Lesson for September 25, 2024
The Book of I John
I John 5:16-21
Verse 16
“If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.”
It is possible to pray for a fellow believer with a favorable result, if that believer has not committed a “sin leading to death.” If a believer commits a “sin leading to death,” your prayer will be of no effect, since it is God’s will to take them home to Heaven. The term “sin leading death” refers to a believer that is prematurely taken out of this world at God’s discretion. There are clear examples of a sin that leads to death in Scripture. (Moses in Deuteronomy 34:5-7; Saul in I Chronicles 10:13-14; Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11; a believer committing adultery in I Corinthians 5:1-5; a believer dishonoring the Communion service in I Corinthians 11:27-30)
Verse 17
“All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.”
John is emphasizing the fact that all sin falls short of God’s righteousness, but not all result in death. But sin of any kind should not be taken lightly. Just because the Lord doesn’t remove you from this earth when you commit a sin doesn’t mean that He overlooks your sin or that it is okay to continue to practice it. God deals with all categories of sin in a believer’s life through divine discipline. This is why it is so important to keep “short accounts” by continually examining yourself and confessing all personal sins immediately. (I John 1:9; Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13)
Verse 18
“We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”
We must interpret this in light of what John taught earlier that “the seed does not sin,” in I John 3:9, “That which has been born of God does not commit sin, because His seed (the human spirit) remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” This is the first use principle of hermeneutics. The Greek word for seed is “sperma,” and means to sow. From the context, we see that John was referring to the “new birth.”
Regeneration, the theological term for the new birth, is the term for when God creates (sows) a human spirit (seed) in believers at salvation. Therefore, the human spirit is the “seed” John is referring to when he said no one who has been born of God sins. Satan cannot influence (touch) a believer’s human spirit.
We all know that believers commit sin after salvation. We also know that some believers are taken to Heaven prematurely because of certain sins they commit after salvation. However, when this occurs in the life a believer, it is God’s sovereign will if they are taken to Heaven.
To guard against sinning, a believer must reside in God’s power system on a consistent basis. This is the means of guarding oneself against the attacks of Satan (the evil one) and his world system. Touch is the Greek word “hapto,” and means to fasten to, to cling, to lay hold of, or to handle. The Greek word for keeps is “tereo,” and means to guard, to fortify, to keep an eye on. By staying in fellowship with God under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, a believer (one who has been born of God) can avoid a sin that leads to death.
Verse 19
“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
A term used in the Bible to describe our relationship with God as believers is children of God and emphasizes our family relationship with God. This means that we are Royal Family of God. (John 1:12; Galatians 4:1-7)
Adam gave up the rulership of this world system to Satan, when he deliberately sinned against God. We must never forget that Satan is a much more powerful being than we are and therefore we must be aware of his insidious and deceitful devices. We must also remember the tactics Satan uses to get us off track, spiritually. Satan is not omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent, but he is a genius and has been observing mankind for thousands of years. He uses direct attacks, demon influence, and his world system to influence our sin nature to do both human good and evil.
Verse 20
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”
Christ came to reveal God to the world and to bridge the gap between sinful mankind and righteous God. He bridged this gap by paying the penalty for our sin on the Cross. It is through knowing Christ that we can gain an understanding of God and His plan for the human race. Trusting Christ as Savior is only phase one of God’s plan. Phase two of His plan is for us to know Him by learning how He thought when He was here on earth. And after Christ ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and guide. (Matthew 1:21-23; I Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5)
Has given us understanding so that we may know Him Who is true. Christ is the true One, having come from Heaven to earth and becoming a human being, in order to fulfill God the Father’s plan of salvation. By studying the doctrine of Christology, we can learn Who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us.
Just prior to Jesus returning to Heaven, after He died on the Cross and rose again, He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to continue to teach us. (John 14:26; 16:13-14; I Corinthians 2:10-16; II Timothy 2:15; 3:16)
We are in Him Who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. God the Holy Spirit placed us into permanent union with Jesus Christ at salvation. This is known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is neither seen nor felt. It is a fact stated in the Word of God for us to believe. (I Corinthians 12:13)
Verse 21
“Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”
This may seem like a strange thing for John to say to close this epistle, but we must remember that the Bible is to be interpreted in the time in which it was written. There was widespread idol worship among all nations when John wrote this letter.
The Greeks had their gods, the Romans had their gods, and even some Jews participated in idol worship. Therefore, it is not really that strange that John would warn these believers to guard themselves against the worship of idols. Jesus Christ was the only Person they should have been worshipping, which John makes very clear in these passages.
The application for us today is to follow John’s advice and avoid any form of idol worship. People today have their brand of idols. It may be power, wealth, popularity, material possessions, pleasure, another person, or even self. John’s point is that we must always guard against worshipping anything except the one true God of the Bible. This means that Bible doctrine must be the number priority in our life. Bible doctrine teaches us about God’s attributes, His character, and His plan for our lives. When we put anything else above learning and applying Bible doctrine, we are in effect worshipping an idol.