1 John 5:18-21

¹⁸ We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Verses 19-21 form a summary of the whole Epistle. The believer possesses a divine nature, the object of his heart is Christ, and all outside of Him is idolatry. — Williams, page 1017.

know (v.18, 19, 20) — expresses the confidence we can have by faith

is born (v.18) — More lit., “whosoever has been [born],” expressive of the abiding effect of the Divine operations in the case of the believer. — Vine, page 107.

__________

does not sin (v.18) — This is in the present continuous tense. … The Apostle is not now speaking of sin unto death, but, as in chapter 3, of a continuous course of sin, which is entirely incompatible with the new birth. — Vine, page 107.

__________

Whereas the perfect tense, “he that hath been begotten,” refers to the believer as a child of God, in contrast to those who have not become so, the aorist or point tense “was begotten,” points to a fact in the past and refers to the Son of God, “the Only-Begotten from the Father” (John 1:14), in contrast to the evil one. Christ is the Keeper (cp. John 17:12). The rendering “him” (not “himself:) is supported by weighty manuscript evidence and is in keeping with the context. — Vine, page 107.

__________

touch (v.18) — “lay hold of” The evil one assaults, but he cannot sever the vital connection between the believer and Christ. — Vine, pages 107-108.

__________

While believers are beyond the power of the evil one to separate them from Christ, the rest of mankind, who constitute “the world” (v.19), are in his power (see John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11); they are controlled by him as “the prince of this world,” and their condition therefore that of spiritual death. — Vine, page 108.

an understanding (v.20) = forming a conclusion from certain facts

that we may know Him (v.20) — tense indicates a continuous process of getting to know God

Him who is true (v.20) — true as opposed to what is spurious and unreal, not true as opposed to what is false. … Again, God is not only the source of truth, He is the one and only genuine God. — Vine, page 109.

__________

Jesus Christ as the Son of God is identified as eternal life and also as the true God, one of the most striking examples of His full deity and oneness with the Father. — Grace, page 2226.

keep (v.21) = guard, a command to be constantly kept