1 John 5:21 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

Here we have, I. A recapitulation of the privileges and advantages of sound Christian believers. 1. They are secured against sin, against the fulness of its dominion or the fulness of its guilt: We know that whosoever is born of God (and the believer in Christ is born of God, 1 John 5:1) sinneth not (1 John 5:18), sinneth not with that fulness of heart and spirit that the unregenerate do (as was said 1 John 3:6, 9), and consequently not with that fulness of guilt that attends the sins of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 5:21

5:21 My dear children, guard yourselves from idols. With this sudden, sharp injunction John brings his letter to an end. Short as it is, there is a world of meaning in this phrase. (i) In Greek the word idol has in it the sense of unreality. Plato used it for the illusions of this world as opposed to the unchangeable realities of eternity. When the prophets spoke of the idols of the heathen, they meant that they were counterfeit gods, as opposed to the one true God. This may well mean,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols, Amen. From Heathen idols and idolatry, into which the saints in those times might be liable to be drawn, by reason of their dwelling among Heathen idolaters, and being related to them, and by the too great freedom used in eating things sacrificed to idols in their temples; and from all other idols that might be introduced by some who went by the name of Christians, as the Gnostics, who worshipped the images of Simon and Helena; and the passage may... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 5:21

Little children - Τεκνια· Beloved children; he concludes with the same affectionate feeling with which he commenced. Keep yourselves from idols - Avoid the idolatry of the heathens; not only have no false gods, but have the true God. Have no idols in your houses, none in your churches, none in your hearts. Have no object of idolatrous worship; no pictures, relics, consecrated tapers, wafers, crosses, etc., by attending to which your minds may be divided, and prevented from worshipping... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 5:21

Verse 21 21Keep yourselves from idols Though this be a separate sentence, yet it is as it were an appendix to the preceding doctrine. For the vivifying light of the Gospel ought to scatter and dissipate, not only darkness, but also all mists, from the minds of the godly. The Apostle not only condemns idolatry, but commands us to beware of all images and idols; by which he intimates, that the worship of God cannot continue uncorrupted and pure whenever men begin to be in love with idols or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13-21

4. CONCLUSION OF EPISTLE ; without, however, any marked break between this section and the last On the contrary, the prominent thought of eternal life through faith in the Son of God is continued for final development. This topic is the main idea alike of the Gospel ( John 20:31 ) and of the Epistle, with this difference—in the Gospel the purpose is that we may have eternal life; in the Epistle, that we may know that we have eternal life. 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 5:21

Keep yourselves from idols; or, guard yourselves from the idols. In 1 John 5:18 we had τηρεῖ ; here the verb is φυλάχατε . The aorist, rather than the present imperative, is used to make the command more forcible, although the guarding is not momentary, but will have to continue (Compare μείνατε ἐν ἐμοί , John 15:4 ; τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσατε , John 14:15 ). What is the meaning of "the idols" τῶν εἰδώλων here? In answering this question it will be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:21

Beware of the idols! Closing warning. By how much the evidence is clear that in Christ we have the true God, and eternal life, by so much should we be sternly jealous over ourselves that we suffer naught to take the place in our regard which he alone should fill. Hence it is not unnatural that a sentence like this should come from the apostle's pen ere he closes the letter. It is easy to detect an undertone of deep emotion, as the apostle, having discharged his responsibilities in... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 5:21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 5:21

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 5:21

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 5:21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:13-21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:18-21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:21

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