Apostle John’s Three Letters . . . 1 John 5:13–15

   John’s Concluding Observations

What if you could approach God without wondering whether he hears you? What if your prayers began not with uncertainty about where you stand with him, but with confidence that you belong to him? In these three verses, John connects two deeply personal concerns: knowing that we have eternal life and knowing that God hears our prayers. Yet this confidence isn’t a promise that God will grant every wish. it’s an invitation to come to our Father assured of his love and ready to seek his will.

We’ve reached the concluding section of John’s first epistle. In his final nine verses, he brings his purpose into sharp focus: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). He isn’t merely reminding his readers what to believe; he wants them to recognize and affirm the assurance that belongs to those who trust God’s Son (enlarge image).

Throughout the letter, John has contrasted truth with falsehood, light with darkness, love with hatred, and obedience with sin. His closing words turn our attention again to what believers can know: We have eternal life in the Son, we can approach God confidently in prayer, and we belong to him even though the world lies under the power of the evil one.

John’s concluding observations therefore center on three connected themes: assurance of eternal life, confidence in prayer, and a call to vigilance. Our immediate passage, vv. 13–15, develops the first two: Believers may know that they have eternal life and that God hears requests made according to his will. The remaining verses apply that confidence to prayer for a sinning believer, they close with reminders of our relationship with the true God and a warning against idols.

Knowing That We Have Eternal Life (1 John 5:13)

Salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ. We hear the gospel and believe its message (Ephesians 1:13; Romans 1:16), turn from sin to God (Acts 3:19), and confess Jesus as Lord, trusting that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9–10, 13). These aren’t achievements that earn salvation; they describe our response to God’s gracious gift. John now addresses those who believe, assuring them that they can know they have eternal life.

John addresses people who already believe in Jesus, yet he recognizes that believers need reassurance. His purpose isn’t to leave them wondering whether eternal life is theirs. He wants them to know that God has given them life in his Son. Notice his wording on salvation: “You have eternal life.” This is a present possession, not merely a future hope. [See Warren’s answer to: What is salvation, and how is it received?”

How do we receive this life? Salvation is God’s gift, received through faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by religious effort or personal merit (Ephesians 2:8–9, GNT). Our confidence therefore begins with what God has done for us in Christ and what he has promised in his Word — not with how worthy we feel or how strong our faith seems on a particular day.

To “believe in the name of the Son of God” means more than agreeing with facts about Jesus. It means trusting the person those truths reveal: God’s Son, our Savior. John directs our attention to the one we trust, rather than inviting us to measure whether our faith feels strong enough. His assurance rests on God’s testimony that life is found in his Son.

Eternal life is more than endless existence or a place in heaven after death. Jesus describes it as knowing the Father and the Son whom he sent (John 17:3). It begins now in a living relationship with God and continues forever. Its everlasting duration and its character as life in fellowship with God belong together.

Throughout this letter, John has also described the marks of that life: faith in Jesus Christ, love for fellow believers, and obedience to God’s commands. In terms of salvation and assurance, some believers struggle with assurance, while others claim confidence without taking faith, love, or obedience seriously:

Note: These three marks of life don’t purchase salvation; they actually help us recognize God’s work within us. John’s purpose is neither to encourage empty confidence nor to make sincere believers despair over their imperfections. He points us to Christ and to the evidence of the life we’ve received in him.

When doubts arise, begin with God’s testimony: “Whoever has the Son has life” (5:12). Then consider how faith, love, and obedience are taking shape in your life. Our feelings may fluctuate, but God’s promises give us a trustworthy foundation for confidence in his Son. We can also trust Jesus’ promises because he spoke what the Father commanded him to say (John 12:49).

John closes v. 13 by assuring his readers that they “know that [they] have eternal life.” It’s knowing that your spirit is reborn and you’ll live forever with God in heaven. Eternal life amounts to a new, everlasting personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God grants eternal life to all believers as a genuine gift. Eternal life concerns the quality or character of our new lifestyle in Christ.

Our Confidence in Approaching God in Prayer (v. 14)

Sometimes our prayers contain more doubt than confidence. We know that we should pray according to God’s will, yet uncertainty about that will can make us hesitate — or even fall silent. John’s purpose, however, is to encourage us to approach God, not to make us afraid of asking.

The assurance of eternal life in v. 13 leads naturally to confidence in prayer (v. 14, enlarge image). Those who belong to God through his Son can approach him freely. As John Stott observes, Christian confidence concerns not only our future before God but also our present approach to him: We come freely and boldly, expecting him to hear requests that accord with his will.

But how can we know what to ask? Scripture gives us a dependable starting point by revealing God’s character, commands, and purposes. We can ask him to deepen our love, strengthen our obedience, and help us live faithfully in Christ. Praying according to his will means seeking what agrees with his revealed purposes rather than trying to persuade him to endorse whatever we desire.

This doesn’t mean that we must understand God’s particular plan before bringing him a need. Jesus encourages his disciples to ask, seek, and knock, trusting their Father’s goodness (Matthew 7:7–11). Paul likewise urges believers to bring their requests to God rather than remain consumed by anxiety (Philippians 4:6). We can express our needs honestly while leaving their outcome in his hands.

When we pray for another person, we seek that person’s good while trusting God to know more fully than we do what that good requires. Jesus himself gives us the pattern: “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Submission isn’t the opposite of confident prayer. It expresses confidence that our Father’s wisdom is greater than our own. We ask sincerely, but we don’t insist that our preferred answer is the only good one.

John’s assurance that God “hears us” means more than that he notices our words. In the context of vv. 14–15, it describes his favorable reception of requests made according to his will. The promise isn’t that every desire will be fulfilled, but that prayer aligned with God’s will is neither ignored nor ineffective.

Don’t let uncertainty silence you. Bring your concerns to God, allow Scripture to shape your requests, and entrust the outcome to him. Confident prayer isn’t an attempt to bend God’s will to ours; it’s asking freely while learning to make our desires agree with his.

That said, when we pray for another person, we seek that person’s good while trusting God to know more fully than we do what that good requires. In essence, this verse teaches that effective prayer must be in accordance with God’s will, doing so provides deep assurance that God not only hears but favorably regards prayers sincerely presented through faith.

A “Right Now” Prayer  When someone shares a need, consider praying briefly at that moment rather than only promising to pray later. You can still return to the concern during your regular prayer time. A simple, immediate “right now” prayer helps turn concern into action and keeps the person’s need before God.

God Hears and Answers Our Prayers (v. 15)

Thankfully, v. 15 also has a confident, reassuring tone: God doesn’t merely notice prayers made according to his will. We must appreciate the confidence that John gives us believers that our requests are granted.

John takes the assurance of v. 14 a step further. God doesn’t merely listen to requests made according to his will; we can be confident that he grants them. “Whatever we ask” must be read together with the preceding condition, “according to his will.” This is a promise of answered prayer. It’s not a guarantee that every personal desire will be fulfilled.

Notice John’s confident wording: “We know that we have what we asked of him.” Our assurance rests on God’s faithfulness, not on already seeing the outcome. The verse doesn’t specify when or how an answer will become evident. It directs us to trust the God who hears requests that accord with his will.

But what about those times when we don’t know what to pray? Paul assures us that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” and intercedes for God’s people “in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27; vv. 26–27 specifically address our weakness in prayer and the Spirit’s intercession according to God’s will. They don’t promise that we’ll always know precisely what to ask; they assure us that the Spirit helps us know what to pray when we don’t). We needn’t understand every circumstance or find perfect words before approaching our Father. Our uncertainty is a reason to depend on the Spirit, not a reason to stop praying.

Fear not! The Holy Spirit will help us know what to pray. And as we consider which petitions to make to him, we should ask ourselves, Is my request based on God’s Word and his will?

As we bring our requests, we can ask: Does this agree with God’s revealed character and purposes? Am I willing to entrust the outcome to him? Scripture helps shape our desires, while the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Confident prayer brings our concerns honestly to God without insisting that our preferred outcome must be his will.

John’s repeated “we know” invites us to rest in God’s trustworthiness. We may still wait, and we may not understand what he’s doing. Yet prayer according to his will isn’t wasted effort: The Father hears; and his response can be trusted.

A Closing Prayer . . .

† Summary and Key Points of 1 John 5:13–15

John writes so that those who believe in God’s Son may know they have eternal life. This assurance leads naturally to confidence in prayer: We can approach our Father knowing that he hears requests made according to his will. Our confidence rests not on the strength of our feelings or our ability to foresee the outcome, but on God’s trustworthy testimony and faithfulness.

•  Assurance: Believers can know that they have eternal life; John presents it as a present possession, not merely a future hope (v. 13).

•  Faith in God’s Son: John addresses those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ; assurance of eternal life is inseparable from trusting him (v. 13).

•  Confidence in approaching God: Believers can bring their requests to their Father freely and confidently (v. 14).

•  Prayer according to God’s will: Confident prayer seeks agreement with God’s purposes rather than the fulfillment of every personal desire (v. 14).

•  Trust in God’s answer: Knowing that God hears requests made according to his will gives us confidence that he grants them, even before the outcome becomes evident (vv. 14–15).

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