Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 5:16
If any man see his brother sin a sin [which is] not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
16. ‘The prayer of faith’ is all-prevailing when it is in accordance with God’s will. This is the sole limit as regards prayer on our own behalf. Is there any other limit in the case of prayer on behalf of another? Yes, there is that other’s own will: this will prove a further limitation. Man’s will has been endowed by God with such royal freedom, that not even His will coerces it. Still less, therefore, can a brother’s prayer coerce it. If a human will has deliberately and obstinately resisted God, and persists in doing so, we are debarred from our usual certitude. Against a rebel will even the prayer of faith in accordance with God’s will (for of course God desires the submission of the rebel) may be offered in vain. For exhortations to intercession elsewhere in N. T. see 1Th 5:25; Heb 13:18-19; Jas 5:14-20; comp. Php 1:4.
If any man see his brother ] Here it is obvious that ‘brother’ must mean ‘fellow- Christian ’, not any one whether Christian or not.
sin a sin ] More accurately, as R.V., sinning a sin: the supposed case is one in which the sinner is seen in the very act. The phrase ‘to sin a sin’ occurs nowhere else in N.T. Comp. Lev 5:6; Lev 5:10; Lev 5:13; Eze 18:24.
he shall ask ] Future for imperative; or, he will ask, i.e. a Christian in such a case is sure to pray for his erring brother. The latter seems preferable.
and he shall give him life ] The Greek is ambiguous. ‘He’ may mean either God or the intercessor, and ‘him’ may mean either the intercessor or the sinner for whom he intercedes. If the latter alternatives be taken, we may compare ‘he shall save a soul from death’ (Jas 5:20). Commentators are much divided. On the one hand it is urged that throughout Scripture asking is man’s part and giving God’s: but, on the other hand, when two verbs are connected so closely as these, ‘will ask and will give’ ( ), it seems rather violent to give them different nominatives; ‘he will ask and God will give’. It seems better to translate; he will ask and will give him life, them that sin not unto death. ‘Them’ is in apposition to ‘him’, the clause being an explanation rather awkwardly added, similar to that at the end of 1Jn 5:13. If ‘God’ be inserted, ‘them’ is the dativus commodi; ‘God will grant the intercessor life for those who sin’. The change to the plural makes the statement more general: ‘sinning not unto death’ is not likely to be an isolated case. The Vulgate is here exceedingly free; petat, et dabitur ei vita peccanti non ad mortem. Tertullian also ignores the change of number; postulabit, et dabit ei vitam dominus qui non ad mortem delinquit.
There is a sin unto death ] Or, There is sin unto death; we have no or in the Greek, a fact which is against the supposition that any act of sin is intended. In that case would not S. John have named it, that the faithful might avoid it, and also know when it had been committed? The following explanations of ‘sin unto death’ may be safely rejected. 1. Sin punished by the law with death. 2. Sin punished by Divine visitation with death or sickness. 3. Sin punished by the Church with excommunication. As a help to a right explanation we may get rid of the idea which some commentators assume, that ‘sin unto death’ is a sin which can be recognised by those among whom the one who commits it lives. S. John’s very guarded language points the other way. He implies that some sins may be known to be ‘ not unto death’: he neither says nor implies that all ‘sin unto death’ can be known as such. As a further help we may remember that no sin, if repented of, can be too great for God’s mercy. Hence S. John does not speak even of this sin as ‘fatal’ or ‘mortal’, but as ‘ unto death’ ( ). Death is its natural, but not its absolutely inevitable consequence. It is possible to close the heart against the influences of God’s Spirit so obstinately and persistently that repentance becomes a moral impossibility. Just as the body may starve itself to such an extent as to make the digestion, or even the reception, of food impossible; so the soul may go on refusing offers of grace until the very power to receive grace perishes. Such a condition is necessarily sin, and ‘sin unto death’. No passing over out of death into life (1Jn 3:14) is any longer (without a miracle of grace) possible. ‘Sin unto death’, therefore, is not any act of sin, however heinous, but a state or habit of sin wilfully chosen and persisted in: it is constant and consummate opposition to God. In the phraseology of this Epistle we might say that it is the deliberate preference of darkness to light, of falsehood to truth, of sin to righteousness, of the world to the Father, of spiritual death to eternal life.
I do not say that he shall pray for it ] More accurately, not concerning that do I say that he should make request. This reproduces the telling order of the Greek; it avoids the ambiguity which lurks in ‘pray for it’; it preserves the emphatic ‘that’; and marks better the difference between the verb ( ) previously rendered ‘ask’ ( 1Jn 5:14-16) and the one ( ) here rendered ‘pray’. Of the two verbs the latter is the less suppliant (see on Joh 14:16), whereas ‘pray’ is more suppliant than ‘ask’. Two explanations of the change of verb are suggested. 1. The Apostle does not advise request, much less does he advise urgent supplication in such a case. 2. He uses the less humble word to express a request which seems to savour of presumption. See on 2Jn 1:5.
(1) Note carefully that S. John, even in this extreme case, does not forbid intercession: all he says is that he does not command it. For one who sins an ordinary sin we may intercede in faith with certainty that a prayer so fully in harmony with God’s will is heard. The sinner will receive grace to repent. But where the sinner has made repentance morally impossible S. John does not encourage us to intercede. Comp. Jer 7:16; Jer 14:11.
(2) Note also that, while distinguishing between deadly and not deadly sin, he gives us no criterion by which we may distinguish the one from the other. He thus condemns rather than sanctions those attempts which casuists have made to tabulate sins under the heads of ‘mortal’ and ‘venial’. Sins differ indefinitely in their intensity and effect on the soul, ending at one end of the scale in ‘sin unto death’; and the gradations depend not merely or chiefly on the sinful act, but on the motive which prompted it, and the feeling (whether of sorrow or delight) which the recollection of it evokes. Further than this it is not safe to define or dogmatize. This seems to be intimated by what is told us in the next verse. Two facts are to be borne in mind, and beyond them we need not pry.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If a man see his brother sin a sin … – From the general assurance that God hears prayer, the apostle turns to a particular case in which it may be benevolently and effectually employed, in rescuing a brother from death. There has been great diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of this passage, and the views of expositors of the New Testament are by no means settled as to its true sense. It does not comport with the design of these notes to examine the opinions which have been held in detail. A bare reference, however, to some of them will show the difficulty of determining with certainty what the passage means, and the impropriety of any very great confidence in ones own judgment in the case. Among these opinions are the following. Some have supposed that the sin against the Holy Spirit is intended; some that the phrase denotes any great and enormous sin, as murder, idolatry, adultery; some that it denotes some sin that was punishable by death by the laws of Moses; some that it denotes a sin that subjected the offender to excommunication from the synagogue or the church; some that it refers to sins which brought fatal disease upon the offender, as in the case of those who abused the Lords Supper at Corinth, (see the notes at 1Co 11:30); some that it refers to crimes committed against the laws, for which the offender was sentenced to death, meaning that when the charge alleged was false, and the condemnation unjust, they ought to pray for the one who was condemned to death, and that he would be spared; but that when the offence was one which had been really committed, and the offender deserved to die, they ought not to pray for him, or, in other words, that by the sin unto death, offences against the civil law are referred to, which the magistrate had no power to pardon, and the punishment of which he could not commute; and by the sin not unto death, offences are referred to which might be pardoned, and when the punishment might be commuted; some that it refers to sins before and after baptism, the former of which might be pardoned, but the latter of which might not be; and some, and perhaps this is the common opinion among the Roman Catholics, that it refers to sins that might or might not be pardoned after death, thus referring to the doctrine of purgatory.
These various opinions may be seen stated more at length in Rosenmuller, Lucke, Pool (Synopsis,) and Clarke, in loc. To go into an examination of all these opinions would require a volume by itself, and all that can be done here is to furnish what seems to me to be the fair exposition of the passage. The word brother may refer either to a member of the church, whether of the particular church to which one was attached or to another, or it may be used in the larger sense which is common as denoting a fellow-man, a member of the great family of mankind. There is nothing in the word which necessarily limits it to one in the church; there is nothing in the connection, or in the reason assigned, why what is said should be limited to such an one. The duty here enjoined would be the same whether the person referred to was in the church or not; for it is our duty to pray for those who sin, and to seek the salvation of those whom we see to be going astray, and to be in danger of ruin, wherever they are, or whoever they may be. At the same time, the correct interpretation of the passage does not depend on determining whether the word brother refers to one who is a professed Christian or not.
A sin which is not unto death – The great question in the interpretation of the whole passage is, what is meant by the sin unto death. The Greek ( hamartia pros thanaton) would mean properly a sin which tends to death; which would terminate in death; of which death was the penalty, or would be the result, unless it were arrested; a sin which, if it had its own course, would terminate thus, as we should speak of a disease unto death. Compare the notes at Joh 11:4. The word death is used in three significations in the New Testament, and as employed here might, so far as the word is concerned, be applied in any one of those senses. It is used to denote:
(a)Literally, the death of the body;
(b)Spiritual death, or death in trespasses and sin, Eph 2:1;
(c)The second death, death in the world of woe and despair.
If the sin here mentioned refers to temporal death, it means such a sin that temporal death must inevitably follow, either by the disease which it has produced, or by a judicial sentence where there was no hope of pardon or of a commutation of the punishment; if it refers to death in the future world, the second death, then it means such a sin as is unpardonable. That this last is the reference here seems to me to be probable, if not clear, from the following considerations:
- There is such a sin referred to in the New Testament, a sin for which there is forgiveness neither in this life nor the life to come. See the notes at Mat 12:31-32. Compare Mar 3:29. If there is such a sin, there is no impropriety in supposing that John would refer to it here.
(2)This is the obvious interpretation. It is that which would occur to the mass of the readers of the New Testament, and which it is presumed they do adopt; and this, in general, is one of the best means of ascertaining the sense of a passage in the Bible.
(3)The other significations attached to the word death, would be quite inappropriate here.
(a) It cannot mean unto spiritual death, that is, to a continuance in sin, for how could that be known? and if such a case occurred, why would it be improper to pray for it? Besides, the phrase a sin unto spiritual death, or unto continuance in sin, is one that is unmeaning.
(b) It cannot be shown to refer to a disease that should be unto death, miraculously inflicted on account of sin, because, if such cases occurred, they were very rare, and even if a disease came upon a man miraculously in consequence of sin, it could not be certainly known whether it was, or was not, unto death. All who were visited in this way did not certainly die. Compare 1Co 5:4-5, with 2Co 2:6-7. See also 1Co 11:30.
(c) It cannot be shown that it refers to the case of those who were condenmed by the civil magistrate to death, and for whom there was no hope of reprieve or pardon, for it is not certain that there were such cases; and if there were, and the person condemned were innocent, there was every reason to pray that God would interpose and save them, even when there was no hope from man; and if they were guilty, and deserved to die, there was no reason why they should not pray that the sin might be forgiven, and that they might be prepared to die, unless it were a case where the sin was unpardonable. It seems probable, therefore, to me, that the reference here is to the sin against the Holy Spirit, and that John means here to illustrate the duty and the power of prayer, by showing that for any sin short of that, however aggravated, it was their duty to pray that a brother might be forgiven. Though it might not be easy to determine what was the unpardonable sin, and John does not say that those to whom he wrote could determine that with certainty, yet there were many sins which were manifestly not of that aggravated character, and for those sins it was proper to pray.
There was clearly but one sin that was unpardonable – there is a sin unto death; there might be many which were not of this description, and in relation to them there was ample scope for the exercise of the prayer of faith. The same thing is true now. It is not easy to define the unpardonable sin, and it is impossible for us to determine in any case with absolute certainty that a man has committed it. But there are multitudes of sins which people commit, which upon no proper interpretation of the passages respecting the sin which hath never forgiveness, can come under the description of that sin, and for which it is proper, therefore, to pray that they may be pardoned. We know of cases enough where sin may be forgiven; and, without allowing the mind to be disturbed about the question respecting the unpardonable sin, it is our duty to bear such cases on our hearts before God, and to plead with him that our erring brethren may be saved.
He shall ask – That is, he shall pray that the offender may be brought to true repentance, and may be saved.
And he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death – That is, God shall give life, and he shall be saved from the eternal death to which he was exposed. This, it is said, would be given to him who offers the prayer; that is, his prayer would be the means of saving the offending brother. What a motive is this to prayer! How faithful and constant should we be in pleading for our fellow-sinners, that we may be instrumental in saving their souls! What joy will await those in heaven who shall see there many who were rescued from ruin in answer to their prayers! Compare the notes at Jam 5:15, Jam 5:19-20.
There is a sin unto death – A sin which is of such a character that it throws the offender beyond the reach of mercy, and which is not to be pardoned. See Mar 3:28-29. The apostle does not here say what that sin is; nor how they might know what it is; nor even that in any case they could determine that it had been committed. He merely says that there is such a sin, and that he does not design that his remark about the efficacy of prayer should be understood as extending to that.
I do not say that he shall pray for it – I do not intend that my remark shall be extended to all sin, or mean to affirm that all possible forms of guilt are the proper subjects of prayer, for I am aware that there is one sin which is an exception, and my remark is not to be applied to that. He does not say that this sin was of common occurrence: or that they could know when it had been committed; or even that a case could ever occur in which they could determine that; he merely says that in respect to that sin he did not say that prayer should be offered. It is indeed implied in a most delicate way that it would not be proper to pray for the forgiveness of such a sin, but he does not say that a case would ever happen in which they would know certainly that the sin had been committed. There were instances in the times of the prophets in which the sin of the people became so universal and so aggravated, that they were forbidden to pray for them.
Isa 14:11, then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good; Isa 15:1, Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people; cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. Compare the notes at Isa 1:15. But these were cases in which the prophets were directly instructed by God not to pray for a people. We have no such instruction; and it may be said now with truth, that as we can never be certain respecting anyone that he has committed the unpardonable sin, there is no one for whom we may not with propriety pray. There may be those who are so far gone in sin that there may seem to be little, or almost no ground of hope. They may have cast off all the restraints of religion, of morality, of decency; they may disregard all the counsels of parents and friends; they may be sceptical, sensual, profane; they may be the companions of infidels and of mockers; they may have forsaken the sanctuary, and learned to despise the sabbath; they may have been professors of religion, and now may have renounced the faith of the gospel altogether, but still, while there is life it is our duty to pray for them, if peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, 2Ti 2:25.
All things are possible with God; and he has reclaimed offenders more hardened, probably, than any that we have known, and has demonstrated that there is no form of depravity which he has not the power to subdue. Let us remember the cases of Manasseh, of Saul of Tarsus, of Augustine, of Bunyan, of Newton, of tens of thousands who have been reclaimed from the vilest forms of iniquity, and then let us never despair of the conversion of any, in answer to prayer, who may have gone astray, as long as they are in this world of probation and of hope. Let no parent despair who has an abandoned son; let no wife cease to pray who has a dissipated husband. How many a prodigal son has come back to fill with happiness an aged parents heart! How many a dissipated husband has been reformed to give joy again to the wife of his youth, and to make a paradise again of his miserable home!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Jn 5:16-17
There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it
The sin unto death
The sin mentioned here is not the same as the sin against the Holy Ghost.
The persons spoken of as respectively guilty are very different from each other. In the latter sin it is the Scribes and Pharisees, the malignant enemies of Christ; in the case before us it is a Christian brother that is the offender: If any man see his brother sin. This clears the way so far, or at least it narrows the ground, and so facilitates our inquiry. Much depends on the meaning of the expression, a sin unto death. Death may mean either temporal or eternal death; either the death of the soul or that of the body. In the passage before us it seems to mean such a sin as God would chastise with disease and death, though He would not exclude the doer of it from His kingdom. In the case of Moses, we have this paternal chastisement involving death. The most remarkable instance of the kind is in the Corinthian Church (1Co 11:30). Weakness, sickliness, and death were the three forms of chastisement with which the Corinthian Church was visited. These passages show the true meaning of our text. The sin unto death is a sin such as God chastises by the infliction of disease and death. What this sin is we do not know. It was not the same sin in all, but different in each. In the case of the Corinthian Church unworthy communicating was the sin unto death; but what it was in others is not recorded. But then the question would arise, How are we to know when a sin is unto death, and when it is not unto death, so that we may pray in faith? The last clause of the 16th verse answers this question. It admits that there is a sin unto death: which admission is thus put in the 17th verse: All unrighteousness is sin; but all sin is not unto death. But what does the apostle mean by saying, in the end of the 16th verse, I do not say that he shall pray for it? If we cannot know when a sin is unto death, and when not, what is the use of saying, I do not say that he shall pray for it? The word translated pray means also inquire, and is elsewhere translated so (Joh 1:19). (See also Joh 1:21; Joh 1:25; Joh 5:12; Joh 9:2; Joh 19:21) If thus rendered the meaning would be, I say he is to ask no questions about that. That is to say, if he sees a brother sick and ready to die, he is not to say, Has he committed a sin unto death, or has he not? He is just to pray, letting alone all such inquiries, and leaving the matter in the hands of God, who, in answer to prayer, will raise him up, if he have not committed the sin unto death. Let us now come to the lessons of our text.
1. Dont puzzle yourself with hard questions about the particular kind of sins committed. Be satisfied that it is sin, and deal with it as such. It is not the nature or the measure of its punishment that you have to consider, but its own exceeding sinfulness.
2. Be concerned about a brothers welfare.
3. Dont trifle with sin. Count no sin trivial, either in yourself or another. Do not extenuate guilt.
4. Take it at once to God. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
The sin unto death
Noble men and women have gone mad over this sentence. In the shadows of this mystery the gentle spirit of William Cowper wandered many a weary month, wounding itself with bitterest accusations–the noble intellect distraught, like sweet bells jangled out of tune, weaving the phantasies of despair–the burden of its sad song being, There is a sin unto death.
I. There are degrees in sin. Guilt has its gradations. There are sins of ignorance and of deliberation–of weakness and of wickedness: sins which show a lack of goodwill, and others that express intense malignity of will. There are the sins of a Peter, and there are the sins of a Judas.
II. Every one sin tends to others more guilty than itself. It gives the will a wrong bias. It breaks the prestige of virtue. Fact tries to become precedent. Acts become habits. Choice hardens into destiny. Sin becomes master and the sinner a slave.
III. This sad development reaches its climax in the sin unto death. Beyond this it cannot go. What then can it be? It is evidently not any one act or word. It .is a condition, a settled state of heart and mind–a state of opposition to and hatred of good as good, and God as God. The sin unto death is unbelief of heart and mind: rejection of the holy as holy.
IV. This is sin unto death. It hath no forgiveness under law or gospel. Why? How so? Because God will not? No. The way of return to God is closed against no one who does not close it against himself. The unholy cannot be saved.
V. Let us look at our relation to the sin unto death. With regard to ourselves let us not yield to morbid fears, nor sleep in over security. The door is never closed till we close it, and yet all sin tends to the sin unto death. Let us then beware of all sin. (J. M. Gibbon.)
The sin unto death
The leading thought which St. John had in his mind was not the distinction between different kinds of sin, but the efficacy of a Christians prayers. He shows it to be an immediate consequence of our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, that we should offer up our prayers in full confidence that those prayers will be heard, and that they will be answered, provided only that the petition is in accordance with Gods holy will; and then he applies it to the question of intercession one for another; he would have us to remember, that if we have the privilege of coming to Gods mercy seat, we ought not to use the privilege merely on our own behalf, but that we ought to pray for our brethren as well; and we may even pray for the forgiveness of their sins. But does this direction extend to all kinds of sins? Is there no limit to the power of intercession to obtain forgiveness of sin? St. John asserts that there is a limitation; he says that a Christian may obtain forgiveness for his brother by intercession, provided that the sin for which he prays has not been a deadly sin, a sin unto death. And though it may be very difficult to draw an exact line between the two kinds of sin of which the apostle speaks, yet we may sufficiently illustrate his meaning by taking two extreme cases. On the one hand, take the faults and failings which beset the very best amongst Christs disciples; or again, taking the great question of steadfastness in the faith, which in St. Johns day was a question of overwhelming importance to every Christian, one Christian might see his brother sinning a sin not unto death in this respect; then the faults of a weak brother such as this would be, as I conceive, a proper subject for the intercession of his brethren. But take the other extreme, suppose a man who has known what is right to have turned his back upon his convictions and to have wallowed in the filth of sin, or suppose you knew him to have committed any atrocious sin, would you have any reasonable ground to intercede for such a person at the throne of grace, and to expect to obtain forgiveness for him? Or suppose a person not merely to have shown some faltering and weakness concerning the faith, but to have openly and expressly denied the faith (which may have been the case that St. John had chiefly in his mind), then would a Christian have any right to ask for the forgiveness of this sin? It seems to me that in this case the very nature of the sin cuts off all possibility of intercession; for to intercede for pardon would be to plead those merits of Christ the virtue of which the apostate has himself expressly renounced. (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)
The mortal sin
In very deed there is no sin that is not unto death, in a momentous sense of the words, although the inspired penman, when viewing the subject under another aspect, affirms that there is a sin which is not unto death. Alienation from God is the essence of sin; and since God is life, the slightest estrangement from Him is a tendency to death.
1. The sin unto death appears sometimes to be a single deed of extraordinary wickedness. It seems to extinguish conscience at a blast, and to rob the moral sense of all its energy and discernment. It breaks down the barriers which had hitherto restrained the vicious tendencies of nature; and forth they flow in a vast irrepressible torrent. In a moment it produces an impassable gulf between God and the soul. It turns the man into a bravo: it makes him desperate and reckless. He has taken the leap; he has made the plunge; and on he goes, wherever unbridled concupiscence or malignity may urge him, as a horse rusheth into the battle.
2. Still more common is that ruin of the soul which grows out of the long indulgence of comparatively small sins. When people go on sipping sin, although abstaining from a large draught; when, in spite of a reproving conscience, they persist in practices to which the lust of gain, or of pleasure, incites them, not pretending that these practices are altogether right, but only that they are not extremely wrong; when the protest of the inward monitor against this or the other misdeed is put aside with the base apology, But, is it not a little one; it may well be feared that the Holy Ghost, disgusted with such double dealing, will leave the heart a prey to its own deceitfulness.
3. Habitual carelessness in matters of religion is also a sin against the Holy Ghost, which, after a certain continuance, bringeth forth death. If absolute, irretrievable ruin is no rare fruit of careless indolence, in the business of this world, or, I should rather say, is its natural consequence, why should we deem it unlikely that everlasting ruin, in another world, will prove the consequence of having neglected in our lifetime religion and the interests of the soul? To slight the message, and hardly give it a thought, seems to me an outrage even more atrocious than that of rejecting it after examination.
4. Unprofitableness under means of grace, there is reason to suspect, becomes in numerous instances the sin unto death. A dull insensibility steals over the soul that has repeatedly been plied in vain with spiritual incentives, till at length a lethargy possesses it, invincible to human urgency, from which it will not awake till the day of judgment. (J. N. Pearson, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. A sin which is not unto death] This is an extremely difficult passage, and has been variously interpreted. What is the sin not unto death, for which we should ask, and life shall be given to him that commits it? And what is the sin unto death, for which we should not pray?
I shall note three of the chief opinions on this subject: –
1. It is supposed that there is here an allusion to a distinction in the Jewish law, where there was chattaah lemithah, “a sin unto death;” and chattaah lo lemithah, “a sin not unto death;” that is, 1. A sin, or transgression, to which the law had assigned the punishment of death; such as idolatry, incest, blasphemy, breach of the Sabbath, and the like. And 2. A sin not unto death, i.e. transgressions of ignorance, inadvertence, c., and such is, in their own nature, appear to be comparatively light and trivial. That such distinctions did exist in the Jewish synagogue both Schoettgen and Carpzovius have proved.
2. By the sin not unto death, for which intercession might be made, and unto death, for which prayer might not be made, we are to understand transgressions of the civil law of a particular place, some of which must be punished with death, according to the statutes, the crime admitting of no pardon: others might be punished with death, but the magistrate had the power of commuting the punishments, i.e. of changing death into banishment, c., for reasons that might appear to him satisfactory, or at the intercession of powerful friends. To intercede in the former case would be useless, because the law would not relax, therefore they need not pray for it but intercession in the latter case might be prevalent, therefore they might pray and if they did not, the person might suffer the punishment of death. This opinion, which has been advanced by Rosenmuller, intimates that men should feel for each other’s distresses, and use their influence in behalf of the wretched, nor ever abandon the unfortunate but where the case is utterly hopeless.
3. The sin unto death means a case of transgression, particularly of grievous backsliding from the life and power of godliness, which God determines to punish with temporal death, while at the same time he extends mercy to the penitent soul. The disobedient prophet, 1Kgs 13:1-32, is, on this interpretation, a case in point: many others occur in the history of the Church, and of every religious community. The sin not unto death is any sin which God does not choose thus to punish. This view of the subject is that taken by the late Rev. J. Wesley, in a sermon entitled, A Call to Backsliders.-WORKS, vol ii. page 239.
I do not think the passage has any thing to do with what is termed the sin against the Holy Ghost; much less with the popish doctrine of purgatory; nor with sins committed before and after baptism, the former pardonable, the latter unpardonable, according to some of the fathers. Either of the last opinions (viz., 2 and 3) make a good sense; and the first (1) is not unlikely: the apostle may allude to some maxim or custom in the Jewish Church which is not now distinctly known. However, this we know, that any penitent may find mercy through Christ Jesus; for through him every kind of sin may be forgiven to man, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; which I have proved no man can now commit. See the note on Mat 12:31; Mat 12:39.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death; viz. that appears not obstinate and incurable;
he shall ask, i.e. with confidence, as 1Jo 5:14. But
there is a sin unto death, i.e. which doth not barely deserve death, as all sin doth, nor which argues a person to be probably in a present state of death or unregeneracy, which the sinful ways may do of many that never made profession; but of such as have apostatized from a former specious profession into heresy and debauchery, and continue obstinate therein, against all methods of recovery; that are, as Jud 1:12, even twice dead, & c.
I do not say that he shall pray for it; i.e. I do not give that encouragement to pray for such, with that hope and expectation of success, as for others; though he doth not simply forbid praying for them neither.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. If any . . . seeon anyparticular occasion; Greek aorist.
his brothera fellowChristian.
sin a sinin the act ofsinning, and continuing in the sin: present.
not unto deathprovidedthat it is not unto death.
he shall giveThe askershall be the means, by his intercessory prayer, of God givinglife to the sinning brother. Kindly reproof ought to accompany hisintercessions. Life was in process of being forfeited by thesinning brother when the believer’s intercession obtained itsrestoration.
for themresuming theproviso put forth in the beginning of the verse. “Provided thatthe sin is not unto death.” “Shall give life,” I say,to, that is, obtain life “for (in the case of)them that sin not unto death.”
I do not say that he shallpray for itThe Greek for “pray” means aREQUEST as of one on anequality, or at least on terms of familiarity, with him from whom thefavor is sought. “The Christian intercessor for his brethren,John declares, shall not assume the authority which would be impliedin making request for a sinner who has sinned the sin unto death(1Sa 15:35; 1Sa 16:1;Mar 3:29), that it might beforgiven him” [TRENCH,Greek Synonyms of the New Testament]. Compare De3:26. Greek “ask” implies the humble petition ofan inferior; so that our Lord never uses it, but always uses (Greek)”request.” Martha, from ignorance, once uses “ask”in His case (Joh 11:22).”Asking” for a brother sinning not unto death, is a humblepetition in consonance with God’s will. To “request” for asin unto death [intercede, as it were, authoritatively for it,as though we were more merciful than God] would savor of presumption;prescribing to God in a matter which lies out of the bounds of ourbrotherly yearning (because one sinning unto death would thereby bedemonstrated not to be, nor ever to have been, truly a brother, 1Jo2:19), how He shall inflict and withhold His righteous judgments.Jesus Himself intercedes, not for the world which hardens itself inunbelief, but for those given to Him out of the world.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If anyone see his brother sin,…. Those who have such an interest at the throne of grace, and such boldness and freedom there, should make use of it for others, as well as themselves, and particularly for fallen believers; for a “brother”; not in a natural or civil sense, but in a spiritual sense, one that is judged to be born again, and belongs to the family and household of God, and is a member of a Gospel church; and so is under the watch, inspection, and care of the saints; and is observed to sin, as the best of men are not without it, nor the commission of it, in thought, word, or deed: and this sin of his is
a sin [which is] not unto death; every sin, even the least sin, is in its own nature mortal, or deserving of death; the proper wages of sin is death, yea, death eternal; yet none of the sins of God’s elect are unto death, or issue in death, in fact; which is owing not to any different nature there is in their sins, or to their good works which counterbalance them; but to the grace of God, and to the blood and righteousness of Christ, by which they are pardoned and justified, and freed from obligation to punishment, or eternal death, the just demerits of them: but how should another man know that a brother’s sin is not unto death, when it is of the same nature and kind with another man’s? it is known by this, that he does not continue in it; he does not live in the constant commission of it; his life is not a course of iniquity; that sin he sins is not a governing one in him; though he falls into it, he rises up out of it through divine grace, and abides not in it; and he has a sense of it, and is sorry for it, after a godly sort, loaths it, and himself for it; is ashamed of it, ingenuously confesses it, and mourns over it and forsakes it: now when any strong believer or spiritual man sees or knows that a brother has sinned, and this is his case,
he shall ask; he shall pray to God for him, that he would administer comfort to him, discover his love, and apply his pardoning grace to him, and indulge him with his presence and the light of his countenance:
and he shall give him life; that is, God shall give the sinning brother life; by which may be meant comfort, that which will revive his drooping spirits, and cause him to live cheerfully and comfortably, that so he may not be swallowed up with over much sorrow; or he shall grant a discovery of the pardon of his sin unto him, which will be as life from the dead, and will give him a comfortable hope of eternal life, of his right unto it, and meetness for it:
for them, or “to them”
that sin not unto death, as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it; for this phrase is only descriptive of the persons to whom life is given by God, upon the prayers of saints for them, and not that this life is given to him that prays, and by him to be given to the sinning person. The Vulgate Latin version renders the whole thus, “and life shall be given to him that sins not unto death”; which leaves the words without any difficulty: the Ethiopic version indeed renders it, “and he that prays shall quicken him that sins [a sin] not unto death”; and this sense some interpreters incline to, and would have with this text compared 1Ti 4:16.
There is a sin unto death; which is not only deserving of death, as every other sin is, but which certainly and inevitably issues in death in all that commit it, without exception; and that is the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is neither forgiven in this world nor in that to come, and therefore must be unto death; it is a sinning wilfully, not in a practical, but doctrinal way, after a man has received the knowledge of the truth; it is a wilful denial of the truth of the Gospel, particularly that peace, pardon, righteousness, eternal life, and salvation, are by Jesus Christ, contrary to the light of his mind, and this joined with malice and obstinacy; so that there is no more or other sacrifice for such a sin; there is nothing but a fearful looking for of wrath and fury to fall on such opposers of the way of life; and as the presumptuous sinners under Moses’s law died without mercy, so must these despiteful ones under the Gospel; see Mt 12:31. Some think there is an allusion to one of the kinds of excommunication among the Jews, called “shammatha”, the etymology of which, according to some Jewish writers, is , “there is death” t.
I do not say that he shall pray for it; the apostle does not expressly forbid to pray for the forgiveness of this sin, yet what he says amounts unto it; he gives no encouragement to it, or any hopes of succeeding, but rather the reverse; and indeed where this sin is known, or can be known, it is not to be prayed for, because it is irremissible; but as it is a most difficult point to know when a man has sinned it, the apostle expresses himself with great caution.
t T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 17. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If any man see ( ). Third-class condition with and second aorist active subjunctive of ().
Sinning a sin ( ). Present active predicate (supplementary) participle agreeing with and with cognate accusative .
Not unto death ( ). Repeated again with and in contrast with (sin unto death). Most sins are not mortal sins, but clearly John conceives of a sin that is deadly enough to be called “unto death.” This distinction is common in the rabbinic writings and in Nu 18:22 the LXX has “to incur a death-bearing sin” as many crimes then and now bear the death penalty. There is a distinction in Heb 10:26 between sinning wilfully after full knowledge and sins of ignorance (Heb 5:2). Jesus spoke of the unpardonable sin (Mark 3:29; Matt 12:32; Luke 12:10), which was attributing to the devil the manifest work of the Holy Spirit. It is possible that John has this idea in mind when he applies it to those who reject Jesus Christ as God’s Son and set themselves up as antichrists.
Concerning this ( ). This sin unto death.
That he should make request ( ). Sub-final use of with the first aorist active subjunctive of , used here as in John 17:15; John 17:20 (and often) for request rather than for question. John does not forbid praying for such cases; he simply does not command prayer for them. He leaves them to God.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
If any man see [ ] . A supposed case.
His brother. Christian brother.
Sin a sin [ ] . Lit., as Rev., sinning a sin. There is no exact parallel to the phrase in the New Testament. Compare the promise which He promised, 1Jo 2:25.
Not unto death [ ] . Describing the nature of the sin. The preposition unto, signifies tendency toward, not necessarily involving death. See on ver. 17.
He shall ask [] . In prayer. The future tense expresses not merely permission (it shall be permitted him to ask), but the certainty that, as a Christian brother, he will ask. An injunction to that effect is implied. He shall give. He may refer either to God or to the petitioner, as being the means of bestowing life through his intercession, as in Jas 5:20. The former explanation is the more natural. So Rev.
Him [] . The brother for whom intercession is made.
For them that sin [ ] . In apposition with aujtw to him. God shall give life unto him (the erring brother), even unto them that sin. The plural generalizes the particular ease described by aJmartanonta aJmartian sinning a sin.
There is a sin [ ] . Rev., margin, better, sin. A sin would express a specific act as such. Sin describes the character of a class of acts. Unto death. The difficulty of the passage lies in the explanation of these words. It is impossible to determine their exact meaning with certainty. Some of the many explanations are as follows : Such sin as God punishes with deadly sickness or sudden death. All those sins punished with excommunication (so the older Catholic theologians). An unrepented sin. Envy. A sinful state or condition. The sin by which the Christian falls back from Christian life into death. The anti – Christian denial that Jesus is the Christ.
The phrase labein aJmartian qanhtoforon to incur a death – bearing sin (A. 5, bear sin and die), occurs Num 18:22, Sept., and the distinction between sins unto death and sins not unto death is common in Rabbinic writings. However John’s expression may have been suggested by these, it cannot be assumed that they determine the sense in which he uses it. Life and death in the passage must correspond. Bodily death and spiritual life cannot be meant. The passage must be interpreted in the light of John’s utterances elsewhere concerning life and death. In ver. 12, he says : He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. In 1Jo 3:14, 15, he says that he that loveth not abideth in death : that he that hateth his brother is a manslayer, and that no manslayer hath eternal life abiding in him. These canons of interpretation point to the explanation, in which some of the best authorities agree, that the sin unto death does not refer to a specific act, but to a class or species of sins, the tendency of which is to cut the bond of fellowship with Christ. Hence the passage is in the key – note of fellowship which pervades the Epistle. Whatever breaks the fellowship between the soul and Christ, and, by consequence, between the individual and the body of believers, is unto death, for there is no life apart from Christ. It is indeed true that this tendency inheres in all sin. Sin is essentially death. But a distinction is to be made, as Canon Westcott observes, between sins which flow from human imperfection and infirmity, and sins which are open manifestations of a character alien from God. “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.” It must be carefully born in mind in the study of the passage, that John is speaking of sinful acts as revelations of character, and not simply in themselves. So Huther : “Such sinning as is characterized, not by the object with which it is connected, but by the disposition from which it proceeds.” 68 I do not say that he shall pray for it [ ] . Lit., not concerning this do I say that he should make request. So Rev. Prayer even for this sin unto death is not forbidden, but John says that he does not enjoin it. Note the sharp distinctness with which that terrible sin is thrown out by the pronoun of remote reference and its emphatic position in the sentence. Note also the words make request [] , and compare aijtnsei he shall ask. On the distinction, see on Luk 11:9. Aijtew to ask, is used of the petition of an inferior, and is never used of Christ ‘s own requests to God. Hence it is properly used here of the humble and affectionate petition of a Christian to God on behalf of a sinning brother. Erwtaw is used of the request of an equal, or of one who asks on equal terms. Hence it may mark a request based upon fellowship with God through Christ, or it may hint at an element of presumption in a prayer for a sin unto death. Westcott cites a very early inscription in the Roman Catacombs as an illustration of the use of ejrwtan in the sense of Christian prayer for Christians : ejrwta uJper hJmwn pray for us.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “If any man see his brother.” “Should anyone see or observe his brother”. Believers are to let their lights shine, “Walk circumspectly,” realizing that others are looking on. Mat 5:15-16; Eph 5:16-17.
2) “Sin a sin which is not unto death.” (Greek harmartanonta hamartian) sinning a (kind of) sin -(Greek me pros thanaton) not bringing him face to face with death – a sin not of mortal kind, capital punishment kind. Divinely sanctioned civil government has always sanctioned civil judgment for capital moral wrongs.
3) “He shall ask, and he shall give him life.” Both limited mercy and judgment are mingled and shown in society for sins that are not of death-bearing-nature. Cities of refuge were provided for one who killed another by accident or without malice aforethought. At the horns of the altars and in those cities, compassion and mercy were found. Num 35:25-27.
4) “For them that sin not unto death.” Let us by Divine admonition pray for restoration of an erring brother unless we know such a request would not be in the will and according to the Word of God. Gal 6:1; Heb 6:18; While God may send affliction for sins of the flesh, He will also give or extend life when such sins are confessed – as Hezekiah and Jonah-did. 2Ki 20:1-5; Jon 1:1 to Jon 2:10.
5) “There is a sin unto death.” There exists, John asserted, a kind of sin, (hamartia) (Greek pros) “face to face” with death. The Mosaic Law specified the kind of sins, specific sins, that required one’s forfeiting life for such acts, Each of the Ten Commandments carried the irrevocable penalty previously sanctioned. Gen 9:6.
6) I do not say that he shall pray for it.” For this kind of sin John did not command the born ones of God to pray. John did not forbid prayer for the person, but did not ask that prayers be made for lives of capital punishment nature sinning ones to be spared. The Lord forbade Jeremiah to pray for such. Jer 7:16; Jer 11:14. Some have considered this sin to be the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, but it is not “seen” in a brother and perhaps none can know when a sinner commits it. Mat 12:32.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16 If any man The Apostle extends still further the benefits of that faith which he has mentioned, so that our prayers may also avail for our brethren. It is a great thing, that as soon as we are oppressed, God kindly invites us to himself, and is ready to give us help; but that he hears us asking for others, is no small confirmation to our faith in order that we may be fully assured that we shall never meet with a repulse in our own case.
The Apostle in the meantime exhorts us to be mutually solicitous for the salvation of one another; and he would also have us to regard the falls of the brethren as stimulants to prayer. And surely it is an iron hardness to be touched with no pity, when we see souls redeemed by Christ’s blood going to ruin. But he shews that there is at hand a remedy, by which brethren can aid brethren. He who will pray for the perishing, will, he says, restore life to him; though the words, “he shall give,” may be applied to God, as though it was said, God will grant to your prayers the life of a brother. But the sense will still be the same, that the prayers of the faithful so far avail as to rescue a brother from death. If we understand man to be intended, that he will give life to a brother, it is a hyperbolical expression; it however contains nothing inconsistent; for what is given to us by the gratuitous goodness of God, yea, what is granted to others for our sake, we are said to give to others. So great a benefit ought to stimulate us not a little to ask for our brethren the forgiveness of sins. And when the Apostle recommends sympathy to us, he at the same time reminds us how much we ought to avoid the cruelty of condemning our brethren, or an extreme rigor in despairing of their salvation.
A sin which is not unto death That we may not cast away all hope of the salvation of those who sin, he shews that God does not so grievously punish their falls as to repudiate them. It hence follows that we ought to deem them brethren, since God retains them in the number of his children. For he denies that sins are to death, not only those by which the saints daily offend, but even when it happens that God’s wrath is grievously provoked by them. For as long as room for pardon is left, death does not wholly retain its dominion.
The Apostle, however, does not here distinguish between venial and mortal sin, as it was afterwards commonly done. For altogether foolish is that distinction which prevails under the Papacy. The Sorbons acknowledge that there is hardly a mortal sin, except there be the grossest baseness, such as may be, as it were, tangible. Thus in venial sins they think that there may be the greatest filth, if hidden in the soul. In short, they suppose that all the fruits of original sin, provided they appear not outwardly, are washed away by the slight sprinkling of holy water! And what wonder is it, since they regard not as blasphemous sins, doubts respecting God’s grace, or any lusts or evil desires, except they are consented to? If the soul of man be assailed by unbelief, if impatience tempts him to rage against God, whatever monstrous lusts may allure him, all these are to the Papists lighter than to be deemed sins, at least after baptism. It is then no wonder, that they make venial offenses of the greatest crimes; for they weigh them in their own balance and not in the balance of God.
But among the faithful this ought to be an indubitable truth, that whatever is contrary to God’s law is sin, and in its nature mortal; for where there is a transgression of the law, there is sin and death.
What, then, is the meaning of the Apostle? He denies that sins are mortal, which, though worthy of death, are yet not thus punished by God. He therefore does not estimate sins in themselves, but forms a judgment of them according to the paternal kindness of God, which pardons the guilt, where yet the fault is. In short, God does not give over to death those whom he has restored to life, though it depends not on them that they are not alienated from life.
There is a sin unto death I have already said that the sin to which there is no hope of pardon left, is thus called. But it may be asked, what this is; for it must be very atrocious, when God thus so severely punishes it. It may be gathered from the context, that it is not, as they say, a partial fall, or a transgression of a single commandment, but apostasy, by which men wholly alienate themselves from God. For the Apostle afterwards adds, that the children of God do not sin, that is, that they do not forsake God, and wholly surrender themselves to Satan, to be his slaves. Such a defection, it is no wonder that it is mortal; for God never thus deprives his own people of the grace of the Spirit; but they ever retain some spark of true religion. They must then be reprobate and given up to destruction, who thus fall away so as to have no fear of God.
Were any one to ask, whether the door of salvation is closed against their repentance; the answer is obvious, that as they are given up to a reprobate mind, and are destitute of the Holy Spirit, they cannot do anything else, than with obstinate minds, become worse and worse, and add sins to sins. Moreover, as the sin and blasphemy against the Spirit ever brings with it a defection of this kind, there is no doubt but that it is here pointed out.
But it may be asked again, by what evidences can we know that a man’s fall is fatal; for except the knowledge of this was certain, in vain would the Apostle have made this exception, that they were not to pray for a sin of this kind. It is then right to determine sometimes, whether the fallen is without hope, or whether there is still a place for a remedy. This, indeed, is what I allow, and what is evident beyond dispute from this passage; but as this very seldom happens, and as God sets before us the infinite riches of his grace, and bids us to be merciful according to his own example, we ought not rashly to conclude that any one has brought on himself the judgment of eternal death; on the contrary, love should dispose us to hope well. But if the impiety of some appear to us not otherwise than hopeless, as though the Lord pointed it out by the finger, we ought not to contend with the just judgment of God, or seek to be more merciful than he is.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
16. If A specific example of a prayer heard, with its possibility of apparent failure. Yet it is not only a specific instance, but it lies within the category of life, illustrating how the life may be conservative of life.
Sin not unto death And so the prayer accords with the divine will, 1Jn 5:14, as it would not in the case of a sin unto death.
But the much mooted question here encounters us, What is this sin unto death? The phrase was familiar to the Jews. Upon Num 18:22 the rabbies based a distinction of sins unto death and not unto death. But when the phrase is transferred to the New Testament it does not necessarily retain precisely the same import. Whitby assumes that the case supposed is that of a sick brother, smitten with a penal disease. The prayer of the faithful can raise him, unless the sin has been an irrevocably mortal one. To this Huther objects that the death must be the antithesis to the eternal life of this entire chapter, and therefore cannot be a bodily but an eternal death. To this objection it seems a fair reply to say, that death by divine penalty is truly a part of, and truly is, eternal death. The true refutation of Whitby, we think, is: 1. That the brother is not seen suffering the penalty of the sin, but actually committing it, or sinning a sin, as the Greek literally Isaiah , , 2. We can hardly imagine that so important a part of the condition of the brother as sickness would be left unmentioned: Huther (followed by Alford) maintains, that the sin unto death is such an apostasy that the brother passes from the condition of life eternal to that of the eternal death, which is its opposite, on earth. It would then seem to follow, that if we see one once a Christian actually denying Christ’s mission, he is not to be prayed for.
But before giving our own conclusion let us raise the query: Does our apostle assume that it is really known whether the sin of the brother is a sin unto death? We think clearly not. For John goes on to reaffirm, as a thing they need to fully learn, that there is such a distinction as unto death, and not. And he gives it as an explanation why in the case the prayer is not (according to 1Jn 5:15) granted; namely, because (according to 1Jn 5:14) it was not according to his will. We, therefore, hold that the sin unto death is the “unpardonable sin,” the sin against the Holy Ghost of Mat 12:31-32, where see our notes. He shall, if he pleases, ask; it shall be his divine privilege.
And he shall give him life Grammatically this he, like the former, means the praying man, who gives by the power of prayer. But let him not charge God with unfaithfulness if the prayer fail of fulfilment, and the sinning brother prove hard and obdurate. His was then a sin unto death; and life for him was not according to his will, 1Jn 5:14.
There is A deliberate reaffirmation of the actuality of such a sin. It is reaffirmed both as a most solemn fact and as a solution of ungranted prayer. Huther correctly says that I do not say is no absolute prohibition. It is only a declining to advise prayer if the deadly nature were known. Let him leave that to God, pray in hope, but be not disappointed, or discontented with God, if it prove the unpardonable sin.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
They Are To Be watchful For One Another And continue Instant In Prayer For One Another ( 1Jn 5:16-17 ).
‘If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who do not sin unto death. There is a sin unto death. Not concerning this do I say that he should make request. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.’
As John had made clear at the beginning he knew that Christians would still continue to sin. Indeed he insisted that all Christians recognise that this failing in them would continue (1Jn 1:8-10). But they were not ‘sins unto death’, for they could come to Him in the light and be cleansed (1Jn 1:7). Thus, he says, we should be observant for our brother’s failings as well as our own. Not in order to gloat, or to be self-satisfied, but in order to pray for their restoration. We may see a fellow-Christian burdened down by sin, entrapped by it, finding release difficult. For such a brother we are to pray to God, and God will grant us his restoration. His promise is that He will accordingly restore such. God will give him life for those who do not ‘sin unto death’, rather than the death that without Christ they would have deserved.
What John is stressing here is our repsonsibility to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially in the church of which we are members. The early church had a deep sense of their responsibility for one another.
In a sense, of course, all sin is ‘unto death’. ‘The soul that sins will die.’ But for such there is forgiveness available in Christ. However there is a ‘sin unto death’ for which there is no forgiveness because those involved have so hardened their hearts that they are permanently closed to Christ. They refuse to believe. They see what should convince of them of the truth and still refuse to believe. They invent false arguments in order to avoid believing. Finally such becomes an attitude of heart that nothing can change. Their arguments have solidified in their hearts so that they cannot change. They have put themselves beyond repentance. They have ‘sinned unto death.’
John is here concerned that we direct our prayers wisely. Our brothers and sisters who are in fellowship need our prayers, and our prayers will be effective for them because their ears are open to God’s voice. But there are those who have hardened themslves and for whom our prayers will probably not be effective. In the end we cannot carry the whole weight of the world on our shoulders.
Consider for example,
1) The Pharisees who accosted Jesus who were in danger of committing it (Mar 3:28-30). They saw incontrovertible evidence of Whom Jesus was. But they continually closed their minds to it and shielded their minds by inventing false evidence. One day their minds would be closed to any reasoning. Then they would have no hope.
2) The false prophets and false brothers, were in danger of committing it. The writer to the Hebrews warned of the danger for those who had outwardly professed to be Christians over a long period but who had refused to let Christ truly work in their hearts. They still had chance to repent even though they had become ‘Gospel hardened’. But if they were so hard that they could turn away from Christ to another religion, thus declaring Him an impostor, they would have finally rendered themselves incapable of true repentance (Heb 6:4-8; Heb 10:29).
3) Peter describes those who who have seen something of the truth of Christ, and, impressed by the morality of the Christian church in contrast with paganism, have begun to build up a ‘true knowledge’ (epignosis) of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (it took some time for pure polytheistic pagans to begin fully to appreciate Christian truth), only to turn away to the defilements of false religion (2Pe 2:20-22). These too were in danger of committing it.
All these are those who have deliberately and persistently closed their minds to what in their hearts they knew to be true. The idea is that there is no binding commitment on Christians to pray for such (as there is for those who are ‘in the faith’). They have taken themselves beyond the reach of mercy. They are, as it were, outside the sphere of those for whom we should be constantly praying because they have demonstrated that they are not our brothers and sisters in Christ. Prayer for them is not forbidden, only not required, for they are not true brothers, while prayer for true brothers is required.
It should be noted that we have said ‘in danger of’. We can never ourselves know whather a person has passed the point of no return. And some may feel that they should pray for such, especially if they are well known to them. But John is looking at our basic responsibilty of prayer for all true believers, and at who should enjoy the main burden of our prayers. He is not, however, forbidding prayer for them.
In the end, of course, all unrighteousness is sin, and thus Christians still sin, and we must bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ (Gal 6:2). But there the sin is not ‘unto death’, because while the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), their sins have been borne by Another (2Co 5:21). It is only the sin unto death that puts a person outside the necessity for our prayers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The obligations of divine sonship:
v. 16. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for it.
v. 17. All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death.
v. 18. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that “Wicked One toucheth him not.
v. 19. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
v. 20. And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal Life.
v. 21. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. Having given the assurance that every true prayer of a Christian is heard by God, the apostle now specifies one form of prayer, that of intercession: If anyone see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall pray, and to him will be given life, to them that do not sin unto death; there is a sin to death, I do not say that he should pray concerning that. Our brethren are always in need of our most earnest intercession, but what they need most of all is that they be kept from sin. And should one of them fall into sin, transgressing some command of the Lord in such a way as to fall from grace, as to lose his hold on Christ for the time being, then we should not turn from him in disgust and self-righteousness, but earnestly admonish him and also pray with all fervor that God may turn him back from the error of his way. If we thus follow the will of God, we, on our part, will do our share in giving back to such fallen brethren or sisters that life which had for the time being slipped out of their grasp. Only one sin there is where prayer is futile and foolish, namely, the sin of willful rejection of the accepted truth of salvation, the sin against the Holy Ghost. This sin will only very seldom be identified with certainty, but when this is the case, intercession may as well cease, for this sin, by its peculiar nature, precludes forgiveness. See Mat 12:31; Mar 3:29; Luk 12:10; Heb 6:4-6.
At the same time we should remember: All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not unto death. Whenever our life does not measure up to the holy will of God, whenever we transgress His commandments, no matter whether the trespass seem ever so slight and insignificant in the eyes of men, yet such unrighteousness is sin. The apostle therefore sounds this warning: Resist the beginnings. Even the smallest failing must not be taken lightly, lest the habit of sinning grow on us and we finally become guilty of that one terrible blasphemy which is unto death, eternal death and damnation. Through the grace and power of God let us make the time between transgressions longer and longer, and let us arise from every fall with a firm trust in His mercy.
Lest we brood over our sins without aim, the apostle writes: We know that every one that is born of God does not sin; but he that has been born of God observes Him, and the Evil One does not touch him. See chap. 3:9. So far as our new spiritual nature is concerned which we have received by virtue of our regeneration, we Christians do not sin; we do not, according to the new man, commit any sin, we do not serve sin. Instead of that, all true children of God keep a watchful eye on Him, they observe His holy will very carefully. This attitude is the best form of defense against the attacks of the devil, who finds it impossible to make a successful attack under such circumstances. Even if he does succeed in placing a poisoned arrow and causing a Christian to fall, the latter will arise with undaunted spirit and hurry back to the true fellowship with God.
In addition to the security which we enjoy through the guardianship of Christ we have that of God’s embrace and fellowship: We know that we are of God, and the entire world is lying in evil. We Christians are of God, born of God, regenerated through His power in the Gospel. We are God’s dear children and mean to keep this relation toward Him, though the entire world, the great mass of unbelievers and enemies of God, is lying in wickedness and sin, is full of enmity toward God. We are secure under the protecting power of God as a child is in its mother’s arms.
And a final assurance and guarantee is ours: But we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding that we may get to know the True One; and we are in the True One, in His Son, Jesus Christ. If a thousand doubts should assail us with regard to our salvation, the certainty of our entering into the joy everlasting with our Savior, this knowledge will sustain us. The eternal Son of God was made flesh, and His incarnation is not only an overwhelming demonstration of God’s interest in us and His concern for our soul’s salvation, but He has also wrought in us the understanding of faith. Through His merciful power we know the true God as the God of all grace. The fellowship in which we stand with God and with Jesus Christ, His Son, is not a matter of our imagination, but it is a certainty which no man nor any other enemy can take from us. We are not trusting in a mere man, whose most serious attempt at gaining salvation for the world would have resulted in miserable failure, but: This Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal Life. He, our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, true man, is at the same time true God with the Father; and He is Himself eternal Life, the Life which came into this world to bring the world life and in whom we have perfect, glorious, unending life.
With a final affectionate appeal the apostle closes his letter: Little children, guard yourselves from the idols. His readers, with many of whom he was connected by the bonds of the closest affection, knew Jesus, Christ as the true God, as the one Savior in whom they were sure of eternal life. To Him, therefore, they should cleave, and not accept the anti-Christian substitutes which the false teachers were trying to introduce. While they should watch for dangers from without, they should be just as assiduously on their guard for perils from false brethren. It was not a matter to be taken lightly, since it involved their soul’s salvation. Thus we also, in these last hours of the world, must be vigilant and sober to reject all anti-Christian errors and to keep ourselves unspotted for the glorious revelation of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Summary. The apostle discusses the power, the testimony, and the substance of faith, and concludes with a summary showing the certainty of the Christian’s trust, the obligation, of his sonship, and the deity of Jesus Christ, his Savior.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
1Jn 5:16-17. In the apostolic age, the power of working miracles was very common; and in this conclusion of his epistle St. John gives directions to the Christians, to whom that power was granted. They could not indeed work a miracle till they had an impulse of the Spirit to suggest to them that God would hear their prayer, and at their request miraculously cure the diseased. And St. John seems here to order them to wait for the impulse of the Spirit, before they attempted to work a miracle. Such Christian professors as experienced and lived the Christian life, were in no danger of falling under any remarkable divine judgment; but from 1Co 11:30. Jam 5:14; Jam 5:20 and this place, it appears, that some professed Christians behaved irregularly, and thereby drew down upon themselves some diseases, as judgments from God. Some were punished with diseases that ended in temporal death; others, whose offences were not so aggravated, and who truly repented, were to be miraculously cured, and their diseases not to end in death. In such cases, the Christians who had the power of working miracles, had a divine impulse to direct them to pray for their offending Christian brother; and when they so prayed, according to the will of God suggested to them in that manner, God, at their request, granted life unto their Christian brother, who had sinned a sin not unto death. After this, St. John takes notice of the advantages which Christians had above the rest of the world; and concludeswith cautioning them against falling into any act of idolatry, to which their heathen neighbours, who were then very numerous, would be likely enough to tempt them; and perhaps that is mentioned in this place, as having been one of the sins which had drawn down remarkable diseases upon some of the offending Christians. See ch. 1Jn 3:22 and on Jam 5:15; Jam 5:20.
If any man see his brother sin, &c. “If a Christian, by an impulse of the Spirit, perceives that any Christian brother has sinned such a sin as to draw down upon himself a disease which is not to end in death, but to be miraculously cured by him; then let him pray to God through Jesus Christ, and God, in answer to his prayer, will grant life and perfect health unto such Christian as hath sinned a sin which is not unto death. There is a sin which draws down a disease upon Christians, that is to end in death; I do not say or mean that any Christian shall pray for that; because in such a case God would not hear his prayer, nor miraculously cure his Christian brother at his request.” Some by a sin unto death understand apostacy from the Christian religion.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Jn 5:16 . The apostle applies the general thought expressed in 1Jn 5:15 to a particular case, namely, to a prayer for one’s brother when one sees him committing sin.
] By with the subjunctive the possibility is simply stated. By we are to understand, according to the usus loquendi of the Epistle, not the neighbour in general (Calovius), but the Christian brother ( ), not exactly the “regenerate” (Dsterdieck); Ebrard erroneously: “first of all members of the Christian Church, yet without excluding those who are not Christians.”
] The phrase is stronger and more expressive than .
The sort of is more particularly defined by the addition . The negative (instead of which is used in 1Jn 5:17 ) is explained by the fact that the idea is regarded as dependent on (comp. Winer, p. 421). The apostle distinguishes between the and the . What sin is to be understood by the latter? The idea , LXX.: , is found already in the O. T. Num 18:22 , whence the Rabbis distinguish between and (Schoettgen, Hor. hebr.); in accordance with this, as Schoettgen also interprets, the would be that sin to which the Mosaic law assigned the punishment of death, as idolatry, adultery, etc.; but even if that Old Testament definition is the basis of John’s expression, yet it does not follow that he used the idea in the same sense; may here, as distinguished from ( ), not mean bodily death. For this reason alone, therefore, the explanation of Morus and S. G. Lange is to be rejected, according to which that sort of sin is meant which is punished by the authorities with death or with other severe punishments (!), even apart from the fact that it makes the prayer of the Christian dependent on the penal decrees of civil law. But the opinion of Zachariae, Michaelis, and Linder (in the Zeitschrift fr d. luth. Theol. of Rudelbach and Guericke, vol. IV. 1862), that here, as in Jas 5:14 ff., it is those who are in bodily sickness that are spoken of, and that such sin is meant as God punishes with deadly sickness or sudden death, is for the same reason unfounded. [319]
If is not bodily death, then by the period to which the sin lasts cannot either be meant.
With reference to the ecclesiastical discipline exercised in the Church, the older Catholic theologians especially understood by the . . ., without further comment, all those sins which were punished by the punishment of excommunication. But even if the Church had always punished in that way the sin which John here has in view, yet that expression could not be explained by that practice.
As is not bodily death, it is only spiritual death or damnation that can be meant by it; . is therefore the sin which leads to damnation. But what sin is this? It is much too general to regard every grievous transgression as such. As Christ Himself refuses forgiveness absolutely only to one sin, the commentators who assent to the above view find themselves driven to an arbitrary weakening of ; so Ambrosius ( lib. de poenit. ), when he says: quodvis peccatum gravissimum, quod vix remittitur; and still more strangely a Lapide: peccatum quodvis gravissimum, quod juxta legem communem per gratiam, quam Deus ordinarie dare solet, est quasi immedicabile, incorrigibile et insanabile. It is more correct, indeed, to regard it as sin which is not repented of, and to find the characteristic of the . . . in the impenitence of the sinner who will give heed to no exhortation (Grotius, Socinus, etc.); but even this cannot be the feature which John here has specially in view, because at the time of the commitment of a sin it cannot be decided whether it will be repented of or not. John must mean a , which in itself is characterized as a . Many commentators accordingly fix the meaning of it on a single particular sin; thus Tertullian, who understands by it, moechia post baptismum commissa; Bede, who, following the precedent of Augustine, [320] understands by it the peccatum invidentiae, quo quis invidet fratri gratiam, virtutem et salutem; but then we do not see why John did not specifically and definitely mention this particular sin. We might therefore agree with those who take here as the description of a state , as Bengel, who thus interprets: talis status , in quo fides et amor et spes, in summa, vita nova exstincta est; but this is opposed by the apostle’s mode of expression, which plainly refers to a sinful deed , and not to a state. Though, on the one hand, a single sin cannot be meant (Calvin: non est partialis lapsus, nec praecepti unius transgressio), yet we must only think of a whole species of sins, or better, of such sinning as is characterized not by the object with which it is connected, but by the disposition from which it proceeds. For the further definition it is to be observed, as Lcke with justice points out, that it can “only be a class of sins of Christians , and not of those who are not Christians,” that is spoken of, and that “the distinction between the sin unto death and sin that is not unto death must be capable of being known.” It is true, every sin can be called a , inasmuch as it tends in the direction of , but every sin does not infallibly lead to ; so long as along with the there still exists an (1Jn 5:11-12 ), the sinning Christian is still in fellowship with the which cleanses him (chap. 1Jn 1:7 ), and so long as he has a , namely, Jesus Christ the righteous (chap, 1Jn 2:1 ), sin does not deprive him of the , and is not therefore ; this it only is when it involves an actual falling away from Christ; de Wette and Lcke therefore rightly say that the sin unto death is the sin by which the Christian falls back again from the Christian’s into the (comp. also Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 340), only it is not exactly the falling away itself that is to be understood, for this is an internal act which, as such, is invisible, [321] but rather the sinful conduct by which the internal loss of life with Christ externally operates and reveals itself (so also Braune). [322] It is incorrect of Dsterdieck (and similarly Ebrard) to understand by the sin unto death the antichristian denial that Jesus is the Christ; for if John had meant this, he would have expressed it definitely, so much the more as in the Epistle he is carrying on a polemic against that antichristianity. Just as little has Myrberg arrived at the correct explanation when on he remarks: varia genera peccatorum, quae mortem in sensu loci nostri adferant, vide enumerata, Gal 5:18-21 ; for although Paul says: , yet it does not follow from this that no return is possible from such sins.
In the face of the apostle’s words the possibility of knowing the . cannot be denied, yet it is difficult to distinguish amongst the particular concrete manifestations; but, on the one hand, the Christian mind which is fitted for the will not decide without scrupulous examination; and, on the other hand, John himself shows by the that the decision can at any time be only a subjective one. The meaning of the sentence accordingly is: If any man see his brother sin in such a way that the sin which he commits does not involve absolute renunciation of Christ, and therefore does not necessarily bring condemnation with it, he shall pray for him. [323]
is not to be understood of the united prayer of the Church as such (so Neander; Ewald also says: “Christian prayer, especially in the consecrated bosom of the Church”), but of every prayer of one for another. The future is not exactly used instead of the imperative; it rather expresses the certainty that, in the case stated, the Christian will pray, but in this there is certainly involved the injunction actually to do it. The substance of the prayer is indicated by the following.
] denotes the result of the prayer; very many, perhaps most commentators (Socinus, a Lapide, Lorinus, Grotius, Spener, Lcke, Sander, Erdmann, etc.), supply with as subject or (so also Winer, p. 463; VII. p. 487; Al. Buttm. p. 116, Anm.); a similar change of subject occurs in Act 8:6 ; but considering the close connection of and , along with which the similarity of the verbal form is also to be noticed, it is preferable, with Jerome, Sander, de Wette-Brckner, [324] Baumgarten-Crusius, Frommann (p. 674), Dsterdieck, Myrberg, Braune, etc., to assume the same subject with as with ; then the sense is: he that prays gives the , inasmuch as God grants him his prayer. The idea finds its explanation in the fact that every sin brings with it a weakening of the ; in order that he that sins may not remain in tins want, he requires a new infusion of life, and this is procured for him by the prayer of his believing brother. In addition to this, of course, the confession of his sin, with trust in the cleansing power of the blood of Christ (comp. chap. 1Jn 1:7 ), is necessary on his part; but it is just in this that the blessing of the prayer consists, that he receives as the result of it the needful inclination for this. [325]
] apposition to ; the plural serves only for generalization (de Wette, Winer, etc.); Bornemann ( Bibl. Studien der schs. Geistlichen , I. p. 71; and Alex. Buttm. p. 156) erroneously explains as the dative commodi, referring to the person that prays himself. By the following words: , the apostle brings out that there is really a sin unto death, with which he connects the observation: . Most commentators find in this a prohibition, even though mildly expressed, of prayer in reference to the sin unto death; but this is not contained here, as Grotius, Hornejus, Besser, Myrberg, Ebrard, Brckner, etc., rightly observe; for the negative does not belong to , but to ; if the negative was to be referred to the former, it would have had to be . The sense is: My injunction does not mean ( ) that a man is to offer prayer ( ) in reference to ( ) the sin . [326]
The words do not express more than this, although it is admitted that in the emphasizing of a warning is indicated (similarly Braune); John does not want to make a duty of a prayer, to which the certain assurance of being granted is wanting; he therefore adds this limitation to his exhortation to prayer (so also Besser): a formal prohibition would only he appropriate if the . . was always cognizable as such. It is observable that John does not say here , but ; (lit. “to ask”) is a milder idea than (lit. “to demand”); the apostle warns against the , and, of course, much more against the more urgent . [327]
[319] Linder, it is true, remarks against this that a new section begins with ver. 13, but even in that verse is used in the spiritual sense. The above view is also opposed by the fact that it assumes in John the opinion that deadly sickness or sudden death is always divine punishment for a special sin, which can neither be justified by Act 5 nor by 1Co 11:30 . The appeal to Jas 5:14 ff. is so much the more inappropriate, as John hero in no way suggests that he is speaking of those who are in bodily sickness. It is therefore quite arbitrary for Linder to interpret : “God will grant to him pardon and recovery. ”
[320] Augustine ( de serm. Dei in monte Matt. lib. l. c. 22, 73) says: Peccatum fratris ad mortem puto esse, cum post agnitionem Dei per gratiam. Jesu Christi quisque oppugnat fraternitatem et adversus ipsam gratiam invidentiae facibus agitatur. Yet Augustine is not consistent in his interpretation; in the Retractations he adds further: si in hac perversitate finierit vitam; in his work, de corrept. et gratia , c. 12, 35, he explains the idea by: fidem, quae per dilectionem operatur, deserere usque ad mortem.
[321]
[322] Several commentators, as Calvin, Beza, Calovius, Heumann, Sander, etc., identify this sin with the sin against the Holy Ghost in Mat 12:31 ff.; certainly the meant here is not imaginable without a ; and the . . has as its reward; but the ideas do not quite coincide, for (1) the . . may occur even on the part of non-Christians, but it is the sin of the Christian that is spoken of here; and (2) the former is completed in words ( . .), but the . . . can only consist in further action.
[323] When Linder (as above quoted) remarks against this explanation that “the decision whether a sin is a . . . or not is objectively made by God Himself, and must be cognizable in some outward manifestation,” we may reply that even the occurrence of bodily death cannot be regarded as a certain proof; for even though God sometimes ordains it as a punishment of the sinner, yet it occurs also when it is not to be concluded that there is special guilt.
[324] Brckner seems, however, to be doubtful, as he remarks: “if there were only an , or a similar indication!”
[325] It is to weaken the thought of the apostle if, with Rickli, we find the blessing of the prayer only in this, that he who prays is himself led thereby to a right relation toward his brother. According to the apostle’s view, the prayer rather brings blessing directly to the brother, for as James (1Jn 5:16 ) says: .
[326] As Neander thinks that it is only Church prayer that is spoken of here, he interprets: “one who sins is not to be included in the united prayer of the Church for sinners in general, so that he may not be confirmed in his sin and be led to a false trust in the prayer of others;” but John in no way indicates that he is speaking only of Church prayer.
[327] Braune unsuitably says that “ implies conversation; , on the other hand, equalization of him who prays with him whom he addresses.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
Ver. 16. A sin which is not unto death ] When John Frith and Andrew Hewer were at the stake, Dr Cook openly admonished all the people that they should in no wise pray for them, no more than they would do for a dog at which words Frith, smiling, desired the Lord to forgive him. (Acts and Mon. fol. 946.) In its own nature all sin is mortal; but in a saint being tempered with faith and repentance, it is as quicksilver tempered with ointment and killed.
There is a sin unto death ] That unpardonable sin of doing despite to the Spirit of grace. Rockwood, a chief persecutor at Calais in the days of Henry VIII, to his last breath, staring and raging, cried, He was utterly damned; and being willed to ask God mercy, he brayed and cried out, “All too late! for I have sought maliciously the deaths of a number of the most honest men in the town, whom I knew to be so; all too late, therefore, all too late.” Another that had committed this sin to death, wished that his wife and children and all the world might be damned together with him. (Mr Burroughs’ Mos. Choice.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16, 17 .] Join together the confidence concerning prayer just expressed, and the all-essential Christian principle of brotherly love, and we have following, as matter of course, the duty, and the practice, of intercession for an erring brother. And of this, with a certain not strictly defined limitation, these verses treat. If any man see (on any occasion, aor. “ shall have seen ”) his brother (as throughout the Epistle, to be taken in the stricter sense: not “ proximus quicunque ,” as Calov., but his Christian brother, one born of God as he is himself) sinning (Dsterd. remarks, that the present part. is not merely predicative, as would be the infin. , but more graphic, as describing the ‘brother’ actually in the act and under the bondage of the sin in question) a sin not unto death (see below), he shall ask (the future conveys not merely a permission, “licebit,” but a command, taking for granted the thing enjoined as that which is to happen), and shall give him life (viz. the asker shall give: not, as Beza, Piscator, Socinus, Grot., Benson, Bengel, Lcke, Sander, al., God shall give, though of course this is so in reality: but the words mean, he, interceding for his brother, shall be the means of bestowing life on him: “rogans vivificabit,” as the thiopic version. The vulg. evades it by “ dabitur ei vita .” This bestowal of life by intercessory prayer, is not to be minutely enquired into, whether it is to be accompanied with “correptio fraterna,” whether it consists in the giving to the sinner a repentant heart (Grot., al.), but taken as put by the Apostle, in all its simplicity and breadth. Life , viz., the restoration of that divine life from which by any act of sin he was in peril and indeed in process of falling, but his sin was not an actual fall) for them that sin not unto death (the clause takes up and emphatically repeats the hypothesis before made, viz., that the sin of the brother is not unto death. It does so in the plural, because the before being indefinite, all such cases are now categorically collected: q. d. “shall give this life, I repeat, to those who sin not unto death”). There is a sin unto death: concerning it I do not say that he should make request (leaving for the present the great question, I will touch the minor points in this verse. First, it necessarily by the conditions of the context involves what is equivalent to a prohibition. This has been denied by many Commentators, “Ora si velis, sed sub dubio impetrandi,” says Corn.-a-lap. And it is equally denied, without the same implied meaning being given, by Socin., Schlichting, Grot., Carpzov., Neander, Lcke, De Wette, Huther: some of these, as Neander, thinking it implied, that prayer may be made, though the obtaining of it will be difficult, others, as De Wette, that it will be in vain, others as Huther, that St. John simply says such a case was not within his view in making the above command. And most of even those who have recognized the prohibition, strive to soften it, saying, as e. g. Lyra, that though “non est orandum pro damnatis,” yet we may pray for such a sinner, “ut minus peccaret et per consequens minus damnaretur in inferno:” or as Bengel, “Deus non vult ut pii frustra orent, Deu 3:26 . Si ergo qui peccatum ad mortem commisit ad vitam reducitur, id ex mero provenit reservato divino.” Calvin indeed holds fast the prohibition in all its strictness, but only in extreme cases: adding, “Sed quia rarissime hoc accidit, et Deus, immensas grati su divitias commendans, nos suo exemplo misericordes esse jubet: non temere in quem-quam ferendum est mortis tern judicium, potius nos caritas ad bene sperandum flectat. Quod si desperata quorundam impietas non secus nobis apparet, ac si Dominus eam digito monstraret, non est quod certemus cum justo Dei judicio, vel clementiores eo esse appetamus.”
Certainly this seems, reserving the question as to the nature of the sin, the right view of the . By an express command in the other case, and then as express an exclusion of this case from that command, nothing short of an implied prohibition can be conveyed.
The second point here relates to the difference between and . The first is petere , the second rogare : as in Cicero, Planc. x. 25, “Neque enim ego sic rogabam ut petere viderer, quia familiaris esset meus.” Cf. Trench, N. T. Synonyms, pp. 140 143, edn. 1865. is more of the petition of the inferior: “in victum quasi et reum convenit,” as Bengel: is more general, of the request of the equal, or of one who has a right. Our Lord never uses or of His own requests to God, but always , Joh 14:16 ; Joh 16:26 ; Joh 17:9 ; Joh 17:15 ; Joh 17:20 . It is true, Martha says, , , Joh 11:22 , but it was in ignorance, though in simplicity of faith, see Bengel in loc.: Trench, p. 142: and my note, Vol. I. And this difference is of importance here. The for a sin not unto death is a humble and trusting petition in the direction of God’s will, and prompted by brotherly love: the other, the for a sin unto death, would be, it is implied, an act savouring of presumption a prescribing to God, in a matter which lies out of the bounds of our brotherly yearning (for notice, the hypothesis that a man sees a brother sin a sin unto death is not adduced in words, because such a sinner would not truly be a brother, but thereby demonstrated never to have deserved that name: see ch. 1Jn 2:19 ), how He shall inflict and withhold His righteous judgments.
And these latter considerations bring us close to the question as to the nature of the sin unto death. It would be impossible to enumerate or even classify the opinions which have been given on the subject. Dsterdieck has devoted many pages to such a classification and discussion. I can do no more than point out the canons of interpretation, and some of the principal divergences. But before doing so, 1Jn 5:17 must come under consideration).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Jn 5:16 . After the grand assurance that prayer is always heard, never unanswered, the Apostle specifies one kind of prayer, viz. , Intercession, in the particular case of a “brother,” i.e. a fellow-believer, who has sinned. Prayer will avail for his restoration, with one reservation that his sin be “not unto death”. The reference is to those who had been led astray by the heresy, moral and intellectual, which had invaded the churches of Asia Minor (see Introd. pp. 156 f.) They had closed their ears to the voice of Conscience and their eyes to the light of the Truth, and they were exposed to the operation of that law of Degeneration which obtains in the physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual domains. E.g. , a bodily faculty, if neglected, atrophis ( cf. note on 1Jn 2:11 ). So in the moral domain disregard of truth destroys veracity. Acts make habits, habits character. So also in the intellectual domain. Cf. Darwin to Sir J. D. Hooker, June 17, 1868: “I am glad you were at the Messiah , it is the one thing that I should like to hear again, but I daresay I should find my soul too dried up to appreciate it as in old days; and then I should feel very flat, for it is a horrid bore to feel as I constantly do, that I am a withered leaf for every subject except Science”. And so in the spiritual domain. There are two ways of killing the soul: (1) The benumbing and hardening practice of disregarding spiritual appeals and stifling spiritual impulses. Cf. Reliq. Baxter , I. i. 29 “Bridgnorth had made me resolve that I would never go among a People that had been hardened in unprofitableness under an awakening Ministry; but either to such as had never had any convincing Preacher, or to such as had profited by him”. (2) A decisive apostasy, a deliberate rejection. This was the case of those heretics. They had abcured Christ and followed Antichrist. This is what Jesus calls (Mat 12:31-32 = Mar 3:28-30 ). It inflicts a mortal wound on the man’s spiritual nature. He can never be forgiven because he can never repent. He is “in the grip of an eternal sin ( )”. Cf. Heb 4:4-6 . This is “sin unto death”. Observe how tenderly St. John speaks: There is a fearful possibility of a man putting himself beyond the hope of restoration; but we can never tell when he has crossed the boundary. If we were sure that it was a case of “sin unto death,” then we should forbear praying; but, since we can never be sure, we should always keep on praying. So long as a man is capable of repentance, he has not sinned unto death. “Quamdiu enim veni relinquitur locus, mors prorsus imperium nondum occupat” (Calv.). , either (1) “he (the intercessor) will give to him (the brother),” . being in apposition to , “to him, i.e. to them that, etc.”; or (2) “He (God) will give to him (the intercessor) life for them that, etc.” The former avoids an abrupt change of subject, and the attribution to the intercessor of what God does through him is paralleled by Jas 5:20 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Jn 5:16-17
16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
1Jn 5:16 “If” This is a third class conditional which means potential action. 1Jn 5:16 emphasizes our need to pray for our fellow Christians (cf. Gal 6:1; Jas 5:13-18) within some suggested limits (not for the sin unto death), which seems related to the false teachers (cf. 2 Peter 2).
“sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death” John has listed several categories of sin. Some relate to one’s (1) fellowship with deity; (2) fellowship with other believers; and (3) fellowship with the world. The ultimate sin is rejection of trust/belief/faith in Jesus Christ. This is the sin unto ultimate death! W. T. Conners in his Christian Doctrine, says:
“This does not mean, however, unbelief in the sense of a refusal to accept a doctrine or a dogma. It is unbelief in one’s rejection of moral and spiritual light, particularly as that light is embodied in Jesus Christ. It is the rejection of God’s final revelation of himself as made in Christ. When this rejection becomes definite and wilful, it becomes the sin unto death (1Jn 5:13-17). It thus becomes moral suicide. It is putting out one’s own spiritual eyes. It does not take place except in connection with a high degree of enlightenment. It is deliberate, wilful, malicious rejection of Christ as God’s revelation, knowing that he is such a revelation. It is deliberately calling white black” (pp. 135-136).
SPECIAL TOPIC: What Is Sin Unto Death?
“God will for him give life” The theological and lexical problem here is the meaning of the term “life” (zo). Normally in John’s writings this refers to eternal life, but in this context it seems to mean restoration to health or forgiveness (i.e., much like James’ use of “save” in Jas 5:13-15). The person prayed for is called “a brother” which strongly implies a believer (by John’s own use of the term for his readers).
1Jn 5:17 All sin is serious, but all sin can be forgiven through repentance (initial, cf. Mar 1:15; Act 20:21; continuing, cf. 1Jn 1:9) and faith in Christ except the sin of unbelief!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
any man = any one. App-123.
see. App-133.
sin = sinning. App-128.
sin. App-128.
unto. App-104.
a. Omit.
pray. App-134.
for = concerning. App-104.
it = that. The sin unto death was one that might result in the brother being cut off. Compare 1Co 11:30, where many had sinned unto death “many sleep”. See also Jam 5:14, Jam 5:16, where there is the same recognition of sickness being due to some special sins, as in 1Co 11:30, and of intercessory prayer as here. It is not a single act, but a continued habit.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16, 17.] Join together the confidence concerning prayer just expressed, and the all-essential Christian principle of brotherly love, and we have following, as matter of course, the duty, and the practice, of intercession for an erring brother. And of this, with a certain not strictly defined limitation, these verses treat. If any man see (on any occasion, aor. shall have seen) his brother (as throughout the Epistle, to be taken in the stricter sense: not proximus quicunque, as Calov., but his Christian brother, one born of God as he is himself) sinning (Dsterd. remarks, that the present part. is not merely predicative, as would be the infin. , but more graphic, as describing the brother actually in the act and under the bondage of the sin in question) a sin not unto death (see below), he shall ask (the future conveys not merely a permission, licebit, but a command, taking for granted the thing enjoined as that which is to happen), and shall give him life (viz. the asker shall give: not, as Beza, Piscator, Socinus, Grot., Benson, Bengel, Lcke, Sander, al., God shall give, though of course this is so in reality: but the words mean, he, interceding for his brother, shall be the means of bestowing life on him: rogans vivificabit, as the thiopic version. The vulg. evades it by dabitur ei vita. This bestowal of life by intercessory prayer, is not to be minutely enquired into, whether it is to be accompanied with correptio fraterna,-whether it consists in the giving to the sinner a repentant heart (Grot., al.), but taken as put by the Apostle, in all its simplicity and breadth. Life, viz., the restoration of that divine life from which by any act of sin he was in peril and indeed in process of falling, but his sin was not an actual fall) for them that sin not unto death (the clause takes up and emphatically repeats the hypothesis before made, viz., that the sin of the brother is not unto death. It does so in the plural, because the before being indefinite, all such cases are now categorically collected: q. d. shall give this life, I repeat, to those who sin not unto death). There is a sin unto death: concerning it I do not say that he should make request (leaving for the present the great question, I will touch the minor points in this verse. First, it necessarily by the conditions of the context involves what is equivalent to a prohibition. This has been denied by many Commentators, Ora si velis, sed sub dubio impetrandi, says Corn.-a-lap. And it is equally denied, without the same implied meaning being given, by Socin., Schlichting, Grot., Carpzov., Neander, Lcke, De Wette, Huther: some of these, as Neander, thinking it implied, that prayer may be made, though the obtaining of it will be difficult,-others, as De Wette, that it will be in vain, others as Huther, that St. John simply says such a case was not within his view in making the above command. And most of even those who have recognized the prohibition, strive to soften it, saying, as e. g. Lyra, that though non est orandum pro damnatis, yet we may pray for such a sinner, ut minus peccaret et per consequens minus damnaretur in inferno: or as Bengel, Deus non vult ut pii frustra orent, Deu 3:26. Si ergo qui peccatum ad mortem commisit ad vitam reducitur, id ex mero provenit reservato divino. Calvin indeed holds fast the prohibition in all its strictness, but only in extreme cases: adding, Sed quia rarissime hoc accidit, et Deus, immensas grati su divitias commendans, nos suo exemplo misericordes esse jubet: non temere in quem-quam ferendum est mortis tern judicium, potius nos caritas ad bene sperandum flectat. Quod si desperata quorundam impietas non secus nobis apparet, ac si Dominus eam digito monstraret, non est quod certemus cum justo Dei judicio, vel clementiores eo esse appetamus.
Certainly this seems, reserving the question as to the nature of the sin, the right view of the . By an express command in the other case, and then as express an exclusion of this case from that command, nothing short of an implied prohibition can be conveyed.
The second point here relates to the difference between and . The first is petere, the second rogare: as in Cicero, Planc. x. 25, Neque enim ego sic rogabam ut petere viderer, quia familiaris esset meus. Cf. Trench, N. T. Synonyms, pp. 140-143, edn. 1865. is more of the petition of the inferior: in victum quasi et reum convenit, as Bengel: is more general, of the request of the equal, or of one who has a right. Our Lord never uses or of His own requests to God, but always , Joh 14:16; Joh 16:26; Joh 17:9; Joh 17:15; Joh 17:20. It is true, Martha says, , , Joh 11:22, but it was in ignorance, though in simplicity of faith, see Bengel in loc.: Trench, p. 142: and my note, Vol. I. And this difference is of importance here. The for a sin not unto death is a humble and trusting petition in the direction of Gods will, and prompted by brotherly love: the other, the for a sin unto death, would be, it is implied, an act savouring of presumption-a prescribing to God, in a matter which lies out of the bounds of our brotherly yearning (for notice, the hypothesis that a man sees a brother sin a sin unto death is not adduced in words, because such a sinner would not truly be a brother, but thereby demonstrated never to have deserved that name: see ch. 1Jn 2:19), how He shall inflict and withhold His righteous judgments.
And these latter considerations bring us close to the question as to the nature of the sin unto death. It would be impossible to enumerate or even classify the opinions which have been given on the subject. Dsterdieck has devoted many pages to such a classification and discussion. I can do no more than point out the canons of interpretation, and some of the principal divergences. But before doing so, 1Jn 5:17 must come under consideration).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Jn 5:16. , if any one) The most important of all cases is added, that you are able to pray even for another, in a most serious matter: comp. ch. 1Jn 2:1.-, shall see) This sin can therefore be known by the regenerate.- , , sinning a sin, not unto death) A sin of any kind, provided that it is not unto death.-, not) a form of excepting (Mat 19:9), has greater force than , not, 1Jn 5:17. As long as it is not evident that it is a sin unto death, it is lawful to pray.-, death) Respecting the disease of which Lazarus died, but shortly afterwards was raised from the dead, it is said, It is not unto death, Joh 11:4, note: but Hezekiah was sick , unto death, Isa 38:1, had he not recovered by a miracle. But John is here speaking of death and life, as ch. 1Jn 3:14. Moreover what is meant by a sin unto death, is declared from the opposite, in 1Jn 5:17, where the subject is, all unrighteousness; the predicate consists of two members, sin, and that coming short of death. Therefore any unrighteousness, which is committed in common life, is a sin not unto death. But sin unto death is not an ordinary or sudden sin, but a state of the soul, in which faith, and love, and hope, in short, the new life, is extinguished: when any one knowingly and willingly embraces death, not from the allurements of the flesh, but from the love of sin, as sin. It is a deliberate rejection of grace. A man puts from him life, while he commits this sin: how then can others procure for him life? Yet there is also set forth [there is such a thing as] a sin that is to the death of the body; for instance, in the case of the people, for whom the prophet thrice made entreaty, he is forbidden to make entreaty: Jer 7:16; Jer 11:14; Jer 14:11; Jer 15:1-2. Yea, even Moses himself committed a sin unto death, of this nature; unto death, not to be made the subject of entreaty: Deu 3:26; comp. 1Sa 2:25; 1Sa 3:14, respecting the house of Eli; and, on the other hand, respecting the averting of sins and diseases by means of prayer, Jam 5:14-18.-, he shall ask) namely, , he who has confidence.-. He will give) namely, God, when entreated.-, to him) the brother.-, life) Therefore he who sins unto death is in a state of death, and yet he sins further unto death.-) , that is, as far as relates to those who sin not unto death.- , there is a sin unto death) The chief commandment is faith and love. Therefore the chief sin is that by which faith and love are destroyed. In the former case is life; in the latter, death. The sin, however, which is here pointed out, is not such as we call mortal, as are all the sins of the unregenerate, ch. 1Jn 3:14, and some sins of the brethren who relapse: and these alone properly need that life should be given to them.–, I do not-say) for I say-not. An expression full of character, and Attie. God does not wish that the righteous should pray in vain: Deu 3:26. If, therefore, he who has committed sin unto death is brought back to life, that proceeds entirely from the mercy [the mere prerogative] of God.-, for it) The word here has the force of removing.-) He just before used the word . There is a difference between the two words:[25] Joh 11:22, note. Here we are enjoined not only not , but not even . is as it were the generic word: is the species, as it were, of a more humble kind. Not only is removed, but also the genus. This species, , does not occur in the prayers of Christ. is suitable to the case of one who is as it were conquered, and a criminal.
[25] , like peto, is more submissive and suppliant, and expresses the seeking of the inferior from the superior. But , like rogo, implies a certain equality or familiarity in the asker, with him from whom the favour is sought: therefore nowhere in the New Testament does it express the prayer of mere man to God; but is appropriated to Christ, who, on the other hand, never uses . Here 1Jn 5:16 may seem an exception; but its change from of the earlier clause to is a strong confirmation of it: If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death, he shall ask or beg, , and He (God) shall give him (the petitioner) life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall request or intercede (authoritatively), , for it. The Christian is not to assume the authority which would be implied in making request for a sinner who has sinned the sin unto death; Mar 3:29; 1Sa 15:35; 1Sa 16:1. See Trench, Syn. N. T.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Jn 5:16-17
THE SIN UNTO DEATH
(1Jn 5:16-17)
16 If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request.–The connection between this statement and the verse which precedes it is close, and should be carefully considered in determining the significance of this passage. We have boldness (confidence) toward the Father. (Verse 14.) This boldness prompts us to make our petitions with the assurance that if we ask according to his will, he hears us. Though we are unable to “see” the answer to our prayers, in some instances, the confidence which we have in him enables us to know that “we have the petitions which we have asked of him.” (Verse 15.) As an instance of this, if we see a “brother sin a sin not unto death,” we are encouraged to ask in his behalf, assured that God will give us life for “them that sin not unto death.” We are not, however, from thence to infer that God will give us life for “them that sin unto death.” There is such a sin; and though we are not forbidden to pray in behalf of one thus sinning, we are not commanded to do so, and there is no assurance that God will hear and answer our petition if we do.
This passage is not to be confused, as is often done, with Mat 12:31-32,–“the sin against the Holy Spirit.” Here, reference is to a brother who sins; there, the Pharisees were primarily in the mind of the Saviour, these being the ones particularly addressed. (Mat 12:14-24.) “Any man,” of the first clause is to be understood only of those who are members of the body of Christ and approved of God; it follows, therefore, that the “brother” contemplated as sinning is an erring child of God.
The rendering of the King James’ or so-called Authorized Version of the New Testament reads, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death he shall ask . . .,” The American Standard Version, however, has it thus: “If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask . . .” This appears, at first glance, to mean that if one sees a brother in the actual commission of sin, he may ask and God will forgive such a one while sinning. Such a conclusion is alike repugnant to reason and revelation; opposed both to scripture and to our own sense of the fitness of things, and is obviously false. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall . . . perish.” (Luk 13:3.) There is no offer of amnesty to the rebellious and impenitent. We may be sure that John did not intend that such a conclusion should be drawn from his words here. Why then, the present active participle hamartanonta (sinning) here? The participle agrees grammatically with adelphon (brother), and with the cognate accusative hamartian (sin); it is a sinning brother who stands, as it were, before our very eyes. This is, therefore, not to be construed to mean that the brother is engaged in sin at the moment prayer is made in his behalf.
An analysis of the passage reveals, (1) a child of God can sin; (2)thereisasinnot”untodeath”;(3)we are instructed to pray for those thus sinning, with the assurance that our prayers will be heard and answered; (4) there is a sin “unto death”; (5) for those guilty of such it is useless and futile to pray. What is the sin thus contemplated?
(a) It is obvious that no single sin, contemplated as an overt act, was in the apostle’s mind. Correctly rendered, the passage does not designate the sin, or even a sin, but mere sin, sin in essence, sin abstractly considered. (b) The sin was such that a brother could discern it, i.e., identify it: “If any man see . . .” The death referred to was not bodily death, the loss of physical life; but spiritual death, separation from God and all that is good. (d) It was such a sin as only children of God could be guilty of. Any interpretation that is correct must take account of each of these considerations, and embrace them. (1) The sin contemplated here is not such as is usually classified as capital, i.e., such sins as idolatry, murder, adultery, blasphemy, etc. (2) The effects of it were visible and obvious–such as could be seen. (3) It was possible for one who prays to distinguish between the sin unto death, and the sin not unto death. To what type of sin then, did John refer?
There is much about sin and its forgiveness in the first Epistle of John. Its fact, in the lives of all Christians, is affirmed (1Jn 1:8-10), its origin indicated (3:8), the means by which it may be avoided revealed (3:9). In the event of sin in one’s life, there is “an Advocate, with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous” (2:1), and the promise that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:8). The apostle’s teaching on the theme is thus abundant, and the significance thereof clear. It is susceptible of being reduced to logical form:
The Lord will forgive every sin, of whatever nature, that a brother confesses. (1Jn 1:8.)
There is, however, a sin which the Lord will not forgive. (1Jn 5:16.)
Therefore, the sin which the Lord will not forgive, is simply a sin, any sin, all sin that a brother will not confess!
If this conclusion does not follow, it is because either the major or minor premise of the syllogism is defective. The major premise is that the Lord will forgive every sin a brother confesses. This is stated in 1Jn 1:8. The minor premise is obviously implied in 5:16. It follows, therefore, that since the Lord will forgive every sin, of whatever nature, that a brother confesses and turns away from; and as there is a sin which the Lord will not forgive, the conclusion is irresistible that the sin which the Lord will not forgive is a sin which a brother will not confess. The context corroborates this view. If my brother sins, and manifests penitence, I not only may, it is my duty to, pray in his behalf: “Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (Jas 5:16.) If, however, my brother exhibits stubborn impenitence and persistent rebellion, following the commission of his sin, it is useless to petition the Father in his behalf. The sin unto death is thus a disposition of heart, a perverseness of attitude and an unwillingness of mind to acknowledge one’s sin and from it turn away. Such a disposition effectively closes the door of heaven in one’s face.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.–Here, sin is negatively defined. Sin is unrighteousness. God’s commandments are righteousness. (Psa 119:172.) A failure, therefore, to keep God’s commandments, is to be guilty of sin in his sight. A positive definition of sin is set out by the apostle in 3:4: “Sin is lawlessness.” Sin thus consists of doing (a) that which is wrong; and of (b) neglecting to do that which is right. The former we classify as the sin of commission; the latter, the sin of omission. “Unrighteousness,” is that state or condition which is opposed to righteousness. It is a general term indicative of the absence of righteousness for whatever cause.
Commentary on 1Jn 5:16-17 by E.M. Zerr
1Jn 5:16. Sin unto death. Not that the man has reached the state of eternal death but is healed unto it; his conduct is in that direction. The condition described in Heb 6:4-6 is a clear case of this kind of sin; let the reader see the comments at that place. Paul says it is impossible for another person to renew that kind of sinner to repentance. It would therefore be inconsistent to engage in a prayer service with a brother who has gone so far in deliberate sin that he could not be induced to repent by anyone else. John says he would not ask anyone to pray for such a brother. The kind of sin that is not unto death would be like that mentioned in Gal 6:1 where the brethren are told to work for the restoration of the one overtaken. He shall ask sounds as if John means for the brother discovering sin in another to do the praying for him, when Peter told Simon to pray for himself. That it true but it is also true that brethren can pray together on behalf of the erring one. Then if he repents the Lord will grant him life (forgiveness) for his sins. (See Jas 5:15-16.) The pronouns may be a little confusing the way they are used. The first he means the man who sees his brother sin, and the second he means the Lord from whom all forgiveness must come. (See Eph 4:32 as to the source of forgiveness.)
1Jn 5:17. All unrighteousness is sin. (See the comments at 1Jn 3:4.) John makes this statement that it might not seem he is underestimating the seriousness of any sin. He wishes only to show that not all sins are as fatal as others; that there is such a sin not unto death.
Commentary on 1Jn 5:16-17 by N.T. Caton
1Jn 5:16-If any man see his brother sin a sin.
Along this line there has been much speculation. We will give our exposition in numerical order.
1. Brother sin. This shows that a Christian is liable to sin; liable to be overtaken by sin, notwithstanding the idea of some, that no child of God can sin.
2. Not unto death. Then there is a sin that is unto death, and a sin that is not unto death.
3. He shall give him life. That is to say, the brother who has sinned a sin that is not unto death, may be restored. This restoration is to be secured by prayer. “He shall ask, and he Shall give him life.” Thus, we have the assurance that a brother can be restored by prayer.
4. I do not say he shall pray for it. That is, pray for the brother who has committed the sin which is unto death. John says: “I do not say, that for this sin you shall pray.” Of course, it is understood that in that class of sins for which prayer may be offered, with the hope of the restoration of the offender, the offender must first be reached, as in the case of Simon, the sorcerer, mentioned in the eighth chapter of Acts. The prayer must be according to the will of God. The will of God is, that a sinner must repent and turn. If this does not exist, prayer for the restoration of the sinning one would be useless, because not according to the will of God.
5. An example of each of the two classes of sins. While this is not strictly in line with the duty of the expositor of this epistle, being suggested by the verse in hand, it may not be out of place.
(a) Sin not unto death. “Brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal 6:1). See also 1Co 5:1-13, 2Co 2:7-10, and Rev 2:4.
(b) Sin unto death. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb 6:4-6). “Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men” (Mat 12:31). Many are the speculations upon what is called the unpardonable sin. What it is, and the danger in this age of committing it, are questions that have engaged the thoughts of many. My own notion is that all such discussions are unprofitable. Striving to know and to do God’s will is more important.
1Jn 5:17-All unrighteousness is sin.
All wrongdoing is sin; every coming short of that which is right is sin, and, of course, if persisted in, must result in death. Where one steels his heart against the right, against Christ, who alone can bestow life, such an one can never attain eternal life; and yet, as there is a sin not unto death, such may be restored.
Commentary on 1Jn 5:16-17 by Burton Coffman
1Jn 5:16 –If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request.
If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death … Presumably, this would be any kind of sin except apostasy; but what makes this passage difficult is the problem of Christian brothers monitoring each other’s behavior. The ability always to know when a brother is sinning is not in Christians; and that fact limits the admonition here to what is clearly visible to all and unmistakable.
And God will give him life for them … Before Christians may be forgiven of their sins, they themselves must repent and ask the Father’s mercy and pardon; therefore, God’s giving life for them that sin cannot be solely upon the grounds of another’s asking it. Perhaps that limitation is understood in John’s promise here of such great efficacy in the prayers of Christians for one another.
For them that sin not unto death … There are a number of New Testament passages that deal with the “sin unto death,” namely, the passage here, 1Co 11:30; 1Th 5:19; 1Ti 5:6; Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-27; 2Pe 2:20-21, and Mar 3:29 with parallel in Matthew. For a complete discussion of this question see in my Commentary on Mark, pp. 65-67, and, in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 173-175, and, in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 125-128. Briefly stated, the sin unto death is that which results in the total apostasy of the sinner, leading to a state which is hopeless, not because of any limitation on God’s part, but because of the will of the sinner not to accept pardon.
I do not say that he should make request … This carries the meaning of, “Let him not pray for it.”[19]
We have already pointed out that in all ordinary circumstances, no Christian could possibly know whether or not one had committed a sin “unto death” or not; and, with that in mind, the interpretation of Bruce on this difficult passage is certainly entitled to be studied.
He wrote:
I suggest that the sin unto death is quite literally a sin with death as its consequence; and the only way in which it may be known that a sin is “unto death” is if death actually ensues. What John is doing, in that case, is to make it plain that he does not advocate praying for the dead.[20]
Bruce’s understanding of this seems to this writer the most reasonable of all the explanations encountered. Bruce admitted the possibility that apostasy could be the thing in view, adding “but this I doubt.” The explanation advocated by him would certainly solve the problem of a brother’s “seeing” whether or not sin was “unto death”; and, in the context, this would appear to be determinative.
Plummer, and others who favor the view that apostasy is meant, have written some very helpful words regarding the power of apostates to rebel against God and spurn his love. For example:
The prayer of one human being can never cancel another’s free-will. If God’s will does not override man’s will, neither can a fellow-man’s prayer. When a human will has been firmly and persistently set in opposition to the Divine will, our intercession will be of no avail.[21]
Macknight limited the meaning of this verse to those situations in the early church which were analogous to that mentioned in Jas 4:14 f, affirming that this verse is directed not to ordinary Christians at all, but to:
Any spiritual man (endowed with the charismatic gift of healing diseases); and that the brother for whom the spiritual man was to ask life, was not every brother who had sinned, but the brother only who had been punished with a mortal disease; but who having repented of his sin, it was not a sin unto death; and that the life to be asked and received on behalf of such a brother was not eternal life at all, but a miraculous recovery from the mortal disease from which he was suffering.[22]
In support of his thesis, which may indeed be correct, Macknight argued that the clause, “And God will give him life for them” could not possibly refer to eternal life, since “Nowhere in Scripture is eternal life promised to be given to any sinner, at the asking of another.”[23]
Having given three different interpretations of this difficult Scripture, we shall leave it as one that might reasonably bear any of the three explanations. There are difficult questions connected with any view of it.
Before leaving this verse, it should be pointed out, however, that:
To divide sins, on the authority of this passage, into venial and mortal classifications, is to misunderstand the whole argument of the Epistle and to seduce the conscience. St. John only means that though prayer can do much for an erring brother, there is a willfulness against which it would be powerless: for even prayer is not stronger than free-will.[24]
[19] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament (Naperville, Illinois: Alec. R. Allenson, Inc., reprint, 1950), p. 919.
[20] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 134.
[21] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 142.
[22] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 118.
[23] Ibid., p. 119.
[24] W. M. Sinclair, op. cit., p. 493.
1Jn 5:17 –All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
After all that John had written in this letter regarding the divine prohibition against Christians’ sinning, it is clear from this that he fully allowed for the fact of sin, even in the most devoted heart. Ryrie is no doubt correct in seeing this verse as a “warning against the lax thinking that some sins are permissible and others (unto death) not.”[25] Any sin is unrighteousness, contrary to the will of God; and any sin, however mild it may be thought to be, is potentially capable of causing the death of the soul; and the manner of the two major clauses of this sentence being balanced against each other indicates that John had that very thing in mind here. In connection with this, it will be remembered that “an eternal sin” (Mar 3:28-29) indicates a multiplicity of transgressions that must be considered potentially “eternal sins.” In fact, any sin whatever that might be loved more than the Lord, could prove to be “eternal.”
ENDNOTE:
[25] Charles C. Ryrie, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 1028.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
sin
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”) .
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
he shall ask: Gen 20:7, Gen 20:17, Exo 32:10-14, Exo 32:31, Exo 32:32, Exo 34:9, Num 12:13, Num 14:11-21, Deu 9:18-20, 2Ch 30:18-20, Job 42:7-9, Psa 106:23, Eze 22:30, Amo 7:1-3, Jam 5:14, Jam 5:15
There: Num 15:30, Num 16:26-32, 1Sa 2:25, Jer 15:1, Jer 15:2, Mat 12:31, Mat 12:32, Mar 3:28-30, Luk 12:10, 2Ti 4:14, Heb 6:4-6, Heb 10:26-31, 2Pe 2:20-22
I do not: Jer 7:16, Jer 11:14, Jer 14:11, Jer 18:18-21, Joh 17:9
Reciprocal: Gen 2:17 – surely Gen 18:32 – Oh Exo 23:21 – he will not Num 11:2 – prayed 1Sa 12:19 – Pray for thy 1Sa 16:1 – seeing Neh 6:14 – think thou Eze 18:24 – when Mat 5:22 – his brother Mat 12:45 – and the Luk 11:26 – and the 1Co 5:5 – that Gal 6:1 – restore 2Ti 2:25 – if Heb 10:39 – we are 1Jo 5:17 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Jn 5:16. Sin unto death. Not that the man has reached the state of eternal death but is healed unto it; his conduct is in that direction. The condition described in Heb 6:4-6 is a clear case of this kind of sin; let the reader see the comments at that place. Paul says it is impossible for another person to renew that kind of sinner to repentance. It would therefore be inconsistent to engage in a prayer service with a brother who has gone so far in deliberate sin that he could not be induced to repent by anyone else. John says he would not ask anyone to pray for such a brother. The kind of sin that is not unto death would be like that mentioned in Gal 6:1 where the brethren are told to work for the restoration of the one overtaken. He shall ask sounds as if John means for the brother discovering sin in another to do the praying for him, when Peter told Simon to pray for himself. That it true but it is also true that brethren can pray together on behalf of the erring one. Then if he repents the Lord will grant him life (forgiveness) for his sins. (See Jas 5:15-16.) The pronouns may be a little confusing the way they are used. The first he means the man who sees his brother sin, and the second he means the Lord from whom all forgiveness must come. (See Eph 4:32 as to the source of forgiveness.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Jn 5:16-17. The transition from prayer in general to intercessory prayer seems to be abrupt; but it must be remembered that brotherly love is made identical with Christian life, and its offices with doing the will of God. Passing by innumerable other objects of intercession on behalf of a fellow-Christian, the apostle at once rises to its highest function, prayer for his sinning soul. Two phrases just used are still in his thoughts: whatever we ask and eternal life, which the regenerate has in himself, and may obtain by prayer for others.
If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death: already the exception is stated, the solemnity of which requires enlargement upon it afterwards. The sin not unto death is supposed to be seen in a brother, as an act and a state in which he is continuing. He shall ask: this is the imperative future, and implies more than is expressed, the admonition and penitence of the offender and the joining him in prayer; these are omitted because the great point is here, as with St. James, the power of one in close fellowship with God, who is supposed in this wonderful sentence to be the very administrant of the Divine will. And shall givethe same he in union with God shall givehim life: according to the high doctrine of the Epistle, he who sins at all is by the sin cut off from spiritual life; that life is, as it were, suspended. The words that follow, for them that sin not unto death, do not simply repeat and generalize the former words, but at the same time qualify the life given and prepare for what follows; the life is only suspended in this case. The him is changed into them, to show the commonness of the fault and the universality of intercession.
There is a sin unto death; which is not only suspended life, but the actual rejection of the Son of God in whom the life is, and whose rejection has been the supreme sin aimed at throughout the Epistle. It is not asserted that the Christian can know that sin to be committed; nor was it said that he knows the brother for whom he prays to have sinned not unto death: He shall give him life if he have not so sinned. The fellowship with God in prayer does not imply fellowship with Gods omniscience. The sin unto death is unto eternal death, as the opposite of eternal life, though death and eternal are never combined. No other death is mentioned once in this Epistle; nor is the apostle referring, as St. James does in his similar close of his Epistle, to bodily sickness and recovery of physical health. As there was in our Saviours time an unpardonable blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which was unto death because it rejected the Spirits appeal on behalf of Christ, and as in the Epistle to the Hebrews there is a rejection of the atonement which cuts off necessarily all hope, so in this Epistle the same sin is referred to in the light of its final issue. Those who harden themselves against the Spirits revelation of the Son are sinning unto death; and prayer for them is unavailing, because they have shut their hearts against the only power that can save them.
Not of that do I say that he should make request. With deep tenderness the apostle excludes this object of intercession, two shades of his expression pointing to his deep feeling: he changes the asking into requesting, as if the awful urgency of the case might prompt a stronger prayer, which would be unavailing; and he simply says, Concerning that I do not speak in what I say concerning intercessory prayer. Now the difference of sins seems to require explanation, especially after what the apostle had said in chap. 1Jn 3:4, Sin is transgression of law, and He was manifested to take away sins, and He is faithful and just, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hence St. John quotes himself, inverting the phrase, and says here, All unrighteousness is sin, substituting the deeper word unrighteousness for lawlessness. Even the slightest deviation from law and from the perfect principles of right is sin, whether in the believer or in the unbeliever; and therefore the possessor of eternal life must never think lightly of it, but must abhor it as contrary to the life that is in him. Nevertheless there may be traces of death that must be cleansed away, and there is a sin not unto death. In the old law there was sin unto death, transgression which was punished with loss of life (Num 18:22); and the Rabbins made the very distinction which St. John here makes. The apostle, however, carries it into the eternal sphere; and leaves the subject with a consolatory word which is itself very stern. He does not say that all unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not unto death. What he says is that such sin only as is forgiven and cleansed away is not unto death.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our apostle informed us in the foregoing verse of the comfort which believers have in their prayers for themselves, all that is requested by them is granted by God: now in the verse before us he relates the benefit which others receive by their prayers as well as themselves, assuring them, that if any of them did pray for an offending brother, they should be heard in what they desired, unless the person they prayed for had sinned the unpardonable sin, the sin unto death, by which we are to understand apostacy from the Christian religion unto idolatry, as appears from the following words, Keep yourselves from idols, which caution has no manner of dependence upon what went before, unless we understand the sin unto death in this sense; or if (with others) he call it the sin against the Holy Ghost, it comes to the same; for what is that sin but a renouncing of Christianity, denying the truth of the Christian faith, after illumination and conviction by the Holy Ghost, and maliciously persecuting the sincere professors of it?
Here note, 1. That a believer is not to hide his eyes from observing, but may and ought to take notice of the sins and miscarriages of his brethren: If any man see his brother sin, which he cannot do if he he neglect to observe him.
Note, 2. That a believer discerning and observing the sin of his brother, may and ought to pray for him. Let him ask, that is, importune God on his behalf.
Note, 3. That a believer’s prayers may prevail with God for us, when our own prayers will not prevail for ourselves. Let him ask, and he shall give him life, temporal life at least, and upon his repentance and faith eternal life also.
Note, 4. That the state of some wicked men may be such, that were it certainly known, it might be a Christian’s duty to cease praying for them. There is a sin unto death, that is, which doth not only deserve death, as all sin doth, and bespeak a person in a state of death, but a sin that argues a person to be twice dead, dead in respect of unregeneracy, and dead in respect of wilful and sinful apostacy. I do not say that ye shall pray for it, that is, for the person guilty of it, seing God never intends to forgive it.
Lord! how deplorable is the condition of those whose sins are past prayers, who give over praying for themselves, and others are stopt from praying for them! How sad is it, when the Lord shuts up the hearts of any of his from praying for us! It shews the sin of that man to be apprehended as being the sin unto death, when the faithful cease praying for him.
Yet note, 5. The apostle doth not here explicitly and simply forbid praying for such wretched persons, but only says, I do not say that ye shall pray for them; that is, I cannot give you any encouragement to pray for such, nor dare I promise you any good success in praying for them who have sinned unto death. I do not say; that is, I give you no warrant, I lay you under no command, I can give you no promise, that your prayers for such shall be heard and answered.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
“Sin Leading to Death”
One might conclude that sin is natural, cannot be avoided, therefore will not hurt. Lest one reach that conclusion, John says all violations of God’s commandments are sin. Such need not destroy the soul, if one is willing to confess and let the Advocate plead his case ( 1Jn 5:17 ; 1Jn 1:9-10 ; 1Jn 2:1 ). Christians will not continue in sin but will turn from their sins when confronted with them. As long as one stays on God’s side, the devil will not be able to harm him ( Rom 8:31 ). Christians are God’s children, while the worldly minded are children of the devil ( 1Jn 5:18-19 ).
Jesus came from God to help man understand things pertaining to eternal life. Anyone can know Jesus, and the Father through Him, and abide in Him in the church. So, Christians know the one God and have eternal life. Because of all John had said before, God’s children should avoid false gods that eternal life might remain theirs ( 1Jn 5:20-21 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
1Jn 5:16-17. If any man, &c. As if he had said, Yea, he hears us not only for ourselves, but others also; see his brother That is, any child of man; sin a sin which is not unto death That is, any sin but that which is marked out in the awful words of our Lord Jesus Christ as unpardonable, namely, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, of which see on Mat 12:31; Mar 3:29. Or, which may rather be intended, the sin of total apostacy from both the power and form of godliness; he shall ask, and God shall give him life Repentance unto life, and, in consequence thereof, pardon and salvation for that sinner. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for it That is, let him not pray for it. A sin unto death may likewise mean one which God has determined to punish with temporal death. All unrighteousness is sin Every deviation from perfect holiness is sin; but all sin is not unpardonable, nor does God determine to punish every sin with temporal death.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 16
There is a sin unto death; that is, there is an extreme of inveterate and outrageous hostility to God, which transcends all bounds, and leaves no hope of reformation and pardon. This most solemn declaration of the apostle corresponds with what the Savior expressly taught, and what his terrible denunciations against hardened and determined offenders often implied. (Compare Mark 3:28-30. Matt. 23:29-36, and note.)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
5:16 {15} If any man see his brother sin a sin [which is] not unto death, {l} he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
(15) We have to make prayers not only for ourselves, but also for our brothers who sin, that their sins be not to death: and yet he excepts that sin which is never forgiven, or the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is to say, a universal and wilful falling away from the known truth of the gospel.
(l) This is as if he said, let him ask the Lord to forgive him, and he will forgive him being so asked.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
C. The Consequences of Brotherly Love 5:16-17
Although as believers in Jesus Christ we have every right and obligation to be concerned about our own obedience, we cannot truly love our brethren unless we have concern for their obedience too. Prayer according to God’s will is not only a resource for us so we can love one another, but prayer is also a resource whereby we can obtain help for our brethren.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
John explained that prayer should extend to the needs of others (cf. 1Ti 2:1). He did this to clarify further what loving one’s brethren involves. The general subject of this verse is prayer for a sinning Christian. We can clarify the sense of this verse and the next by inserting the word "premature" before each instance of the word "death." Some writers wrote that the assumed modifier of "death" should be "eternal." [Note: Randall K. J. Tan, "Should We Pray for Straying Brethren? John’s Confidence in 1 John 5:16-17," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 45:4 (December 2002):599-609; and Yarbrough, pp. 306-13.] This interpretation may result in concluding, erroneously I believe, that the brethren in view were either never saved in the first place or lost their salvation. Some sins bring God’s swift judgment and result in the premature physical death of the sinner (e.g., Act 5:1-11; 1Co 5:5; 1Co 11:30). Others do not. The fact that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for us today to distinguish these types of sins should not lead us to conclude that a distinction does not exist (cf. Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-29).
According to the "spiritual (or eternal) death" view, the sin unto death is a reference to failure to believe in Christ. Sins not leading to spiritual death are those that will not result in a person’s damnation because God will give spiritual life to that one in answer to the prayer offered by the intercessor. Sins not leading to spiritual death could also refer to sins that do not irrevocably separate the believer from God, for which forgiveness is possible.
Under the Old Covenant, sinners who repudiated that covenant died physically because their repudiation represented a major rejection of Yahweh’s authority. The writer to the Hebrews warned his readers that repudiation of the New Covenant would result in inevitable judgment with no possibility of repentance (Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-27). Repudiation of the New Covenant involves rejecting Jesus Christ. That may be the sin leading to death that John meant here.
"The early church took much more seriously than we do the possibility that a person may sin beyond hope of redemption." [Note: Marshall, p. 249. See also Westcott, pp. 209-14.]
In the case of sin leading to premature physical death, John revealed that prayer will not avert the consequences. Therefore praying in these situations will not avail. However, John did not say we should refrain from praying about them. [Note: Robertson, 6:244.] We may not know if a sin is one that God will judge with premature death. In such cases we can pray that God will bring His will to pass for a sinning Christian. [Note: See W. Robert Cook, "Hamartiological Problems in First John," Bibliotheca Sacra 123; 491 (July-September 1966):257-59; and C. Samuel Storms, Reaching God’s Ear, pp. 241-53.] Jeremiah continued to pray for the apostate Israelites even though God told him that his prayers would not avail because their doom was sealed (Jer 7:16; Jer 11:14; Jer 14:11-12).
". . . John’s warning against sin, and the failure to maintain orthodox faith (1Jn 2:24; 2Jn 1:8-9), shows that while he expected his readers to walk in the light as sons of God (1Jn 1:7; 1Jn 5:18-19), he did not ignore the possibility that some believing but heretically inclined members of his community might become apostate." [Note: Smalley, p. 299.]
Many Christians have failed to realize that sinning always leads to some type of dying, even among Christians (Rom 6:23). While it is true that no Christian will ever experience spiritual death (eternal separation from God), we do normally experience the physical consequences of our sinning. The fact that we all die physically is the proof of this. Of course, the exception is Christians whom God will translate when the Lord Jesus returns for His own.
"A further question is whether the sin that leads to death can be committed by those who are truly God’s children. . . . A number of scholars have tried to show that this could not have been John’s meaning. Thus it has been argued that the people in question had merely masqueraded as believers but had never at any point truly believed in Jesus. Consequently, the sin that leads to death is to be understood as a sin of unbelievers which believers cannot in principle commit. [Note: Footnote 27: Stott, pp. 186-91.] However, this point must remain doubtful. The fact that John needed to warn his readers against the possibility of sinning and failing to continue in the truth and in the doctrine of Christ (1Jn 2:24; 2Jn 1:7-11) suggests that he did not altogether exclude the possibility that a person might fall away from his faith into apostasy [cf. Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-31]. Nevertheless, it was his clear expectation that his readers would continue in their faith without falling away from it." [Note: Marshall, pp. 249-50.]