Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 2:25
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life,
25. And this is the promise that he hath promised us ] Or, and the promise which He promised us is this: the aorist had better be retained, and ‘this’ is probably the predicate, referring to what follows (comp. Joh 5:22, 1Jn 1:5, 1Jn 5:14) and not the subject, referring to what precedes. This view is confirmed by 1Jn 3:23 and 1Jn 5:11. The connexion with what precedes is close, ‘eternal life’ being only another view of ‘abiding in the Father and the Son’. The ‘He’ is emphatic, and perhaps ‘He Himself would not be too strong as a rendering. Of course Christ is meant, “who in this whole passage forms the centre round which all the statements of the Apostle move” (Huther). For the promise see Joh 3:15; Joh 4:14; Joh 6:40, &c. &c. The best MS. (B) reads ‘promised you ’, for ‘promised us ’.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life – This is evidently added to encourage them in adhering to the truths which they had embraced respecting the Son of God. In maintaining these truths they had the promise of eternal life; in departing from them they had none, for the promise of heaven in our world is made only to those who embrace one class of doctrines or opinions. No one can show that any promise of heaven is made to the mere possessor of beauty, or wealth, or talent; to the accomplished or the happy; to those who are distinguished for science, or skill in the arts; to rank, or birth, or blood; to courage or strength. Whatever expectation of heaven anyone may entertain on account of any of these things, must be traced to something else than a promise, for there is none in the Bible to that effect. The promise of heaven to people is limited to those who repent of their sins, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who lead a holy life; and if anyone will base his hope of heaven on a promise, it must be limited to these things. And yet what well-founded hope of heaven can there be, except that which is based on a promise? How does anyone know that he can be saved, unless he has some assurance from God that it may and shall be so? Is not heaven his home? How does anyone know that he may dwell there, without some assurance from Him that he may? Is not the crown of life His gift? How can anyone know that he will possess it, unless he has some promise from Him? However people may reason, or conjecture, or hope, the only promise of eternal life is found in the Bible; and the fact that we have such promise should surely be a sufficient inducement to us to hold fast the truth. On the promise of life in the gospel, see Joh 17:2; Rom 2:6-7; Mar 16:16; Mat 25:46.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Jn 2:25
And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.
Eternal life
I. Consider the blessing promised–eternal life. Life is used as the illustration, because of all blessings it is the most desired, and eternal is appended to it, because that is the highest and best form of life.
1. The first great element in eternal life is freedom from condemnation. So taught our Saviour Himself (Joh 5:24).
2. Another element of eternal life is the renewal of the heart in righteousness by the grace of the Divine Spirit. There is a double death of the sinner in this present life, and there is a double life corresponding to it. He is dead under the sentence of the law, and also under the power of sin. The former is removed when he is forgiven, the latter when he is renewed in the spirit of his mind.
3. It is in eternity, however, it shall be consummated. The principles by which it is now produced and maintained shall then be perfected.
II. What is implied in its being represented as a promise?
1. If eternal life be a promise, this implies that it is a free gift.
2. While a promise supposes a free gift on the part of God, it implies its acceptance on our part. If it be not accepted it can never be enjoyed.
3. If eternal life be the promise of God it is sure. He is not a man that He should lie, etc.
4. Finally, since eternal life is the promise of God, it ought to exercise a powerful influence over us, in engaging us wholly for Him who has so provided for us. (James Morgan, D. D.)
The promise of eternal life
I. Gods promise of salvation is the expression of His heart of love to the needy and to the lost. This is Gods promise, even eternal life.
II. The Promiser.
1. First, we must think of Gods purpose in the promise. He had a purpose in making the promise.
2. Then we must think of the Word of God, in which the promise is revealed as well as recorded; and the promise being in Gods Word, will never be repealed.
3. Then we must think of Christ, in whom all the promises of God are Yea, and in Him Amen. God says, My covenant shall stand fast with Him. There is no change in all this.
4. And then there is another point we have to think about, and that is the believers faith in order to realise the promise; and this is often very weak, and often fails.
III. The persons to whom the promise is made. This is the promise which He hath promised us. The us here means those who had an unction from the Holy One, and knew the truth, as distinguished from those who held the various errors the apostle had been speaking of. It refers to all the children of God, Christs Holy Church throughout the world; for, as the work was done for them, so the promise by which that work was made theirs is addressed to them. (J. W. Reeve, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. This is the promise] God has promised eternal life to all who believe on Christ Jesus. So they who receive his doctrine, and continue in communion with the Father and the Son, shall have this eternal life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which perseverance they are highly encouraged to by the promise of so great a thing as eternal life at length.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. this is the promiseEternallife shall be the permanent consummation of thus abiding inthe Son and in the Father (1Jo2:24).
heGreek,“Himself,” Christ, “the Son” (compare 1Jo1:1).
promised (Joh 3:15;Joh 3:36; Joh 6:40;Joh 6:47; Joh 6:57;Joh 17:2; Joh 17:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And this is the promise that he hath promised us,…. Either God the Father, who is that God that cannot lie, who in the covenant of his grace, before the world began, made this promise unto his people,
[even] eternal life; which promise, with all others, was put into the hands of Christ, where, with them, it is yea and amen; and also the thing itself promised, where it is hid, and lies safe and secure: or the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised it in the Gospel; for this is the sum of the Gospel declaration, that whoever believes in him shall have everlasting life; and this lies in the knowledge of the Father, and of the Son, and in the enjoyment of them, and conformity to them; wherefore the doctrine respecting them ought to be retained, and firmly adhered to.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And this is the promise ( ). See 1:5 for the same idiom with (message). This is the only instance of in the Johannine writings. Here “the promise” is explained to be “the life eternal” (1:2). In Ac 1:4 the word is used for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
He promised ( ). First aorist middle indicative of . (he) is Christ as is seen in 3:3 by .
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And this is the promise, that he hath promise us”. To the lost, perishing, and condemned, eternal life has been promised, conditioned upon a sinner’s believing in Him. Joh 1:11-12; Joh 3:14-18.
2) “Even eternal life” – Eternal life is in kind without cessation, and in nature it is Divine, God-life, received as a gift from God when one trusts in Jesus Christ. Rom 10:8-10; Joh 10:27-29. The eternal life and Hope of eternal life in the future refers to that of the body, Rom 8:23; Eph 1:13-14; Eph 4:30-32.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
In the last place, he reminds us that it is real happiness when God dwells in us. The words he uses are ambiguous. They may be rendered, “ This is the promise which he has promised to us, even eternal life. ” (73) You may, however, adopt either of these renderings, for the meaning is still the same. The sum of what is said is, that we cannot live otherwise than by nourishing to the end the seed of life sown in our hearts. John insists much on this point, that not only the beginning of a blessed life is to be found in the knowledge of Christ, but also its perfection. But no repetition of it can be too much, since it is well known that it has ever been a cause of ruin to men, that being not content with Christ, they have had a hankering to wander beyond the simple doctrine of the gospel.
(73) This, which is our version, is, no doubt, the best construction. “ Promise ” is a metonymy for what is promised: “This is the promise, which he hath promised to us, even eternal life.” “Eternal life” is in apposition with “which.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
25. Eternal life The final and endless blessing coming down upon the faithful from the Father through the Son. Their attaining it depends upon the abide, 1Jn 2:24.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And this is the promise which he promised us, even the life eternal.’
It is worth making sure that they do so, for ‘He’ has promised eternal life to those who truly know Him. Eternal life consists in knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom He had sent (Joh 17:3). It is therefore bound up in both the only true God and in Jesus Christ as the ambassador of the only true God. This does not necessarily separate the only true God and Jesus Christ. Just as an ambassador may be sent by a government of which he is a part, as its representative, so that he is both an essential part of the government and its representative, so Jesus was sent by the only true God, the Godhead of which He is a part, as the representative of the Godhead. (Compare 1Jn 5:20)
But Who is it Who has promised us eternal life? The nearest antecedent is the Father. But the emphasis in the context is on the Son. The ambiguity may be deliberate. In Joh 5:24 eternal life was God’s gift to those who heard Jesus’ words, which includes responding to them, which meant those who believed Him that sent Him. Thus they were to respond to both the Son and the Father. Such people passed immediately from death to life, and were guaranteed their part in the resurrection (Joh 5:29). Indeed Jesus Himself gives eternal life to those who hear His voice and follow Him. They are thus revealed as known by Him and given to Him by the Father (Joh 10:28-29). So the source of eternal life is both Father and Son. And that eternal life is a present reality. As John tells us in 1Jn 5:13, we may know that we have (not ‘will have) eternal life.
Eternal life is a theme of the letter. It came in the One Who was heard, seen and handled, the Word of life (1Jn 1:1-3), and consisted of coming to know God as light and entering into fellowship with Him (1Jn 1:5-6), and being right with Him (1Jn 2:1-2) through Jesus Christ. No one who hates his brother has eternal life (1Jn 3:15) because he thereby reveals that he is in darkness, rejects the true witness to God, and is without the anointing (1Jn 2:9-10; 1Jn 2:19-20) It is given by the Father, and is bound up in His Son (1Jn 5:11) so that he who has the Son has life, while he who does not have the Son does not have life (1Jn 5:12). It is also given by the Son (Joh 10:28). It consists of a true spiritual knowledge of God in Christ and in our abiding in Him, enjoying His life within us.
Thus by believing fully in the Son of God we can know that we have eternal life. It is finally defined in 1Jn 5:20, which expands on Joh 17:3, as ‘we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him Who is true, and we are in Him Who is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.’ This is basically declaring that it comes through knowing that the Son of God has come, receiving understanding from Him, thus knowing and being in full relationship with Him Who is true (the Father), by which we are in Him and His Son Jesus Christ, Who are together the true God and bestowers of eternal life.
Elsewhere eternal life is a gift men seek (Mar 10:17; Luk 10:25; Luk 18:18; Joh 5:39) and is for those who follow Him (Mar 10:30). It is the opposite of perishing (Joh 3:15), and comes through participation in His sacrifice of Himself (Joh 6:54). In Paul, who looks to the grand consummation and complete fulfilment of it, it is always future (Rom 2:7; Rom 5:21; Rom 6:3 ; 1Ti 6:12; 1Ti 6:19; Tit 1:2; Tit 3:7). But John sees the present experience as well as the future glory.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Jn 2:25. And this is the promise, &c. OEcumenius thought, that , and, was put for , for, , because. It is evident, that the apostle here mentions the promise of eternal life as a motive to induce them to retain the true gospel, and remain faithful toChrist; as if he had said, “There is motive sufficient to induce you to remain true to Christ; for this is the promise which he hath promised to us that do so; even eternal life.” To promise a promise was a common form of expression with the Greeks and Latins, as well as with the Hebrews. The promise is here put for the thing promised, as in other texts of scripture.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Jn 2:25 . . . .] may be referred either to what precedes, or to the concluding words of this verse: . In the first case the meaning is: and this remaining is what He has promised, namely, eternal life. Gagnejus: “Manere in filio et patre promissio est, quam nobis pollicitus est orans pro nobis patrem Dominus Joh 17:20 . Bene ergo ait de hoc Johannes: haec est promissio, quam pollicitus est nobis, quae quidem est vita aeterna; vita enim aeterna est manere in Deo eoque frui hic per gratiam, in futuro per gloriam;” then forms an apposition, by which that very remaining is described as happiness; this view in Oecumenius, and among modern commentators in Sander, Besser, Weiss. In the second case the thought is: “and eternal life is the promise which He has given us;” taking this view, a new thought, it is true, enters with 1Jn 2:25 , and it requires something to be supplied to connect it with the preceding, perhaps what a Lapide gives: si in ipso maneamus (Spener: that is the promise if we remain in the Word, and consequently in the Father and the Son); but nevertheless it is, in accordance with the analogy of John’s mode of expression, to be preferred; comp. chap. 1Jn 1:5 , 1Jn 5:14 ; similarly also chap. 1Jn 3:23 , 1Jn 5:11 ; in the last two passages the connection with what precedes appears clearly enough by both being connected with the same idea, whereas here there is no previous mention of the ; but even here the connection is not to be mistaken, because the is directly connected with the . . . This second interpretation in a Lapide, Grotius, Lorinus, Russmeyer, Spener, Lcke, de Wette, Dsterdieck, Erdmann, Myrberg, Ebrard, Braune, and others.
is not used here (Oecumenius), but is the simple copula.
: “the promise.” Lcke unnecessarily conjectures that instead of this perhaps is probably to be read, or that has here the meaning: “proclamation,” for neither is it the case that the idea of the promise refers only to the distant future life, nor, according to John, that Christ does not bestow any promise. [178]
is Christ, who in this whole passage forms the centre round which all the statements of the apostle move.
On the accusative , which has occurred through the attraction of the verb in the relative clause, comp. Winer, p. 552; VII. p. 583; Buttmann, p. 68.
[178] From this passage it is clear that with John and the knowledge of God are not by any means, as Weiss thinks, identical ideas, for if John here, according to the view of Weiss, describes the abiding in the Son and in the Father as the , he then mentions what this consists in, as something plainly transcending the idea of knowledge; but if is directly connected with . . ., then the abiding in the Son and the Father is considered as the condition of the ; it is impossible, however, for it to be the condition of knowledge, for it rather presupposes the latter.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
Ver. 25. Even eternal life ] Hold therefore the doctrine of faith sound and entire by the hand of faith, that ye may receive the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Jn 2:25 . , repromissio , “promise”; only here in the Johannine writings (see note on 1Jn 1:5 ). , i.e. , the Father. God is the Promiser, and His promises are made in Christ ( cf. 2Co 1:20 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
promise. Greek. epangelia, the only occurance in John’s writings.
hath. Omit.
eternal. App-151.
life. App-170. See 1Jn 1:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Jn 2:25. , He) The Son: 1Jn 2:27-28.-) to us, if we abide in Him.- , life) The construction follows the verb going before, He hath promised. The sense is, the promise is life eternal.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Jo 1:2, 1Jo 5:11-13, 1Jo 5:20, Dan 12:2, Luk 18:30, Joh 5:39, Joh 6:27, Joh 6:47, Joh 6:54, Joh 6:68, Joh 10:28, Joh 12:50, Joh 17:2, Joh 17:3, Rom 2:7, Rom 5:21, Rom 6:23, Gal 6:8, 1Ti 1:16, 1Ti 6:12, 1Ti 6:19, Tit 1:2, Tit 3:7, Jud 1:21
Reciprocal: Psa 37:18 – their Psa 133:3 – even life Mat 19:16 – eternal Mat 25:46 – the righteous Mar 10:17 – eternal Mar 10:30 – eternal Joh 3:15 – eternal Joh 6:40 – and believeth 2Co 1:20 – all 2Co 4:18 – for Gal 3:22 – that Eph 3:6 – partakers 1Ti 4:8 – having 2Ti 1:1 – the promise Heb 6:12 – inherit Heb 9:15 – promise 1Pe 5:10 – eternal 2Pe 1:4 – are given
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Jn 2:25. The reward for being in fellowship with God and his Son is not of a temporal nature; it is eternal life. That reward will be given to those who are faithful until death, since it will not come in this world but in the next which will be “when earthly things have ceased to be.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Observe here, 1. How gracious Almighty God is to enforce his commands with promises of reward; he required of us adherence to the truth, and perseverance in it, in the former verse; here he promises eternal life, by way of encouragement, in this verse.
Observe, 2. The benefit promised, life, eternal life; the greatness of this life is immeasurable,, the worth of this life is inestimable; the joys of this life innumerable, the duration of it is interminable.
Observe, 3. The certainty of the conveyance; this is, the promise promised.
Mark, he doth not say purposed, but promised. A purpose is a secret and a hidden intention of the mind, but a promise is a revelation of that intention; yea, it is more than a declaration. A promise makes sure, as well as makes manifest; especially God’s promise, which has his oath for the confirmation of it, Heb 6:17.
Observe, 4. The peculiarity of the persons to whom the promise is made, he hath promised us; not to us as apostles only, but to us as Christians: all that are born of God are begotten to a lively hope of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away: Again, he has promised us, not promised all eternal life, but us, who are thus and thus qualified, who keep his commandments, and walk as he walked.
Observe, 5. The eminency of the author by whom this promise is made, in the relative he; This is the promise which he hath promised us.
Here note, That eternal life was promised by God to good men under the Old Testament; Heb 11:16 tells us, that the Old Testament saints desired a better country, to wit, an heavenly; now how could they have desired it, if they had not known it? And how could they have known it, if God had not revealed it? And Christ bade the Jews search the scriptures , for in them ye think ye have eternal life; intimating, that in the writings of Moses, eternal life was made known typically and darkly, not so clearly and fully as by the gospel, 2Ti 1:10 He is holy, and cannot lie; righteous, and cannot deceive; immutable, and cannot repent.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Our eternal life is not in question when we believe that Jesus is the Savior, as some of the antichrists then and now suggest that it is. It is secure because it rests on God’s promise, "He who believes on the Son has life" (Joh 3:36; et al.). This is the only time John used the Greek word epaggelia, "promise," in all his writings.