1 John 5:1-5 | Swept Up Into Victory

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves Him that begat also loves him that is begotten of Him. 2 In this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory which overcomes the world: our faith. 5 Who is he that overcomes the world? He that believes that Jesus is the son of God.
1 John 5:1-5

One way of thinking about this epistle is that it is a continuation of Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees in John 8. The ultimate question is always, “Who is your father?” The Pharisees insisted that their paternity could be traced by to Abraham. While Jesus rebuked them for rejecting Him as their Messiah, and that this rejection proved that the devil was their father. You might even call this the spiritual paternity test: what do you believe about Jesus? This first section of 1 John 5 goes over this same territory.

Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the promised deliverer of fallen man, are born of God. This salvation, of course, brings forth in us love for the God who first loved us (4:19), and lavished His love upon us (3:1). We are His children, we bear His likeness, and all who bear His likeness will likewise be beloved (5:1). He who believe that Jesus is the Christ, is God-born.

John then answers the question, “Well, how do I love the brethren?” You love God, and keep His commandments (5:2). The New Covenant, as described in Ezekiel’s prophecy, also notes that this new birth, this new life, this new heart will impart to us the ability to keep God’s Law (Eze. 36:25-27). Once more, this isn’t a new commandment (2:7). Rather, this is new life in the old commandment. The husk has broken open, and the tree of life has sprouted in the world.

Loving God means obeying His Word (5:3). And so that we don’t sigh like a teenage boy asked to clean his room, John reminds us that these commands aren’t heavy. Jesus told His disciples if they loved Him, they would keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15). John has already told us what God’s primary commandment is: ”believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another (3:23).” God commands you to do that for which He created you. He commands you to delight in He who is Joy Himself. He commands you to love He who is Love. He commands you to be truly human. For in Christ, humanity is remade & restored. A good literary example of this can be seen in the Narnian Lion’s creational command to the newly made creatures of Narnia’s founding:

“Creatures, I give you yourselves,” said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. “I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself.”^⁠1

In Christ, the entire cosmos has been made new. From Alaskan glaciers, to Saharan deserts, from Ecuador’s jungles, to Russia’s wheat fields. It is all Christ’s. And because it is Christ’s, all is ours. This is not grievous indeed.

This is a mentality of victory. Christ has overcome death, and so the saints of God walk with heads held high. The victory is assured, even as the battle with sore-losers still rages on around us. As Calvin said regarding 5:4, “It is not said that it will be victorious in a single fight, or a few, or some one assault, but that it will be victorious over the whole world, though it should be a thousand times assailed.”^⁠2 Or as another theologian reminds us, “Victory is inseparable from the gospel (I John 5:4), because Christ is King over all creation. There is one gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, apart from Him, life, time, and history have no victory nor reward. To proclaim the gospel means thus to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior. All areas of life and thought must serve and magnify Him, and all must be brought under His dominion. Even more, His rule must extend into every nook and cranny of our lives and minds, and we must bring captive ‘every thought to the obedience of Christ’ (II Cor. 10:5).^⁠3”

If you believe that Jesus is the Mighty Savior, who overthrew the devil’s war machines (3:8), then you are born of God, and the God-born are swept up into the conquering train of Christ the Victorious. But this victory is obtained by faith. Not by our own striving, for as Luther put it, “our striving would be losing.” Rather, the Right Man is on our side. This is how the saint should approach their individual battle with indwelling sin, and how they should view the end of the world. Their individual eschatology and the eschatology of the world are bound up together, for Christ is King of all in heaven & earth.

Finally, verse 5 contains the disjunctive particle “but”. However, I’ve opted to leave it untranslated. In English, the question, followed by the blunt answer performs essentially the same purpose as the disjunctive does in Greek. When asked how you shall overcome this world of sin and strife, your answer must be ever & always be: “Only Jesus.” Or in the words of one hymn-writer:

Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
This “watchword” shall rally my faltering breath;
For while from life’s fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu, my death song shall be.^⁠4