And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
What does 1 John 5:14 mean?
Upon all this evidence, it is but right that we believe on the name of the Son of God. Believers have eternal life in the covenant of the gospel.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 1 John 5:13-15 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 1 John 5:14
" Greek, "toward him," or in respect to him - προς αυτον pros auton. The confidence referred to here is that which relates to the answer to prayer. The apostle does not say that this is the only thing in respect to which there is to be confidence in him, but that it is one which is worthy of special consideration. The sense is, that one of the effects of believing on the Lord Jesus 1 John 5:13 is, that we have the assurance that our prayers will be answered. On the word "confidence," see the notes at 1 John 3:21 ; 1 John 4:17 .
Key words
- the consideration
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the consideration.
Context in 1 John 5
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1 John 5 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as assurance and final warning. First John is a profound epistle of light, truth, love, assurance, obedience, and confession of the incarnate Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of love, truth, and assurance in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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A guided collection of passages on God’s love, neighbor-love, steadfast covenant love, and the shape of love in Christian life.
Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Passages on asking, persistence, confession, dependence, and the way prayer shapes Christian life and attention.
Bible verses about eternal life
Core passages on everlasting life, union with Christ, resurrection hope, judgment, and the promise of life beyond death.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.