Bird's-eye view
In these concluding verses of his main argument, the apostle John lays his cards on the table and states the central purpose of his entire epistle. He has not written to induce doubt, anxiety, or a state of perpetual spiritual self-examination. He has written for the exact opposite reason: that believers in Jesus Christ might have a settled, objective, and confident knowledge of their salvation. This is not a hope, not a wish, but a knowledge. This assurance, grounded in the apostolic testimony concerning the Son of God, is not an end in itself. It becomes the foundation for a robust and confident relationship with God, the first fruit of which is a powerful prayer life. John presents a tight, logical argument: because you can know you have eternal life, you can have confidence before God. And because you have this confidence, you can know that when you pray according to His will, He hears you. And if you know He hears you, you can know that you have the very things you have asked for. This is the logic of assurance, moving the believer from a settled status to a confident stance before the throne of grace.
This passage is a direct assault on any form of piety that glories in uncertainty. John is a pastor, and he wants the sheep to be secure. He wants them to know where they stand with God, not on the basis of their fluctuating feelings, but on the immovable fact of who Jesus is and what He has done. The entire letter, with its tests of faith, obedience, and love, is not a ladder for us to climb up to heaven, but rather a diagnostic tool to confirm that we have been born from above. The result is a bold and effective prayer life, rooted not in our own earnestness, but in the character of the God who hears and the will of the God who answers.
Outline
- 1. The Foundation: The Purpose of Apostolic Writing (1 John 5:13)
- a. The Intended Audience: Those Who Believe (1 John 5:13a)
- b. The Intended Result: Settled Knowledge of Eternal Life (1 John 5:13b)
- 2. The Consequence: The Confidence of Secure Believers (1 John 5:14-15)
- a. The Nature of Our Confidence (1 John 5:14a)
- b. The Condition for Being Heard: According to His Will (1 John 5:14b)
- c. The Logic of Answered Prayer (1 John 5:15)
- i. Premise One: We Know He Hears Us (1 John 5:15a)
- ii. Premise Two: We Know We Have Our Requests (1 John 5:15b)
Context In 1 John
This passage serves as a hinge and a summation. John has just finished his grand argument, culminating in the threefold witness to the Son: the Spirit, the water, and the blood (1 John 5:6-8). He has declared that the testimony of God is greater than the testimony of man, and that this testimony is that God has given us eternal life in His Son (1 John 5:9-12). Now, in verse 13, he explicitly states that his reason for writing all of "these things" is to solidify the believer's assurance. This is the capstone of his doctrinal teaching. Having laid the foundation of who God is, what Christ has done, and what a true Christian looks like, he now says, "I've told you all this so that you can stop wondering and start knowing." This then launches him into the practical ramifications of this assurance for the remainder of the letter, beginning immediately with prayer (vv. 14-15) and then moving to the issues of sin, intercession, and final certainties.
Key Issues
- Objective vs. Subjective Assurance
- The Meaning of "The Name of the Son of God"
- The Nature of Christian "Knowledge" (Gnosis vs. Oida)
- Defining Prayer "According to His Will"
- The Relationship Between Being Heard and Being Answered
- The Foundation of Confidence in Prayer
The Logic of Assurance
One of the great maladies of the modern church is a deep-seated insecurity. We have turned assurance of salvation into a rare prize for the spiritual elite, something to be pursued but never quite grasped. We treat it as a feeling, a subjective state that ebbs and flows with our digestion or our devotional performance. John will have none of it. For the apostle, assurance is not the goal of the Christian life; it is the starting block. It is the firm ground upon which we are to stand, fight, and pray. He does not say, "I have written these things so that you might feel like you have eternal life." He says, "so that you may know." This is objective, settled, factual knowledge, based not on an inward feeling but on an outward testimony, the testimony of God concerning His Son. This knowledge is the engine that drives everything else in the Christian life, beginning with how we approach the throne of God.
Verse by Verse Commentary
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John begins with a clear statement of purpose. "These things" refers to the entire substance of his letter, the apostolic gospel he has laid out. He is writing to a specific group: "you who believe in the name of the Son of God." To believe in the name is not simply to acknowledge a historical fact; it is to trust in, rely upon, and cling to the person and work of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The name represents the whole of His revealed character and saving office. And the purpose of the writing is explicit: "so that you may know." The verb here for "know" (eidete) implies a settled, perceived, and confident knowledge. This is not a "maybe" or a "hope so." It is a declaration of fact. If you are one who is characterized by belief in the Son of God, then the intended result of this apostolic word is that you would have a settled assurance that you possess, right now, eternal life. Eternal life is not something you get when you die; it is a quality of life, a participation in the life of God Himself, that you enter into the moment you believe.
14 And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
The assurance of verse 13 is not meant to be stored on a shelf. It is meant to be put to work. And its first job is to produce confidence. "And this is the confidence..." The word is parrhesia, which means boldness, frankness, or freedom of speech. Because we know our standing with the Father through the Son, we do not approach Him timidly. We come boldly. This is the confidence we have "before Him," in His very presence. But this confidence is not a blank check for our every whim. It operates within a crucial framework: "if we ask anything according to His will." This is not a frustrating limitation but a glorious alignment. To pray according to God's will is to pray in conformity with His revealed character and purposes found in Scripture. It means we desire what He desires. When our will is lined up with His will, the promise is absolute: "He hears us." This hearing is not a passive reception of sound waves; it is an active, attentive, and favorable hearing.
15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
John now completes his airtight logical argument. He moves from the premise established in the previous verse to its necessary conclusion. He says, since we know that He hears us when we ask according to His will, it follows that "we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." Notice the double "we know." This is the language of certainty, not speculation. For God, to hear a prayer that is in accordance with His will is to grant it. The transaction is completed in the heavenly court the moment the petition is made. The answer may not be manifested in our time and in our way, but the request is secured. It is ours. This is a staggering promise. It transforms prayer from a desperate throwing of coins into a wishing well into a confident transaction with the sovereign ruler of the universe, a ruler who is also our loving Father.
Application
The application of this passage must begin where John begins: with assurance. We must refuse to settle for a Christian life of doubt and insecurity. We must ground our standing with God not in the shifting sands of our emotions or performance, but on the solid rock of God's testimony concerning His Son. Read this epistle. Do you believe what John says about Jesus? Do you see the fruit of obedience and love in your life, however imperfectly? Then, on the authority of God's Word, you are to know that you have eternal life. Settle it. Write it down. Thank God for it.
Once that assurance is your foundation, let it revolutionize your prayer life. Banish the weak, hesitant, "if it be thy will" prayers that are really just a cover for unbelief. Of course we must pray in His will, but His will is not a hidden mystery. He has revealed His will in His Word. He wills for His church to grow, for the gospel to advance, for His people to be holy, for justice to be done, for the sick to be healed, for the lost to be saved. Find His promises, align your heart with His purposes, and then ask. Ask boldly. Ask confidently. Ask with the certainty of a child who knows his father hears him and loves to give him good gifts. When we know who we are in Christ, we can know that He hears us. And if we know He hears us, we can know that we have what we have asked.