Troublesome Topic: 1 John 5 and the Sin That Leads to Death

Context: John’s first epistle centers largely on the questions “Who is Jesus?” and “How can we identify a true follower of Jesus?” In the first 5 verses of chapter 5 Jesus is identified as the Christ (Messiah), and as the Son of God, which means God.

What’s up with the Water and the Blood?

Ever since John wrote these words, there has been much debate about what was being referred to. It is obvious that he intended water and blood, or what they represent, to be witnesses and evidences that prove who Jesus is. Of this there can be no doubt. However, there is no agreement among scholars about what the water and blood were referring to, especially the water.

My opinion on the matter is that John was using a form of symbolism in that water, and even blood, represent more than just the meaning of each word. Instead of writing out a long list of things that prove who Jesus is, John chose two things by which all of them could be represented.

A Jew of John’s day would likely have thought of several possible meanings of water that could correctly fit this context and all of them seem to be intended by the author. In other words, instead of trying to decide on exactly which meaning is the right one, all we need to do is decide which set of meanings fit, and we can consider all of them to be the intent of the author. Various layers of meaning can include the virgin birth, the confirmation from God during the baptism of Jesus, the water and blood that flowed from Jesus’ side while on the cross, and possibly the sacraments of baptism (and the eucharist). Water can also represent cleansing. All of these point to who Jesus is.

The blood is the easier of the two to understand. The witness being referred to is most likely the shedding of Jesus’s blood and all that was accomplished thereby.

The Final Evidence Is Our Salvation

The authenticating confirmation that Jesus is who the Bible says He is comes from the transformed lives of God’s followers. We are witnesses to this world of what Jesus can do, which proves who He really is. Not only so, but we are the primary witnesses, nature is a secondary witness. What a high privilege it is to be the primary witnesses and the confirming evidence to the saving power of God!

Our Request Must Be According to His Will

We cannot ask for anything we want, but only for things that are within the clearly expressed will of God. God has already said He will do these things, the only things we cannot be sure of are the timing and methodology. If we choose to participate with God through prayer He may decide to do those things in our lifetime and He may choose to include us in the process of implementation. All of this fits the definition of “true prayer” which I explain more fully in my study lesson called What does it mean to pray “in the name of Jesus?”

Sin the Does Lead to Death and Sin that Does Not Lead to Death

1. The context of this passage is similar to the context of the passages in the gospels about the unpardonable sin because all of them deal with acceptance or rejection. Here John is saying that the testimony of Jesus about Himself is true, and it is confirmed by other reliable proofs. If one rejects such testimony, there is no other evidence that will convince that person.

2. John gives this set of two types of sins as an example of how powerful prayer is. If we can pray for God to forgive sins, then we can pray for almost anything. However, this verse also indicates that praying alone does not make something reality, there are other factors, such as the other person’s repentant spirit or rebellious spirit. This statement does not say, “You have the power to do anything you want,” rather it indicates that “prayer is a powerful thing because it connects you to the power of God which is already at work among men.”

3. With the use of the word “brother” early in verse 16 it is obvious that John is giving the example of a fellow believer in Jesus who commits a sin – one who stumbles and gives in to temptation, but not one whose life is constantly characterized by sin.

4. It should be obvious that I have placed in the paraphrase my interpretation of that is meant by this verse. That is one of the disadvantages of a paraphrase by itself, it goes all the way in interpreting the passage, not just reproducing the passage. But a translation and paraphrase side by side allow you to see what the passage says and what I think it means.

5. In the Old Testament, all defiant sin could expect to be punished by death; the sacrificial system of the Law had no sacrifice designed specifically to remove the guilt acquired by defiant sinning. Thus every sin could expect death as punishment. For the Jewish mind, the fact that the sacrifice of Jesus offers forgiveness for all sins was an amazing and refreshing change from the system of the Law. The Law had huge hole in it; Jesus filled that hole and provided a new system that is complete.

6. As with the passages about the unpardonable sin in Matthew, Mark and Luke, this passage is difficult to interpret because it seems to be contrary to the rest of the Bible and especially to the rest of the New Testament. For that reason, I see in these four passages the need to understand that while a person is living in the condition of rebellion or rejection of truth, there is no hope for him. First, he must change the direction he is headed and then there is hope for him. I believe there is always hope because God always accepts the repentance of a penitent heart. Matthew Henry wrote, “No sin, of which any one truly repents, is unto death.”

7. We are told that God can “give life” (5:16) and He allows us to participate in that process through prayer. Meyers says that sin of any kind weakens the “life” (spiritual vitality) within the person who has sinned, but the prayer of someone else can be used by God to infuse new life in the sinner, as long as the sinner is willing to confess his sin and be forgiven and purified, as John already explained in I Jn 1:9.

8. The negative word “not” at the end of verse 16 does not refer to ask, but to “I say.” John is not prohibiting believers from praying about this, but he is refusing to say that we must, as if there are times when the effort in prayer can be used better elsewhere. Meyers says it this way, “John does not want to make a duty of a prayer, to which the certain assurance of being granted is wanting.”

Summary:

There is indeed a spiritual condition which will obviously and undeniably lead to death if it is not reversed. I believe that condition is to deny, as the Pharisees did, the obvious working of God in their midst.

In the book of Acts we see examples of both types of responses to the obvious work of God. Examples of positive responses are Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius, the Jailor at Philippi, Timothy, and others. As examples of negative responses we see the members of the Sanhedrin, Ananias and Sapphira, Festus, Felix, and Agrippa, the Jews who opposed Paul’s message, and others.  

(This is the last lesson in this set of topical lessons about Tough Stuff Jesus Said. Thank you for reading.)