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1 John 5

The chapter grounds assurance of eternal life in God's testimony about his Son and connects faith with obedient love.

The writer addresses believers in Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, linking their new birth with love for God's children and obedience to his commands. He presents the Spirit, water, and blood as agreeing witnesses to Jesus, then states his purpose: believers should know they have eternal life. From there he turns to prayer according to God's will, prayer for a sinning believer, and a closing warning against idols.

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1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.
2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.
3For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith.
5Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7For there are three who testify:
8the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one.
9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
10He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
11The testimony is this: that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.
13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
14This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.
15And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.
16If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I don’t say that he should make a request concerning this.
17All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
18We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.
19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we 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.
21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
1 John 5:11This verse states the substance of God's testimony: eternal life is his gift, and its source is his Son.
1 John 5:14Confidence in prayer rests on God's hearing, with requests shaped by his will rather than unrestricted human desire.
1 John 5:20The closing assurance rests on the Son's coming and the understanding he gives of the true God.
Where this chapter reaches

John shares this chapter's themes of new birth, testimony concerning Jesus, and eternal life through the Son; Romans also describes eternal life as God's gift in Christ. Matthew shares the connection between prayer and God's will, including Jesus' own submission to the Father's will.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does the chapter's link between love and obedience shape your understanding of loving God's children?

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What request would you bring to God in light of the words “according to his will”?

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Questions people ask about 1 John 5

What do water and blood mean in 1 John 5?

A common reading understands water as Jesus' baptism and blood as his death. The chapter does not explain the symbols in detail, so their precise meaning remains debated. Its clear emphasis is that both belong to Jesus' coming, and that the Spirit joins them in bearing a united testimony.

What is the sin leading to death in 1 John 5:16?

The passage does not identify a specific offense. Its contrast between life in the Son and death has led some readers to understand a settled rejection of Christ. Others understand physical death under God's judgment. The writer directs prayer for a sinning believer while distinguishing sin that leads to death.

Does 1 John 5:14–15 promise that God will answer every prayer?

The promise concerns requests made according to God's will. Verse 15 follows that condition, expressing confidence that God hears and grants such requests. The passage gives no timetable or method for the answer. Its next example concerns prayer for a fellow believer who is sinning.

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What the Bible says about doubt →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).