1. The Person of Jesus the Christ...
   • Jesus, is the Christ, the Person anointed and appointed by God the Father
     to save His people from their sins (Joh 20:31; 1Joh 2:22).
   • This Person is eternally One with the Father,
     is the Creator of all things, and is the Giver of life (Joh 1:1-4; 1Joh 1:1).
   • He came into the world, becoming a real 'flesh and blood' man,
     through His incarnation via the virgin birth. Having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, the man Jesus, was uniquely the only begotten Son of God, truly God and truly man, and truly without sin (Joh 1:14,18; 1Joh 1:1-3).
2. The Condition of Men...
   • With the sole exception of God's unique Son, every human being is under the wrath of God due to our sinful condition (1Joh 1:8,10).
3. The Work of Jesus the Christ...
   • Jesus, the Christ, came into the world to take away our sins,
     and to destroy the works of the devil (Joh 1:29; 1Joh 3:5,8).
   • He voluntarily took our sin and guilt upon Himself,
     and offered Himself as our substitutionary sin offering, dying the death that we deserved in our place, and completely removing our guilt (Joh 19:30; 1Joh 2:2).
   • He, having life in Himself, arose victorious over sin and death (Joh 5:26; 10:17,18),
     demonstrating that He had fully paid our debt, and had opened the way that we might enter into eternal life in fellowship with God the Father and the Son (Joh 14:1-3; 1Joh 1:4-7; 2:1).
4. The Way of Salvation for men...
   • Deliverance, from sin and God's wrath, into acceptance and peace with God,
     is available to every sinner, but granted only to whoever believes in Jesus Christ.
     That includes you, if you entrust yourself fully to Him, because of who He is, and because of what He has done and will do (Joh 3:36; 5:24; 11:25,26; 14:6; 20:31; 1Joh 1:5-10).
   • Deliverance, from one's corrupt fallen nature, into a new creation as a child of God,
     is the present position and future inheritance of all who place their trust in Jesus Christ.
     For they are born into the family of God, receiving a new sinless nature from God (Joh 1:12,13; as in v.1). This new nature is evident in the present earthly life of the believer (v.2,3), and will be perfected when we enter into the Presence of the Lord, at Christ's return (1Joh 3:1-3).

• always desires what is best for someone else.
• does not seek attention for itself.
• seeks to serve, not to be served.
• covers a multitude of sins (ie., it does not gossip about another's faults,
  but rather, takes the matter to God in prayer, and assists the stumbler toward a right walk).
  [The few points shown above are incomplete excerpts from 1Cor 13.]

• love for God...
  In v.1, John said that our love for God is demonstrated by love for His children.
  In v.3, he says that love for God must be consistent with His commandments.
  Love for God's children cannot condone anything that must be hidden from Him.
• observation of His commandments {GK=entole, instructions, precepts}...
  As we have seen repeatedly in John's first letter, chief among those commandments is that we have love one to another.
  Yet, this love is not an unconditional acceptance of all behaviors, for it is governed by God's commandments.
  Therefore, true love for my brethren is faithful to God's Word...

  • It does not make light of sin.
  • It does not make excuses for evil.
  • It always gives priority to God's Truth, not to human relationships.

• the lust of the flesh - for what feels good
  (the pleasures of sin which pass in a moment).
• the lust of the eyes - for what looks good
  (the desire to possess treasures which will soon perish).
• the pride of life - for what makes me look good
  (the quest for advantage over others, though my life is but a vapor).

• The things of the world are shallow and passing.
• The things of God are perfect and eternal.

• In v.4, 'faith' {GK=pistis, persuasion, conviction of truth} is a noun.
  When a person becomes persuaded of the Truth concerning the Person and Work of Jesus the Christ, and confesses 'our faith' in Him, that person is born-again as a child of God (v.1a), and enters into the ultimate victory, over sin and death, which Christ purchased for us by His death and resurrection.
     The war has been won. But, as long as we are in the flesh, skirmishes continue.
• In v.5, 'believeth' {GK=pisteuo, to place faith in a trusted object} is a present tense verb.
  'He that believeth' is actively trusting in 'Jesus... the Son of God' to obtain victory, over fleshly temptation and satanic opposition, during his sojourn in this fallen world.

Note: Verse 7 is missing from the majority of Greek manuscripts. Some scholars think that a scribe may have inserted his own thoughts here. Others believe that an early scribe accidentally left this verse out, because the opening lines of v.7 and v.8 are identical. Having started to write v.7 "for there are three that testify...," his eyes skipped over the rest of the verse and he completed v.8. Having been inadvertently omitted from an early copy, the verse was absent in the many copies of that document. So, an accidental omission is easy to understand.
     But an intentional insertion of this verse is a little more difficult to explain. The expression used, in v.7, for the Trinity is unique in Scripture. The usual formula is "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." We would expect that, if a scribe had inserted his own thought, he would have used the usual wording.
     However, the wording here ("The Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost") fits perfectly with what John wrote in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word..." and also with the heavenly nature of the testimony cited in v.7. The only begotten Son ministered for a few brief years on earth. Yet, as the Word, He has eternally existed in unity with the Godhead and in full agreement with the counsel of God... which, included the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Christ. That purpose, pre-determined long before the foundation of the world, was revealed to Israel's prophets, and foretold in God's written Word long before the prophesied events became history. Thus, the testimony of the Word, forever settled in heaven, agrees perfectly with the testimony of the Father and the Spirit.

1. The water of His physical birth - the Incarnation of God the Son.
   When Mary's water broke at Jesus' birth, that water proclaimed, with the Holy Spirit, that God had taken our humanity upon Himself (Luk 1:35; 2:7).
2. The water of His baptism - the public Identification of the Son of God.
   When Jesus was baptized in water, John the Baptist testified that the Holy Spirit had identified Jesus as the Son of God (Joh 1:32-34).
      The water of baptism proclaimed, with the Holy Spirit, that this man, Jesus, is the anointed One, the Christ of God.
3. The blood and water that flowed from His side - the Indications of His death.
   The apostle, John, an eyewitness at Jesus' crucifixion, was deeply impressed by what he saw (as he reported in Joh 19:33-37).

   • The water and the blood both testify to the reality of Jesus' humanity, as His body fluids spilled from His pierced side.
   • The blood, poured out, proclaimed the reality of His physical death, for "the life of the flesh is in the blood." (Lev 17:11a)

   By means of the water and the blood, the Holy Spirit refutes the lies of antichrist.
   The truth is -- Jesus the Christ is come in the flesh.
   [To review the significance of that statement, see the Book Notes at 1Joh 4:1-10.]
4. The blood and water that flowed from His side - the Interposition of Himself for the sinner.
   His life was poured out in our behalf, as our substitute and propitiation. "...for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Lev 17:11c)
   The blood and the water speak of various aspects our salvation.

   • He died in our place, to purge away our sin and guilt.
        (1Joh 2:2; Eph 1:7; 1Pet 1:18,19; Heb 10:4,11-18).
     The blood of Christ declares good things for believers. Abel's blood cried out for God's wrath against sin (Heb 12:24). Christ's blood satisfied God's wrath, put away sin, purifies the sinner and brings many sons to glory.
   • He lives to cleanse His own from all impurities,
     "with the washing of water by the word." (Eph 5:25,26; 1Joh 1:9; 2:1; Heb 10:22).

     Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

     Let me hide myself in Thee;

     Let the water and the blood,

     From Thy riven side which flowed,

     Be of sin the double cure,

     Save from wrath and make me pure.

        [hymn: 'Rock of Ages', by A.M.Toplady]

5. His life flows, as living water, within all who trust in Him. (Joh 7:37-39; Rev 21:6; 22:16,17)
   His offer, of living water, is declared, by the Lord, His Spirit and His bride, to all who thirst.

• Do you think He has no case against you? 1Joh 1:10
• Do you reject the Savior whom He has provided for you? 1Joh 2:22
• By rejecting the testimony of God concerning His Son, you not only say that God is a liar, but you also declare that you are not one of God's children, for God's children believe His Word (v.1).

"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood..."

   [hymn, by F.J.Crosby]

Simply trusting every day,

Trusting through a stormy way;

Even when my faith is small,

Trusting Jesus that is all.

   [hymn, 'Trusting Jesus', by E.P.Stites]

• from a heart in accord with His Word. Psa 66:18; 1Joh 3:22-24
  Often we 'ask amiss' according to worldly thinking (Jam 4:3).
• with dependence upon the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26,27).
  In ourselves, we don't know how to pray or what to ask for.
  Often, we are moved to prayer, by the pressures and problems of life, rather than by God's Spirit.
     For example, Paul prayed repeatedly for personal healing, before he knew the Lord's mind on the matter. There was nothing wrong with asking for healing, but God had something better in mind for him (2Cor 12:8-10).
     If we would heed the Spirit's groanings, He who knows our hearts will move us to ask for what is on our Lord's heart. Joh 15:7,8,16

• Your sinning 'brother' may not truly be born again.
  You may not know whether the 'brother' has fallen away because he yielded to temptation, or because he never was a true believer (eg., 1Joh 2:19; Titus 1:16; 2Pet 2:1). If he is only a professed 'brother,' he is in danger of eternal loss, for he is still dead in trespasses and sins. "The supreme sin of this epistle is the denying of the essential humanity and eternal Deity of Jesus of Nazareth. That denial is a sin unto [eternal] death. Such sin is not committed by one who is born of God." [in quotes, GWms]
• Your sinning brother (though born-again) may be on the brink of judgment.
  The Lord sometimes judgmentally removes a sinning believer out of this life through physical death. For example, Ananias and Saphira died because they lied to the Holy Spirit to impress others with their spirituality (Acts 5:1-11). You and I are warned against living a lie, by partaking of the Lord's Supper, while living in habitual sin. Some, who dishonored the Lord in this way, were removed via the 'sleep' of death (1Cor 11:27-30).