Scripture Commentary & Exegesis

1 John 5:20-21 | We Know

by Ben Zornes · Jun 8, 2023

20 And we know that the Son of God is come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life eternal. 21 Little children, guard yourself from idols. Amen.
1 John 5:20-21

Don’t let it escape your notice how this whole epistle wraps up with a steady drumbeat of: “we know, we know, we know.” This isn’t like a teenager rolling his eyes at their parents. Rather, this is the certainty of a child who jumps into the waiting arms of her father, confident he will catch her. This is the divine knowledge which God has brought to us, and which we must hold with the unswerving faith of a child. If you have heard the record of the Apostles––that Jesus Christ is the Son of God manifested in the flesh, who died to cleanse you from your sins, and be your Advocate before the Father––you know everything you need to know for salvation. There is no hidden knowledge left to find. You aren’t missing a piece.

These final words are the capstone on this epistle of assurance. The Son of God is come. Not came and left. Not the Cerinthian proposal that Christ came upon Jesus and then left Him. No, Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come and has given us, in His incarnation, the certainty that we are in God the Father by Him. To be in God, is to be in His Son Jesus Christ, and vice versa. This brings the whole letter full circle to the divine fellowship described in the opening remarks of this letter.

Your fellowship with God through His Incarnate Son means that you know that which is True (Cf. Jn. 14:6). The insecurity of the human search for truth is meant to bring you to the security of dwelling in Him that is True, by knowing Him that is true. Truth is not a logical problem on the chalkboard, it is a Person. Truth is relational. You can’t arrive at the truth through blind unbelief. You can only come to the truth by coming to God. To rebel against God, to search out for hidden mysteries outside of His revelation through Jesus Christ is to seek a shelter of lies. You either dwell in the truth, or you dwell in lies. No middle ground here. Falsehood–at any level–is an attempt to live in a world other than the one made by God the Father & redeemed by His Incarnate Son.

This paternal letter wraps up with an ever needful exhortation to God’s children. Keep yourself from idols. This is anything but a last minute addition to the text, as if the scribe was about to seal the scroll, and John said, “Wait a minute, tell them not to worship idols.” No, the temptation which Cerinthus’ doctrine introduces is a temptation to erect a false Christ. A Christ which cannot save you. A Christ which is not a man like you. A Christ which cannot bring you assurance of your fellowship with God. The rival Christ of Cerinthus invites the worship of all variety of idols. Idols of fertility, wealth, dark power, carnal indulgence, and strength to crush the skull of your despised brother.

Jesus, God’s Life in the flesh, overthrows all the idols. You can no longer perpetuate the scandal of endless bitter rivalries. You must love your brother. You must love God’s people. You must love even your enemy. The idols of pagan darkness have been overthrown. Christ is Lord.

The Begotten of God guards you (v18), now by His indwelling Spirit, you must guard yourself from idols. The idol of a Christ who isn’t fully man. The idol of a man who isn’t fully God. The idol of making Jesus into merely a moral teacher. The idol of making Jesus into a marketing ploy to line your pockets. The idol of turning the love of God in Christ into a hall pass for indulging sin.

This whole letter concludes with an admonition to worship rightly. Serving idols is living in the lies. Serving the Father, through Christ, by His Spirit is how your joy is made complete (1 Jn. 1:4). Worship of the True God is the only path to True Joy.

1 John 5:16-19 | The Sin Unto Death

by Ben Zornes · May 15, 2023

16 If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death, I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God does not continue in sin; but He that is the Begotten of God guards him, and the wicked one touches him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness.
1 John 5:16-19

Think of the sense of joy you experienced when all the documents are signed and the realtor hands you the keys to your first home. That’s a pale shadow to the joy which should come from the knowledge which John has been imparting: if you have Jesus, as proclaimed by John & the other Apostles, you have life. The warnings which follow aren’t intended to spoil the joy of the central message of this book. This passage about the “sin unto death” has become the source of great confusion in the souls of certain saints. Some tender souls convince themselves they’ve committed this sin, and wonder if all hope of salvation is lost for them. But to think that way is to miss the whole point of this letter. John just reiterated his purpose statement in verse 13: he wrote so that you would know you have life eternal.

Notice as well, that John has just exhorted believers to pray with a certainty that your “prayer is always heard, and never unanswered.”^⁠1 This passage is a continuation of that thought. He continues by using (one last time) his familiar “if/then” argument, which he’s repeatedly used throughout his letter. If you see a brother caught in sin, pray, and trust that God will answer that prayer for restoring the wayward brother. Until repentance is out of reach, do not fail to pray for restoration. This reality is brought out in greater clarity in verse 18, reminding us that those born of God leave off their habitual pattern of sin. Those born again will not persist in unrepentant sin, so pray boldly for their restoration.

The “sin unto death” shouldn’t be a cause of trepidation, as if you’ll accidentally commit it while pruning your rose bushes one spring morning. Rather, remember that John tells us to pray for the brother who has fallen into sin, trusting for God to restore him; if you can see that there is hope of restoration pray for him. If there is no hope of reformation, don’t pray for him. I take this to mean a few things. First, we ought not to pray for the departed who we suspect were not believers. No purgatory, sorry Rome.

Secondly, remember that the presenting problem which John is addressing is the rampant message of the Rival Christs; their formal renunciation of Jesus Christ should be received with the church’s “amen, so be it.” As Calvin remarks on this tricky verse, “we ought not contend with the just judgement of God, or seek to be more merciful than He is.”^⁠2 If someone begins to hold to a false Christ, and will not recant, this should be met with a sorrowful but certain “so be it” from the church. Cerinthus, Arius, the modern progressive views of Jesus, and other false teachers have made their Christological bed, and should be made to sleep in it. This isn’t describing the Coal Miner, who reads his bible at 4am each morning, prays for his wayward cousins, but misunderstands the finer points of the hypostatic union.

Just because you sinned, even grievously, does not mean that you’ve “sinned unto death.” This is the point of verse 17, all our unrighteousness is sin. This is why we must be born of God. The twice-born see their sin, grieve their sin, and confess it (Cf. 1 Jn. 1:9). This is the case because the “Begotten of God” guards you, and the wicked one can’t touch you. I take the phrase “begotten of God” here as a reference to Christ, and not to the believer. The Father keeps you, because He has answered Christ’s prayer that you would be kept (Jn. 17:11-12).

The “touching” here (v.18) has allusions of the Levitical duty to refrain from touching unclean things. But in this sense, while the saint must refrain from touching the unclean thing, the orientation has been reversed. The OT mindset was to keep at bay the death & uncleanness of the world. But in Christ, the world is made clean, and the devil scrambles to try to find some foothold, and just keeps losing ground. United to God and guarded by His Spirit, we despoil the wicked one, and his efforts to defile us are like a sailboat without a sail. If you are born of God, the Begotten Son of God keeps you, and preserves you––despite your sin––because you are of God.

And although the whole world lies in wickedness, the devil’s war machines are rendered useless (1 Jn. 3:8b). If you believe that Jesus is the Christ of God, you can proceed through the whole earth unafraid, for you are kept. Let the nations rage and rebel, the victory is not theirs but Christ’s and His people. Which was how John began this section of his letter (5:4-5). This whole letter is a letter of triumphal assurance which comes through the clear knowledge of Christ as proclaimed in the Gospel, not grave and mysterious doubt which arises from the mystical knowledge of Antichrists.

¹Smith, David. The Expositors Greek Testament. Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll. Vol. Five. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979. Pg. 198.

²Calvin, Jean. Calvins Commentaries. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999. Pg. 270.

1 John 5:13-15 | Big Prayers

by Ben Zornes · May 5, 2023

13 These things I wrote to you, that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know you have life eternal and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have in Him that, if we ask any thing according to His will, then He will hear us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we asked of Him.
1 John 5:13-15

We come to the beginning of the conclusion of this letter. Reminiscent of John’s Gospel, the Beloved Apostle gives a explanation for why he’s written. Whereas in His Gospel the reason for writing was so that they might believe (Jn. 20:31), here it is so that they might know. And, not to get too technical, but this knowing is in the perfect aorist, which tells us that it is complete. There isn’t anything further that is needful to be known. As one expositor points out John’s “Gospel exhibits the Son of God, the Epistle commends Him.”^⁠1 Christ has been proclaimed by John, and now Christ is known. This knowledge isn’t merely “pass the test” knowledge, it is the knowing of personal fellowship. He is yours, and you are His. The Gospel isn’t proclaimed, and then a plan is laid out for how you are to earn it. Rather, Christ is proclaimed as God’s free gift of life eternal to those who believe on the name of the Son of God.

In verse 14, we have the fourth & final appearance of the word boldness/confidence. This whole epistle is so that you, the child of God, might be bold. Uncertainty should have no home in your heart. God, by Christ the Incarnate Son, has brought you into His divine council. You might ask, and He will hear you, and answer. This is what Christ Himself taught: “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth (Jn. 9:13).” The striking thing is that God is more desirous to hear our prayers than we are to offer them up.

Conservative Christians often are put off by the “blab it and grab it” circus of so-called “prosperity Gospel.” But our reaction to this misuse of prayer is also sinful. Being made bold by our assurance of fellowship with God through Christ should show up in boldly asking for all we have need of, with the glad submission to however God in His providence will answer us. Indeed, we don’t have, because we’re cowards to ask.

Man, through Christ, has been restored to fellowship with the Almighty God. Just as Adam walked with God in the cool of the Garden, just as Moses met and counseled with God in the Tabernacle, or as many of the prophets were brought up into the secret place of the Most High, each saint is brought into God’s Holy, awesome presence. Your privilege is to petition the God who made heaven and earth to supply your daily bread, to break the jaws of evildoers, to thwart the designs of Satan, to subdue wicked nations, to bring about true justice in the earth. Our problem, by and large, is that the Gospel we preach is mismatched by the safe prayers we pray. The Great Gospel brings about great prayers.

¹Smith, David. The Expositors Greek Testament. Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll. Vol. Five. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979. Pg 197

1 John 5:9-12 | God on the Stand

by Ben Zornes · May 4, 2023

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which he has testified of His Son. 10 He that believes on the Son of God has this witness in himself; he that believes not God has made Him a liar, because he believes not the witness which God has testified of His Son. 11 And this is the record, that God gave us life eternal, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God has not life.
1 John 5:9-12

If you have spent a few decades on this planet, you’ll have noticed that every few years some fad rages throughout the culture. Say it is a dietary or exercise fad, everyone proclaims the virtues of what such and such regimen did for them. Pretty soon, all your friends have jumped on the bandwagon. Then, after a few months, or in some rare cases, years, they’ve moved on to the next greatest thing. We are prone to believe the witness of men, in many respects, without much persuasion. It explains how quickly social contagions (like wearing masks during a pandemic, the “transing” of minors, or slonking eggs) become a thing. If we easily believe the witness of men, on all variety of matters (what car to drive, which toothpaste 9 out of 10 dentists recommend, what diet to try), how much more should we believe God’s testimony regarding the most important event of history.

John continues to elaborate on this theme of earthly & heavenly witness. We should read this in light of the structuring of John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel is bracketed on the front end by the witness of the Spirit descending, & on the back end by the water & blood streaming from Christ’s wounded side. We have the witness of man (John 1:32), when John the Baptist testified to the divinity of Jesus; and we have the divine witness at Christ’s death, fulfilling all the righteous requirements of the law (John 19:34-35; Cf. Ex. 12:46). This is what the Apostle bore record of, earth & heaven have testified that Jesus was the Christ.

The witnesses have been summoned (vv7-8), and now this is the Divine testimony regarding the Son. The implications here are quite straightforward: either you believe God’s record, or else you say God’s a liar (v10). If you believe on the Son of God, you can be assured that this witness is in you. Once more this is a kind assurance from the Lord, this faith doesn’t have its origin in you, but in God.

John lays out in verse 11, in simple terms, what God’s testimony to the world is: He has given us life eternal. But it isn’t outside of Christ. This life is in His Incarnate Son, and no other. You can search the world over, but this eternal life is only found in the person & work of Jesus Christ. John effectively tells us that the witness of God is the Incarnation. If that isn’t enough for you, then nothing will be.

The Gospel is not a matter of hidden knowledge which must be sought out through desert vigils, or holy pilgrimages, or good deeds. The Gospel is plain as day, and should compel us all to follow as readily as we believe man’s witness on trifles. If you have Jesus, you have life, if you don’t have Jesus, then you don’t have life. But just because it is simple, doesn’t mean it is for simpletons. This is divine simplicity, this is glorious straightforwardness, this is unveiled plainness.

1 John 5:6-8 | The Threefold Witness

by Ben Zornes · Apr 14, 2023

6 This is He who came by water & blood, even Jesus the Christ, not by water only, but the water & the blood, and the Spirit bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood and these three agree in one.
1 John 5:6-8

This portion of 1 John has been a topic of vigorous textual debate in recent times. With the rise of Textual Criticism in the late 1800s, this and other sections of Scripture were brought under the scholar’s scrutiny to determine which portions of Holy Writ were actually holy. This project, on the whole, was like using a microscope to chart the course of the planets, or using a telescope to examine mitochondria. Too often, this area of study becomes a worm-hole for doubting the entirety of Scripture. It rarely stays confined to a good faith examination of small sections or ironing out minor discrepancies between various manuscripts. In other words, while the Church must labor to preserve the text of Scripture, it must do so within the bounds of evangelical faith.

Often called the Johannine Comma, the portion that has been brought into question is the last half of verse 7, and the first half of verse 8 (in brackets): 7 For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.] 8 [And there are three that bear witness in earth], the Spirit, and the Water, and the Blood, and these three agree in one.

As is evident, these lines clearly carry weighty trinitarian doctrine. Plainly, this passage is of no small doctrinal import. This is kinda the whole enchilada. Of course, we can defend the doctrine of the Trinity from other texts, but this is the most definitive prooftext of that doctrine. So, is it any wonder that it was attacked in ancient times, and that attack has been renewed in our own time?

Without going into a lengthy defense of the authenticity of this passage, it’s worthwhile to provide a few reasons that we should stand stalwart for the inclusion of the Comma. The first argument is quite simple, the grammar of the Greek text doesn’t make much sense if you remove the Comma.^⁠1 It also produces an exegetical black hole in verse 9 (the reference to the witness of men & the witness of God becomes a point of confusion).

But another argument can be made that spurious heretics were endeavoring to censor this and other inconvenient texts. Along these lines, one early Christian, Socrates Scholasticus (A.D. c. 380-450), noted that in 1 John 4:2-3 some manuscripts at his time bore evidence of what we nowadays call “tomfoolery”.^⁠2 Whereas the Latin Vulgate read: et omnis spiritus qui solvit Iesum ex Deo non (Every spirit that separates/dissolves Jesus, is not of God); some malicious heretics had apparently been changing the text in such a way which in fact separated the human & divine nature of Jesus Christ. It is not incidental that this was one of the very doctrines of Cerinthus which John was battling. In other words, John’s epistle is clear throughout on Christology, and, more to our point, here in 1 John 5:7-8, he’s clear on the Trinity.

These were the debates of the early church, and so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some funny business could have been going on with copyists, scribes, and translators. Along a similar line, Jerome levels an accusation in his prologue to these epistles that “unfaithful translators contrary to the truth of faith” had introduced error which threatened the doctrine of “the unity of the trinity […] in the first letter of John.”^⁠3

But another reason for standing for the authenticity of the Comma is an argument from logic. When it comes to textual variants such as we’re discussing, omission is a far more likely reason than addition is. If you’re a scribe, carefully copying a text to a new manuscript, and you get up to make yourself a cup of coffee, you’re far more likely to accidentally skip a line than to imagine up and write down an entirely new line. Unless the coffee has been laced with hallucinogens, but that’s neither here nor there.

Nevertheless, many of the MSS which we have which omit the Comma were produced in an area that had been a hotbed for the Arian heresy. So it’s not unlikely that some copyists may been grinding their heretical axes. Once they established the omission, later copyists would have unknowingly perpetuated the omission.

Finally, one scholar asks a very insightful question, “If the Comma was a spurious addition to the text, why didn’t the Arian opponents of the Carthaginian council jump all over the council’s use of a verse that was known to be spuriously or recently added?”^⁠4 Taking all this together, there is good, sound reasoning to take this phrase as authentic Scripture, and it should be clear that the omission of it in some manuscripts shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

Now, to the real substance of this text. John has just asserted that if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you are born of God. This section answers the likely objection, “Oh, yeah, says who?” The ground of your salvation is in the divine witness of the Triune God. The Three-in-One bears a united witness that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are indeed born again.

John states that Jesus came by water & blood. There are two reasons this statement is made. The first is that it is a typological fulfillment, and the second is that this typological fulfillment refutes the Rival-Christ which Cerinthus was teaching. The priests of the OT were to wash in water before carrying out the sacrifices of blood. The assurance of cleansing and atonement in the Levitical system was only through water & blood. Christ’s death on the cross, which John alone of the Evangelists notes, brought forth a healing stream of blood & water (Jn. 19:34). But the other reason John makes this statement has to do with toppling the false Christ of Cerinthus. The false teacher said that the divinity of Christ came upon the man Jesus at his baptism and left him at the cross. John is asserting that Christ’s full life and death were necessary for your assurance of salvation.

So John comforts us with the testimony which the Spirit of truth speaks to those who would cast themselves wholly upon the mercy of Christ Jesus for their salvation. In heaven above, a three-in-one witness testifies that those who have believed that Jesus is the Christ are born of God; while on earth beneath, the Spirit along with the water & blood (encompassing all of Christ’s mediatorial work on our behalf) are added in witness.

The Father, Son, and Spirit bear witness to this truth. The Spirit dwelling within, along with the tokens of Jesus’ earthly ministry are sufficient witnesses to assuage any fear that you are not welcomed into the fellowship of the triune God. Indeed, by two or three witnesses shall every word be established (Mt. 18:16). When it comes to your salvation in Christ, the triune God above, the indwelling Spirit, and the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ all tell you the same thing: “If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you are born of God.”

To put it short and sweet, you can rest at ease, for you belong to Christ. Christ has won you. Christ has saved you. The triune God says, “Come.” And the Spirit of Christ, who dwells within you says, “Amen (Cf. Rev. 22:17).” And so, the summons to you is this: “Come and welcome to Jesus Christ.”

¹John Calvin takes the view that the Comma is the true reading. (Cf. Calvin, Jean. Calvins Commentaries. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999. Pg. 257.)

²Church history (book VII). CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book VII (Socrates Scholasticus). (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26017.htm

³“Prologue Canonical Epistles.” Accessed April 12, 2023. https://faithsaves.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Prologue-Canonical-Epistles.pdf.

⁴“A Defense of the Johannine Comma.” Accessed April 12, 2023. http://www.verhoevenmarc.be/PDF/Comma-Johanneum-Defence.pdf.

1 John 5:1-5 | Swept Up Into Victory

by Ben Zornes · Mar 10, 2023

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves Him that begat also loves him that is begotten of Him. 2 In this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory which overcomes the world: our faith. 5 Who is he that overcomes the world? He that believes that Jesus is the son of God.
1 John 5:1-5

One way of thinking about this epistle is that it is a continuation of Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees in John 8. The ultimate question is always, “Who is your father?” The Pharisees insisted that their paternity could be traced by to Abraham. While Jesus rebuked them for rejecting Him as their Messiah, and that this rejection proved that the devil was their father. You might even call this the spiritual paternity test: what do you believe about Jesus? This first section of 1 John 5 goes over this same territory.

Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the promised deliverer of fallen man, are born of God. This salvation, of course, brings forth in us love for the God who first loved us (4:19), and lavished His love upon us (3:1). We are His children, we bear His likeness, and all who bear His likeness will likewise be beloved (5:1). He who believe that Jesus is the Christ, is God-born.

John then answers the question, “Well, how do I love the brethren?” You love God, and keep His commandments (5:2). The New Covenant, as described in Ezekiel’s prophecy, also notes that this new birth, this new life, this new heart will impart to us the ability to keep God’s Law (Eze. 36:25-27). Once more, this isn’t a new commandment (2:7). Rather, this is new life in the old commandment. The husk has broken open, and the tree of life has sprouted in the world.

Loving God means obeying His Word (5:3). And so that we don’t sigh like a teenage boy asked to clean his room, John reminds us that these commands aren’t heavy. Jesus told His disciples if they loved Him, they would keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15). John has already told us what God’s primary commandment is: ”believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another (3:23).” God commands you to do that for which He created you. He commands you to delight in He who is Joy Himself. He commands you to love He who is Love. He commands you to be truly human. For in Christ, humanity is remade & restored. A good literary example of this can be seen in the Narnian Lion’s creational command to the newly made creatures of Narnia’s founding:

“Creatures, I give you yourselves,” said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. “I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself.”^⁠1

In Christ, the entire cosmos has been made new. From Alaskan glaciers, to Saharan deserts, from Ecuador’s jungles, to Russia’s wheat fields. It is all Christ’s. And because it is Christ’s, all is ours. This is not grievous indeed.

This is a mentality of victory. Christ has overcome death, and so the saints of God walk with heads held high. The victory is assured, even as the battle with sore-losers still rages on around us. As Calvin said regarding 5:4, “It is not said that it will be victorious in a single fight, or a few, or some one assault, but that it will be victorious over the whole world, though it should be a thousand times assailed.”^⁠2 Or as another theologian reminds us, “Victory is inseparable from the gospel (I John 5:4), because Christ is King over all creation. There is one gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, apart from Him, life, time, and history have no victory nor reward. To proclaim the gospel means thus to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior. All areas of life and thought must serve and magnify Him, and all must be brought under His dominion. Even more, His rule must extend into every nook and cranny of our lives and minds, and we must bring captive ‘every thought to the obedience of Christ’ (II Cor. 10:5).^⁠3”

If you believe that Jesus is the Mighty Savior, who overthrew the devil’s war machines (3:8), then you are born of God, and the God-born are swept up into the conquering train of Christ the Victorious. But this victory is obtained by faith. Not by our own striving, for as Luther put it, “our striving would be losing.” Rather, the Right Man is on our side. This is how the saint should approach their individual battle with indwelling sin, and how they should view the end of the world. Their individual eschatology and the eschatology of the world are bound up together, for Christ is King of all in heaven & earth.

Finally, verse 5 contains the disjunctive particle “but”. However, I’ve opted to leave it untranslated. In English, the question, followed by the blunt answer performs essentially the same purpose as the disjunctive does in Greek. When asked how you shall overcome this world of sin and strife, your answer must be ever & always be: “Only Jesus.” Or in the words of one hymn-writer:

Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
This “watchword” shall rally my faltering breath;
For while from life’s fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu, my death song shall be.^⁠4

¹Lewis, C. S. (1970). The Magician’s Nephew. HarperCollins. Pg. 114

²Calvin, J. (2014). Institutes of the Christian religion. Hendrickson Publishers. Pg. 369

³Rushdoony, R. J. (1994). Systematic theology: In two volumes. Ross House Books. Pg. 521

⁴Robert Murray M’Cheyne. Robert Murray MCheyne. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2023, from http://www.mcheyne.info/jehovah-tsidekenu/

1 John 4:17-21 | Bold Sons & Fearful Slaves

by Ben Zornes · Feb 16, 2023

17 In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love Him, because He first loved us. 20 If a man say, “I love God”, but hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this is the commandment which we have from Him: he who loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:17-21

God dwelling with us, by the Spirit, and we dwelling in Him by the gracious love of Christ (v16) brings us to our designed end. This perfect love is a perfecting love. His perfect love works upon us to bring about in us the perfecting of our likeness to Christ. This chapter opened by describing the true test of union with God: belief & confession that Jesus is come in the flesh (4:2). John has shown that this faith brings us up into the great and wondrous love of God. This love grants us the boldness of sons (Cf. Heb. 10:19).

This boldness is set in the context of looming judgement. As an aside, I take this as a hint that this epistle was written before Jerusalem fell. Take that for what it is, free of charge. That said, notice that this boldness in the face of disastrous judgement is coupled with our union with Christ. He is victorious on high, and we are victors here below in Him.

And so, this love which flows from being bound fast to Christ casts out fear. The greek word for “cast out” is a vivid one. It carries the idea of throwing out dung/trash. A more folksy rendering might be ”Perfect love trashes fear.” The love which God has shown us in Christ brings us to treat our fear like rubbish to be tossed who cares where. Fear has torment. The idea here is the torment inflicted as punishment on slaves. One expositor put it wonderfully, “The portion of slaves is punishment (κόλασιν) and their spirit fear; the portion of sons is chastisement (παιδεία) and their spirit boldness (παρρησίαν).”^⁠1 Carrying a slavish fear reveals a deficiency in understanding the love which God has shown in Christ.

And so, to once more assure timid hearts, John gives one of the most savory lines in all the Bible. God’s love has come to us, before we ever loved Him or others. This is love which we did not earn by being loving or lovely ourselves. Love, rich and free.

Which leads to a warning and a practical application. The warning is in a familiar Johanine if/then. You can’t say you love God, and hate your brother. Pretending to be able to do so makes you a liar (Cf. 1 Jn. 1:6). John then kneecaps any gnostic notions of love. Love is personal. It isn’t just some grand, platonic idea. It is something between persons. We see this in the trinity (which John is about to describe in chapter 5), and if we love this God who loves us, our love will be embodied and relational, not imaginary and ethereal.

The practical application sews up a theme introduced back in chapter 2:7-11. The commandment which Christ gives His disciples is that if they love God, the must love their brother. This isn’t an option or a matter of preference. This whole argument (from 3:1) up to this passage has been helping us to see that God has lavished gracious love upon us, and this love brings us up into God’s life, and converts us into His likeness. This then can be seen in how we love one another. In the following chapter John will lay out as close to a systematic theology as we might find in Scripture (touching on the doctrines of the Trinity, Christology, soteriology, ordo solutis, etc.). But notice that these deep oceans of doctrine are to be sailed in the vessel of the Father’s great love for us in Christ, which we partake in by the Spirit which dwells in us.

¹Smith, David. The Expositors Greek Testament. Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll. Vol. Five. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979. Pg 192