1 John 5
Christian Standard Bible
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,(A) and everyone who loves the Father[a] also loves the one born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey[b] his commands. 3 For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,(B) 4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
The Certainty of God’s Testimony
5 Who is the one who conquers the world(C) but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?(D) 6 Jesus Christ—he is the one who came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water(E) and by blood.(F) And the Spirit is the one who testifies,(G) because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify:[c](H) 8 the Spirit,(I) the water, and the blood(J)—and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony(K) is greater, because it is God’s testimony that he has given about his Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar,(L) because he has not believed in the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life.(M) The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name(N) of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Effective Prayer
14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask(O) anything according to his will, he hears us.(P) 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask,(Q) we know that we have what we have asked of him.(R)
16 If anyone sees a fellow believer[d] committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin[e] that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death.
Conclusion
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him,[f](S) and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come(T) and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one.[g] We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ.(U) He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
Footnotes
- 5:1 Or loves the one who has given birth
- 5:2 Other mss read keep
- 5:7–8 A few late Gk mss and some late Vg mss add testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8 And there are three who bear witness on earth:
- 5:16 Lit sees his brother or sister
- 5:16 Or is a sin
- 5:18 Other mss read himself
- 5:20 Other mss read the true God
1 John 5
Living Bible
5 If you believe that Jesus is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Savior—then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. 2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how much you love and obey God. 3 Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; 4 for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
5 But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God? 6-8 And we know he is, because God said so with a voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized, and again as he was facing death[a]—yes, not only at his baptism but also as he faced death. And the Holy Spirit, forever truthful, says it too. So we have these three witnesses: the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and the voice before he died. And they all say the same thing: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 9 We believe men who witness in our courts, and so surely we can believe whatever God declares. And God declares that Jesus is his Son. 10 All who believe this know in their hearts that it is true. If anyone doesn’t believe this, he is actually calling God a liar because he doesn’t believe what God has said about his Son.
11 And what is it that God has said? That he has given us eternal life and that this life is in his Son. 12 So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son, does not have life.
13 I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are sure of this, that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. 15 And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us.
16 If you see a Christian sinning in a way that does not end in death, you should ask God to forgive him, and God will give him life unless he has sinned that one fatal sin. But there is that one sin which ends in death, and if he has done that, there is no use praying for him. 17 Every wrong is a sin, of course. I’m not talking about these ordinary sins; I am speaking of that one that ends in death.[b]
18 No one who has become part of God’s family makes a practice of sinning, for Christ, God’s Son, holds him securely, and the devil cannot get his hands on him. 19 We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control. 20 And we know that Christ, God’s Son, has come to help us understand and find the true God. And now we are in God because we are in Jesus Christ his Son, who is the only true God; and he is eternal Life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Amen.
Sincerely, John
Footnotes
- 1 John 5:6 as he was facing death, literally, “This is he who came by water and blood,” see Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 9:31, 35; John 12:27-28, 32-33. Other interpretations of this verse are equally possible. as he faced death, literally, “not by water only, but by water and blood.” and the voice before he died, literally, “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood.” that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, implied.
- 1 John 5:17 that one that ends in death. Commentators differ widely in their thoughts about what sin this is and whether it causes physical death or spiritual death. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit results in spiritual death (Mark 3:29), but can a Christian ever sin in such a way? Impenitence at the Communion Table sometimes ends in physical death (1 Corinthians 11:30). And Hebrews 6:4-8 speaks of the terrible end of those who fall away.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.