1 John 5:13

The phrase "these things" evidently refers to what John had just written about God’s witness (1 John 5:6-12) rather than to his whole epistle. The "these things" in 1 John 2:1 likewise refer to what immediately precedes in 1 John 1:5-10, and the "these things" in 1 John 2:26 refer to what immediately precedes in 1 John 2:18-25. [Note: See Robert N. Wilkin, "’Assurance: That You May Know’ (1 John 5:11-13a)," Grace Evangelical Society News 5:12 (December 1990):2, 4.] John stated the purpose of the whole epistle in 1 John 1:3-4. [Note: Westcott, p. 188.]

"This assertion [i.e., 1 John 5:13] is very frequently, and wrongly, taken as a statement of purpose for the entire epistle . . . . But this is contrary to the writer’s usage." [Note: Hodges, The Gospel . . ., p. 51. Cf. Wilkin, "Knowing God . . .," p. 3.]

Our assurance of salvation rests on the testimony of God, His promise (1 John 5:12). It does not rest on the presence of spiritual fruit (cf. John 15:8). It rests on God’s Word, not on man’s works. Therefore we can be sure we have eternal life if we have believed on Jesus Christ.

One writer claimed to believe that the Christian’s assurance of salvation rests on both God’s objective promises in Scripture and on the subjective evidence of the believer’s works. [Note: John MacArthur, Faith Works, pp. 162-66.] However the following quotation from him seems to ground our assurance only on subjective evidence.

"Those who cling to the promise of eternal life but care nothing for Christ’s holiness have nothing to be assured of. Such people do not really believe. Either their professed ’faith’ in Christ is an utter sham, or they are simply deluded. If they did truly have their hope fixed on Christ, they would purify themselves, just as He is pure (1 John 3:3)." [Note: Ibid., p. 171. The emphasis is his.]

"Those who are willing to look at themselves with complete honesty will find more grounds to doubt their salvation than to be assured of it. Some even teach that this uncertainty is healthy! But this does not reckon with the fact that the apostle John expected his readers to know that they had eternal life. The irony is that once Christian experience is made the grounds for assurance, as some hold First John does, John’s statement in this verse about knowing becomes a complete impossibility!" [Note: Hodges, The Epistles . . ., p. 229.]