The First Letter of John – Chapter 5
Faith That Overcomes the World, the Witness of God, and Confidence in Eternal Life
1. Faith That Gives Birth to Love
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God.” (1 John 5:1)
St John gathers together the great themes of the letter. Faith, love, and new birth belong to one reality. To believe that Jesus is the Christ is not merely to assent to a proposition, but to be born of God.
“And everyone who loves the parent loves the child.”
St Augustine explains the logic:
“Love for God cannot be separated from love for those whom God has begotten.”
Faith that does not open into love is not the faith John describes.
2. Love Proved by Obedience
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (v. 2)
John again refuses sentimentality. Love is tested not by emotion but by obedient fidelity.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (v. 3)
St Gregory the Great comments:
“What love makes sweet cannot be heavy.”
Grace does not abolish the commandments; it makes them livable.
3. Victory Over the World
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” (v. 4)
The “world” once again means a way of life closed to God. John proclaims not struggle alone, but victory already given.
“This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.”
St Bede the Venerable notes:
“Faith conquers, not by force, but by perseverance.”
Christian life is warfare, but it is warfare fought from within Christ’s triumph.
4. The One Who Came by Water and Blood
“This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.” (v. 6)
John insists on the concreteness of salvation. Christ did not come in appearance only, but in real flesh, real suffering, real death.
St Cyril of Jerusalem interprets:
“The water signifies Baptism; the blood signifies the Cross.”
Against those who spiritualised or divided Christ, John affirms the unity of His saving work.
5. The Threefold Witness
“There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood.” (v. 8)
God does not leave His Son without testimony. Salvation is witnessed:
inwardly, by the Spirit
sacramentally, by water
historically and redemptively, by blood
St Augustine remarks:
“The Spirit explains, the water cleanses, the blood redeems.”
These three converge in Christ and in the life of the Church.
6. The Greater Witness of God
“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.” (v. 9)
Faith rests not on human opinion but on divine witness.
“He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.” (v. 10)
St John Chrysostom explains:
“Faith is sealed within, not imposed from without.”
Unbelief, by contrast, is not neutrality but refusal of God’s own testimony.
7. Eternal Life Given Now
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (v. 11)
Eternal life is not merely future. It is given now, because it is not a thing but a Person.
“He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life.” (v. 12)
St Athanasius writes:
“Life is not found apart from the Son, for He is Life by nature.”
8. Written for Assurance
“I write this to you who believe… that you may know that you have eternal life.” (v. 13)
John’s purpose is not anxiety but assurance. Faith seeks confidence grounded in truth, not presumption.
Christian certainty rests on Christ’s faithfulness, not our emotional state.
9. Confidence in Prayer
“This is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (v. 14)
Prayer is not magic; it is communion of wills.
St Augustine explains:
“He does not refuse what He has taught us to desire.”
God always hears prayers shaped by faith and love.
10. Prayer for a Brother in Sin
“If anyone sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin…” (v. 16)
John acknowledges real distinctions in sin without sensationalism. He encourages intercessory charity, not judgment.
St Jerome comments:
“We pray not as judges, but as brethren.”
The Christian response to sin is prayer, truth, and hope for repentance.
11. Guarded from the Evil One
“We know that anyone born of God does not persist in sin… and the evil one does not touch him.” (v. 18)
Grace establishes a new protection. Sin no longer reigns; the believer is kept by God.
St Gregory of Nyssa explains:
“The soul guarded by God is not easily taken captive.”
12. Two Realms, One Belonging
“The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (v. 19)
John is sober, not pessimistic. There is real opposition, but there is also real belonging:
“We are of God.”
Christian identity is not shaped by the age, but by divine adoption.
13. True Knowledge and the True God
“The Son of God has come and has given us understanding.” (v. 20)
Faith is not irrational. Christ gives true knowledge, leading us into communion with the Father.
“This is the true God and eternal life.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons affirms:
“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”
14. A Final, Bracing Warning
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (v. 21)
John ends abruptly—and deliberately. Idolatry is not only pagan worship, but anything that replaces the true God.
St Augustine warns:
“An idol is whatever the heart prefers to God.”
The letter closes with vigilance, not fear—clarity, not confusion.
Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation in 1 John 5 |
| Faith | New birth and victory over the world (vv. 1–4) |
| Obedience | Love made concrete (vv. 2–3) |
| Witness | Spirit, water, and blood testify to Christ (vv. 6–8) |
| Eternal Life | Given now in the Son (vv. 11–12) |
| Assurance | Faith grounded in God’s testimony (v. 13) |
| Prayer | Confidence shaped by God’s will (vv. 14–17) |
| Protection | Guarded from the evil one (v. 18) |
| Vigilance | The danger of idolatry (v. 21) |
Closing Prayer
True God and eternal Life,
You have given us Your Son
and borne witness to Him by Your Spirit.
Strengthen our faith, perfect our love,
and guard us from every false god.
Keep us in Your truth and in Your life,
until faith gives way to sight
and hope is fulfilled in glory.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 