The American Wisdom Series
Presents

1st. John chapter 5
Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our American Wisdom Series studies:
#1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "studies". These studies contain knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God. 
May the Holy Spirit be your only guiding light. Sincerely, John Rhine

Revelation 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Now 1st. John chapter 5

We have received quite an education so far from the apostle John in this first of his three epistles. For instance, He has made it quite clear that if a person does not believe in Jesus Christ, that He is indeed the Son of God, then he or she does not have the Father either. We have also learned that we are not to believe every spirit that comes along but to try the spirits to see whether or not they are of God. This we are to do in order that we may know from the Word of God how to discern the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. John also warned us that the antichrist is soon coming but meanwhile we had better know that the spirit of antichrist is presently at work in his children, the children of the devil (1 John 3:10).

When we concluded our last study, the subject John was discussing was the love of God and how we are to love our brothers. His final words in chapter 4 were, "he who loveth God loves his brother also (1 John 4:21). The subject of the love of God now continues in the opening verses of chapter 5.

1 John 5:1
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him.

You see, though many claim to "believe" in Jesus, they do not know His Word nor do they keep His commandments, which they think means just the 10 Commandments. For example, most Christians have never followed the direct command of Jesus Christ in Mat. 24:32: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree!" Have you? 

Live Link to->>> The Parable of the Fig Tree

Nor do they follow the commandment He gave us through John in the first verse of the last chapter whereby we are commanded to "try the spirits" to see whether or not they of God. Consequently, because of their disobedience to His Word, His commandments, they follow in blind ignorance after the traditions of men that have been allowed to slip in unawares (untested) into the churches of Christianity. Many of those "traditions of men" are quite contrary to the Word of God, yet those precepts are all that many know about the love of God. Yes, they love the Lord but their hearts, i.e. their minds, are far from Him because they are far from knowing His Word. Therefore they receive not the spirit of tried and tested truth but the spirit of error and confusion ("babel" in Hebrew). 

In fact, in Matthew 15 Jesus quoted these words from the 29th chapter of Isaiah:

Matthew 15:8
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

[9] But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

So as John said in the first verse, if you truly love God, who gave His only begotten Son, then you must also love the Son and BELIEVE that He is the Christ. This is a major point in the epistles of John: If you do not have the Son then you do not have the Father either. But if you do have the Son and you do love the Son then you also will love His children.

1 John 5:2
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.

James 1:25
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

1 John 5:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Have you ever read Hebrews chapter 11 which is called the "faith chapter"? These "believers" were all "doers", i.e. they all did something to show their faith. Abel did something which pleased God, he offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Enoch did something, he gave excellent testimony in pleasing God. Noah did something, you know about the ark thing! Abraham did something! Sarah did something! You show your faith by what you do, otherwise you just say you have faith and you just say you believe but your faith and your belief is dead! Here is what the brother of Jesus Christ has to say on the matter of faith:

James 2:17
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

[18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

[20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

[22] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

[23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

1 John 5:5
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:6
This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Matthew 3:16
And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

[17] And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The question then is, dear Christian, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God because you have that Spirit of Truth, His Word, His witness, dwelling in you, or do you just say you believe in God and Jesus and are a good church goer? If the latter is the case I will tell you as teacher of God's Word that you will not have enough "oil", Spirit of Truth, in your lamp to light the way whereby you can remain a virgin unto coming of the true Bridegroom. You will be as the first woman taken in the field who is taken and seduced by antichrist, the false messiah, the Instead-of-Jesus, the one who comes first before the true Christ, and deceives the whole world.

Note: In keeping with the commandment of 1 John 4:1 that tells us not to believe every spirit but to "try" the spirits, i.e. document them from the Word of God to discern whether or not they are of God, we are now going to learn a valuable lesson in the procedure of the "trying" itself. You see, one of the commandments we are given, which when followed is very pleasing to God, is to study and rightly divide His Word of Truth. Here is that commandment:

2 Tim. 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

A workman is one who does some work! God likes laborers, though they be few (Mat. 9:37), and He knows His servants can do the work because they believe and have faith!

The following two verses are often quoted by unscholarly preachers and ministers as scriptures which are talking about the "trinity". Although it is true that there are three offices of the Godhead, John is NOT talking about them in these next two verses. He is simply telling us that God has given us a perfect record through the Spirit of Truth that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah who came and shed His blood so that we might have eternal life! All three agree together in perfect accord and declare Jesus Christ to be the Messiah.

1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

[8] And there are three that bear witness in earth,] the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

John is now going to appeal to our common sense and logic. You've got to love this!

1 John 5:9
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

Do you have that witness in you? Are FILLED with the Spirit of Truth from His Word? If you "believe" on the Son of God, YOU DO! (Or you are at least in the process of eating your daily bread.)  Therefore you KNOW and believe and have faith and love the brethren dearly because you keep His commandments and that Spirit of Truth dwells in you.

[10]He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

[11] And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

[12] He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

The Apostle John, who often referred to himself in his gospel as "the disciple whom Jesus loved", now concludes this first of his three epistles with some parting words of wisdom and comfort followed by one final directive to the "Little Children".

Those "Little Ones", God's elect, who love their brothers and understand "what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John 3:1), know that they have eternal life because they believe on the name of the Son of God and abide in Him. Those are to whom John has written this epistle giving them even further assurance of their hope that is in Christ, who is that Eternal Life (vs. 20)! You see, knowing without any doubts whatsoever and having full confidence that you are in Him and He is in you, brings the greatest joy that a man or woman can possess. That is very reason why John wrote this epistle unto us!

1 John 1:4
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1 John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God*; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

It is precisely because you believe in Him and because you know that you are a son of God, His "little child", that you also KNOW without a doubt that He hears ALL of your prayers and requests.

Here now is wisdom concerning those prayers.

1 John 5:14
And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us:

Unfortunately though, there are those children who seem to think only of themselves and always ask and/or whine for things they want and pray that circumstances and situations be resolved according to their predetermined outcome. Those children simply have not matured enough to understand that the father knows what is best (spiritually) for his children. Surely it makes sense that they should expect a lot of "no" answers to their requests, especially because they are disobedient children who do not follow His commands. It is they who do not hear Him, not the other way around! But the really sad part is that even when their father grants their request, they usually will not recognize what He has done for them because they are looking with blinders on for a different solution, the one they had in mind. 

It is a real special thing when a child goes to his father and asks "Is there anything I can do for you to help out around here, Dad?" And then if that child in doing that which his father gives him to do, needs something to enable or help him do the work, will the father not give it to him? Then consider if that child came to his father later on and told him that he was concerned because he knew his little brother was in trouble or was hurting himself and asked his father to intercede? That would be a real special "little child", wouldn't it? Could you contain yourself from showering a child like that with your love and blessings?

1 John 5:15
And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

It is unfortunate that many of our Christian brothers and sisters are not confident that God hears their prayers. In fact, many wonder why God doesn't answer their prayers when they are told by prosperity preachers and other false prophets that if they just have faith and believe (and don't miss a tithe), that God will do as they ask. Do you believe that? Hold it! Remember you are not to believe any spirits without trying them first, right? Well, would you say that the apostle Paul, the servant of God who wrote the majority of the New Testament, had faith? Of course he did. Let's check out one of Paul's prayer requests in 2 Corinthians where he petitions the Lord for a healing of his flesh infirmity:

2 Cor. 12:7
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

[8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

[9] And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

What about intercessory prayer? We know we are instructed to pray for one another, but what about when we see someone who claims to be a Christian act real un-Christian like or as we say "screw up royally"? Should we look down upon them and thumb our noses at those sinners? Do you say "Imagine the hypocrisy of claiming to be a Christian and then doing something like __________ (insert sin here)!"

1 John 15:16
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.

And know this: ALL sins with the exception of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit are forgivable, so there is really no need to list them. However, it might be needful to mention for the sake of those Biblically illiterate preachers and ministers who would hold our brothers and sisters in bondage, that "divorce" is certainly among those sins which are forgivable. If anyone ever tells you that Jesus Christ does not forgive divorce, he or she is a liar.

Well then, since all but one sin is forgivable, just what is the "unforgivable" sin? First of all, the unforgivable sin is a spiritual sin unto death, perdition, that can only be committed by one of God's elect, i.e. one of His servants who has come to a full knowledge of the Truth, His Word. Therefore since most Christians are Biblically illiterate and do not have eyes to see and ears to hear, they cannot even commit the unforgivable sin!

Do you remember back in vs. 2:18 that John told us "the antichrist" is coming? Well, when Satan gets here some of God's elect are going to be delivered up, and when they are that true multilingual tongue which was spoken on Pentecost day in Acts chapter 2 will once again be spoken through them as God's witness to the unrighteousness of that abomination which will be taking place. In fact, they are not to even premeditate about what they will say because the Holy Spirit will speak directly through them.

Luke 12:11
And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

[12] For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Luke 12:10
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

John 5:17
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.

1 John 5:20
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.

Thus fully armed with the ability to discern between the True Christ and the False Christ, and to discern between the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error and deception, the "Little Children" of God will not participate in the soon coming great apostasy when the whole world, including the majority of Christianity which is filled with the idolatrous traditions of men, worship the first supernatural entity, the false messiah, when he comes to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9) claiming to be God.

[21] Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Are you looking for the joy that knows no bounds?

That joy is Jesus Christ, the true Son of the Living God!