1 John 5:19-20

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:18-20

The sublimest knowledge. "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not," etc. There are certain things of which St. John writes without even the faintest tone of hesitation or doubt, with the calmest and firmest assurance, and with the accent of deep conviction. And the things of which he writes with so much certainty are of the greatest and most important. So in the paragraph before us he utters his triple "we know" concerning some of the most vital and weighty questions. Let us... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

With three solemn asseverations and one equally solemn charge the Epistle is brought to a close. "Can we be certain of any principles in ethics? St. John declares that we can. He says that he has not been making probable guesses about the grounds of human actions, the relations of man to God, the nature of God himself. These are firings that he knows. Nay, he is not content with claiming this knowledge himself. He uses the plural pronoun; he declares that his disciples, his little children, ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

The three certainties of the Epistle. I. THE CERTAINTY OF THE POWER OF THE DIVINE BIRTH . "We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth him, and the evil one toucheth him not." This is doctrine which has already been laid down. In 1 John 3:6 sinlessness is connected with human action; here it is connected with Divine action. There is sin, as in the context has been admitted, within the Christian circle; but it is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:19

Omit the "and" before "we know." There is no καί or δέ in the true text; and the asyndeton is impressive. The whole world lieth in the evil one. This is the second great fact of which Christians have certainty. They, as children of God, and preserved from the evil one by his Son, have nothing to do with the world, which still lies in the power of the evil one. That "the evil" τῷ πονηρῷ is here not neuter but masculine is evident from the context, as well as from 1 John 2:13 ,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:20

And we know. The "and" δέ is here rightly given—it sums up the whole with a final asseveration. Whatever the world and its philosophy chooses to assert, Christians know that the Son of God has come in the flesh, and has endowed them with mental faculties capable of attaining to a knowledge of the true God. The Christian's certainty is not fanaticism or superstition; he is "ready always to give answer to every man that asketh a reason concerning the hope that is in him" ( 1 Peter 3:15 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:20

Life's hardest problems solved. Connecting link: The connection between this verse and those before it is indicated by the adversative particle δὲ , which is equivalent to "but." "We know," etc., as if John had said, "I am quite aware of the vastness of the mystery in the conflict between good and evil. Still, I have rot spoken at random. There are before us positive, verifiable data which enable us to see something of the wonders of the spiritual world. The Son of God has poured a... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 5:19

And we know that we are of God - We who are Christians. The apostle supposed that true Christians might have so clear evidence on that subject as to leave no doubt on their own minds that they were the children of God. Compare 1 John 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:12.And the whole world - The term “world” here evidently means not the material world, but the people who dwell on the earth, including all idolaters, and all sinners of every grade and kind.Lieth in wickedness - “In the wicked one,” or under the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 5:20

And we know that the Son of God is come - We know this by the evidence that John had referred to in this Epistle, 1 John 1:1-4; 1 John 5:6-8.And hath given us an understanding - Not an “understanding” considered as a faculty of the mind, for religion gives us no new faculties; but he has so instructed us that we do understand the great truths referred to. Compare the notes at Luke 24:45. All the correct knowledge which we have of God and his government, is to be traced directly or indirectly to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 5:18-19

1 John 5:18-19. We know, &c. As if he had said, Yet this gives no encouragement to sin. On the contrary, it is an indisputable truth, that whosoever is born of God That is, regenerated and made a new creature; see on 1 John 2:29; sinneth not Doth not commit any known sin, so long as he lives by faith in the Son of God, and by that faith has union with Christ; but he that is begotten of God By the word of truth, (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23,) accompanied by the influence of the Divine... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 5:20-21

1 John 5:20-21. We know By all these infallible proofs; that the Son of God is come Into the world; and hath given us an understanding Hath enlightened our minds; that we may know him that is true The living and true God, namely, the Father, of whom the apostle appears here to speak; and we are in him that is true In his favour, and in a state of union and fellowship with him; even This particle is not in the Greek; in Or rather; through; his Son Jesus Christ Through whose... read more

Group of Brands