Epilogue
Fellowship is Maintained by Praying for Fellow Believers
5:14 And this is the confidence we have in ˹God’s˺ presence, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 5:15 And if we know that He hears us regarding whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
5:16 If anyone sees his fellow believer committing sin that does not lead to death, he should ask, and ˹God˺ will give him life – to those committing sin not leading to death. There is sin that leads to death. That is not the sin I am saying he should pray about. 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not leading to death.
Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.
Summary of Verses 5:14-17
In this unit, John returns to the topic of a believer’s confidence in God’s presence in relation to prayer, which was previously discussed in verses 3:21-22. The believer is assured that God hears and answers requests that are made according to His will. This confidence and assurance empowers a believer to fulfill the responsibility of interceding for a fellow believer who is committing sin not leading to death.
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Verse 5:14
And this is the confidence we have in ˹God’s˺ presence, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
On a first reading of this verse, it appears that John is introducing a new unrelated topic regarding prayer. But he has addressed this topic in a general way previously in verses 3:21-22:
3:21 Beloved, when our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God 3:22 so that whatever we request we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that please Him.
John’s entire letter is about fellowship – with God and with fellow believers. This unit fits into that theme because it is about a believer’s responsibility to intercede for fellow believers who are sinning. Perhaps John has in mind praying for those who are being led astray by the false teaching of the disruptors.
And this is the confidence we have in ˹God’s˺ presence,
The believer who has assurance of eternal life (vs. 5:13) has confidence to enter God’s presence to pray and be heard. He or she has confidence in their personal relationship with God. Power in prayer is proportional to the degree of fellowship a person has with God.
that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
There are several conditions about prayer that are stated in verses 3:21 and 5:14. The person praying:
- Must be keeping God’s commandments. In other words, abiding in God by loving God and loving others.
- Should be asking according to God’s will. We can know God’s will generally, by reading what God says in the Bible. However, we often do not know specifically what God’s will is for the people we pray for. That should not stop us from praying. We simply pray as best we can, based on our limited knowledge, and under the assurance that God will answer according to His will and in a way that is good, because God is good.
Robert Yarbrough makes a good comment on the word “anything“:
“‘Anything’ that believers may request is immediately qualified by ‘according to his will.’ Believers are free to pray whatever they wish as servants of Christ, but the requests that they can be confident God will comply with are those that lay hold of his intentions and plans. It is God’s will not the believer’s whim, that is the cardinal criterion of prayer that God honors… This is hardly a restriction on prayer, for there is an infinity of needs and opportunities to pray and work for under God’s direction.” [YARBROUGH p. 299]
“He hears us” means that God hears us favorably and answers our prayers.
Verse 5:15
And if we know that He hears us regarding whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
With the confidence mentioned in verse 5:14, the believer knows that if God hears his prayers, God also answers his prayers, provided the conditions mentioned above are met. Believers can be certain of an answer when they pray according to God’s will.
To be sure, the answers are not always seen immediately. The answers come according to God’s timing. But John’s point is that prayers made according to God’s will are answered, and the believer can be assured of that. And note that John writes that “we have the requests” not “we will receive the requests“. The present tense verb expresses the idea that the answer to the request is already possessed.
Verse 5:16
If anyone sees his fellow believer committing sin that does not lead to death, he should ask, and ˹God˺ will give him life – to those committing sin not leading to death. There is sin that leads to death. That is not the sin I am saying he should pray about.
The believer is assured that God hears and answers requests that are made according to His will. But John mentions only one focus for prayer – interceding for a fellow believer who is “committing sin that does not lead to death“. The confidence and assurance mentioned above empowers the believer to fulfill this responsibility.
Throughout the letter, John has implied that believers can and do sin. Dealing with sin among the fellowship of believers (the church) is a shared responsibility that follows logically from the teaching that believers are to love one another. When believers see a fellow believer committing sin, they are to pray for that person. Love for fellow believers is expressed in praying for their spiritual well-being.
If anyone sees his fellow believer committing sin…
First, note that the sin in question can be seen. As Robert Yarbrough explains in his commentary, “the sin is evident and unmistakable, not simply suspected or alleged”. [YARBROUGH p. 306, footnote 1]
Second, note that the sin is committed by “his fellow believer“, implying that this is someone who is part of the fellowship.
Third, note that the verb “committing sin” is in the present tense in Greek possibly indicating that the sin is an ongoing practice rather than an isolated act. (ἁμαρτάνοντα / hamartanonta – Present Active Participle)
…that does not lead to death,
This phrase raises several difficult and troublesome questions for the modern reader:
- What is the sin that leads to death?
- Can I commit the sin that leads to death?
What is the sin that leads to death?
Many interpretations have been proposed for the sin that leads to death, including:
- Sin that results in the physical death of the person.
- Intentional/deliberate sin (as opposed to unintentional/inadvertent sin).
- Mortal/heinous sin (as opposed to venial sin) for which there is supposedly no forgiveness, such as murder, adultery, or idolatry.
- Apostasy, which is the rejection or abandonment of the truth about Jesus Christ.
- Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is rejecting the Holy Spirit’s work in Jesus’ ministry and attributing it to the Devil (see Mark 3:28-30).
- Sin that is characteristic of those who are unbelievers.
- Refusal to accept the gospel message.
- The deliberate and persistent rejection of Jesus as the Christ who had come in the flesh.
A proper interpretation of the phrase should fit with the context of this section and the entire letter of First John.
Thus, “death” is not referring to physical death. Rather, it should be understood as the spiritual condition that separates a person from the life that is available only in Jesus Christ. See especially 3:14-15. See also 1:1-2; 5:11-13. Spiritual death is the outcome of sin.
First John was written to counter the false teaching of the disruptors that was affecting John’s churches. So the phrase “sin that leads to death” is a good summary phrase for the sin of the disruptors. They believed in a “water only gospel” (5:6) that rejected Jesus as the Christ (2:22-23; 4:1-3) and His atoning death. This guaranteed that they were “outside the sphere of forgiveness and their sins become sins unto death”. [KRUSE p. 207] As a result, they did not have the Son, so they did not have the life (5:11-12). They did not follow God’s commandments (2:3-6, 3:24, 5:1-4), or love fellow believers (3:14-15; see also 3:11, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11-12). Even though they identified themselves as believers, they demonstrated that they were not really believers because they separated from the fellowship (2:18-19).
So, sin that leads to death is sin like that of the disruptors – a denial and rejection that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, whose death is necessary for salvation, and all the results that flow from that: no life in the Son, no obedience to God’s commandments, no love for fellow believers. Ultimately it is “a heart unchanged by God’s love in Christ”. [YARBROUGH p. 310]
“The person who consciously and deliberately chooses the way that leads to death will surely die… It leads to death because it includes a deliberate refusal to believe in the One who alone can give life, Jesus Christ the Son of God.” [MARSHALL p. 247-248]
Can I commit the sin that leads to death?
The sin that leads to death is something that a true believes does not and cannot commit.
On the other hand, sin that does not lead to death is any sin that does not involve rejection of Jesus Christ as the way to salvation. A believer can commit this kind of sin, but forgiveness and cleansing are possible through confession (see 1:9).
he should ask, and ˹God˺ will give him life – to those committing sin not leading to death.
John expects believers to pray for one another when they see sin in their lives. But if the sin does not lead to death, why is there a need to pray? Because the person who is sinning may be too blind to see their own sin and pray for help. Because, there is always a danger that the person who is sinning may move deeper into sin so that it becomes life dominating. Prayer is one way to help the sinning believer overcome the issue, get repentance, and be cleansed from the sin (1:9). God promises to answer these prayers for help.
Since believers already have life because they have the Son (3:14; 5:11-13), in what sense does God give them life? Through forgiveness, the person again experiences the full benefits of eternal life and fellowship with God.
There is sin that leads to death. That is not the sin I am saying he should pray about.
John’s requirement regarding intercessory prayer for restoration is directed toward praying for true believers who fall into sin, not toward those who deliberately reject Jesus Christ and choose the way that leads to death. Note that he does not forbid intercessory prayer in the latter situation, it is simply not his focus and he does not command it. His focus is on strengthening the fellowship of those who have remained faithful.
Karen Jobes further explains in her commentary:
“He does not forbid praying for those who have left the church and are still in need of God’s transforming grace in Christ; that is just not the situation he is addressing here. In a similar way, Jesus focused on his disciples in John 17.9 and did not pray for the world, but this does not mean that he was indifferent or hostile toward the world he came to save. It is therefore going beyond the text to argue that John ‘does not want prayers for such sins’.” [JOBES p. 237, and quoting BROWN p. 613]
Verse 5:17
All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not leading to death.
“Unrighteousness” translates the same Greek word (ἀδικία / adikia G93) that is used in verse 1:9:
1:9 If we confess our sins, because ˹God˺ is faithful and righteous, He forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
All failure to adhere to God’s moral principles is sin, even when done by true believers. But not all sin results in death. This provides assurance to the readers, that although they might sin, it is not sin resulting in death. Through confession, they are forgiven and cleansed and can continue to walk in the light and have fellowship with God and fellow believers.
Go back to verses 5:9-13
Go forward to verses 5:18-21
Your Personal Study
Read First John 5:18-21 below and answer the questions.
5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the One who was born of God keeps him, and the Evil One does not touch him.
5:19 We know that we are God’s offspring and the whole world rests entirely in the Evil One.
5:20 We also know that the Son of God has come and He has given us understanding to know the Real One. And we are in the Real One, by being in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Real God and Eternal Life.
5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
1. Summarize the three things John says “we know” from reading his letter.
2. In verse 5:18, John says that everyone who has been born of God does not sin. He made similar statements in verses 3:9 and 3:6. Review the comments for verses 3:9 and 3:6. What does John mean that the believer does not sin?
3. How is the believer kept from sin?
4. According to verse 5:19, mankind is divided into two groups or families. What are they and who is the head of each family?
5. In verse 5:20, what do the words “has come” refer to?
6. What understanding has the Son of God given us?
7. What status does John attribute to Jesus Christ in verse 5:20?
8. On a first reading, verse 5:21 might seem to be an abrupt ending that is not connected to the rest of the letter. What are idols contrasted with? What is John warning the readers against?
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
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