In this message we shall consider 5:14-17.
Verse 14 says, “And this is the boldness which we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” The word “and” at the beginning of this verse is important. Without this word, we may think that 5:14-17 is a section separate from the foregoing section and having nothing to do with it. We may also think that what the writer covers in verse 14 comes in suddenly. Actually, however, according to spiritual facts, what John speaks of in verse 14 is not a surprise. Rather, it is a spontaneous outflow from the preceding verses.
First John 5:4-13 shows us that we have received eternal life, as mentioned in 1:1-2. Then verses 14 through 17 tell us how we pray in the fellowship of eternal life, as mentioned in 1:3-7. The first seven verses of chapter one indicate that we have received eternal life, and out of this eternal life we have fellowship with the apostles and also with the Father and the Son. The principle is the same in 5:4-17. In 5:4-13 we have received eternal life, and in 5:14-17 we are in the fellowship of this life. Of course, the word “fellowship” is not here. These verses speak of prayer. When we pray by the divine life, we are in the fellowship of the divine life. Therefore, these verses in fact refer to the divine fellowship.
The word “and” at the beginning of verse 14 connects the life in 5:4-13 to the fellowship in 5:14-17. In the former section we have received eternal life, and we have the written word as the assurance of this. Now John uses what he has written in 5:4-13 as a basis to show us that this eternal life can overcome death. We have received eternal life, and this life has been testified, proved, and pledged within us. Now John intends to point out that eternal life overcomes death.
Perhaps you regarded 5:14-17 as verses concerning our prayer and God’s answer to our prayer. Actually, John’s intention in these verses is to show us that the eternal life within us can overcome death both in ourselves and in other members of the church. Eternal life swallows up death within us and death within other members.
In the church life we do not live alone. Because the church is the Body, we live with the fellow members of the Body. Since we are in the Body, we are members with the other fellow members. Eternal life not only takes care of our own need; it also takes care of the need of the fellow members around us. It overcomes death within us, and it overcomes death within our brothers. Especially, it overcomes death in those who are weak or who have problems.
Weakness is related to death, and problems come from death. As long as there are problems in the church life, this is an indicator that there is death among those in the church. Therefore, we need eternal life to overcome, to swallow up, this death. If you are stronger and a fellow member is weaker, then you may become the one to supply the life from within you to the weaker one in order to swallow up the death within him.
Now we can understand why verse 14 begins with “and.” Let us read verses 13 and 14a again: “I write these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. And this is the boldness which we have toward Him.” Apparently, the first part of verse 14 is not fitting or logical. But if we touch the burden in the writer’s spirit, we shall see that his intention is to show us not only that we have eternal life, but also that this eternal life within us overcomes death and swallows it up.