1 John 5:9-13

⁹ If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.

¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³ These 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.

If (v.9) — The “If” simply introduces what is an acknowledged fact, not a matter of doubt. That is to say “if we receive the witness of men, and it is an acknowledged fact that we do …” — Vine, page 99.

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receive (v.9) = accept as valid. If we are accustomed to accept a testimony in regard to earthly facts, how much more shall we rely confidently upon the Divine testimony! — Vine, page 99.

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this is the witness (v.9) — The statement lays stress on the fact that the witness is not merely concerning a Person named Jesus, but that it is a witness concerning Him as the Son of God. The perfect tense “hath born witness” expresses the abiding effects of the witness given. — Vine, page 99.

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He who believes (v.10) — [the original] combines the thoughts of the direction in which faith is exercised and the rest it reposes on its object. Faith thus exercised involves the fullest trust in, and reliance upon, a person. — Vine, page 100,

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made Him a liar (v.10) — Since the witness concerning His Son has been given by God, not to accept it is to impute falsehood to Him. — Vine, page 100.

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There are four points to be noticed here particularly; firstly, the witness comes from God; secondly, it is concerning His Son and His mission, His death and resurrection; thirdly, the witness is three-fold, that of the Spirit, the water and the blood; fourthly, it is a witness concerning the life in Christ as His Son. Such a witness commands our faith, which therefore rests upon an absolutely reliable basis. Accordingly, faith is the effect of the witness, and is spoken of as the habitual attitude of the soul. Again, the witness is an abiding possession which glorifies God. In contrast with this, the unbeliever, who deliberately refuses the testimony that God has given, makes Him a liar. — Vine, pages 100-101.

testimony (vs.10-11) = witness

Summing up his subject (v.11), [John] shows how the possession of eternal life involves the possession of the Son of God Himself, without whom eternal life is impossible. — Vine, page 101.

has given (v.11) — tense emphasizes the greatness of the act

In the first part [of v.12], the words “the life” bear stress (i.e., it is the possession of life that is involved in the possession of the Son); in the last statement of the verse, the word “have” bears stress (he is destitute of life who has not the Son). — Vine, page 102.

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The Apostle … expresses the purpose of his Epistle (v.13), namely to confirm his readers in the assurance of their possession. — Vine, page 102.

These things (v.13) — the entire letter

The name of the Son of God (v.13) refers to who He is, i.e., the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16; John 11:27), and this is the message that the hearers of the Gospel of the Kingdom were to believe for salvation. — Grace, page 2225.

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While Paul’s revelation of the Gospel of Grace confirms the identity of Christ, the Son of God (Romans 1:3-4), that alone is not the complete saving message for the present-day Church. Paul makes clear that it is also faith in His redemptive work on the cross (Romans 3:20-28; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2). While His cross work is mentioned in the non-Pauline writings (1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Revelation 1:5), it was not required as a necessary object of faith for kingdom believers for salvation. — Grace, page 2225.