Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
For (oti). The reason why God's commandments are not heavy is the power that comes with the new birth from God.
Whatsoever is begotten of God (pan to gegennhmenon ek tou qeou). Neuter singular perfect passive participle of gennaw rather than the masculine singular (verse I John 5:1) to express sharply the universality of the principle (Rothe) as in John 3:6, John 3:8; John 6:37, John 6:39.
Overcometh the world (nikai ton kosmon). Present active indicative of nikaw, a continuous victory because a continuous struggle, "keeps on conquering the world" ("the sum of all the forces antagonistic to the spiritual life," D. Smith).
This is the victory (auth estin h nikh). For this form of expression see I John 1:5; John 1:19. Nikh (victory, cf. nikaw), old word, here alone in N.T., but the later form nikov in Matthew 12:20; I Corinthians 15:54 f., I Corinthians 15:57.
That overcometh (h nikhsasa). First aorist active articular participle of nikaw. The English cannot reproduce the play on the word here. The aorist tense singles out an individual experience when one believed or when one met temptation with victory. Jesus won the victory over the world (John 16:33) and God in us (I John 4:4) gives us the victory.
Even our faith (h pistiv hmwn). The only instance of pistiv in the Johannine Epistles (not in John's Gospel, though in the Apocalypse). It is our faith in Jesus Christ as shown by our confession (verse I John 5:1) and by our life (verse I John 5:2).
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing 1 John 5:4:
John 1:7
John 6:37
John 16:33
1 John 1:1
1 John 2:16
1 John 5:1
1 John 5:5
1 John 5:13
Revelation 2:7
Revelation 3:21
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