1 John 5:13-14

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you sums up the Epistle as a whole. At the outset the apostle said, "These things we write, that our joy [yours as well as mine] may be fulfilled;" and now, as he draws to a close, he says the same thing in other words. Their joy is the knowledge that they have eternal life through belief in the Son of God. There is considerable variety of reading in this verse, but that of the T.R., represented by the Authorized Version, is a manifest simplification. That... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13

£ On believers knowing that they have eternal life. Connecting link: The statements which have just been made point out very clearly who have the eternal life and who have it not. But it is quite possible that such statements may exist, may be before a man's eye, may have been read over again and again, and yet they may have been left unapplied to himself by him who reads them. But it is not enough to know what the eternal life is, and what are the marks of its existence. It is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13-17

Assurance. I. THE AIM OF THE EPISTLE CONNECTED WITH ASSURANCE . "These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God." At the beginning of the Epistle, the apostle's aim was stated to be Divine fellowship and completed joy. In looking back, he feels that he has kept his end in view. In the restatement of his aim, he goes the length of completed joy. Beyond the quickening of their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13-21

4. CONCLUSION OF EPISTLE ; without, however, any marked break between this section and the last On the contrary, the prominent thought of eternal life through faith in the Son of God is continued for final development. This topic is the main idea alike of the Gospel ( John 20:31 ) and of the Epistle, with this difference—in the Gospel the purpose is that we may have eternal life; in the Epistle, that we may know that we have eternal life. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:14

And the confidence that we have towards him consists in this. The thought of knowing that we have eternal life ( 1 John 5:13 ) leads back to the thought of confidence before God in relation to prayer ( 1 John 3:21 , 1 John 3:22 ). This idea is now further developed with special reference to intercession for others; a particular form of prayer which is in close connexion with another main idea in the Epistle—love of the brethren. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:14-15

Liberty and prevalence in prayer. Connecting link: The knowledge that we have eternal life is, in fact, a coming to feel perfectly at home in the redeeming love of God in Christ Jesus. Where this is the case, confidence, freedom of speech, is enjoyed towards God; and this holy freedom will find expression in prayer. The thought uttered here by the apostle is nearly akin to that in 1 John 3:22 (see homily on 1 John 3:19-22 ). There are, however, one or two not uninteresting points of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:14-15

The Christian's confidence toward God in relation to prayer. "And this is the confidence that we have in him," etc. We have in our text. I. AN ASSURANCE THAT GOD HEARS PRAYER . "This is the boldness that we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us." Prayer is much more than petition. Canon Liddon admirably defines it: "Prayer is the act by which man, conscious at once of his weakness and of his immortality, puts himself into real and... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 5:13

These things have I written unto you - The things in this Epistle respecting the testimony borne to the Lord Jesus.That believe on the name of the Son of God - To believe on his name, is to believe on himself - the word “name” often being used to denote the person. See the notes at Matthew 28:19.That ye may know that ye have eternal life - That you may see the evidence that eternal life has been provided, and that you may be able, by self-examination, to determine whether you possess it.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 5:14

And this is the confidence that we have in him - Margin, “concerning.” Greek, “toward him,” or in respect to him - πρὸς αὐτὸν pros auton. The confidence referred to here is that which relates to the answer to prayer. The apostle does not say that this is the only thing in respect to which there is to be confidence in him, but that it is one which is worthy of special consideration. The sense is, that one of the effects of believing on the Lord Jesus 1 John 5:13 is, that we have the assurance... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 5:13

1 John 5:13. These things have I written unto you The things contained in the former part of this chapter concerning the fruits of regenerating faith, and the water and the blood, and the witnesses in heaven and on earth, and especially concerning the things which they have witnessed, mentioned in the two last verses; to you that believe on the name of the Son of God With a faith grounded on a saving knowledge of him, and productive of the fruits spoken of 1 John 5:1-4; that ye may know ... read more

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