Exploring 1st John 5:16-21

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20 1st John 5.end
August 7th 2016
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All right, folks, let’s wrap up the first epistle of John. Not really. I thought we would when I started in but this ain't gonna happen. You’ll see why in a minute.

We left off at verse 16. Now from verse 16 through 18 John speaks in a bit of a riddle (at least to me) and apparently to many other Bible commentators and scholars. Then in verse 19-21, he throws in some stuff that is repetitive and a bit kitchen sinkish. Here we go (verse 16).

16 If any man see his brother sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. a sin which is not unto deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., 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 a sin not unto death.
18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath 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.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Prayer and Unforgivable Sin

Alright, contextually, we left off last week with John talking about prayer and that those who have confidence in Him know that He will hear their prayers. Now he says:

16 If any man see 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.

Because he ends this passage with a reference to prayer there MAY – May, Dottie, May – be a connection to his point about praying in verse 15 and what he says in verse 16. But then he may just be commenting on an entirely different line of thought here – can’t definitively say.

Let me re-read the King James of 16 through 17 (18 is part of this but to focus on the central parts lets stick to 16-17). Hearing these five translations will help cement the idea into our heads for a start:

Different Translations of 1st John 5:16-17

THE KING JAMES
16 If any man see 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.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

THE REVISED
16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.

THE WEYMOUTH NT
16 If any one sees a brother man committing a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask and God shall give him life–for those who do not sin unto death. There is such a thing as sin unto death; for that I do not bid him make request.
17 Any kind of wrongdoing is sin; but there is sin which is not unto death.

TWENTIETH CENTURY NT
If any one sees his Brother committing some sin that is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and so be the means of giving Life to him–to any whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin; about that I do not say that a man should pray.
17 Every wrong action is sin, and there is sin that is not deadly.

THE BIBLE IN BASIC ENGLISH
16 If a man sees his brother doing a sin which is not bad enough for death, let him make a prayer to God, and God will give life to him whose sin was not bad enough for death. There is a sin whose punishment is death: I do not say that he may make such a request then.
17 All evil-doing is sin: but death is not the punishment for every sort of sin.

The Concept of Deadly Sin

Any one sees his brother committing a sin that is not deadly, he shall ask, and God will give him life, for any one who is not committing a deadly sin. There is a deadly sin; concerning that I do not say that he should pray.

17 All unrighteousness is sin; and there is sin that is not deadly.

There is a lot – I mean a lot being said in these two passages if we think about it. First of all, John is speaking to believers and he is talking to them about another BELIEVER. And what does he say. He says, “If you as a believer see a BROTHER – another believer commit a sin that is not deadly pray for Him and God will give Him life.”

The implications are weighty, folks. I will hit on the various songs and dances that have been presented to explain this verse away from what I believe is its clear and basic meaning. But first some history.

The Distinction Between Sins

“Most sins are not mortal (deadly) sins, but clearly John conceives of a sin that is deadly enough to be called "unto death." The rabbinic writings surrounding Numbers 18:22 speak of what is described as “death-bearing sin." We think of it this way by our laws here in the flesh – there are sins that are worthy of death in many areas. Most people think that John is speaking of sins that have weight in heaven.

Hebrews 10:26 makes a distinction between sinning wilfully after full knowledge and sins of ignorance (which are described in Hebrews 5:2). We also know that Jesus spoke of the sin that is both unpardonable in this age and in the age to come – and there are a whole host of ideas on what this sin is – to that in a minute. But here and now John has made it clear that believers (Brothers) can both sin sins which are not unto death AND that there is a sin which is unto death.

We have a decision to make. On the one hand, we can believe that John is speaking to Brothers in the faith, that he is talking about sins relative to death on earth (at Jesus coming and in heaven spiritually) OR we can believe that he is speaking to an earthly application.

Interpretations of the Deadly Sin

Let me address the first – and most common way to see this verse – as speaking to Christians sinning sins that are pardonable and sinning the sin that is unpardonable. If this is what John is talking about then he clearly kills the teaching “once saved always saved.” Which kills five point Calvinism.

What is the sin unto death that John is speaking about? Most believe that this is the same sin that Jesus warned against as well – blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Now there all sorts of ideas about what this means too. But in the context of this epistle, and to whom John was writing and why, it seems to me that John equates the sin unto death with those who turn from the teaching that Jesus was the Son of God in the flesh.

This was the sin of the Gnostic Doecetae – they were essentially denying Christ! They were denying the faith – denying faith in Christ – who He was, what He did, and how He did it. Now Christ was long gone – He had ascended into heaven. But the Holy Spirit was sent to testify of Him to the world – to move people to faith in Him and keep them in faith to Him.

The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, in my estimation, and due to passages like this IF we interpret this passage this way, is to say that the unforgiveable sin in this age (and in the age to come) is to refuse the Holy Spirits invitations and encouragement and support to place all of ones faith in Jesus. To reject faith in Jesus.

I’ve heard many very smart men say otherwise. I’ve heard them suggest that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when someone says that the miracles done by God are done by Satan. Don’t see or accept this. The only sin the remains unforgivable in ages past and in this age is to refuse to believe as the Holy Spirit leads and draws. Unbelievers are already guilty of it (and will continue to be guilty of it in this age and in the age to come UNTIL they believe) and if a believer slips back into such a state John here

The Sin Not Unto Death

Let’s talk about that now. For those who are sinning NOT the sin unto death John says:

16 If any man see 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.

This passage seems to hearken back to verses 14-15 where John has reassured us that in our confidence with God we know that whatever we will ask (being full of the Spirit) He will hear us and will grant us our petitions. Here in 16 and 17 he assigns this promise to a specific situation – praying for each other when we see one another (a brother, he says) committing sins (as long as it’s a sin not unto death). Again, the implications of this are weighty. First of all, it can speak of sin as being committable by brothers, it can speak of sin somehow having the capacity to take life, and it can speak of another believer having the capacity to pray on the behalf of others and God bestowing life back into them! Spiritually this is very Roman Catholic stuff, in my estimation.

Understanding Sin and Its Consequences

Moving from the general assurance that God hears prayer, John gives us a specific example and seems to be saying that believers are in a position, through prayer, to rescue a brother from the death that comes from sin. Now, admittedly, some – like myself – think that when it comes to the sin unto death SPIRITUALLY that John is talking about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Others add in that when John speaks of a sin that is NOT unto death (but that has the capacity to reduce the life in them) that he is talking about the bigger sins like murder, idolatry, and adultery. Still, others think that John is talking about sin that was punishable by death by the laws of Moses or those that subjected the offender to excommunication from the synagogue or the church.

Is this passage starting to open up to you as having application in another way besides spiritually? Some think that it refers to sins which brought fatal disease upon the offender, as in the case of those who abused the Lord's Supper at Corinth and where Paul says that they bring sickness unto themselves. And then others take the passage (and this is how I tend to see it) and say that in the face of both Hebrew and Roman Governance John is talking about people (believers and not) who have committed a civil offense and face either incarceration (for sins not unto death) or they have committed sins where the actual punishment is a death sentence (which John says, don’t even pray for them).

Again, we can see the sin unto death as pertaining to:

• literally the death of the body; OR
• as an earthly spiritual death, OR
• an afterlife "second death," which is one of woe and despair.

Different Interpretations of Sin Unto Death

Because it would be difficult to really “witness a person committing the sin unto unforgivable spiritual death (especially since the Gnostics were trying to appear to be of God) I happen to think that all John is talking about is believers committing sins or crimes that were not punishable by death and those that were (which he calls the sin unto death). In other words, if a person committed a crime that was punishable by death according to the Law of Moses, the Law of the Hebrews or the Law of the Romans, don’t bother even praying for them and their release. But if the sin is not punishable by death, pray for them, and God will grant you “your confident petition” and grant them life (or liberty).

I have a couple other reasons to balk at the traditional view of this. In addition to all we’ve said, interpreting the passage traditionally places us on the treadmill of religion – for example our prayerfully seeking for life to be restored by God to a person who has committed the sin of gossip, etc., when all such sin is covered once and for all by the author and finisher of the faith. We also have to remember the circumstances which the believers were under when John wrote this and I can’t help but believe this was very practical advice for them in that day and age.

I also wonder about

The Gospel of Grace and Sin

The advice of not praying for a brother who has fallen from faith and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. To me, we would pray more for their recovery. But when someone is guilty for committing a crime punishable by death why pray for their deliverance? It wasn’t going to happen. They committed the crime, they would have to suffer the penalty. This makes sense in the world, but not in the Gospel of Grace.

At this point, John adds a line that admittedly can be read in almost any application you desire, saying:

17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

He seems to throw this in to remind us that while not all sins are unto death they are all unrighteous.

The Role of Law and Sin

And then he adds:

18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Because he adds this here and now, I am led to believe that in verses 16-17 (and when John says, “If you see a brother sin” I am inclined to believe that brother means anyone – a Jew, a brother in the faith, any human being). Because now he says, speaking specifically to those born of God that they “sinneth not.”

In other words, they won’t commit crimes punishable unto death by the Romans or the Hebrews. Again, he was talking about our prayers, he gave a specific example of when we would pray – when people have sinned against the Law (remember, it is the presence of Law that makes us sin) and he says if they just sin pray for them but if their crime against the law is a crime or sin unto death, don’t bother.

Born of God

But listen to the wording of verse 18 again.

18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Those born of God are not under the law and they are therefore freed from sin – they “sinneth not.” They are not habitually and characteristically a sinner. Though it's possible for them to stumble they are MORE likely to keep themselves, he says. Here in verse 18 he is speaking specifically to brothers and sisters in the faith. It is the exception to what he has said in verse 16-17.

“And that wicked one toucheth him not.”

In other words, that great enemy of peace and good is repelled in his assaults and the believer is kept from falling into his snares – which I believe at that time were literal but were ultimately wound up in literal return with wrath upon Jerusalem.

The word toucheth (aptetai) means to harm or injure, which is all Satan could do to them at that time amidst their stumbles if they had them.

Now John returns to a reiteration that is common to this epistle, and says:

19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

The Greek is better put we have known that we are Christians and the whole kosmos lies in the power of the wicked one. We are children of God, those of the world remain the children of the evil one as the whole world lies in sin. This was a time after the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus so we know that John maintains that even though Jesus work is complete the kosmos remained in a fallen state. The term for “lieth in wickedness” best means “is in the power of that which is evil.”

We read back in 1st John 2:13 where John says that believers “have overcome the wicked one;" and here in verse 5 he says that believers have “overcome the wicked one;" and then back in 1st John 3:12 he describes those “who were of that wicked one." But we know that at Jesus coming, all of the power of darkness will be put to an end. Because at the time of this writing the end was merely “at hand” and in the very near future, John clearly tells us that the world at the moment was still in sin. Would that change at the end of the Hebrew age? It would. Because the end of the Hebrew age is tied directly to His coming we know that all of what John is saying would end.

Listen again to 1st Corinthians 15:23-28 again.

Resurrection and Understanding

Speaking of the resurrection Paul writes:

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Is the world lying in sin now? Does Satan still have some control? Can we take verse 19 here in 1st John 5 and assign it to ourselves?

We cannot.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Understanding Context

So we have to remember this context when we read these passages and understand what is being said and to whom and when before we can take these passages and apply them to our day and age. John continues at verse 20 and says to his reader:

20 And we know that the Son of God is come, (another reference to the Gnostic claim against this) and hath 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.

John repeats the word Alatheenos three times in this passage – which is translated true and truth in English – and it is used here more in this passage than any other passage in the Bible. He is wrapping the epistle up. He has been fighting the lies and influence of the Gnostics, He has led the church as the last living apostle on earth and is facing the end of the ageThe close of the old covenant era, fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not the end of the world., a time more horrific than any other time or age BEFORE or AFTER – so says Jesus.

The Truth of Christ

Do you think he wants them to know what he is saying is true?

Listen to the passage again:

20 And we know that the Son of God is come, (another reference to the Gnostic claim against this) and hath 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.

First, “we know that the Son of God is come.” Don’t question this, he seems to be saying. He came in flesh as a human and died in flesh. “And while He was here,” he adds, “he has given us an understanding.” The word for understanding here can also be translated to “and He has given us a mind.”

Either a new mind or a renewed mind or He has instructed us in a way where we can comprehend eternal truths formerly hidden from them (and us). It’s interesting but Jesus presented truths to the people individually, collectively, and then specifically to the apostles. He taught through parables, examples, lessons from daily life, and spoke in mysterious ways.

But we also know that He explained the Old Testament to the Apostles directly. When did he do this? After his resurrection. In the last chapter of Luke we read that the apostles were out fishing and while they were out on the water Jesus prepared a meal for them on the shore. Then we read:

Luke 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them. 44 And he said

Understanding the Teachings of Jesus

"Unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."

45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

So correct knowledge regarding God and his government and kingdom can be traced directly or indirectly to Jesus who clarified all things to the apostles.

The Light of the World

We can support this statement by John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

He came and was a light in the world as long as He was here. His Spirit now continues to illuminate and teach.

The True God

John adds that He gave this light and understanding while He was here . . . “That we may know him that is true AND WE ARE IN HIM THAT IS TRUE”

John speaks to those believers who were abiding in Him the vine and were bearing fruit of love in and through Him. And then he adds a tremendous line. You ready? “This is the true God.”

There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this important passage; whether it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the immediate antecedent, or to a more remote antecedent–referring to God the Father mentioned much earlier. The question is of some real importance in its bearing on the divinity of the Savior because if it refers to him it provides us with an unequivocal declaration that he is Divine. The question remains whether John meant that it should be referred to him or to His Father?

First of all the grammatical construction favors that he is speaking of Jesus because Christ is the immediate antecedent of the pronoun “this.” Normally this would be regarded as the obvious and certain construction so far as the grammar is concerned though sometimes there can be something in the text which would suggest we should seek some more remote and less obvious antecedent. And while I believe ardently that Jesus was God in the flesh, I have a very difficult time believing that this passage is speaking of Him as God. Let me re-read it:

20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath 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.

Final Thoughts

Let's put the evidence on a scale:

• JESUS ??? FATHER
• "And we know that the Son of God is come, and He hath given us an understanding,
• that we may know him that is true,
• and we are in him that is true,
• even in his (who is true) Son Jesus Christ.

This is the true God, and eternal life."

Finally, John writes: 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

At first read it seems like John has tossed this last line in casually. I tend to think that he has gone to great lengths to describe the true God.

The First Epistle of John

Beware of anything that seeks to get you to worship something other than Him.

And that ends our time in the first Epistle of John.

The Journey Ahead

Next week, the short 2nd John, then the shorter 3rd, then Jude and then…

Upcoming Discussions

…we have to talk about Revelation.

Q and A?