1 John 5:13

These things have I written unto you -These things" will cover the whole Epistle, and such is probably the meaning, as in 1 John 1:4, where S. John states the purpose of his Epistle in words which are explained by what he says here: there is nothing there or here, as there is in 1 John 2:26, to limit -these things" to what immediately precedes. As in 1 John 2:21; 1 John 2:26, -I have written" is literally, -I wrote": it is the epistolary aorist, which may be represented in English either by the present or the perfect.

In the remainder of the verse the divergences of reading are very considerable, and authorities are much divided. The original text seems to be that represented by א 1 B, which has been adopted in R. V. These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. The awkwardness of the explanatory clause added at the end has led to various expedients for making the whole run more smoothly. Comp. the similarly added explanation in 1 John 5:16; -them that sin not unto death."

that ye may know that ye have eternal life At the opening of the Epistle S. John said -These things we write that our joy may be fulfilled" (1 John 1:4). The context there shews what constitutes this joy. It is the consciousness of fellowship with God and His Son and His saints; in other words it is the conscious possession of eternal life (John 17:3). Thus the Introduction and Conclusion of the Epistle mutually explain one another. This verse should also be compared with its parallel in the Gospel (John 20:31), a passage which has probably influenced some of the various readings here. We see at once the similar yet not identical purposes of Gospel and Epistle. S. John writes his Gospel, -that ye may have life"; he writes his Epistle -that ye may knowthat ye have life." The one leads to the obtaining of the boon; the other to the joy of knowing that the boon has been obtained. The one is to produce faith; the other is to make clear the fruits of faith.

believe on the name See on 1 John 5:10 and on 1 John 3:23.