Reading: 1 John 5:14–17
As we near the close of the book of 1 John, we have discovered two central ideas interwoven throughout. First, we must abide in the Son. Yes, we must hold fast to the doctrine of the incarnation, but just as significantly we must trust the condescending Christ. As the hymn says, he appeared to “save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray.” (See 2:1–2, 3:8.) The one who trusts him has overcome the world and the evil one (2:14, 4:4, 5:5). Second, we must love one another. The darkness is fading; the light of Christ’s love is shining through us (2:7–11). As we have been loved, so we are called to love one another (4:11). As Jesus is “so also are we in this world” (4:17).
These two beautiful strains of truth and love harmonise in today’s passage in a way that we may not have been expecting: prayer for a sinning brother. The truth that we celebrate and abide in is that the Son of God was sent by the love of God to take the wrath of God so that we might approach the presence of God with all confidence.
But how do we steward this confident approach to God? We must first submit our requests to the will of God (5:14). We come believing and trusting that our Father knows best, so if what we request is good, he will grant it. If it is not good, we know that we will have what his wise, extravagant, Son-granting love has devised for us.
And what has our Father taught us about his will in this letter if not his plan to grant life through his Son to his children? So in prayer we stand on the truth of God’s gospel to plead on behalf of our brothers that their sin will not cause their defeat. We pray that they would abide in the Son and experience life from God’s hands. While we must not neglect meeting physical needs (3:16–18), we have covenanted together to use this great privilege of prayer for one another.
Now the “sin that leads to death” is a perplexing phrase that has resulted in debate among interpreters. It is possible this refers to physical death like in 1 Corinthians 11:30. But nothing in the letter so far has led us to expect such a situation, so it may be more likely that it refers to so-called brothers who “were really not of us” and left the faith (1 John 2:18–19). Note that John does not explicitly prohibit prayer for them. Rather he seems to be addressing a potentially distracting issue that would have been on the minds of his audience, “What about those who have left?” John directs their attention back to the faithful, abiding community for the moment; here we are on firmer ground. Sadly, the obscurity of the phrase can cause us to be distracted from the main point, which is precisely what John is seeking to avoid.
And here’s the main point: In love, God has afforded you the great privilege of prayer by sending his Son into the world, so, in love, use that privilege for one another.