The Meaning of 1 John 5:14 Explained

1 John 5:14

KJV: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

YLT: And this is the boldness that we have toward Him, that if anything we may ask according to his will, He doth hear us,

Darby: And this is the boldness which we have towards him, that if we ask him anything according to his will he hears us.

ASV: And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  this  is  the confidence  that  we have  in  him,  that,  if  we ask  any thing  according  to his  will,  he heareth  us: 

What does 1 John 5:14 Mean?

Context Summary

1 John 5:13-21 - Ask According To His Will
We know that we have eternal life. The rope is in our hand bearing us onward, but its ends are hidden from view in the past and in the future. We also know that God hears us when we comply with the conditions of true prayer. We know, moreover, that we can become the medium through which the life of God passes to others. Thus the humblest child may have power with God and man.
The Only-Begotten keeps the begotten. Evil can no more touch them than blight could reach the bush in the wilderness that was bathed in the celestial fire. Who would go back to the world? Enumerate and press to heart these four items of positive knowledge; but beware lest what is legitimate and natural in itself may become an idol. Love, knowledge, abiding, conquering-these are the keynotes of this wonderful letter. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 John 5

1  He who loves God loves his children, and keeps his commandments;
3  which to the faithful are not grievous
9  Jesus is the Son of God;
14  and able to hear our prayers

Greek Commentary for 1 John 5:14

Toward him [προς αυτον]
Fellowship with (προς — pros face to face) Christ. For boldness see 1 John 2:28. [source]
That [οτι]
Declarative again, as in 1 John 5:11.If we ask anything (εαν τι αιτωμετα — ean ti aitōmetha). Condition of third class with εαν — ean and present middle (indirect) subjunctive (personal interest as in James 4:3, though the point is not to be pressed too far, for see Matthew 20:20, Matthew 20:22; John 16:24, John 16:26).According to his will This is the secret in all prayer, even in the case of Jesus himself. For the phrase see 1 Peter 4:19; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11.He heareth us (ακουει ημων — akouei hēmōn). Even when God does not give us what we ask, in particular then (Hebrews 5:7.). [source]
If we ask anything [εαν τι αιτωμετα]
Condition of third class with εαν — ean and present middle (indirect) subjunctive (personal interest as in James 4:3, though the point is not to be pressed too far, for see Matthew 20:20, Matthew 20:22; John 16:24, John 16:26). [source]
According to his will [κατα το τελημα αυτου]
This is the secret in all prayer, even in the case of Jesus himself. For the phrase see 1 Peter 4:19; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11.He heareth us (ακουει ημων — akouei hēmōn). Even when God does not give us what we ask, in particular then (Hebrews 5:7.). [source]
He heareth us [ακουει ημων]
Even when God does not give us what we ask, in particular then (Hebrews 5:7.). [source]
Confidence [παῤῥησία]
Rev., boldness. See on 1 John 2:28; see on John 7:13. On have boldness, see on John 16:22. [source]
We ask [αἰτώμεθα]
With a possible reference in the middle voice to asking for ourselves. [source]
According to His will [κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ]
For the phrase compare 1 Peter 4:19; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11. [source]
He heareth us [ἀκούει ἡμῶν]
Compare John 9:31; John 11:41, John 11:42. Hear is used in this sense by John only. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 John 5:14

John 3:19 This []
That is, herein consists the judgment. The prefacing a statement with this is, and then defining the statement by ὅτι or ἵνα , that, is characteristic of John. See John 15:12; John 17:3; 1 John 1:5; 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:14; 3 John 1:6. [source]
John 1:19 This [αὕτη]
The following. This use of the pronoun, calling the reader's attention to what follows, and preparing him for it, is frequent in John. Sometimes the pronoun carries the sense of quality: of this character. See John 3:19; John 15:12; 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:9, 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:14. [source]
John 3:19 And this is the judgment [αυτη δε εστιν η κρισις]
A thoroughly Johannine phrase for sequence of thought (John 15:12; John 17:3; 1 John 1:5; 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:14; 3 John 1:6). It is more precisely the process of judging The light is come Second perfect active indicative of το σκοτος — erchomai a permanent result as already explained in the Prologue concerning the Incarnation (John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:9, John 1:11). Jesus is the Light of the world. Loved darkness Job (Job 24:13) spoke of men rebelling against the light. Here πονηρα — to skotos common word for moral and spiritual darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5), though Πονηρος — hē skotia in John 1:5. “Darkness” is common in John as a metaphor for the state of sinners (John 8:12; John 12:35, John 12:46; 1 John 1:6; 1 John 2:8, 1 John 2:9, 1 John 2:11). Jesus himself is the only moral and spiritual light of the world (John 8:12) as he dared claim to his enemies. The pathos of it all is that men fall in love with the darkness of sin and rebel against the light like denizens of the underworld, “for their works were evil In the end the god of this world blinds men‘s eyes so that they do not see the light (2 Corinthians 4:4). The fish in the Mammoth Cave have no longer eyes, but only sockets where eyes used to be. The evil one has a powerful grip on the world (1 John 5:19). [source]
Hebrews 10:19 To enter into the holiest [εἰς τὴν εἴσοδον τῶν ἁγίων]
Lit. for the entering of the holiest. The phrase παρρησία εἰς boldnessunto, N.T.o Παρρησία with περὶ concerning John 16:25; with πρὸς with reference to, 2 Corinthians 7:4; 1 John 3:21; 1 John 5:14. Ἔισοδος in N.T. habitually of the act of entering. [source]
1 John 2:28 We may have confidence [σχῶμεν παῤῥησίαν]
Rev., boldness. For the phrase have boldness, see 1 John 3:21; 1 John 4:17; 1 John 5:14; Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 10:19; Philemon 1:8. For the word παῤῥησία boldnesssee on John 7:13; see on Acts 2:29. It is opposed, as here, to αἰσχύνομαι tobe ashamed, in Proverbs 13:5, where the Septuagint reads “a wicked man is ashamed ( αἰσχύνεται ) and shall not have boldness ( παῤῥησίαν ). Also in Philemon 1:20. Compare 2 Corinthians 3:12. The idea of free, open speech lies at the bottom of the word: coming before God's bar with nothing to conceal. The thought is embodied in the general confession of the Book of Common Prayer: “That we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God our Heavenly Father, but confess them.” So John Wesley's Hymn:“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousnessMy beauty are, my glorious dress: 'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,-DIVIDER-
With joy shall I lift up my head.Bold shall I stand in Thy great day,For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through these I am, - From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.” [source]

1 John 5:11 That God gave [οτι εδωκεν ο τεος]
Declarative οτι — hoti in apposition with μαρτυρια — marturia as in 1 John 5:14; John 3:19. Note aorist active indicative εδωκεν — edōken (from διδωμι — didōmi) as in 1 John 3:23., the great historic fact of the Incarnation (John 3:16), but the perfect δεδωκεν — dedōken in 1 John 3:1 to emphasize the abiding presence of God‘s love. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 John 5:14 mean?

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him that if anything we might ask according to the will of Him He hears us
Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν παρρησία ἣν ἔχομεν πρὸς αὐτόν ὅτι ἐάν τι αἰτώμεθα κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἀκούει ἡμῶν

αὕτη  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
παρρησία  confidence 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: παρρησία  
Sense: freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech.
ἣν  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἔχομεν  we  have 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: ἔχω  
Sense: to have, i.e. to hold.
πρὸς  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: πρός  
Sense: to the advantage of.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
τι  anything 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
αἰτώμεθα  we  might  ask 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Middle, 1st Person Plural
Root: αἰτέω  
Sense: to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.
κατὰ  according  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: κατά 
Sense: down from, through out.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἀκούει  He  hears 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἡμῶν  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.