1. JohannesKapitel 5

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Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of him.

This is how we know that we love God's children: when we love God and carry out his commands.

For this is the love of God: that we keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

For there are three that testify:

the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three are in agreement.

If we accept human testimony, God's testimony is greater, for this is God's testimony: he has testified about his Son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the confidence we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray, and God will give him life—to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should pray about that.

All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

We know that everyone born of God does not go on sinning; the One born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot touch him.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

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Zusammenfassung2

Kapitel 5

Main Theme: Belief in Jesus as God’s Son gives certainty of eternal life and victory over the world.

Content: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God and loves both God and his children. To love God means to keep his commands, which are not burdensome, for faith gives victory over the world. Three witnesses confirm the truth about Jesus: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life. John writes these things so that believers may know they have eternal life and can pray with confidence according to God’s will.

Key Words/Images:

Faith (πίστις): Belief in Jesus as God’s Son is the foundation for victory over the world and certainty of salvation.
Testimony (μαρτυρία): God’s testimony about his Son through the Spirit, the water, and the blood is greater than human testimony.
Eternal life (ζωὴ αἰώνιος): Life is found in the Son—those who have him have life.
Confidence in prayer (παρρησία): Believers can pray with assurance, and God hears prayers that align with his will.
Idols (εἴδωλα): A final exhortation to stay away from anything that takes the place of God.

Historischer Kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for 1 John 5

Key Concepts

Water and Blood (verses 6–8)

The expression "διʼ ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος" (through water and blood) is central to the chapter and addresses a specific false teaching. Early Gnostic teachers, especially Cerinthus who was active in Asia Minor at the end of the first century, claimed that the "Christ-spirit" came upon the man Jesus at his baptism (the water), but left him before the crucifixion (the blood). John insists that Jesus Christ came "not only with the water, but with the water and the blood"—meaning that the divine Christ was fully present both at his baptism and at his death on the cross. This was a direct attack on docetic tendencies that denied Christ’s real suffering and death.

The Three Witnesses (verses 7–8)

The three witnesses—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—draw upon the Jewish legal principle from Deuteronomy 19:15 that a matter must be established by two or three witnesses. John applies this legal standard (μαρτυροῦντες, "those who bear witness") to establish Jesus’ identity as God’s Son. Note: The so-called "Comma Johanneum" (a Trinitarian addition in verses 7–8) is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts and is a later Latin interpolation.

Sin Leading to Death (verses 16–17)

The term "ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον" (sin leading to death) has been widely discussed. In the context of this letter, it likely refers to the deliberate and persistent rejection of faith in Christ—the same denial of Jesus’ incarnation promoted by the false teachers. In Jewish tradition, a distinction was made between sins committed unintentionally and those committed "with a high hand" (Numbers 15:30–31), and this distinction may lie behind the passage.

Boldness in Prayer (verses 14–15)

The Greek word "παρρησία" (boldness, free speech) was originally a political term from Athenian democracy describing a citizen’s right to speak freely in the assembly. In Hellenistic Jewish and Christian contexts, it came to describe the believer’s confident access to God in prayer—a bold idea in a culture where deity was often perceived as distant and inaccessible.

Events and Customs

Idolatry in Asia Minor (verse 21)

The closing warning "φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων" (keep yourselves from idols) was highly relevant for Christians in Ephesus and surrounding areas. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the city was permeated by emperor worship and polytheistic religious practices. For Jewish-Christian readers, "idols" also carried a metaphorical meaning that included anything taking God’s place—including the false Christologies promoted by the false teachers. Thus, the warning functions both as a practical exhortation to avoid pagan cult participation and as a concluding summary of the letter’s theological concern: holding fast to the true God revealed in Jesus Christ.

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