1 John 5:15

1Jn 5:15. Ἐὰν οἴδαμεν) if we know. Ἐὰν sometimes takes an indicative, of past time; and it does so here to give strength.—ἔχομεν, we have) even before the event itself (comp. 1Sa 1:17-18); and we know that the event itself is not from chance, but obtained by prayers.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn_5:15. καὶ ἐὰν οἴδαμεν. By the indicative after ἐάν (see on this, Winer, p. 264; VII. p. 277; Al. Buttmann, p. 191 ff.) this knowledge is emphasized as something undoubtedly belonging to the believer; differently 1Jn_5:16 : ἐάν τις ἴδῃ.

ὅτι ἀκούει ἡμῶν, ὅ ἐὰν (ἂν) αἰτώμεθα] Resumption of what was previously stated.

οἴδαμεν, ὅτι κ.τ.λ.] In the certainty that God hears us lies also the certainty: ὅτι ἔχομεν τὰ αἰτήματα ἃ ᾐτήκαμεν ἀπ ̓ (παρ ̓) αὐτοῦ.

ἔχομεν is neither = λαμβάνομεν, nor is the present put for the future (Grotius); the present is rather to be kept in its proper meaning; the believer always has that for which he has asked God (κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ); he has God, and in Him all things.

τὰ αἰτήματα are the res petitae (Lorinus).

ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ from its position is not to be connected with ἔχομεν, but with ᾐτήκαμεν; comp. Mat_20:20; Act_3:2; differently chap. 1Jn_3:22 : λαμβάνομεν ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 5:15 . An amplification of the second limitation. “We have our requests” not always as we pray but as we would pray were we wiser. God gives not what we ask but what we really need. cf. Shak., Ant. and Cleop. i. ii.:

“We, ignorant of ourselves,

Beg often our own harms, which the wise powers

Deny us for our good; so find we profit,

By losing of our prayers”.

Prayer is not dictation to God but ἀνάβασις νοῦ πρὸς Θεὸν καὶ αἴτησις τῶν προσηκόντων παρὰ Θεοῦ (Joan. Damasc. De. Fid. Orthod. , iii. 24). Clem. Alex.: “Non absolute dixit quod petierimus sed quod oportet petere’.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

hear--Greek, "that He heareth us."

we have the petitions that we desired of him--We have, as present possessions, everything whatsoever we desired (asked) from Him. Not one of our past prayers offered in faith, according to His will, is lost. Like Hannah, we can rejoice over them as granted even before the event; and can recognize the event when it comes to pass, as not from chance, but obtained by our past prayers. Compare also Jehoshaphat's believing confidence in the issue of his prayers, so much so that he appointed singers to praise the Lord beforehand.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. And if we know that he hear us] Seeing we are satisfied that he hears the prayer of faith, requesting the things which himself has promised; we know, consequently, that we have the petitions-the answer to the petitions, that we desired of him; for he cannot deny himself; and we may consider them as sure as if we had them; and we shall have them as soon as we plead for and need them. We are not to ask to-day for mercy that we now need, and not receive it till to-morrow, or some future time. God gives it to him who prays, when it is needful.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15 And if we know This is not a superfluous repetition, as it seems to be; for what the Apostle declared in general respecting the success of prayer, he now affirms in a special manner that the godly pray or ask for nothing from God but what they obtain. But when he says that all the petitions of the faithful are heard, he speaks of right and humble petitions, and such as are consistent with the rule of obedience. For the faithful do not give loose reins to their desires, nor indulge in anything that may please them, but always regard in their prayers what God commands.

This, then, is an application of the general doctrine to the special and private benefit of every one, lest the faithful should doubt that God is propitious to prayers of each individual, so that with quiet minds they may wait until the Lord should perform what they pray for, and that being thus relieved from all trouble and anxiety, they may cast on God the burden of their cares. This ease and security ought not, however, to abate in them their earnestness in prayer, for he who is certain of a happy event ought not to abstain from praying to God. For the certainty of faith by no means generates indifference or sloth. The Apostle meant; that every one should be tranquil in these necessities when he has deposited his sighs in the bosom of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

15. if we know that he hear us … we know that we have] The one certitude depends upon the other: if we trust God’s goodness, we are perfectly certain that our trust is not misplaced. Comp. ‘All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them’ (Mar_11:24). ‘Whatsoever we ask’ belongs to the conditional clause.

that we have] Not merely that we shall have: our prayers are already granted, although no results may be perceptible. ‘Everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth’ (Mat_7:8).

that we desired of him] Better, that we have asked of Him: it is the perfect tense of the same verb as is used in ‘whatsoever we ask.’ Comp. Mat_20:20. ‘Of Him’ or ‘from Him’ (ἀπ' αὐτοῦ) can be taken with ‘that we have’.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if we know that he hear us,.... As it may be assured he does hear and answer all such persons that ask according to his will:

whatsoever we ask, we know, or are assured,

that we have the petitions that we desired of him: for as it is the nature of that holy confidence, which believers have in God, to believe whatever they ask according to his will, in general, shall be grappled, so every request in particular; yea, before the mercy desired, or the favour asked for is conferred, they are as sure of having it in God's own time and way, as if they now had it in hand and fact.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Ver. 15. We know that we have] Iste vir potuit quod voluit, That man could do what he would with God, said one concerning Luther. {See Trapp on "Joh 15:16"}

We have the petitions that we desired of him] If we can perceive and discern that God listeneth, the thing is done. Now the former we may find, first, by a cast of God’s countenance, by a smile of his face, Psa 22:24; Psa 34:15, for a godly man is admitted to see as well as speak; like a good angel, he is ever looking on the face of God; and can gather by that how he shall speed in his suit. The upright shall dwell in his presence, Psa 140:13, when the hypocrite shall not come before him, Job 13:16. Secondly, By the answer of a man’s own conscience, 1Jn 3:20. God answers us by this, as he did the high priest by Urim and Thummim, and as he answered Elijah by fire from heaven that consumed his sacrifice. This faithful petitioners seldom fail of, Psa 35:13; Psa 6:8-9 Php 4:6-7.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if we know that he hear us - That is, if we are assured of this as a true doctrine, then, even though we may not “see” immediately that the prayer is answered, we may have the utmost confidence that it is not disregarded, and that it will be answered in the way best adapted to promote our good. The specific thing that we asked may not indeed be granted, (compare Luk 22:42; 2Co 12:8-9), but the prayer will not be disregarded, and the thing which is most for our good will be bestowed upon us. The “argument” here is derived from the faithfulness of God; from the assurance which we feel that when he has promised to hear us, there will be, sooner or later, a real answer to the prayer.

We know that we have the petitions ... - That is, evidently, we now that we “shall” have them, or that the prayer will be answered. It cannot mean that we already have the precise thing for which we prayed, or that will be a real answer to the prayer, for

(a)The prayer may relate to something future, as protection on a journey, or a harvest, or restoration to health, or the safe return of a son from a voyage at sea, or the salvation of our souls - all of which are “future,” and which cannot be expected to be granted at once; and,

(b)The answer to prayer is sometimes delayed, though ultimately granted. There may be reasons why the answer should be deferred, and the promise is not that it shall be immediate. The “delay” may arise from such causes as these:

To try our faith, and see whether the blessing is earnestly desired.

(2)Perhaps it could not be at once answered without a miracle.

(3)It might not be consistent with the divine arrangements respecting others to grant it to us at once.

(4)Our own condition may not be such that it would be best to answer it at once.

We may need further trial, further chastisement, before the affliction, for example, shall be removed; and the answer to the prayer may be delayed for months or years. Yet, in the meantime, we may have the firmest assurance that the prayer is heard, and that it will be answered in the way and at the period when God shall see it to be best.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In the latter, in that, or somewhat equivalent, or better; for if he determine that thing to be best for us, all circumstances considered, we shall have it; if he determine otherwise, (supposing we pray according to his will), we desire it not: for every one intends good to himself, when he prays for any thing, not hurt. And God answers his children according to that general meaning of their prayers, not always according to the particular (which may be often a much mistaken) meaning. According whereto, supposing the thing would be really and in truth hurtful, (and God’s judgment is always according to truth), they constructively pray to be denied it; and the denial is the equivalent, nay, the better thing than what they particularly prayed for; and so they truly have their petitions: see 1Jo 3:22. Nor can any be understood to pray according to God’s will as the rule, if it be not to his glory as the end, as the order and connexion of petitions shows in that admirable platform prescribed by our Lord himself. And is it possible to be the sense of any one that hath a sincere heart in prayer, that God would gratify him against himself? Therefore that latitude allowed the apostles, Joh 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23, &c., must be understood to respect the service of the Christian interest, and is to be limited thereby, as some of the expressions show.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Know that he hear us—If we live in a consciousness that we have access to the divine ear. We also know, in spite of apparent failures, that we have the petitions or askings, either in the things themselves or some blessed equivalents.

We desired—Rather, (in the perfect tense,) we have ever asked of him. Our askings have never been in vain, even though the specified thing has never come. They all redound upon us in divine blessedness.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The point is not, that if God hears our prayers he grants them (as if we could ever pray to him without his being aware of it); but that if we know that he hears our prayers (i.e., trust him without reserve), we already have what we have asked in accordance with his will. It may be years before we perceive that our prayers have been answered: perhaps in this world we may never be able to see this; but we know that God has answered them. The peculiar construction, ejan with the indicative, is not uncommon in the New Testament as a variant reading. It seems to be genuine in Luk_19:40 and Act_8:31 with the future indicative, anddamen 1Th_3:8 with the present. H ere the reading is undisputed. Of course, oi is virtually present; but even the past tenses of the indicative are sometimes found after ejan (see Winer, pages 369, 370; see also Trench, "On the Authorized Version of the New Testament," page 61).

Vers. 15-17.

Intercessory prayer: its sphere and its issues.

Connecting Sink: We have freedom in prayer. That freedom will show itself in making intercession for others. At once there is suggested our topicIntercessory prayer. There are six matters here requiring notice.

I HERE IS AN OUTLOOK PRESENTED. We are surrounded with brethren not only Christian brethren, whether those that are really or those that are nominally such; but with "brethren" in the world, those of our own race, of our own flesh and blood, owned as "brethren" by him who took human nature on himself, and certainly not to be disowned as such by his followers. Such may be seen giving way to sin. Sins are of two kinds those "unto death" and "sin not unto death." Inasmuch as all sin persisted in and unrepented of is "unto death," we seem to be shut up to the inference that there is a state of sinning which is beyond the boundary-line of hope; while there are also sins which by no means involve any such sad conclusion. The case they present may be grievous, but it is by no means hopeless. It is to be hoped that the absolutely hopeless cases are rare indeed. "All injustice is sin;" it stains the soul, but need not destroy it.

II A CASE SUPPOSED. A believer sees a brother sin a sin which is not unto death (for of the hopeless cases we do not just now speak). Such a case may fall under one of three heads.

1. It may be the case of a real Christian surprised into a fault. (Gal_6:1)

2. It may be that of a nominal Christian who says he has faith, but has notworks.

1. It may be that of one entirely outside the Christian camp who is

1. alienated from God;

2. sunk in the mire of uncleanness;

3. entangled in temptation;

4. bewildered with doubt;

5. hardened, careless, dead.

In all such instances there is cause for grief, there is urgent need of laying the case before God; but there is no need for despair.

III A COURSE ADOPTED. "He will ask," i.e., he will plead for such a one with God. The apostle does not lay this down as an injunction; he says "he will" do it, as if by the instinctive promptings of an earnest spirit. It is not said for what he will ask; that is understood. He will ask for "life for new life where there has been none, for more life where it is feeble, for revived life where it is flagging. Note also that it is here supposed that the intercessory prayer will not lose its point by wandering over general themes and spheres, but will aim at laying the case of one sinning brother before God. How much point and power would our prayers gain if they were more intercessory! How much force would accrue to intercessory prayer if it were more specific!

IV A BOON SECURED. "He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death;" and these are those for whom the petitions are offered. There are four points to be noted.

1. The gift is life. This suggestive word includes all spiritual good in eachcase as it is needed.

1. The Giver is God; the Divine name is not specified, but we cannot be indoubt, since

1. none but God can give life, and

2. it is to him the prayer is addressed, therefore from him the answer comes.

3. The gift of life is for those who have sinned, but not unto death. Theseare the wanderers whose case was borne upon the pleader"s heart.

1. This gift of life for the dead and dying ones is God"s gift to the anxiouspleader. Beautiful gift! To see life from God coming to those for whom we pray is surely the largest gift our hearts can desire. It is the "open reward" of the prayers offered to the Father in secret. Not thousands of gold and silver, yea, not the wealth of worlds, can compare with a boon like this! What must be the joy of him who can point to a thousand living souls turned from the error of their ways in answer to his prayer!

V A QUESTION RESERVED "There is sin unto death" (not "a sin." Whether that be so or no, it is not what the apostle says here. He is speaking rather of the state than of a specific act). Great obscurity rests on this phrase; for the reason given in division I, we regard it as necessarily meaning a state of sinning that is beyond the hope-line.

1. What is this state? The following texts sum up nearly all that we know: Joh_15:6; Luk_12:10; Php_3:19; Heb_6:4-6.

(1) Severance from Christ;

(2) the sin against the Holy Ghost;

(3) apostasy;

(4) final and fixed impenitence.

Either of these is a state of "sin unto death." There are rocks out at sea in perpetual mist. Such is this rock of fatal sin. We cannot sketch it, nor point out its exact locus. God keep us all far away from it! But granting such a case:

2. What is to be done? Is no intercessory voice to go up for such a one? The apostle is alarmingly silent. He does not say. An appalling thought is here brought into the field of vision. That possibly a man may be so far gone in sin that not the fondest intercessor could offer up a prayer for him, if he knew how far the sin had gone. We cannot venture to write on such a theme without fear and trembling. But we ask the reader to note the words we have italicized, "If he knew," etc. We are never in a position to pronounce a case hopeless; hence there is nothing to bar our pleading for the worst of sinners. Besides, if a man be a man of prayer, the Spirit of God will guide him for whom to pray and what to pray for; and wherever a praying man is borne along by God"s Spirit to pray without ceasing for the conversion of this one or that one, such inward groaning, divinely born, is a pledge of a gracious answer. In the life of a medical missionary (Dr. Henderson) we are told by him that he had ten thousand cases under his care in the hospital. For some cases he could not open his lips in prayer. In other cases he was borne along to plead again and again for their recovery; and when this was so, he never lost a case.

VI THE RESULT, when all such reserved cases are allowed for. The boon secured as touched on in division IV will still remain, a witness to the power of prayer, a seal to the reality of communion with God, and a blessed reward for the "strong crying and tears" of the faithful pleader. Note:

1. "The apostolic teaching recognizes a mysterious dependence of man onman in the spiritual order, like that which is now being shown to exist in the physical order" (Canon Westcott). Even so. There are wandering souls whose weal is bound up with the intercession of the saints.

2. It is by this intercessory service that the priesthood of believers is tobecome a practical reality. We are "kings and priests unto God". (Rev_1:6) No priest was ever made such for his own sake. Priests are for others. We are to go into the holy of holies, and there to bear precious souls upon our heart before God.

1. What vast possibilities of life are wrapped up in a believer"s Prayers!when the breath of prayer rises up from man to God, the breath of life will be unbreathed by God to man.

2. Who would not wish to spend and be spent in prayer, if we may receive,as God"s blessed boon, life for souls! Why are we not more unselfish in our prayers? Why is so large a portion of them for ourselves, so small a portion for others? And why are we not more specific in prayer? Let us call up before us some brother or brethren for whose return to God we long and yearn; for them let us plead, and never, never give up. And if by our pleading many are visited by Heaven"s best gift of life, they may never know who prayed for them; but our prayers will go up for a memorial before God, and we shall find it true that "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We have - Faith anticipates the blessings. The petitions which we asked of him - Even before the event. And when the event comes, we know it comes in answer to our prayer.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

15. If we know that he hear us. Hear us with open ears. Then we may know that we have what we ask. It will be granted.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. For παρʼ αὐτοῦ ([805][806][807]) read ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ ([808][809]). [810]1[811] omit from ἡμῶν to ἡμῶν: homoeoteleuton.

[805] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. All three Epistles.

[806] 9th century. All three Epistles.

[807] 9th century. All three Epistles.

[808] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles.

[809] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles.

[810] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles.

[811] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. All three Epistles.

15. ἐὰν οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀκούει … οἴδ. ὄτι ἔχομεν. The one certitude depends on the other: if we trust God’s goodness, we are perfectly certain that our trust is not misplaced. Comp. πάντα ὅσα προσεύχεσθε καὶ αἰτεῖσθε, πιστεύετε ὅτι ἐλάβετε, καὶ ἔσται ὑμῖν (Mar 11:24). Here the present ἔχομεν states the fact (comp. Mat 7:8); in Mar 11:24 the future ἔσται states the result of the fact. Our petitions are granted at once: the results of the granting are perceived in the future. For the exceptional construction ἐὰν οἴδαμεν comp. ἐὰν δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν ὁλοκάρπωμα προσφέρει δῶρον τῷ κυρίῳ (Lev 1:14): ἐὰν ὑμεῖς στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ (1Th 3:8). In Rom 14:8 ἀποθνήσκομεν seems to be a false reading: so also ἐλευθερώσει in Joh 8:36. But in Act 8:31 ὁδηγήσει is probably correct. Winer, 369.

ἃ ᾐτήκαμεν. Which we have asked of Him, as R.V. Note the change from middle to active without change of meaning. Ἀπʼ αὐτου is amphibolous: it may go either with ἔχομεν or ᾐτήκαμεν. The order favours the latter connexion; but αἰτεῖν is more commonly followed by παρά (Joh 4:9; Act 3:2; Act 9:2; Jas 1:5) than by ἀπό. Hence the confusion of readings here and Mat 20:20.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] The believer’s confidence as shewn in prayer. And the confidence which we have towards Him (which follows as a matter of immediate inference from the fact of our spiritual life: see ch. 3:19-21) is this, that if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us (this confidence may be shewn in various ways, including prayer as one, ch. 3:22. And that one, of prayer, is alone chosen to be insisted on here. As regards the construction, there is no ellipsis between ἡ παρ. and ὅτι; “our confidence is this, (the confidence) that …,” as some, e. g. Lücke, have thought. ἡ παῤῥησία is itself subjective, the feeling of confidence.

αὐτόν and τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ must by all analogy be referred to the Father, not to the Son, by whom we have access to the Father. See especially ch. 3:21, 22.

The truth that God hears (ἀκούει, as in reff.) all our prayers, has been explained on ch. 3:22. The condition here attached, that the request be κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, is in fact no limitation within the reality of the Christian life, i. e. in St. John’s way of speaking according to the true ideal. For God’s will is that to which our glorious Head himself submitted himself, and which rules the whole course of the Christian life for our good and His glory: and he who in prayer or otherwise tends against God’s will is thereby, and in so far, transgressing the bounds of his life in God: see Jas 4:3. By the continual feeling of submission to His will, joined with continual increase in knowledge of that will, our prayers will be both chastened, and directed aright. If we knew His will thoroughly, and submitted to it heartily, it would be impossible for us to ask any thing, for the spirit or for the body, which He should not hear and perform. And it is this ideal state, as always, which the Apostle has in view. In this view he goes still farther in the next verse).

15.] And if we know that He heareth us whatsoever we ask (= our every petition: the condition, κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, is omitted this time as being supposed to be fulfilled), we know that we have the petitions (τὰ αἰτήματα, ‘res petitas,’ as Huther from Lorinus) which we have asked from Him (notice the pres. ἔχομεν with the perf. ᾐτήκαμεν.The perf. reaches through all our past prayers to this moment. All these we ἔχομεν: not one of them is lost: He has heard, He has answered them all: we know that we have them in the truest sense, in possession. If the perf. were pres., αἰτούμεθα, the assertion ἔχομεν would be merely of habit, on each occasion: as it is, it is of the present possession of all past requests.

The παρʼ αὐτοῦ belongs, by the arrangement of the words, to ᾐτήκαμεν, not to ἔχομεν, as Huther).

16,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. ἐὰν οἴδαμεν] For the indicative after ἐάν, cf. 1Th 3:8, ἐὰν στήκετε, and J. H. Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek, p. 168, where among others the following instances from papyri are quoted, ἐὰν δεῖ, ἐὰν οἶδεν, ἐὰν δʼ εἰσίν, ἐὰν φαίνεται.

Our consciousness that we are heard in whatsoever we ask, the necessary condition not being repeated, brings with it a consciousness of possession. In the certainty of anticipation there is a kind of possession of that which has been granted, though our actual entering upon possession may be indefinitely delayed. God has heard the petition: the things asked for, for which we have asked not without effect (ᾐτήκαμεν), are in a sense already ours. This is perhaps the most natural explanation of the verse.But it is possible that the writer, while meditating after his wont on the subject of prayer, is trying to find expression for a view of prayer which gives a more literal meaning to the words ἔχομεν τὰ αἰτήματα. In the preceding verse he has laid stress on the fact that what he has to say applies only to such prayers as are offered κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ. This excludes any prayer which is the expression of the supplicant’s own wish on any subject, except in so far as it is identical with the will of God on that subject. He may therefore have thought of true prayer as including only requests for knowledge of, and acquiescence in, the will of God in the matter with which the prayer is concerned, rather than as a statement of the supplicant’s wish, accompanied by a readiness to give it up, if it is in opposition to God’s will. In the case of such prayers the supplicant can enter into immediate and conscious possession of the thing asked for, whether the answer to his own formulated or felt wish be yes or no. The statement may be literally true οἴδαμεν ὅτι τὰ αἰτήματα ἔχομεν. Cf. Mar 11:24.

αἰτήματα] Here only in the Johannine writings. Cf. Luk 23:24, ἐπέκρινεν γενέσθαι τὸ αἴτημα αὐτῶν: Php 4:6, τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω πρὸς τὸν θεόν.

ᾐτήκαμεν] The voice and tense emphasize the objective fact and its results.

ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ] The Received Text has altered this into the commoner παρʼ αὐτοῦ. Cf., however, 1Jn 1:5, 1Jn 1:2:20, 27, 1Jn 1:4:21; 3Jn 1:7. In the Gospel παρά is the commoner usage in similar contexts. Thus the reading of א B is truer to the style of the Epistle, while the usage of the Gospel has apparently influenced the later text.

om. και … ημων א* A 19*. 96* | οιδαμεν1:0] ιδωμεν א c | om. εαν1:0 vg. Did. | ο] οτι Ia δ457-110. δ463 (209) | εαν2:0] αν A B K al. sat. mu. Oec. | αιτωμεθα] αιτησωμεθα Ia δ353 (999?) | εχωμεν H δ2*. δ6 (א) Ia 7. 70. δ353 | αιτηματα] + ημων Ia 175 (319) sah | ητησαμεν Ia 200f. 64 (83) A πρ 20 (36) Ib 78ff (—) (ητηκαμεν expl. sahb) | απ א B 5. 13 Rev_5] παρ A K L P al. pler. cat. | απ αυτου] a Domino sah.

15. scimus siscimuS.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whatsoever we ask. The whole phrase is governed by the verb hear. If we know that He heareth our every petition.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. καὶ ἐὰν οἴδαμεν... Et scimus V., st scimus Ε΄, And of we know... The force of this unusual construction appears to be to throw the uncertainty upon the fact of the presence of the knowledge and not upon the knowledge itself. The sense required is not ‘and should we know,’ but ‘and should it be that we know.’

ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα]) whatsoever we ask. This universal phrase can be substi-

16,17. That boldness of access to God, which finds expression in prayer, finds its most characteristic expression in intercessory prayer. Fellowship with God involves fellowship with man (i. 3). The energy of Christian life is from the first social. Hence St John passes naturally from the general thought of prayer to that of prayer for the brethren. And in doing this he fixes attention on the failures of Christians, These are the sorest trial of faith.

The prevailing power of intercession corresponds with the Christian revelation of the unity of the Body of Christ. When this power is exercised for others it is exercised in a true sense for ourselves, and not, arbitrarily as it were, for those apart from us. Apostolic teaching recognises a mysterious dependence of man upon man in the spiritual order like that which is now being shewn to exist in the physical

πρὸς θάνατον. The subjective negative (μὴ πρὸς 0.) naturally follows from the supposition (ἐάν ris). It is otherwise in Ὁ. 17.

αἰτήσει] petit (-at) V., postulahit F., he shall ask. This will be his natural and spontaneous action. There is no need of a command.

καὶ δώσει) and he will give. The subject has been taken to be (1) the intercessor, or (2) God (dabit et vitam Dominus Tert. de Pudic. 19; but dabitur et, id. 2). In favour of the first view the continuity of the construction (αἰτήσει, δώσει) and the parallel James v. 20 have been urged.

The second view is that which is at first suggested by the language of Scripture generally. To ‘give life’ is elsewhere treated as a divine prerogative; John vi. 33; x. 28; xvii. 2; vo. 11. But there is nothing unscriptural in the thought that the believer does that which God does through him; James v.20. Still on the whole it seems more natural to see here a reference to the direct action of God.

If ‘God’ be the subject of ‘give’

vi, 11, &e.

ἐρωτήσῃ] make request. The change of the verb from αἰτεῖν (V. petere), (αἰτεῖσθαι), to épwrav (V. rogare), cannot but be significant. Ἐρωτᾷν is the word which is used of Christ’s prayer to the Father (John xiv. 16; Xvi. 26; xvii. 9, 15,20; comp. 1 Thess. iv. 1; 2 John 5). It seems to mark the request which is based upon fellowship, upon a likeness of position. Here then it would naturally express the prayer of brother for brother as such, to the common Father. Such a prayer is not enjoined by the apostle. At the. same time he does not forbid it. It does not lie within his scope'.

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901), The Epistle to the Hebrews (1889) and The Epistles of St John (1883) — public domain (pre-1929). Text recovered from Internet Archive / Google Books OCR scans. Westcott’s Gospel of John commentary is not included (its OCR lost the chapter running-heads required for reliable verse-keying). Some Greek quoted in the Hebrews volume is imperfectly rendered by the OCR.