1 John 5:18 - Meaning and Application

Here John gathers again the main privileges of true believers. First, they are kept from sin in its full power and full guilt. We know that everyone born of God, and the believer in Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1), does not sin in the same deep and settled way that unregenerate people do, as John said earlier (1 John 3:6, 1 John 3:9). So they are kept from that kind of sin that leads to death, meaning the sin that certainly brings eternal death. Their new nature, along with the Spirit living in them, keeps such unpardonable sin from taking root.

Second, they are protected against the devil’s destructive attacks. “He who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18). This is not just a statement of what believers ought to do, but of what they are made able to do because they have been born again. They are prepared against the deadly touch of the evil one. He does not touch their souls so as to pour in his poison, as he does with others, or to drive out the new life that is an antidote to his poison. He may succeed in drawing them into some sins, but John’s point is that their new birth keeps them from those attacks that would bring them into the same ruined state and actual condemnation as the devil.

Third, believers belong to God, while the world lies under evil. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). Humanity is divided into two great groups, those who belong to God and those who belong to evil, or to the evil one. Christians belong to God. They are from him, for him, and devoted to him. In this way they stand in the place once occupied by ancient Israel, of whom it was said, “The Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob is the share of his inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). By contrast, the rest of the world lies in wickedness, in the grip and power of the evil one.

There are many wicked spirits, but they are joined together in one evil nature, one purpose, and one rule. There is a prince over the demons and over the dark kingdom he heads. He has such influence here that he is called the god of this world. It is shocking that such a knowing spirit is so bitterly set against the Almighty and all his work, when he must know that his end is certain overthrow and eternal ruin. How terrible God’s judgment is on that wicked one. May God keep breaking his power in this world and bring souls into the kingdom of his dear Son.

Fourth, believers are given light to know the true and eternal God. “The Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true” (1 John 5:20). The Son of God came into our world, and we have seen him and know him by the proofs already given. He has revealed the true God to us, as John said earlier (John 1:18), and he has also opened our minds so we can understand that revelation. He has given inward light so we may see the glory of the true God and be sure that this is indeed the real God. He is infinitely above the gods of the nations in purity, power, and perfection. He has every excellence, beauty, and riches belonging to the living and true God.

This is the same God Moses wrote about, the one who made the heavens and the earth. He is the same God who called our fathers and patriarchs into special covenant with himself, who brought our ancestors out of Egypt, who gave the law in fire at Mount Sinai, and who gave us his holy words. He also promised the calling and conversion of the Gentiles. By his plans and works, by his love and grace, and by his judgments and terrors, we know that he, and he alone, in the fullness of his being, is the living and true God. It is a great blessing to know the true God, to know him in Christ, and that is eternal life (John 17:3). The glory of the Christian message is that it gives the best account of the true God and the best help for seeing him clearly.

Fifth, believers enjoy a blessed union with God and with his Son. “And we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20). The Son brings us to the Father, and we are in both. We are in their love and favor, in covenant with both, and joined to both by the Spirit living and working in us. To show how great this honor and joy is, John reminds us that “this one is the true God and eternal life” or, more naturally, that this same Son of God is himself the true God and eternal life (John 1:1, 1 John 1:2). So in union with either, and much more with both, we are joined to the true God and to eternal life.

John then ends with this loving warning: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). Since you know the true God and are united to him, let your light and love guard you from everything that claims his place or rivals him. Turn away from the false gods of the nations. They cannot compare with the God who owns you and whom you serve. Do not honor your God through statues and images that are included in worship. Your God is an unseen Spirit, and such crude representations dishonor him. Have no fellowship with your pagan neighbors in their idol worship. Your God is jealous, and he calls you to come out from among them and be separate. Put sinful desires to death, and be cut off from the world, so nothing can seize the throne in your heart that belongs to God alone.

This is the God you have come to know, the one who made you, redeemed you through his Son, sent his gospel to you, pardoned your sins, gave you new birth by his Spirit, and granted you eternal life. Hold fast to him in faith, love, and steady obedience, against everything that would draw your mind and heart away from him. To this living and true God be glory and rule forever and ever. Amen.