Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 5:10
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
10. He that believeth on the Son of God ] For the first time in this Epistle we have the full phrase ‘to believe on ’, of which S. John is so fond in his Gospel, where it occurs nearly 40 times. Elsewhere in N.T. it occurs only about 10 times. It expresses the strongest confidence and trust; faith moves towards and reposes on its object. Whereas ‘to believe a person’ ( ) need mean no more than to believe what he says (1Jn 4:1), ‘to believe on or in a person’ ( ) means to have full trust in his character.
hath the witness ] Some authorities add ‘of God,’ which is right as an interpretation, though not as part of the text. He has it as an abiding possession (Joh 5:38; Heb 10:34): ‘hath’ does not mean merely ‘he accepts it’. Comp. ‘The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God’ (Rom 8:16); ‘God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father’ (Gal 4:6).
in himself ] According to the revised reading, in him. Wiclif has ‘in him’, Luther, bei ihm: Tyndale added the ‘self’, and most English Versions have followed him. But ‘in him’ in this context cannot mean anything but ‘in himself’. The external witness faithfully accepted becomes internal certitude. Our faith in the Divinity of Christ attests its own Divine origin, for we could not have obtained it otherwise than from God. “The human mind is made for truth, and so rests in truth, as it cannot rest in falsehood. When then it once becomes possessed of a truth, what is to dispossess it? but this is to be certain; therefore once certitude, always certitude. If certitude in any matter be the termination of all doubt or fear about its truth, and an unconditional conscious adherence to it, it carries with it an inward assurance, strong though implicit, that it shall never fail” (J. H. Newman).
he that believeth not God ] He that has not even enough faith to induce him to believe what God says (see first note on this verse). There are great diversities of reading here; ‘God’, ‘the Son’, ‘the Son of God’, ‘His Son’, ‘Jesus Christ’: of these ‘God’ ( BKLP) is certainly to be preferred. The others have arisen from a wish to make ‘he that believeth not’ more exactly balance ‘he that believeth’. But, as we have repeatedly seen, S. John’s antitheses seldom balance exactly. Yet it is by no means impossible that all five are wrong, and that we ought simply to read ‘ He that believeth not hath made Him a liar’: comp. Joh 3:18, of which this verse seems to be an echo. In ‘he that believeth not’, the case is stated quite generally and indefinitely ( ): the Apostle is not pointing at some one person who was known as not believing ( ); comp. 1Jn 3:10; 1Jn 3:14 , 1Jn 4:8; 1Jn 4:20 , 1Jn 5:12.
hath made him a liar ] See on 1Jn 1:10.
believeth not the record that God gave ] Better, as R.V., hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne: see on 1Jn 1:2. The perfect in both cases indicates a permanent result: he has been and remains an unbeliever in the witness which God has given and continually supplies concerning His Son. ‘To believe in (on) the witness’ occurs nowhere else. See on 1Jn 3:23.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself – The evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. Compare the notes at Rom 8:16. This cannot refer to any distinct and immediate revelation of that fact, that Jesus is the Christ, to the soul of the individual, and is not to be understood as independent of the external evidence of that truth, or as superseding the necessity of that evidence; but the witness here referred to is the fruit of all the evidence, external and internal, on the heart, producing this result; that is, there is the deepest conviction of the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. There is the evidence derived from the fact that the soul has found peace by believing on him; from the fact that the troubles and anxieties of the mind on account of sin have been removed by faith in Christ; from the new views of God and heaven which have resulted from faith in the Lord Jesus; from the effect of this in disarming death of its terrors; and from the whole influence of the gospel on the intellect and the affections – on the heart and the life. These things constitute a mass of evidence for the truth of the Christian religion, whose force the believer cannot resist, and make the sincere Christian ready to sacrifice anything rather than his religion; ready to go to the stake rather than to renounce his Saviour. Compare the notes at 1Pe 3:15.
He that believeth not God hath made him a liar – Compare the notes at 1Jo 1:10.
Because he believeth not the record … – The idea is, that in various ways – at his baptism, at his death, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, by the miracles of Jesus, etc. – God had become a witness that the Lord Jesus was sent by him as a Saviour, and that to doubt or deny this partook of the same character as doubting or denying any other testimony; that is, it was practically charging him who bore the testimony with falsehood.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. He that believeth on the Son of God] This is God’s witness to a truth, the most important and interesting to mankind. God has witnessed that whosoever believeth on his Son shall be saved, and have everlasting life; and shall have the witness of it in himself, the Spirit bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. To know, to feel his sin forgiven, to have the testimony of this in the heart from the Holy Spirit himself, is the privilege of every true believer in Christ.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. If he truly believe, he hath the effectual impress of this testimony on his own soul; if not, he gives God the lie, as we do to any one whose testimony we believe not. See Poole on “Joh 3:33“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. hath the witnessof God,by His Spirit (1Jo 5:8).
in himselfGod’s Spiritdwelling in him and witnessing that “Jesus is the Lord,””the Christ,” and “the Son of God” (1Jn 5:1;1Jn 5:5). The witness of theSpirit in the believer himself to his own sonship isnot here expressed, but follows as a consequence of believing thewitness of God to Jesus’ divine Sonship.
believeth not Godcreditsnot His witness.
made him a liaraconsequence which many who virtually, or even avowedly, do notbelieve, may well startle back from as fearful blasphemy andpresumption (1Jo 1:10).
believeth not therecordGreek, “believeth not INthe record, or witness.” Refusal to credit God’stestimony (“believeth not God”) is involved in refusal tobelieve IN (to restone’s trust in) Jesus Christ, the object of God’s record ortestimony. “Divine “faith” is an assent untosomething as credible upon the testimony of God. This is the highestkind of faith; because the object hath the highestcredibility, because grounded upon the testimony of God, which isinfallible” [PEARSON,Exposition of the Creed]. “The authority on which webelieve is divine; the doctrine which we follow is divine”[LEO].
gaveGreek,“hath testified, and now testifies.”
ofconcerning.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that believeth on the Son of God,…. As a divine person who came in the flesh, and obeyed the law, and brought in everlasting righteousness, and obtained life and salvation for men: he that with the heart believes in him for righteousness, and eternal life, he being the Son of God, truly and properly God, and so able to save all that believe in him,
hath the witness in himself; of the need he stands in of Christ, and of the suitableness, fulness, and excellency of him; the Spirit of God enlightening him into the impurity of his nature, his impotence to do anything spiritually good, his incapacity to atone for sin, and the insufficiency of his righteousness to justify him before God; and convincing him that nothing but the blood of the Son of God can cleanse him from sin, and only his sacrifice can expiate it, and his righteousness justify him from it, and that without him he can do nothing; testifying also to the efficacy of his blood, the completeness of his sacrifice and satisfaction, the excellency of his righteousness, and the energy of his grace and strength: so he comes to have such a witness in himself, that if ten thousand arguments were ever so artfully formed, in favour of the purity of human nature, the power of man’s free will, and the sufficiency of his righteousness, and against the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, the dignity of his person, as the Son of God, which gives virtue to his blood, sacrifice, and righteousness, they would all signify nothing to him, he would be proof against them. And such an one very readily receives into him the testimony God gives of his Son, of the glory and excellency of his person, and retains it in him. The Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read, “hath the witness of God in him”; to which the Ethiopic, version agrees, and confirm the last observation:
he that believeth not God; does not receive his testimony concerning his Son: the Alexandrian copy, and two of Stephens’s, and the Vulgate Latin version read, “he that believeth not the Son”; and the Ethiopic version, his Son; and the Arabic version, “the Son of God”; and so is a direct antithesis to the phrase in the former clause of the verse:
hath made him a liar; not the Son, but God, as the Arabic version renders it, “hath made God himself a liar”; who is the God, of truth, and cannot lie; it is impossible he should; and as nothing can be, more contumelious and reproachful to the being and nature of God, so nothing can more fully expose and aggravate the sin of unbelief, with respect to Christ, as the Son of God:
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son; at the times and places before observed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Believer’s Privilege. | A. D. 80. |
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
In those words we may observe,
I. The privilege and stability of the real Christian: He that believeth on the Son of God, hath been prevailed with unfeignedly to cleave to him for salvation, hath the witness in himself, v. 10. He hath not only the outward evidence that others have, but he hath in his own heart a testimony for Jesus Christ. He can allege what Christ and the truth of Christ have done for his soul and what he has seen and found in him. As, 1. He has deeply seen his sin, and guilt, and misery, and his abundant need of such a Saviour. 2. He has seen the excellency, beauty, and office of the Son of God, and the incomparable suitableness of such a Saviour to all his spiritual wants and sorrowful circumstances. 3. He sees and admires the wisdom and love of God in preparing and sending such a Saviour to deliver him from sin and hell, and to raise him to pardon, peace, and communion with God. 4. He has found and felt the power of the word and doctrine of Christ, wounding, humbling, healing, quickening, and comforting his soul. 5. He finds that the revelation of Christ, as it is the greatest discovery and demonstration of the love of God, so it is the most apt and powerful means of kindling, fomenting, and inflaming love to the holy blessed God. 6. He is born of God by the truth of Christ, as v. 1. He has a new heart and nature, a new love, disposition, and delight, and is not the man that formerly he was. 7. He finds yet such a conflict with himself, with sin, with the flesh, the world, and invisible wicked powers, as is described and provided for in the doctrine of Christ. 8. He finds such prospects and such strength afforded him by the faith of Christ, that he can despise and overcome the world, and travel on towards a better. 9. He finds what interest the Mediator has in heaven, by the audiency and prevalency of those prayers that are sent thither in his name, according to his will, and through his intercession. 10. He is begotten again to a lively hope, to a holy confidence in God, in his good-will and love, to a pleasant victory over terrors of conscience, dread of death and hell, to a comfortable prospect of life and immortality, being enriched with the earnest of the Spirit and sealed to the day of redemption. Such assurance has the gospel believer; he has a witness in himself. Christ is formed in him, and he is growing up to the fulness and perfection, or perfect image of Christ, in heaven.
II. The aggravation of the unbeliever’s sin, the sin of unbelief: He that believeth not God hath made him a liar. He does, in effect, give God the lie, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son, v. 10. He must believe that God did not send his Son into the world, when he has given us such manifold evidence that he did, or that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, when all that evidence relates to and terminates upon him, or that he sent his Son to deceive the world and to lead it into error and misery, or that he permits men to devise a religion which, in all the parts of it, is a pure, holy, heavenly, undefiled institution, and so worthy to be embraced by the reason of mankind, and yet is but a delusion and a lie, and then lends them his Spirit and power to recommend and obtrude it upon the world, which is to make God the Father, the author and abettor, of the lie.
III. The matter, the substance, or contents of all this divine testimony concerning Jesus Christ: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son, v. 11. This is the sum of the gospel. This is the sum and epitome of the whole record given us by all the aforesaid six witnesses. 1. That God hath given to us eternal life. He has designed it for us in his eternal purpose. He has prepared all the means that are necessary to bring us to it. He has made it over to us by his covenant and promise. And he actually confers a right and title thereto on all who believe on and actually embrace the Son of God. Then, 2. This life is in the Son. The Son is life; eternal life in his own essence and person, Joh 1:4; 1Jn 1:2. He is eternal life to us, the spring of our spiritual and glorious life, Col. iii. 4. From him life is communicated to us, both here in heaven. And thereupon it must follow, (1.) He that hath the Son hath life, v. 12. He that is united to the Son is united to life. He who hath a title to the Son hath a title to life, to eternal life. Such honour hath the Father put upon the Son: such honour must we put upon him too. We must come and kiss the Son, and we shall have life. (2.) He that hath not the Son of God hath not life, v. 12. He continues under the condemnation of the law (John iii. 36); he refuses the Son, who is life itself, who is the procurer of life, and the way to it; he provokes God to deliver him over to endless death for making him a liar, since he believes not this record that God hath given concerning his Son.
IV. The end and reason of the apostle’s preaching this to believers. 1. For their satisfaction and comfort: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, v. 13. Upon all this evidence, and these witnesses, it is but just and meet that there should be those who believe on the name of the Son of God. God increase their number! How much testimony from heaven has the world to answer for! And to three witnesses in heaven must the world be accountable. These believers have eternal life. They have it in the covenant of the gospel, in the beginning and first-fruits of it within them, and in their Lord and head in heaven. These believers may come to know that they have eternal life, and should be quickened, encouraged, and comforted, in the prospect of it: and they should value the scriptures, which are so much written for their consolation and salvation. 2. For their confirmation and progress in their holy faith: And that you may believe on the name of the Son of God (v. 13), may go on believing. Believers must persevere, or they do nothing. To withdraw from believing on the name of the Son of God is to renounce eternal life, and draw back unto perdition. Therefore the evidences of religion and the advantage of faith are to be presented to believers, in order to hearten and encourage them to persevere to the end.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Believeth on ( ). John draws a distinction between “not believing God” ( ) in next clause, the testimony of God about his Son, and surrender to and reliance on the Son as here ( and the accusative). See the same distinction less clearly drawn in Joh 6:30f. See also after in this same verse and Joh 2:23.
In him ( ). “In himself,” though the evidence is not decisive between and .
Hath made (). Perfect active indicative of like and , permanent state.
A liar (). As in 1:10, which see.
Because he hath not believed ( ). Actual negative reason with negative , not the subjective reason as in Joh 3:18, where we have ). The subjective negative is regular with . Relative clause here repeats close of verse 9.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
On the Son of God. Faith in the person of Christ, not merely in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
God. Also personal. To believe God, is to believe the message which comes from Him. See on Joh 1:12.
Hath made – hath believed [ – ] . The perfect tense marks the two results expressed by the verbs as connected with a past act. The act perpetuates itself in the present condition of the unbeliever.
Believed on the witness [ ] . The phrase occurs only here. See on Joh 1:12. In one other case to believe on is used with an object not directly personal, pisteuete eijv to fwv; but the reference is clearly to the personal Christ as the Light of the World (Joh 8:12).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “He that believeth on the Son of God.” (Greek ho pisteuon) “the one or anyone trusting” (eis ton huion tou theou) into the Son of God. John reaffirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in or into whom responsible sinners may trust. Joh 1:12.
2) “Hath the witness in himself”. The witness (marturian) in the believer is the Holy Spirit in person. Rom 8:15-16; Rom 5:5.
3) “He that believeth not God.” The one not trusting God concerning His claim to have sent His Son to save the lost. Joh 3:17.
4) “Hath made him a liar.” (Greek pepoieken) “Has made Him out to be” a liar, prevaricator, an untrustworthy character, 1Jn 1:10. To claim to believe in God, but reject what He says about himself, is to discredit His integrity.
5) “Because he believeth not the record.” (hoti ou pepisteuken) “because he has not trusted” in the record or testimony God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist, the miracles that Jesus performed, and His church, had borne witness of Jesus.
6) “That God gave of His Son.” God voluntarily, by compassion, not by compulsion, gave witness of His Son in the above cited ways, See Joh 1:14; Joh 1:17; Joh 3:14-18; Joh 5:33-43.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9 For this is the witness, or testimony, of God The particle ὅτι does not mean here the cause, but is to be taken as explanatory; for the Apostle, after having reminded us that God deserves to be believed much more than men, now adds, that we can have no faith in God, except by believing in Christ, because God sets him alone before us and makes us to stand in him. He hence infers that we believe safely and with tranquil minds in Christ, because God by his authority warrants our faith. He does not say that God speaks outwardly, but that every one of the godly feels within that God is the author of his faith. It hence appears how different from faith is a fading opinion dependent on something else.
10. He that believeth not As the faithful possess this benefit, that they know themselves to be beyond the danger of erring, because they have God as their foundation; so he makes the ungodly to be guilty of extreme blasphemy, because they charge God with falsehood. Doubtless nothing is more valued by God than his own truth, therefore no wrong more atrocious can be done to him, than to rob him of this honor. Then in order to induce us to believe, he takes an argument from the opposite side; for if to make God a liar be a horrible and execrable impiety, because then what especially belongs to him is taken away, who would not dread to withhold faith from the gospel, in which God would have himself to be counted singularly true and faithful? This ought to be carefully observed.
Some wonder why God commends faith so much, why unbelief is so severely condemned. But the glory of God is implicated in this; for since he designed to shew a special instance of his truth in the gospel, all they who reject Christ there offered to them, leave nothing to him. Therefore, though we may grant that a man in other parts of his life is like an angel, yet his sanctity is diabolical as long as he rejects Christ. Thus we see some under the Papacy vastly pleased with the mere mask of sanctity, while they still most obstinately resist the gospel. Let us then understand, that it is the beginning of true religion, obediently to embrace this doctrine, which he has so strongly confirmed by his testimony.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
10. Witness in himself As it is the Spirit (as noted above) which gives force and life to the water and blood, by which they become witnesses, so that Spirit becomes indwelling, with its three-fold testifying power, in the believer’s soul. And as that Spirit is God and truth, so we have an inward surety of demonstration far above what men as witnesses, or narratives, can impart. The testimony, the witness, the record, is within us as a divine intuition, possessing the highest conceivable certainty.
He that believeth not God As we believe not a perjuring human witness.
A liar Our apostle allows not the unbeliever the chance of saying, Perhaps it is not God who testifies. It is not only a sure testimony, but it is just as sure that the testifier is God. If, therefore, the truth of the testimony is denied, the divine veracity is impeached. It is a personal issue between man and God.
Record In all these verses the word record and witness are the same Greek word, signifying testimony, and should have been translated uniformly.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘He who believes on the Son of God has the witness in him. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning his Son. And the witness is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.’
So the one who believes on the Son of God has the witness in Him. He too was a witness. He witnessed to the truth while He was on earth. He witnessed to the truth after His resurrection. And He witnesses to the truth by imparting eternal life to His own and indwelling them. Thus the one who has believed on Him has received eternal life, and has the witness within himself. He has received the Spirit without Whom a man cannot be Christ’s (Rom 8:9). He has received Jesus Christ Himself. On the other hand the one who does not believe God and accept His testimony concerning His Son, is making God a liar, is indeed making out that God is a liar like the Evil One, and this because he does not believe God’s testimony concerning His Son.
For finally this is God’s witness concerning His Son, that He has given us eternal life, and that that eternal life is only receivable through the Son. The one who has the Son has life, and the one who does not have the Son does not have life. It is as simple as that. Eternal life is found only through the Son. It cannot be received from the Father without the Son’s participation.
So arriving at the end of the letter we come back to the beginning. The Word of life has come (1Jn 1:1) and His commandment is eternal life (Joh 12:50 with 1Jn 2:7). This is central to everything. It is the Gospel. All must be born from above (Joh 3:6). And this life is received by those who believe, not on a human being, not on a phantasm, but on God’s true Son, Who came as a human being, died on a cross providing cleansing (1Jn 1:7) and propitiation for sin (1Jn 2:2) and rose again from the dead. Such people then have the witness in themselves, the witness of the anointing, of the Holy Spirit and the word, and the witness of the life within them.
This life is not available to the false teachers. They deny Jesus His Sonship. They reject God’s full testimony concerning His Son. They make Him a liar. For them there is no means of propitiation. For them there is no life. For it is they who are liars, and preach lies. They believe ‘the Lie’ (2Th 2:11). God’s testimony to His Son lies in the fact that He demonstrated His lifegiving power by raising Him from the dead as the Son by the Holy Spirit, and enabling Him thereby to give life to those who believed in Him.
And those who do believe on Him receive life. This lifegiving power is in the Son, so that he who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son does not have life. Thus those have the Son who believe in Him and have been given life by God through His Spirit. Those who have not believed in the Son do not have life.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Jn 5:10. Hath the witness in himself: “He who upon this testimony cordially believeth in the Son of God,has not only an external evidence to produce, which may suffice, under the Spirit of God, for the conviction or condemnation of the unawakened world, but he also hath the witness within himself: the happy change that it makes in the whole state of his soul, manifests the excellence and reality of its object.” The reader may find this sense of the passage finely illustrated, to his great improvement and satisfaction, in Dr. Watts’s Sermons on the text, vol. 1: serm. 1, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Jn 5:10 . God’s testimony of His Son has for its object faith in the Son of God. Hence: “ He that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself. ”
, i.e. the witness of God which was previously spoken of; , i.e. the witness is no longer merely external to him, but by virtue of his faith he has it in (not as Luther translates: “with”) himself; the external has become internal to him. This thought forms the transition to that contained in 1Jn 5:11 . The believer, namely, has the objective witness in himself, inasmuch as he experiences in his soul the power of the truth attested by God; yet must not here be understood as in 1Jn 5:11 of this operation itself (contrary to Dsterdieck). In the interpretation: “he accepts the witness,” for which, corresponding to the , it should at least be put: “he has accepted it ,” the preposition does not receive due justice.
In the following negative sentence, by which the thought expressed is strengthened and extended, we must supply with (instead of which is not to be read), “ .
] see chap. 1Jn 1:10 . In his unbelief, the witness of God is regarded by him as a lie, and God, who has given it, therefore as a liar.
This thought is confirmed by the following words: “ for he believeth not ( has not become a believer ) in the record which God has given ( as a permanent record ) of His Son. ”
With the participle , which describes a general class (not a single particular individual), is used; but with the finite verb it is , because thereby the of those that belong to that class is exactly and directly denied (comp. chap. 1Jn 2:4 , 1Jn 3:10 ; 1Jn 3:14 , 1Jn 4:8 ). [317]
[317] It is different in Joh 3:18 , where follows , but as the reason for , and where, therefore, it is considered as the reason of the condemnation operating in the mind of the judge; differently Winer, p. 420 ff.; VII. p. 441 ff. The distinction lies in this, that by it is an act of the subject, but by the action of the judge ( i.e. of God) that is indicated.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2466
THE BELIEVERS INWARD WITNESS
1Jn 5:10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.
THE truth of our holy religion is confirmed by every kind of evidence that the heart of man can desire. Not only was it established by an appeal to prophecy, but by miracles without number. Nay more, as the religion of Moses had at the very time different rites appointed in commemoration of the principal events with which that dispensation was marked; as the feast of the passover, to commemorate the destruction of the Egyptian first-born, and the preservation of Israel,and the feast of Pentecost, to commemorate the giving of the law,and the feast of tabernacles, to commemorate their living in tents in the wilderness;so has Christianity been attested by the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles, and the water of baptism, which was administered on that very day, and the blood of the cross commemorated by the cup which is drank by all in the supper of the Lord.
But, convincing as these testimonies are, the true believer has one peculiar to himself, one abiding in his own bosom, arising from his own experience: He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself; the witness of Christ, and of his salvation; of its necessity, its suitableness, its sufficiency. He has in himself the witness of,
I.
Its necessity
[The generality of persons see no need of such a salvation as the Gospel has provided. Many have no conception that they merit condemnation at the hands of God: or that there can be any occasion for more than a mere exercise of mercy, without any atonement offered to divine justice for their sins, or any righteousness to be imputed to them for their justification before God. But the believer has views of his own exceeding sinfulness, and of his utter incapacity to reconcile himself to God, and of his need of a Saviour to effect salvation for him. He is conscious, that no repentance of his can ever suffice to expiate his guilt, nor any good works of his prevail for the purchase of heaven: and hence he is in his own apprehension as much lost without a Saviour, as the fallen angels are, for whom no Saviour has been provided.]
II.
Its suitableness
[Looking into his own bosom to explore his wants, and then examining the Holy Scriptures to see what provision God has made for him, he sees that the one corresponds with the other as the wards of a lock with the key that opens it. He has no want in himself for which he does not see in Christ a suitable supply: nor does he behold in Christ any thing which he does not need. Is Christ both God and man? Such an one does the believer see that he stands in need of; even man to take on him what man was bound to do and suffer; and God to render that work effectual for our salvation. Did the believer need an atonement for his guilt, a righteousness wherein to stand before God? Did he need a divine power to renew his soul? Did he need an Advocate with the Father to intercede for him? Did he need an Head of vital influence to impart unto him all seasonable supplies of grace? This, and ten thousand times more than this, does he find in Christ, whose fulness corresponds with his necessities, as an impression with the seal; in neither of which is there a jot or tittle either superfluous or defective. The every office of Christ, and every character is precisely that which the believer needs; to the hungry, Christ is bread; to the thirsty, a living fountain of water; to the sick, a Physician; yea and life to the dead.]
I.
Its sufficiency
[The believer feels in himself that he is a partaker of those very benefits which Christ came to bestow. He is alive from the dead, and is enabled to live as no unregenerate man can live. Let any one behold a river which a few hours ago was running down with a rapid current to the sea, running back again with equal rapidity to the fountain head; and will he doubt how this is effected? He may not be able to say what influence that is by which it is produced, or how that operation is effected: but he sees that there is a power which has wrought this: he sees it in its effects, just as he sees the trees agitated by the wind, though he knows not whence that wind comes, or whither it goes. He cannot declare how the Spirit which Jesus has imparted to him, operates upon his soul: but he can no more doubt who it is that has thus created him anew, than who it is that formed the universe. He is a perfect wonder to himself; a spark kept alive in the midst of the ocean, a bush ever burning, yet never consumed. He is a living witness for the Lord Jesus, that he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.]
Behold then here,
1.
The true nature of the Gospel
[The Gospel is a remedy. The whole world are sick: and in Christ Jesus there is all that every sinner needs [Note: 1Co 1:30.] ]
2.
The blessedness of those who truly receive it
[All are in one great hospital: and those who submit not to the physician die: but those who take his prescriptions live. True, they are not cured at once: it is possible too that they may suffer occasional relapses for a little season: but through the care of their heavenly Physician, their recovery is progressive; and when the good work is perfected within them, they are removed to that happy world, of which no inhabitant will ever have occasion to complain that he is sick. And what a witness will the believer have within himself at that day! At that day there will be amongst all the millions of the saints but one feeling of perfect health, and but one ascription of praise to him who loved them, and washed them from their sins, and made them kings and priests unto their God and Father for ever and ever.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Ver. 10. Hath the witness in himself ] Carries in his heart the counterpane of all the promises.
Hath made him a liar ] As one may deny God in deed as well as in word, so he may give him the lie too in like manner, sc. by going away, and not heeding all the grace that he offereth by Christ; for such a one saith in effect, Tush, there is no such thing as Christ; or at least no such benefit to be reaped by his passion as they would persuade us, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 12 .] The perfect , 1Jn 5:9 , shewed that the testimony spoken of is not merely an historical one, such for instance as Mat 3:17 , which God , but one abiding and present. And these verses explain to us what that testimony is. He that believeth in the Son of God hath the testimony (just spoken of; , as the gloss adds: see var. readd.) in him (i. e. in himself. The two readings do not differ in sense. The object of the divine testimony being, to produce faith in Christ, the Apostle takes him in whom it has wrought this its effect, one who habitually believes in the Son of God, and says of such an one that he possesses the testimony in himself. What it is, he does not plainly say till below, 1Jn 5:11 . But easily enough here we can synthetically put together and conjecture of what testimony it is that he is speaking: the Spirit by whom we are born again to eternal Life, the water of baptism by which the new birth is brought to pass in us by the power of the Holy Ghost (Joh 3:5 , Tit 3:5 ), the Blood of Jesus by which we have reconciliation with God, and purification from our sins (ch. 1Jn 1:7 , 1Jn 2:2 ), and eternal life (Joh 6:53 ff.), these three all contribute to and make up our faith in Christ, and so compose that testimony, which the Apostle designates in 1Jn 5:11 by the shorter term which comprehends them all. This is rightly maintained by Dsterd. as the exegesis: identifying the here with that in 1Jn 5:11 , as against numerous expositors who make the one differ from the other. It is plain that all evasive senses of , such as “recipit in se” of Socinus, Grot., Rosenmller, are inadmissible): he that believeth not God (St. John, as so frequently, proceeds to put his proposition in the strongest light by bringing out the opposite to it.
The reading is internally as well as externally substantiated. The participle with the dative is wholly different from the same above with . That is the resting trust of faith: this the mere first step of giving credit to a witness. Huther well fills in by . And thus it is tacitly assumed that one who does not believe in the Son of God, gives no credit to God Himself) hath made Him a liar (perf. because the state of discredit implies a definite rejection still continuing. On the expression, see ch. 1Jn 1:10 ), because he hath not believed in (here, not only, hath not credited, though that was the more shameful rejection of God’s word: but now the full rejection the refusal to believe in , cast himself on God’s testimony) the testimony which God hath testified concerning His Son .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Jn 5:10 . A subtle and profound analysis of the exercise of soul which issues in assured faith. Three stages: (1) “Believe God” ( , credere Deo ), accept His testimony concerning His Son, i.e. , not simply His testimony at the Baptism (Mat 3:17 ) but the historic manifestation of God in Christ, the Incarnation. God speaks not by words but by acts, and to set aside His supreme act, and all the forces which it has set in operation is to “make Him a liar” by treating His historic testimony as unworthy of credit. (2) “Believe in the Son of God” ( , credere in Filium Dei ), make the believing sell-surrender which is the reasonable and inevitable consequence of contemplating the Incarnation and recognising the wonder of it. (3) The Inward Testimony ( , testimonium in seipso ). “Fecisti nos ad te, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te” (Aug.). The love of Jesus satisfies the deepest need of our nature. When He is welcomed, the soul rises up and greets Him as “all its salvation and all its desire,” and the testimony is no longer external in history but an inward experience ( cf. note on 1Jn 4:9 : ), and therefore indubitable. These three stages are, according to the metaphor of Rev 3:20 , (1) hearing the Saviour’s voice, (2) opening the door, (3) communion.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
believeth on. App-150.
in. App-104.
believeth. App-150.
not. App-105.
liar. Compare 1Jn 1:10.
believeth = believeth on, as above.
record. Same as “witness”, 1Jn 5:9.
gave. Literally hath witnessed.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10-12.] The perfect , 1Jn 5:9, shewed that the testimony spoken of is not merely an historical one, such for instance as Mat 3:17, which God , but one abiding and present. And these verses explain to us what that testimony is. He that believeth in the Son of God hath the testimony (just spoken of; , as the gloss adds: see var. readd.) in him (i. e. in himself. The two readings do not differ in sense. The object of the divine testimony being, to produce faith in Christ, the Apostle takes him in whom it has wrought this its effect, one who habitually believes in the Son of God, and says of such an one that he possesses the testimony in himself. What it is, he does not plainly say till below, 1Jn 5:11. But easily enough here we can synthetically put together and conjecture of what testimony it is that he is speaking: the Spirit by whom we are born again to eternal Life, the water of baptism by which the new birth is brought to pass in us by the power of the Holy Ghost (Joh 3:5, Tit 3:5), the Blood of Jesus by which we have reconciliation with God, and purification from our sins (ch. 1Jn 1:7, 1Jn 2:2), and eternal life (Joh 6:53 ff.),-these three all contribute to and make up our faith in Christ, and so compose that testimony, which the Apostle designates in 1Jn 5:11 by the shorter term which comprehends them all. This is rightly maintained by Dsterd. as the exegesis: identifying the here with that in 1Jn 5:11, as against numerous expositors who make the one differ from the other. It is plain that all evasive senses of , such as recipit in se of Socinus, Grot., Rosenmller, are inadmissible): he that believeth not God (St. John, as so frequently, proceeds to put his proposition in the strongest light by bringing out the opposite to it.
The reading is internally as well as externally substantiated. The participle with the dative is wholly different from the same above with . That is the resting trust of faith: this the mere first step of giving credit to a witness. Huther well fills in by . And thus it is tacitly assumed that one who does not believe in the Son of God, gives no credit to God Himself) hath made Him a liar (perf. because the state of discredit implies a definite rejection still continuing. On the expression, see ch. 1Jn 1:10), because he hath not believed in (here, not only, hath not credited, though that was the more shameful rejection of Gods word: but now the full rejection-the refusal to believe in, cast himself on Gods testimony) the testimony which God hath testified concerning His Son.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Jn 5:10. ,[23] in himself) in the inner man.
[23] The reading is preferred by the decision of Ed. 1 and 2. The sense remains the same.-E. B.
B (judging from silence of collators) and Rec. Text support : so Lachm. A and (according to Lachm.) C support : so Tisch.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
that believeth on: 1Jo 5:1, Joh 3:16
hath the: Psa 25:14, Pro 3:32, Rom 8:16, Gal 4:6, Col 3:3, 2Pe 1:19, Rev 2:17, Rev 2:28
hath made: 1Jo 1:10, Num 23:19, Job 24:25, Isa 53:1, Jer 15:18, Joh 3:33, Joh 5:38, Heb 3:12
Reciprocal: Psa 78:22 – General Isa 7:9 – If ye Jer 5:12 – have belied Hab 2:4 – but Mar 16:16 – that believeth and Joh 3:18 – he that believeth not Joh 3:36 – that believeth on Joh 7:28 – is true Joh 8:55 – shall Joh 9:25 – one Joh 9:35 – Dost Joh 11:26 – whosoever Joh 14:1 – ye Joh 20:31 – these Act 8:37 – I believe Act 16:31 – Believe Rom 1:3 – his Son Rom 3:4 – let God Gal 2:20 – the Son Eph 2:8 – through Eph 4:21 – as 1Ti 4:10 – specially Tit 3:8 – which Heb 3:19 – General Heb 6:1 – faith Heb 6:18 – impossible 1Pe 5:12 – testifying 1Jo 1:3 – with his 1Jo 2:15 – Love not 1Jo 5:7 – bear 1Jo 5:9 – we 1Jo 5:11 – this 1Jo 5:13 – ye may know 1Jo 5:19 – we know Rev 12:17 – and have Rev 19:10 – the testimony Rev 21:8 – the fearful
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE WITNESS WITHIN AND THE WITNESS WITHOUT
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.
1Jn 5:10
The foundation-stone laid by God is Jesus Christ. It is on Him that our faith rests, and the text warns us how we are to build on this foundation. Jesus Christ is not a dead but a living foundation.
I. The witness within.We rest upon a living Person, not on a string of facts nor a string of events. We believe, as a matter of fact and of history, that our Lord Jesus Christ lived upon earth, died, rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven. But a man might believe all this just in the same way in which we believe that Pontius Pilate lived and died, or that Herod lived and died. He might say, It is all true, I have no doubt, every word of it, but it is of no use to me. It does not help me, when I am tempted to do wrong, to know that the four Gospels are all true, every word of them. Here is the temptation. Here are my strong passions. What is the use of events that happened long ago to stem the flood of my sins? You might as well try to keep back the Atlantic Ocean with a few decayed beam ends of wrecked vessels as stay my sins with Bible stories. The power of sin is within me. To resist it I must have a stronger power within me also. This want is met by the words of our text. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. God the Father, God the Son dwelling in us through God the Holy Spirit, this is the witness in oneself. God in usthis is the power, the only power strong enough to stem the flood, to stay the corruption within. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. This is just what the world cannot understand. And so is fulfilled our Lords prophecy that He would reveal Himself to His disciples, but not to the world. The man who does not love Jesus Christ hears the same Gospel and reads the same Bible as the true believer, but he can see nothing in it. He brings his body, his eyes, his ears, his quick intellect, all his reasoning powers to church, but not his heart. He does not know what it is to love Christ. The witness is all outside him.
We may perhaps understand more clearly the witness within if we go back to the saints of old and think of their faith. Enoch walked with God before a line of the Bible was written; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all knew, loved, and feared God before the first chapter of Genesis was put in writing. St. Paul believed in Jesus Christ before one of the Gospels was penned. For more than two hundred years the Christians in different places probably knew only parts of the New Testament. But why go so far back? How many devout and humble Christians, full of love to Jesus Christ, have sat in church, and lifted up prayer and praise from the very depths of their hearts, though they could not read a page of their Bibles, and only knew portions here and there! What was the reason? They had the witness in themselves, Jesus Christ dwelling in them by His Holy Spirit. This is the only foundation. Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. God can dwell in us by His Spirit as He pleases. But He has been pleased to send us for confirmation of the voice within us to the written Word, to the testimony of apostles and prophets (see Illustration).
II. The witness without.This is the first and great use of Scripture. It makes us sure that the voice which speaks within is no mere fancy, no delusion of the brain. There are and always have been false prophets, spiritualists, and hundreds of others, who tell us that God has spoken to them. But when we bring them to the test of the record of apostles and prophets, when we try them by the witness of revelation, they fail. The voice within agrees not with the voice without. The more sure word of prophecy of which St. Peter speaks condemns them. It is not so with those who really hear the voice of the good Shepherd. With them the voice within answers to the voice without. Deep calleth unto deep. When conscience is burthened with the sense of sin, and the teaching of the Holy Spirit upon the darkened soul obliges them to cry, What must I do to be saved? then the witness without, the Scripture, answers. This is no melancholy, no brain disease, no morbid imagination. Sin is real, and Gods anger against sin stands recorded in His revelation. The witness in yourself is the witness of God. So when God speaks to the soul of his love, when He says, Go in peace, the voice of apostles and prophets answers to and confirms the voice within. It tells us how God reconciled the world to Himself in Jesus Christ, how He bare our sins in His own body on the tree, and how with His stripes we are healed. Yes, and when sin returning clouds the conscience, and raises up once more a barrier between God and the soul, once more Scripture without confirms the witness within. It tells us how we are grieving the Holy Spirit. It puts words of repentance in our lips. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. We are built on the foundation of God Himself dwelling in us, but we are built also on the foundation of apostles and prophets.
III. The Scripture stands out from all other books.It is to us the voice of God, the only pure and unadulterated voice of God, answering to the voice within, and assuring us that we are not listening to cunningly devised fables. Again, it binds all believers in a real unity of spirit, binds us with one another and with our living Head. Therefore we cannot trifle with the authority of the Word of God. Now that miracles are removed it is the confirmation of our faith, the sure ground and foundation for our belief, that God dwelleth in us and we in God. There is a great temptation in these days to think that we can either do without the Bible altogether or else with selections from the Bible. People judge it, as they imagine, by the voice within; if it does not square with their idea of what God is, and of how God governs the world, then they smooth and plane down the Bible to suit their own opinions. But it was not for this work that God gave us His holy Word, nor for this that He spake to us. The Bible and the Spirit of God are one witness after all, and the witness within must answer to the witness without. God does not speak to us that we may judge His written Word, but that we may recognise it as His Word, and may receive it and obey it. Otherwise we make Him a liar. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in Himself. He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.
Bishop E. A. Knox.
Illustration
Daniel Quorn, the old cobbler, sits hard at work in the still midnight, when he can hear no sound but the sound of his own tools and the ticking of the old clock. Presently the tick of the clock seems to him to shape itself into words, and each time that the pendulum swings backwards and forwards he hears the solemn question: For everwhere? for everwhere? At last it becomes unbearable. He gets up and stops the clock. But he cannot even so keep that question from sounding in his ear, For everwhere? for everwhere? The more he thinks of it, the more terrible does the answer seem; until at last, in an agony of despair, he falls upon his knees and prays God to have mercy upon a miserable sinner. He prays until in some way peace and light dawn upon his troubled soul. The voice that spoke pardon to sinners 1800 years ago, by the waters of Galilee, says to him, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. He has the witness in himself, for he has believed on the son of God. But is not all this mere excitement and sensation? Have not many persons deluded themselves just in this very way? The heart is deceitful above all things. No doubt such self-deception is possible. No doubt it has happened. But hear the story out. Daniel Quorn begins from that day to study the old, worn, dusty Bible, hitherto roughly used. On the cover are scribbled calculations, notes of bills due, all sorts of memoranda. No other use had been found for it before. Now the voice within drives him to the witness without. He reads the record of prophets and apostles, the testimony that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God. As he finds in page after page the hunger of his soul satisfied, the Bible becomes a new book to him. The words are the words of apostles and prophets, but the voice is the voice of God. The witness without confirms and enlightens. It strengthens the witness within. The foundation of his faith is Jesus Christ, but he receives instruction about Jesus through apostles and prophets, and so he is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
1Jn 5:10. Hath the witness in himself. Not that he produced it by his own mind, but it is testimony that can be received by the mind and hence can be retained there. (See Hebrews S:10.) Made him a liar. When a man rejects a statement made by another he thereby makes that man out a liar. Otherwise if the other person is not regarded as a liar, there would be no pretext for the first one to disbelieve him. All of this pertains to the declaration of God that Christ is his Son.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Jn 5:10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. The testimony has become subjective: the three agree in one within the believers consciousness. He hasfor we must anticipate 1Jn 5:11eternal life within him: the gift of the Spirit of life received by Christ for us at His baptism, the forgiveness of sin or release from the condemnation of death through His blood, and the Holy Ghost effecting and assuring both. Faith is followed by full assurance; but the assurance is here the possession of life itself.
But he that believeth not God hath made him a liar: because he hath not believed the witness that God hath borne concerning His Son. He is not only without the internal testimony, but he has also rejected the external testimony, which has been given to one who hears the Gospel record so abundantly that he is without excuse. Once before St. John had spoken of making God a liar: he who denies that he has sinned is a liar himself, and contradicts the express testimonies of God. Similarly, he who believes not the witness given by God concerning His Son rejects the utmost possible evidence that God, knowing mans necessity, could give him. It is supposed that he has the evidence before him, and that in the form of spoken or written evidence; it is further supposed that he deliberately rejects the testimony, knowing it to be Divine. There is nothing stronger, scarcely anything so strong, in all the Scriptures, concerning the moral wilfulness of unbelief. It is not said that he who refuses to accept the testimony to the divinity and incarnation of the Son loses the benefit; nor simply that he blinds his own mind; but that he hears the voice of God and makes Him a liar. Nor are the last words, as has been thought by some, mere vehement repetition. God is made a liar by the man who rejects the eternal life which has been once for all given. The witness rejected is not this or that saying or miraculous demonstration, but the whole strain of proof brought by the Christian revelation that both light and life are come into the world as the heritage of every man who does not wilfully reject both.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1Jn 5:10. He that believeth on the Son of God, with such a faith, hath the testimony in himself Namely, knows by experience, that what God hath testified concerning his Son, and salvation in and through him, is indeed true, being already saved by him from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God, and a state of communion with him. He knows by experience, that Jesus is the Son of God in such a sense as to be an all- sufficient Saviour, and that he came by cleansing water, and by atoning blood, having received justification through the latter, and sanctification through the former. Or, which is to the same purpose, he hath received the testimony mentioned 1Jn 5:11. For, as in that verse, the witness, by a usual metonymy, is put for the thing witnessed, and the thing witnessed being, that God hath given us eternal life through his Son, he who believeth on the Son of God, may justly be said to have eternal life, the thing witnessed, in himself; because, by his faith on the Son, being begotten of God, he hath, in the dispositions of Gods children communicated to him, eternal life begun in him; which is both a pledge and a proof that God, in due time, will completely bestow on him eternal life through his Son. Macknight. Add to the above, that eternal life is begun in him, and that God will, in due time, bestow on him the full enjoyment of it, he hath the testimony of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the Father having lifted up the light of his countenance upon him, and thereby put joy and gladness into his heart, Psa 4:6-7; Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, and being precious to his soul, Eph 3:17; 1Pe 2:7; and the Holy Ghost, as a Spirit of adoption, witnessing with his spirit that he is a child of God, and producing in him love, joy, and peace, Rom 8:15-16; Gal 5:22. And he hath the witness of the Spirit in himself, mentioned 1Jn 5:8, or of the inspired writings, which bear witness to the genuineness of his religion, and his title to eternal life, and which are the food of his soul, the sweetness of which he tastes, and is nourished thereby; tastes the good word of God, Heb 6:5. He hath the witness of the water in himself, having been baptized with water, and had the sign, and also the thing signified thereby, the regenerating grace of God; and the witness of the blood, having received the atonement, and pardon through it, and taking all opportunities of receiving the Lords supper, when the bread that he breaks is to him the communion of Christs body; and the wine which he drinks, the communion of his blood; and he feeds on Christ in his heart by faith, with thanksgiving. On the other hand, he that believeth not God As to his testimony concerning Christ, when at his baptism, and on the mount of transfiguration, he declared him to be his Son by a voice from heaven; and when, after his death, he demonstrated him to be his Son by raising him from the dead; hath made him a liar That is, by refusing to believe these testimonies, he hath acted as if he judged God to be a liar, or false witness. Some MSS. and ancient versions, particularly the Vulgate, instead of He that believeth not God, have, He that believeth not the Son; which Grotius and Bengelius think the true reading. But, like most of the various readings, this makes no alteration in the sense of the passage.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 10
In himself; in his heart,–in the moral change which has been effected in him.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
5:10 {11} He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
(11) He proves the sureness of the earthly witness by every man’s conscience having that testimony in itself, whose conscience he says cannot be deceived because it agrees with the heavenly testimony which the Father gives of the Son: for otherwise the Father must be a liar, if the conscience which agrees and assents to the Father, should lie.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Having spoken of the character of the divine witness to Jesus (1Jn 5:6-9), John moved to discuss the results of that witness (1Jn 5:10-12). The witness is the truth about Jesus Christ that the indwelling Holy Spirit bears. This may be the objective witness of Scripture, or it may be a subjective witness in the believer’s heart. The Spirit witnesses in both ways. If someone does not believe this testimony, he is saying that God has lied (cf. 1Jn 1:10). John clarified the implications of rejecting the gospel in stark terms.
"The writer, then, cannot allow that one can profess belief in God, as did his opponents, and yet reject God’s testimony to his own Son. Such rejection cannot be excused on the basis of ignorance. The evidence is too clear and too weighty. Rather, it is deliberate unbelief, the character of which in the end impugns the very being and character of God. If Jesus is not God’s own Son in the flesh, then God is no longer the truth. He is the liar." [Note: Barker, p. 352.]
Believing in the Son of God is the same as believing that Jesus is the Christ (cf. 1Jn 5:1; Joh 3:15-16; Joh 3:18; Joh 20:30-31).
"There is nothing here about ’head or heart belief,’ or about a ’faith that yields to God as over against mere intellectual assent,’ etc. The Bible does not complicate faith like that. Once we have understood the message, the issue is: Is it true or false? Do we believe it, or do we not?" [Note: Hodges, The Epistles . . ., p. 224.]