John in his closing remarks sums up this first letter and all that he said with an order to pray. Within the church ‘antichrists’ have like a creeping darkness have led Christians away through deception. They have dethroned Jesus and they are unkind and unloving to their fellow believers. John has been questioning them in 5 chapters of his letter whether they in the end know Jesus or not. His conclusion is that they do not.
“If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5 v 16-20)
John instructs us to pray for those who continue to sin in the way he has exposed. These are sins that do not lead to physical death but they actually look like they are very much alive and full of the Spirit in their ‘sinning’.
- We know that our relationship with Jesus keeps us from continuing to sin by withdrawing love. Pray for those who are unloving that they may know Jesus.
- We know we do not do the devils work. Those who deceive and destroy are under the evil one. Pray for those to be free from doing the work of the evil one.
- We know that there are those who are ‘true’, those who are in Him, who are true and there are those who are not and who do not know Jesus. Pray for those who need to see the light of understanding.
Missions Paul 