1 John 5 explained: Faith, Evidence and Being Sure

Trust, love and obedience (vv. 1-5)

Trusting that Jesus is the Christ (the chosen king God promised) makes a person part of God's family, so loving God means loving his other children too. That love shows up in doing what God asks, and the writer says this trust is what wins out over a world pulling the other way.

Water, blood and Spirit (vv. 6-8)

Most interpreters take the water as Jesus' baptism and the blood as his death, possibly answering teachers who said the divine Christ joined Jesus at his baptism but left before the cross. Some older Bibles add words here about the Father, Word and Spirit in heaven, but the earliest manuscripts lack them and they were added centuries later.

God's own evidence (vv. 9-12)

The writer argues that if people accept human witnesses, God's witness about his Son should count for more, and refusing it amounts to calling God a liar. That witness is simple: eternal life is found in the Son, and having him means having that life.

Confidence and prayer (vv. 13-17)

The writer says he wrote so believers can know they already have eternal life, and that this confidence carries into prayer, including prayer for a fellow believer who has done wrong. He also mentions a sin that leads to death without explaining it; scholars are unsure what he means, though many think it is a full turning away from Jesus.

Three things we know (vv. 18-20)

The letter closes with three confident statements: God's children are not ruled by sin, the wider world is under the control of the evil one, and the Son has helped people know the true God. Who does the protecting in verse 18 is unclear, since some manuscripts and translations say Jesus, 'the One born of God,' keeps believers safe, while others say the believer keeps himself.

A last warning (v. 21)

The letter ends abruptly with a warning to stay away from idols. Interpreters suggest this means the statues of gods common in their cities, false ideas of God like those the departed teachers spread, or both.

Key verse: 1 John 5:13

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over what 'water and blood' in verse 6 means: most take it as Jesus' baptism and death, while others connect it to the water and blood that flowed from his side at the cross, or to baptism and the shared bread and wine of communion.

Something to think about

What would make you feel sure about something that matters deeply to you but cannot be fully proven?