 1 John 5:1

[25] Ibid. 2:22

[26] Cf. ibid. 4:2-4

[27] See 5:1, 5; 2:22; 4:2-3, 15

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

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXIII) 11/29/22

^5:5 But who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is actually God’s Son?

To be clear, Robert Cameron (1839-1904) points out that our Lord Jesus the Anointed One overcame the world by faith. He “endured the cross, despising the shame,” because of his faith in the “joy set before Him.”[1] When He stood before Caiaphas, helpless and friendless, he declared, “Nevertheless” (despite His hopeless condition), “hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power.”[2] His faith was vivid and intense, and far-reaching. He was not blinded by what He saw on earth, but He had an eye open to the glories of heaven. On this account, the world had no hold on Him; the prince of this world had nothing on Him. There was no place of disloyalty or weakness, no lurking element of possible impatience under His yoke. He was the servant of God, with the spirit of the Son, and therefore was joyfully obedient. He was not deaf to earthly sounds but had an ear quick to hear every word that came from His Father’s lips. It was God’s people who had such blindness and deafness.[3]

When we have this same spirit of kinship, says Cameron, we too may overcome the world in a practical way as well as in intellectual belief. We may have to cut off a right hand or pluck out a right eye and treat the flesh and its lust as if they were dead. We may have to “go outside the camp, bearing the reproach”[4] of the Anointed One; we may have to forego harmless pleasures; we may have to part from those whom we dearly love; we may have to lay down our lives for the brethren. These things will be grievous and yet joyful, “sorrowful but always rejoicing.”[5] But, like the Anointed One, we look forward to the end. Like Moses, we endure, “as seeing Him who is invisible,”[6] and in the future, we will assuredly rise to the height of our great position and share the victory that overcomes the world. We have had excellent knowledge, great joy, great fellowship, great intimacies, and great rank as children of God, but here is a great victory over the world, ensuring a final possession of the glory of heaven.^[7]

The condition of this union with the Father and of joint possession of the new life is faith in the Anointed One. This faith is also a sign of Eternal Life. “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Anointed One is born of God.” Believing is used here in its complete and definite sense. The third chapter expresses belief in the revelation made concerning the Anointed One, and in chapter four, trust in the love manifested through Him. But here in verse five, it expresses a believing soul’s relation to the Anointed of God. In addition to this truth about the Anointed One and the love manifested in Him, it relies upon Him, bringing the believer into vital contact with Him. The one who believes that Jesus is the Anointed of God for the purposes of 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, states Cameron. Still, he has here in mind solely the faith of a soul in the person of the Anointed One without any regard to another. It is a person meeting God in the Anointed One and with heart and mouth echoing God’s testimony about themselves and their Savior. It is the very essence of what is needed to make a child of God. It is more than assent to a proposition or a truth. It is even more than the expression of reality. It is the naked contact of a soul with God through its Savior.^[8]

Manifestly, Erich Haupt (1841-1910) is quick to say that faith is nothing other than faith in Jesus as the Son of God. It was the work of the Anointed One to destroy or undo the works of Satan;[9] and His work specifically as the Son of God. So, he could say, “I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.”[10] Thus, faith in Him and complete fellowship with Him reflect all His work, even in us. Hence the close of our section, verse five, most exactly returns to its beginning in verse – born of God. It is what constitutes victory over the world’s temptations. It is exhibited in our interdependence upon each other in brotherly love.^[11]

In agreement with the Apostle John’s goals, William Macdonald Sinclair (1850-1917) sees this as the Apostle John’s appeal to the consciousness of Christians. Ask yourself, are there des the disciples of Jesus who conquered all opposed to God? If so, where are they? God has declared that He will not harshly judge the Pagan world,[12] but salvation by God’s grace and mercy is a very different thing from the glories of the illuminated and victorious Christian heart. Where are they? Not Socrates, with his want of the sense of sin and his tolerance of evil; not Cicero, with his tormenting vanity; not the Gnostics, with their questionable lives: only those in whom dawned the bright and Morning Star[13] – Jesus, the Anointed One.^[14]

Beyond any doubt, Alonzo Rice Cocke (1858-1901) wants to know, “Who else became superior to all the smooth talk of the ungodly, all the fury of the powerful, and the betrayal of the prophets of Satan? No one except those who believe that the Redeemer is the God-man?” We see the earliest flower of spring, which has pushed its way through the frost and cold and now stands smiling with its fragrant head open to the sun, and we say: “That flower has survived the winter.” So, where faith has made its way through the crust of the cold, frozen, opposing world, and lifts its head to God with a heart all fragrant with love to God and others, we say, “Faith has overcome the world, and now blooms with divine life despite the world’s hostility.” The Apostle John now proceeds to the heart of the fifth chapter, the testimony concerning Jesus the Anointed One.^[15]

Venerable ministry veteran James B. Morgan (1859-1942) quotes our Lord, who said, “It is enough for the servant to mimic his master.”[16] Jesus referred to the treatment He received from the world and warned His followers that they might expect the same hostility. His intercessory prayer shows how deeply this subject impressed His mind. He pleads for them, saying to the Father, “I have given them Your teaching. And the world hates them because they don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world. But I am asking that You keep them safe from the Evil One. They don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world.”[17]  From this, we can take it that Jesus assumes that to the very end, the world and the Church should be separate, different, and contrary one to the other. The world would never cease to be an enemy against which God’s people would contend.

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[1] Hebrews 12:2

[2] Matthew 26:64

[3] Isaiah 42:19 – New Living Testament (NLT)

[4] Hebrews 13:13

[5] 2 Corinthians 6:10

[6] Hebrews 11:27

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

[8] Cameron, Robert: The First Epistle of John, or, God Revealed in Life, Light, and Love, op. cit., pp. 207, 219

[9] Cf. 1 John 3:8

[10] John 16:33

[11] Haupt, Erich: The First Epistle of St. John: Clark’s Foreign Theological Library, Vol. LXIV, op. cit., p. 294

[12] Romans 2:13, 15

[13] Revelation 22:16

[14] Sinclair, William M., New Testament Commentary for the English Reader, op. cit., p. 491

[15] Cocke, Alonzo R: Studies in the Epistles of John; or, The Manifested Life, op. cit., p. 124

[16] Matthew 10:25

[17] John 17:14-16

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XXXII) 11/28/22

^5:5 But who could fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is actually God’s Son?

Familiar with John’s writing style, William B. Pope (1822-1903) points out that “whosoever is born of God” in verse four (KJV) is a new form of words when compared to “we” in verses two and three and with “that which is born of the Spirit” in John 3:6 – “overcometh the world.” Now in verse five, we read, “he that overcometh.” It is generally anyone victorious over the kingdom of evil, particularly that sphere of the natural man and self in the atmosphere where the commandment of brotherly love asserts itself. However, this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Not love, but faith is the leading thought: faith IS the victory, its strength for that habitual overcoming of every obstacle to obedience which was in it as an original germ and of the final attainment of which it is the pledge.

The past, present, and future are here, but the stress is on the present. It conquers, not in an ideal, but a present and perfect victory, followed by a sentence that takes a negative form but includes a positive reason. And “who are they that overcome the world?” They can be no other than those that believe Jesus is God’s Son and are in union with Him. The world always opposes this Name and its King and resents His victory declaration: “I have overcome the world.[1] Theology, both dogmatic and practical, look at these words and finds in them their richest material. The Apostle John’s warning against love for the world, and his encouragement of opposition to the errors in the world, lead to an abiding victory over it.^[2]

As a sermon outline specialist, Edwin William Attwood (1823-1888), a contributor to Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts, recalls that during Lent, it is needful that we should prepare our minds for the essential duties delegated to us, and there is no subject more useful for meditation than Christian warfare. Therefore, in her wisdom, the Church appointed the Lenten season as a time for fasting and prayer to lead the faithful to a higher spiritual life. During this time, let us look at the following issues to determine our status with God and the World:

I. Our Conflict is with the World – Our Lord told us who the prince of this world is, and we understand that we stand opposed by all the powers and forces of evil, marshaled and put in an array by Satan himself. When we regard the mighty forces brought against us, the vast multitude of the host, and the discipline of the display, we are led seriously to consider our position—whether we are able, with our small and disunited band, to wage war with such an enemy as this. Naturally, we find ourselves perfectly unable; the conflict is too grievous; we are overmatched and outnumbered; what can we do? The consideration of this teaches us our entire dependence upon God. We turn to His Holy Word for help, and we read that help can be gained sufficient to our need, and if we earnestly seek it, strength will be imparted to fight and overcome.

II. Who are they that ‘Overcome the World’? – The answer in our text: “Those that believe Jesus is God’s Son,” who have enlisted in the Anointed One’s army and remain faithful Christian soldiers. By overcoming the world, we must understand the world’s temptations “worldliness, the flesh, and the devil.” We know how serious these temptations are; how frequently we are overpowered. But we may be sure of this: if we are thoroughly equipped for the fight, our eventual triumph will be confident and complete. We need to put on the “whole armor of God,”[3] not merely a portion. This is where the mistake often occurs. A Christian is negligent in prayer, weak in faith, or not regularly in attendance or pays attention to God’s Holy family. Furthermore, they do not guard their words or actions; they are not ready to forgive and forget an injury; they yield to pride, malice, or conceit; in fact, they are unprepared for spiritual warfare. If there are any defects in their display, the enemy takes advantage of those unprotected parts, and they fall. Still, when they are clad in the whole armor, well riveted and linked together, they are victorious and overcome the world. We must be thorough Christians if we hope to overcome.

III. What is the Nature of this Faith? – It is threefold: (a) A faith that leads a sinner to prostrate themselves, in true repentance, at the foot of their Savior’s cross, not daring even to look up, but to cry aloud for pardon in those words of the publican, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.”[4] (b) A faith that lays hold of their cross, a Christian on bended knees, clinging to it, is determined, by the help of God, never to depart from it again. (c) A faith that enables them to bear that cross during life, humbly and devotedly, “counting all things but loss,”[5] for the sake of Him who died thereon. This is how the Christian overcomes the world: believing in God’s Son. Trusting in the Anointed One, we gain sufficient help for every need and strength to encounter every foe.[6] ^{[7] [8]}

With spiritual discernment, William Alexander (1824-1911), Bishop of Derry, Ireland, says verses three to five connect the Christian rebirth with victory. The Apostle John tells us that the destined and (so to speak) natural end is conquest by the supernatural life. There is a contrast between the laws of nature and grace. No doubt the first is marvelous. We may even term it a “victory,” for it is proof of a successful contest with the hidden hardships of the natural environment. It is the conquest of something which has conquered something below it. The first faint cry of the baby is a wail, no doubt, but in its very utterance, there is a triumphant undertone. At least in those who are physically and intellectually gifted, childhood, youth, and adulthood generally possess some share of “the thrill of the strife” with nature and their contemporaries. Youthfulness has triumphal mornings, its days leap from the darkness in victory.

But sooner or later that which conforms to the pessimist’s style “the martyrdom of life” sets in. However brightly the drama opens, the last scene is always tragic. Our natural birth inevitably ends in death. Birth and death embody each life brought into our present human existence. The thought of death is sighed over every cradle, and every grave attests to its reality. But if birth and defeat is the motto of the natural life, birth and victory is the maxim of everyone born into the family of God. It is the conquest of the collective Church, of the entire mass of regenerate humanity, so far as it has been faithful to the principle of its birth – the conquest of the Faith which is “Our Faith,” who are knit together in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of the Son of God, the Anointed One our Lord.

But it is something more than that; the general victory is also a victory in detail. Every faithful individual believer shares in it. The fight is a battle of warriors. The abstract ideal of success is realized and made concrete in each life of struggle, a life of enduring faith. The triumph is not merely one of many informal contests. So, the question, “Who is the ever-conqueror of the world? Only the ever-believer that Jesus is the Son of God.” It rings with a triumphant challenge among the ranks. Thus, John hands us two of his extraordinary master conceptions, which came to him from hearing the Lord who is the Life. We should read both in connection with the fourth Gospel – the Christian’s Birth and Victory.^[9]

After sufficient examination of the Apostle John’s statement, Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) says that the Apostle John’s question becomes personal. It appeals to the experience of those he addresses. The single believer takes the place of the abstract element (born of God) and of the absolute force (faith). The victory of the divine principle is, as he triumphantly claims, realized in the Christian’s spiritual success. The personal triumph is regarded as representative of a victory in its completion by “the Son of God” including it antithesis, “Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.”[10] ^[11]

For instance, Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) comments that verse five defines overcoming faith more expressly and declares victory impossible without it. The belief must (1) center in the person of the Anointed One, (2) accept Him for who He is, Son of God and Son of man in one abiding trustworthy person. Then He unites with the soul and becomes its life and victory. So then, the new nature does not overcome by inaction but by acting through definite faith. In action, the Spirit is received, and the power given. But our verse also declares that the world can be overcome in no other way.

Then the Apostle John challenges his readers to produce a single instance of such victory except by this faith in the Anointed One. “Who is the person,” he says, “where are they that conquers the world but by this Gospel faith?” That person does not exist. There is no other principle or means of victory. One might as well think of rising from earth against gravitation as to think of putting the world under their feet, except by faith in the Anointed One. Without it, that person is a part of the very world they would overcome. But with confidence, they are united to another sphere and are lifted above their old self, where they can meet the world with an advantage.

Two profound lessons in reform present themselves here: (1) One may break off an evil habit or association, and yet, without Gospel faith, have the world reign supreme in them. (2) Mere resolutions, self-respect, human religion, asceticism, or monastic seclusion will not subdue the world. It takes the Witness Without and Within that Jesus is the Son of God and the Container of Life. The overcoming faith of the former section leads the apostle to confirm to his readers the object of this faith in His true historical personality as being the source of the eternal life that faith receives.^{[12] [13]}

In his classical style, Sir John Robert Seeley (1834-1895), an English essayist and historian, says that he who has faith, we know well, is twice himself.[14] The world, the conventional order of things, goes down before the weapons of faith, before the energy of those who have a glimpse, or only think they have a peek, of the eternal or customary order of things.^[15]

Noting doctrinal implications in the Apostle John’s statement, John James Lias (1834-1923) says I. Let us consider what is involved in this Faith. (a) It asserts a unique character in Jesus the Anointed One. He is not a son of God in the sense that all created beings are. Instead, He is the Son of God in a sense peculiar to Himself. (b) What does the term “sonship” imply? Likeness to the Father. Thus, the Son of God comes from God and displays the nature of Him from whom He comes. (c) We find in Jesus the Anointed One all the attributes of His Father: power, wisdom, intelligence, righteousness, glory, and love.[16] II. This faith overcomes the world (a) by uniting us to the Anointed One; (b) because His power, to which it unites us, is Divine. Apart from the Anointed One, we are nothing.[17] In Him, we are partakers of His fulness and sharers of His victory.[18] ^[19]

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[1] John 16:33

[2] Pope, William B., The International Illustrated Commentary on the N.T., Vol. IV, op. cit., p. 37

[3] Ephesians 6:11

[4] Luke 18:13

[5] Philippians 3:8

[6] 1 John 5:5

[7] This outline was compiled from notes and commentary by Edwin W. Attwood, Sermons for Clergy and Laity, p. 10; Expositor (7th Series), vol. v. p. 129, J. Keble, Sermons for Lent to Passion-tide, p. 172; ibid. Sermons for Easter to Ascension Day, p. 160, Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx. No. 1187

[8] The Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts, Vol. II., Hodder and Stoughton, New York, 1910, p. 968

[9] Alexander, William, Expositor’s Bible: The Epistles of St. John, Discourse XI, p. 223

[10] Cf. 1 John 2:22

[11] Westcott, Brooke F., The Epistles of St. John: Greek Text with Notes, op. cit., p. 180

[12] Sawtelle, Henry A., Commentary on the Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 56

[13] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, op. cit., pp. 361-362

[14] “Twice himself” means there are always two people when you look in the mirror. Though they may be identical, sometimes they are two different people. It takes one to find out who the other is. In the real world, each human is twice himself. Not only because there are two images when you stand in front of a mirror, but because a person duplicates their body and inserts a different soul inside.

[15] Seeley, John Robert: Natural Religion, Ch. II, The Abuse of the Word “Atheism,” Published by Macmillan and Co. London, 1882, p. 35

[16] John 1:14; Colossians 1:19; 2:9; Hebrews 1:3 etc.

[17] John 15:5

[18] Ibid. 1:16; 16:33

[19] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 361-362