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Our apostle entering now upon the conclusion of his excellent epistle, acquaints them with his design and end in the writing of it, namely,
1. That they might know they had eternal life, that is, both a right and title to eternal life, and might also attain to the knowledge and assurance of it.
Learn thence, That believers may in this life, without the help of extraordinary revelation, attain to a knowledge and well-grounded assurance of life eternal. These things have I written unto you that believe, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.
There is a threefold knowledge;
notional, which is barely the work of the understanding; experimental, which is seated in the heart, and visible in the life; fiducial, when a person is ascertained and assured of what he knows:
Thus here, these things I write, that ye may know that ye know, that is , be assured that ye know; a Christian may believe, and yet not be assured that he does believe; many have a vital act which have not fiducial act of faith; many have a faith of adherence that want a faith of evidence: Faith and assurance in a saint, differ as much as reason and learning in a man; every man has reason, but every man that has reason has not learning, which is the improvement of reason; thus every good man has faith, but every one that has faith has not assurance, which is the special fruit of faith.
This therefore was the first design and end of St. John's writing, that they might know they did believe; the second follows,
that those that did believe, might believe on the name of the Son of God; the meaning is, that they might more firmly believe, be more rooted, grounded, settled, and confirmed in the faith, so as to remain unshaken by all the storms of persecution that might fall upon them; this seems to be the sense of the apostle when he exhorts believers to believe.
These things write I unto you that believe, that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. The strongest believers may be exhorted to strengthen their faith, and to persevere in the faith, which they are strengthened and established in.