Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vols. 13–63

Verse 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. These are very simple words, but they contain a great depth of meaning. The teaching conveyed by this Epistle is very profound, though the language is such as even a child can understand. There must be faith in Jesus Christ as the anointed Son of God—otherwise there is no new birth, no regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

1. And everyone that loves Him that begot loves Him also that is begotten of Him. If we love the Father, we love the Son. If we love God, we love all His people! All who are born into the Divine family are the objects of our affection.

2. 3. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. Not that we talk about our experience. Not that we use endearing expressions concerning the Savior. Not that we are attentive to outward religious ordinances, but, "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." A holy life is the best possible proof of true love to God.

3. And His commandments are not grievous. To His people, they are charming, not grievous. They delight themselves in the Law of God and they only wish that they could be perfectly conformed to the Divine Will.

4. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith And the Apostle gives a description of what kind of faith it is that overcomes the world.

5. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?So it is faith in Jesus which is, first of all, the evidence of the new birth and which is, afterwards, the weapon wielded by the new-born soul, with which it fights till it gains the victory over the world!

6. This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only. Cleansing us as to our lives, "not by water only."

6. But by water and blood. The blood which takes away the guilt of our offenses. There is a double cure for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. First, the putting away of all our past guilt and then the delivering of our hearts from defilement, so that we live after a holy fashion.

6, 7. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in Heaven. Or, "witness in Heaven."

7, 8. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are One. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. Blessed is the man who has that threefold witness—the Spirit of God quickening him, the water cleansing his daily life, and the blood delivering his conscience from trouble because he is delivered from sin by the atoning Sacrifice of Christ!

9. If we receive the witness of men. And we are constantly obliged to do that, for we could not get on at all if we did not believe our fellow men, yet—

9-12. The witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He has testified ofHis Son. He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believes not God has made Him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave ofHis Son. And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and that life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life. Ah, then, my Soul, if you have, by faith, embraced the Son of God, you have a life which can never die! You have the life of God within you! You have Heaven begun within you and you have it now! Dear Hearer, have you the Son of God? Have you taken Him to yourself by a distinct believing grasp, saying, "This Christ shall be mine—this blessed Jesus shall be my Savior"? Then you have the Apostle's Inspired declaration, "He that has the Son has life." And his other declaration is equally true, "He that has not the Son of God has not life."

13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. The Apostle said that they did believe, yet he wrote to them that they might believe on the name of the Son of God because he that believes needs to believe more— more as to matter, and more as to the firmness of the grip of his faith. There are some who do really believe on Christ who do not know that they have eternal life. They have it, but they scarcely realize that they have it—they are afraid to believe that it is theirs. But here the Holy Spirit assures us, through the Apostle, that those who believe on the name of the Son of God have eternal life. Oh, what a comfort this is! Then you can never perish! There are some who say that you can fall from Grace, but how can that be? What kind of life would that be? It would be temporary life! But the Scripture says, "he that believes on the Son has everlastinglife" Then, if it is everlasting, it is everlasting, and there cannot be any end to it! Our Lord Jesus Christ said to the woman at the well of Sychar, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

14. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. We do not wish to have a more unlimited promise than that! We do not ask God to hear our prayer if it is not according to His will. The true child of God does not wish to have his own will, but he says, "No, Lord, You know much better than I do what to grant, so, when my will is contrary to Your will, Your will, not mine, be done! This is as gracious an assurance of answers to prayer as the true children of God wish to have. If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

15. And if we know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have desired of Him. That is, beforewe actually receive the answers to our petitions. After the prayer of faith, we know that our request has been granted and we act upon the belief that we have already received what we asked of God. A true man's promise is as good as the performance of it—we unhesitatingly take a note of hand, or a promise to pay when we know that it is drawn upon a reliable firm. We treat it as money. It passes from hand to hand, through the bankers, and is regarded as if it were the coin itself—then shall we not treat our God in this fashion when we have His promise to pay or to give? We have pleaded it in prayer, so let us rise from our knees, not merely hoping that we shall receive what we have asked, but believing that we shall surely have it! "If we know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have desired of Him."

16, 17. If any man sees his brother sin a sin which is 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 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. There are multitudes of such sins, but there is a place beyond which, if a man passes in sin, he becomes henceforth dead and utterly insensible—and he will never be quickened and never be saved. If we knew a man to be in such a condition as that, the Apostle's words would apply to such a case. "I do not say that he shall pray for it." But, as we cannot tell that any man is in that condition, it is well for us to ask for Grace to be able to pray for every sinner, however great his sin may be! We know that "all unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."

18. We know that whoever is born of God sins not That is to say, that is not the bent and current of his life. He makes mistakes, he falls into errors and he sins, but that is not the habitual description of his life.

18-21. But he that is begotten of God keep himself and that wicked one touches him not And we knew that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness. 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 eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. At the time of the Reformation, there was a general order that this text should be put around the Communion Tables. I think it is time that it was put around the Communion Tables again. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols"—for that is one place where idols are often found, though not by any means the only one.

21. Amen. And we say, "Amen. So let it be."