_HE THAT LOVETH GOD, LOVETH HIS CHILDREN, AND KEEPETH HIS COMMANDMENTS, WHICH TO THE FAITHFUL ARE LIGHT, AND NOT GRIEVOUS. JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, ABLE TO SAVE US, AND TO HEAR OUR PRAYERS, WHICH WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES, AND FOR OTHERS._ _Anno Domini 90._ THE apostle, in the preceding chapter, havin... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST— The apostle had been shewingthe inseparable union between the love of their Christian brother and the love of God: here he shews who was their _Christian brother;—every one who believed that Jesus is the Christ,_ that is, with the heart unto righteousnes... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THIS WE KNOW, &C.— St. John has often intimated, that the love of the Christian brethren, who are the children of God, is a sign or evidence of our love to _God;_ and it appears highly reasonable, that what is visible, should be a sign or evidence of what is invisible. But here he seems to argue... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD,— The love of God is a principle in the heart of a regenerated man, which leads him to keep the commandments of God; and which cannot be visibly manifested any other way; for, whatever some men may pretend, there is no true love of God without keeping his commandments. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WHATSOEVER IS BORN OF GOD, &C.— That is, every child of God. The connection of this with the preceding verse stands thus: _"His commandments are not grievous;_ because in observing them we gain a victory through grace over this world, our grand enemy; and nothing can be accounted grievous which... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS HE THAT CAME BY WATER AND BLOOD— St. John, 1 John 5:5 as well as often elsewhere, intimated that Jesus was the Christ, and that the belief of that article was of the highest moment. Here he is proceeding to the grand evidences of that important truth. The _Spirit_ alone is here said to bear... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THERE ARE THREE, &C.— "For there are three divine Persons, the habitation of whose glory is in heaven, who from thence bear their united testimony to the incarnate Saviour. The _first_ is God the Father, who said of Christ at his baptism and transfiguration (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5.), _This i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR WITNESS IN EARTH, &C.— "And in concurring testimony with these three divine Persons in heaven, who subsist in the unity of the Godhead, and have given their distinct attestations to the saving office ofChrist, there are three _practical_ witnesses to the same upon earth... [ Continue Reading ]
IF WE RECEIVE THE WITNESS OF MEN, &C.— "Now if, according to what is written in the law of God, we readily admit of, and depend upon, the testimony of two or three credible witnesses among men (Deuteronomy 17:6; Deuteronomy 19:15 comp. Matthew 18:16. 2 Corinthians 13:1.Hebrews 10:28.), and they are... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH THE WITNESS IN HIMSELF:— "He who upon this testimony cordially believeth in the Son of God,has not only an external evidence to produce, which may suffice, under the Spirit of God, for the conviction or condemnation of the unawakened world, but he also _hath the witness within himself:_ the hap... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THIS IS THE RECORD, &C.— The phrase 'Η μαρτυρια seems here to signify, not the evidence of testimony, but the thing proved or testified of. So ch. 1 John 2:25. _This is the promise,_ that is, the thing promised. The verse may be thus paraphrased: "And this is the substance andabridgment of this... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT HATH THE SON, &C.— "He, who is vitally united to the Son of God, as his Head andRedeemer, through faith in him, is already spiritually alive: and he who has not an interest in theSon of God has not this spiritual life, whatever proud conceit he may entertain of his own merits and excellencie... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE THINGS HAVE I WRITTEN UNTO YOU, &C.— This verse is by some looked upon as a summing up of the principal part of this epistle, in which St. John professes that he wrote, not to the false prophets and their disciples, (for very probably he despaired of doing any good to them,) but to the true Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE, &C.— "And we who really believe in him, have this satisfaction and holy boldness, that whatever we present our petitions to God for, with faith in Christ's name, after such a manner as is agreeable to his holy will, according to the notices that he has given of it in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_1 JOHN 5:16_.— In the apostolic age, the power of working miracles was very common; and in this conclusion of his epistle St. John gives directions to the Christians, to whom that power was granted. They could not indeed work a miracle till they had an impulse of the Spirit to suggest to them that... [ Continue Reading ]
WE KNOW THAT WHOSOEVER IS BORN OF GOD, &C.— "We, who have received Christ, and enjoy his gracious presence, are well assured, both from the word of God and from the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in our hearts, that whoever is really regenerated by the Spirit of God, and continues in that grace, does... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WE KNOW THAT WE ARE OF GOD, &C.— "And we are well satisfied that we are so born of God, as to be partakers of a divine nature, which is a powerful and abiding principle of all holiness; and that we are the children of God, in a peculiar relation to him; and that we side with him: and we know tha... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WE KNOW THAT THE SON OF GOD IS COME, &C.— "And from all the undoubted proofs before insisted on, we certainly know that Jesus, the Son of God, has assumed human nature, and actually came into this lower world _to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself_ (Hebrews 9:26.); and we know by our own h... [ Continue Reading ]
KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS— "Upon the whole then, my dear children, whom I as affectionately love as a father does his tender babes, let all these considerations engage you to abstain from every appearance of fellowship with pagans in their idolatrous worship of false gods, from all use of images, a... [ Continue Reading ]