V. (8.) FAITH THE TEST OF LOVE (1 John 5:1). (_a_) _Its power_ (1 John 5:1). (_b_) _The evidence on which it rests_ (1 John 5:6). (_c_) _What it contains_ (1 John 5:11). (8 _a._) St. John has been setting love in the supreme place which it held in our Lord’s teaching and in St. Paul’s. But t... [ Continue Reading ]
[4. The Conclusion (1 John 5:13). (1) FRESH STATEMENT OF THE PURPOSE OF WRITING, equivalent to that at the beginning of the Epistle, but differing from it (1 John 5:13). (2) WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT COME UP TO THE STANDARD ASSUMED THROUGHOUT THE EPISTLE (1 John 5:14). (3) SOME PR... [ Continue Reading ]
(2) WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT COME UP TO THE STANDARD ASSUMED (1 John 5:14). (14) AND THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE. — The assurance intended in 1 John 5:13 implies confidence, and confidence means the conviction that God is not deaf to our prayers. But these must not be contrary to His will.... [ Continue Reading ]
(3) SOME PRACTICAL POINTS RECAPITULATED (1 John 5:18). (_a_) _God’s sons do not sin_ (1 John 5:18). St. John refers back to “that ye may know” in 1 John 5:13, and sums up three points from former portions of the Epistle, describing the true consciousness of the Christian. Each begins with “We kno... [ Continue Reading ]