We Are of God, Not of the World of the Evil One | 1 John 5:19

Okay, beloved, let's go ahead and turn in our Bibles back to the last chapter of 1st John, chapter 5. And we're going to begin in verse 18, today. 1st John, chapter 5, verse 18. As we start reaching the end of this awesome letter of 1st John.

Belonging to God Rather Than the World

1st John, chapter 5, verse 18. God's Word says, This is the true God and eternal life. Amen. So, for today, I want us to focus primarily on verse 19. Verse 19 for today. And we saw last time that I forgot to read, to update the translation here because it wasn't quite right.

He who was begotten of God keeps him. It's actually God protects the one whom he begat or fathered. So that's what it's actually referring to, not to Christ, but to the one that God protects. In verse 18.

And then, so you can see from the sermon title, we are of God, not of the world of the evil one. We are of God, not of the world of the evil one. And that leads us to a question of application for all of us.

And that is, who do you belong to? Who do you belong to? This is a good question to ask people that we also evangelize. Who do you belong to? Do you belong to God or do you belong to the world, the flesh, the devil?

And because the Bible presents us very clearly there and either or it's an either or not a both and. And so, as I mentioned last time, this is not a dualistic competition between God and the world or God and the devil.

Right, because God is sovereign. God is in control. And I even like how we sing today in one of our hymns that though the wrong seems off so strong, God is the ruler yet. God is always the ruler. He is always in control.

He is always in charge. This is not a competition, much like in Arminianism or those who hold to the doctrine of free will. That humans have free will where God is casting his vote to get you to be saved and the devil is casting his vote against you and you get to decide the final vote.

That's not what the Bible teaches. God is not trying to save anyone. He is not trying to do anything. God doesn't try. God decrees and he does and it is done before he declares the end from the beginning.

All his good pleasure and counsel will stand. Amen. So now to also recap a reminder, we saw whether this passage was law or gospel, law or gospel. And we see clearly that these are gospel promises of belonging, our belonging to God and of victory, of victory against the world of the evil one, against the evil one.

Because the evil one cannot touch us as the word says in verse 18. So we needed to define the key, the keys. We need to define the keys or the key terms. The key words in this passage. Right. We saw that we is true believers.

We refers to true believers in God, in Christ. God refers to God, the triune God, but specifically God, the father, because he is the one who fathers or begets us through faith in his spirit. We saw the evil one refers to the devil, the devil, not a devil, not a demon, but the devil.

And we also look more closely at the word touch the previous Lord's Day. And we still left. We're still left with the task of defining what the whole world means in verse 19. That will be part of the focus of today's message.

And we saw in there was a lot of challenges in these verses that we've come across so far that we've read. There are difficulties. And there was another interpretive dilemma in verse 18, which was how can the devil not touch us?

How can he not touch us, injure us or harm us as believers? When we saw cases in the life of Job and in the life of Peter, where God, where the devil was harassing them. Right. So we have to reconcile that biblically.

And we saw that the word touch there means that specifically that the devil cannot touch true believers in the sense that he cannot cause us to totally or finally fall from the state of grace. But they shall certainly persevere in grace to the end and be eternally saved.

So God, the devil cannot cause people, God's people to fall away from the faith or to stumble permanently. He can't. He doesn't have that power because God is protecting us. Just like it says, the one whom God, God, our father, protects us from the ultimately from falling away and from the attacks of the devil, the world of flesh and the devil.

And while many storms and floods may arise and beat against us true believers, yet these things will never, ever be able to sweep us off the foundation and rock upon which we are fastened by faith. We are fastened to it by faith, not by our performance, not by our works, but it's by faith, grounded in faith.

Which results in good works that follow afterwards in our sanctification. Even though the unbelief and the temptations of Satan, the evil one, caused the sight and feeling of the light and love of God to be clouded and obscured, darkened from them for a time.

It's for a season, not permanently. It's only for a time. Yet God is still the same yesterday, today, forever. And they are sure to be kept by his power until their salvation is complete in the end. Amen.

Because he who endures to the end will be saved. And that verse does not teach that. Well, you have to endure in order to be saved. No. God is the one who protects and preserves us to the end. Christ was making a statement about, an indicative statement, about what will happen to God's people because God is the one who perseveres us, preserves us until the very end.

That's from the, an awesome chapter in the London Baptist Confession, chapter 17 on the perseverance of the saints. I highly recommend that you all look at that chapter and study it with the references in the Bible as well.

Very good stuff. That's the answer. That is the answer about how we make sense of this passage and how the devil cannot touch us. And similarly, the devil cannot truly touch us or harm us because God purposes it all.

Good, bad, and the ugly. Even when it comes from the devil, ultimately, it is for our good. It is for our good. It's a sifting like we saw in Peter's life or Job's life. It's a sifting. God sifts us through, even through evil actions of others to help refine us and purify us and make us more Christ-like.

They are means by which we are sanctified. Means by which God sanctifies us. God, beloved, uses the devil to sanctify us. That's a very important lesson. Very important lesson. It is ultimately for our good.

That's not to say that sometimes we cause our own demise by sinning. We still need to repent of sin and mortify. We can still invite things into our life that we shouldn't have by sinning. But God still uses all things for our ultimate good, like Romans 8 says.

The Whole World Under the Evil One

And so that brings us now to the next term, key, that we have to make sense of. And that is the whole world. Because in verse 19 it says,. And the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. In the power of the evil one.

So there's a clear relation there between the whole world in this context and the evil one. The evil one controls it. The evil one has dominion over it. It is the devil that controls the whole world. And you will also find in the Legacy Standard Bible translation, In the power of is in italics because it's not in the original Greek.

It's added there for clarification. To bring out the meaning of the text. So literally it says that the whole world lies in the evil one. Lies in the evil one. Or under the evil one, you might say, also.

But the word world we have seen repeatedly over and over again throughout this entire letter. And it doesn't surprise, it should not surprise us that he uses it again towards the end of his letter. Beginning, middle, and end.

That this is one of the Apostle John's favorite words to use. And he in particular uses it to the fullest extent and range of different definitions and meanings. That the word world has throughout scripture.

Not just the world, but the whole world. The whole world. This is strongly emphatic terms. The whole world. And it is to highlight an emphatic contrast in the verse. Right? What does the verse tell us?

Verse 19. We know, we know that we are of God. And that by contrast, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Okay. Very strongly emphatic term. And the Greek is kosmos holos. Kosmos holos. The whole world.

Kosmos. And then holos like where we get words like holistic. Holism. That kind of thing. Without exception. It's categorical. It's a categorical term. The entire world. Without exception. So then, what does it mean exactly?

What is it referring to? What does the whole world mean in this passage? Now, it was interesting to study this. I was looking at John Calvin's commentary. The Geneva Reformer. The French reformer who ministered in Geneva for most of his life.

He says that under the term world, the apostle no doubt includes the whole human race. The whole human race. By saying that it lieth in the wicked one, he represents it as being under the dominion of Satan.

Okay, so Calvin says that the whole world refers to the entire human race without exception. Including believers. Under the dominion of Satan. Okay? Now, is this... Let's back it up here a little bit.

Is this correct? Is this a proper understanding of what the letter, the passage is communicating to us? Of the emphasis that John is communicating to us? Is that what the letter is intending to say? Well, for one thing, I'm afraid that it disregards the obvious and strong apostolic contrast between we who are of God and the whole world under the power of the evil one.

Right? It disregards that contrast completely. And it sucks... And it puts everybody under it, including those of us who are of God. So that doesn't really make sense. And why else do we give thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light?

He delivered us from the power of darkness. Of the evil one. And transferred us over into a different kingdom of the Son he loves. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Amen. Right? So we're no longer under the dominion of darkness.

Under the power of darkness. According to Colossians 1 .12 -14. And many other places. I like how the Net Bible renders that passage. It's very clear. We're no longer under that dominion. We have been transferred.

Translated to a new kingdom of his Son. And that kingdom universally is also referred to as God's bride. The bride of Christ. His beloved church. His people. So, now to be fair, Calvin does try to clarify later on what he means by what he said.

He continues, in short, since corruption pervades all nature. So he's making the point here that all of us have a corrupt human nature. We're all fallen. Including believers. We're not fully redeemed yet in our flesh.

Right? The faithful ought to study self-denial. And that is 100 amen to that. We need to practice self-denial because of our flesh. It still needs to be subdued and mortified and put to death. And I've preached on many sermons in the past.

And since nothing is seen in the world but wickedness and corruption, they must necessarily disregard flesh and blood that they may follow God. And at the same time, the other thing ought to be added.

That God is he who has called them. That under this protection, they may oppose all the machinations of the world and Satan. In other words, so that they are no longer of the whole world that lies under his power.

So he kind of contradicts himself there in a sense. He does try to clarify, but it's just not true. The whole world does not refer to the entire human race in this passage. And the world and the whole world in scripture, as I've noted many times before, can have sharply contrasting opposite meanings.

The opposite meaning. Even when we only consider the Apostle John's usage. In fact, especially when we consider John's usage, because he's one of the ones that uses it the most in his gospel and in his other letters.

The World in First John

For example, let's turn back over to 1 John chapter 2. In 1 John chapter 2, we will find several references to the world there. Beginning with the first verse of 1 John chapter 2, the Apostle writes to God's people and says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he himself is a propitiation for our sins. And not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. Okay, so the whole world of what?

That is for the whole world of believers. The whole world of believers only. That doesn't include the reprobate or those who will not believe in Christ. And therefore perish in eternal hellfire. And the Amplified Bible even brings this out in its inline commentary to say it's for the sins of all believers throughout the entire world.

It's not just for the sins of believers at that time, locally, but it's the sins of believers throughout the entire world. Past, present, and future. So there, the whole world means something starkly opposite to what the word world means in the passage today in 1 John 5 .19.

Because if God propitiates, if he satisfies the wrath of an individual, he is no longer condemned. And if an unbeliever is condemned in the eternal lake of fire, then that means that his sins were not propitiated.

So we cannot contradict the doctrines of Scripture. We cannot contradict what the Bible teaches about these various doctrines. That's the analogy of faith. And also, later on in chapter 2, on the other hand, we find a different usage of the term world.

In 1 John, very important warning in 1 John 2 .15. Do not love the world. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So there you see another sharp contrast.

If you love the world, you don't have the love of the Father in you. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world instead, by contrast.

And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, the lusts of the world. But the one who does the will of the Father abides forever. He will not pass away. He will not perish. He will not see death.

But he will pass from death unto life, like Christ also preached to us in the Gospels. So take note of some things here. The word world here is sinful personal activity in a collective sense. It's the sinful personal activity of unbelievers and sinners.

Lusting, boasting, living pridefully, and passing away, dying. This is the collective world of unregenerate, unrepentant unbelievers, the wicked, the reprobate, and its sinful environments and outputs, what they produce.

So like filthy music or movies or entertainment, all of these things that cause people to sin or that are sinful, drugs, and so on. That's the world. That's what the world frequently refers to in a negative sense.

And this is in line with what the whole world means in 1 John 5 .19, the world of darkness and of unbelievers. But it does not include believers. Because here in this passage in 15 -17, chapter 2, he says, if you love this world, you don't have the love of the Father.

You're going to die. You're dying. Unless you love the Father. And He has caused you to be born again. Now, the Scripture in other places contrasts the world from believers. That's another important question to ask.

Is that the only place He does it in 1 John 5 .19? Well, no, obviously not, because we just read another contrast in 1 John 2, verses 15 -17. But let's keep going. How about 1 John 3? 1 John 3, verse 1.

Let's turn over there in the next chapter. In 1 John 3, verse 1, God's Word says, through the God-breathed words of the Apostle, See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God.

And we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Amen. Same contrast, right? There's the we who are of God, and the world that does not even know us, because it doesn't know God.

It doesn't know Him. This is referring to unbelievers, because unbelievers don't know God. They're not saved. They don't believe in God. They don't follow God. It's also personal. Note that again. The world is personal.

Personal activity, sinful activity. The world does not know us, believers. And it does not know God either, because it does not have fellowship with God's people, and with God Himself. Now skip ahead a little bit, to the same chapter 3, verse 13.

Here we find an even more emphatic contrast. Do not marvel, brothers, believers, right? If the world hates you. If the world hates you. The world of who? Of what? Of unrepentant unbelievers hates you.

Very clear. And to top it off, let's turn to the Gospel of John. In the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verse 9. Here we see a very humbling prayer from Christ Himself. Christ our Lord Himself. He prays something that very sharply should wake us all up, and cause us to realize that this is what God's will is.

Christ's Prayer for His People

Christ's high priestly prayer in John 17, verse 9. I pray or ask on their behalf, on us, God's people. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me, for they are yours. For they are yours.

I don't pray for those you haven't given me, for those reprobate who have not been chosen for salvation. I only pray for those whom you, the Father, have given me, the Son, as a love gift. That's one of the sharpest contrasts in Scripture of the world versus believers, the chosen ones.

Jesus does not pray for those whom God did not choose. Wow. So, this evil world, or like Galatians 1 .4 refers it to, also this present evil age, includes, this is important to note, because this evil world includes certain influences.

It includes influences and dominion, not just of the evil one, but also of Antichrist, and his Antichrists, both worldly, secular, non-religious, or anti-religious Antichrists, such as liberals, you know, LGBT, all of that filthy, wicked opposition to God, the Democratic Party.

That's pretty much a perfect summation of ungodliness, worldliness, even though some Democrats and politicians claim to be religious. Biden is a good Catholic, and Kamala Harris claimed to be a Baptist, I think.

But they're devils. They're all devils. They hate God, and they want to steal, kill, and destroy us. They're of the world. They're of the world, either in a worldly, secular sense, anti-religious sense, or also in a religious sense, in a falsely religious Antichrist sense.

Both are worldly, but in different ways. There's false religion also, that claims to be Christian, like Roman Catholicism, or Eastern Orthodoxy, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses. All of these are false religious cults, and they don't have the true gospel.

These are Antichrist religions that we are called to oppose and expose for the lies that they teach, and to love those who are in the deception of the world, and to call them out of that. 1 John 2 verse 19 speaks a great deal about warning us from these Antichrists.

In 1 John 2 verse 19, and I recently preached from this verse again, as it has bearing on many of the verses that we've seen in the last part of 1 John chapter 5. But God's Word says, they, who is that?

They, these are the religious hypocritical Antichrists. They went out from us, so they went out from the church, and back into this evil world. But they were not really of us, of God's people, of God's chosen people.

For if they were of us, they would have remained with us, they would have stayed with us. But they went out into the world, so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know, and you all know.

That's a very clear warning of the religious and worldly influences of Antichrist operating in the world. And the world tries to get itself into the church through these Antichrist spirits, and teachings that are false.

1 John chapter 4, similarly, verse 3. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the false worldly spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in where?

In the world. In the world. You are from God, little children, if I've overcome them. You have overcome the Antichrist that are of the world. Because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

So we have overcome them because God is greater, who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world. Another clear contrast in Scripture. So we are no longer under the world, or under the dominion of the evil one.

They, worldly Antichrist, are from the world. Therefore, they speak as from the world. And the world hears them. And by extension, the world loves them. Just like Jesus taught in John 5, 19, the Gospel of John 15, 19, excuse me.

The world loves these worldly Antichrists because they're all sinners. They're all wicked, unbelieving sinners. Deceived by the lies of the devil, who is the father of lies. Okay? So, very important that we understand these various doctrines that we have to put together in order to not lose sight of what the Apostle is teaching us in this passage, especially with how we make sense of the word, world.

Right? That's very important that we understand. Biblically. My apologies, I think I skipped something here. No, I didn't. I'm sorry. Yes, so continuing on here. Let's keep going here where this leads us.

Whether the World Is Improving or Declining

So, now there's an important question of application that we need to understand. We need to wrestle with. Is the entire world that lies under the power of the evil one getting better or worse? Is it getting better or worse?

In other words, is it shrinking or is it expanding? Now, Galatians 1, verses 3 -5 says, Grace to you and peace from God our Father in the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from this present evil age, this evil world, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Now, let's see again. 1 John 5, verse 19. We know that we are of God and that by contrast, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Okay? Now, I found a good quote here from the NIV Bible commentary.

They say this about this passage. In contrast to the true community of God that belongs to God is the rest of the world. But it's really not. That's not what it says. It says the whole world, right? It's the whole world which lies under the control of the evil one.

It's a different world altogether. Clearly, there is no middle ground for the author. To be born of God is to be safe from the power of the evil one. Not to be born of God is to be holy under the power of the evil one.

Yes. Amen. That is the contrast that the apostle is actually communicating. Contrary to what Calvin was saying, this is a clear contrast. There are two different worlds going on here. There is the we who are of God and there is the whole world that lies under the power of the evil one.

And even in another place, it says that the whole world lies in wickedness. Right? So, that's clearly a sharp black and white either or. Let's observe this as well. So, in light of the question that I asked earlier, is the world that lies under the evil one getting better or worse?

Is it shrinking or expanding? Are more and more people becoming evil or less and part of the world? So, this verse so clearly contrasts believers or we who are from God from the whole world that lies in the power of the evil one and also because everything and everyone outside the world of believers belongs to the world of the devil such that they are mutually exclusive worlds because the first world is of believers only.

We who are of God. Right? And the other world is everything else and everyone else that opposes God or disobeys him, does not believe in him or follow him. So, all of these things considered, this understanding tends to contradict certain theological views of the future.

Even in the reformed tradition, this is called the doctrine of the end times or eschatology. It's very popular today with people who frequently have a misguided focus on the nation of Israel and dispensation limits all those things.

We don't believe in those things. God's true Israel is the church. It's the bride of Christ which includes both believing Jews and Gentiles. But, there's a view called post-millennialism which I've preached on before but this view explains that Christ actively reigns in the millennial reign, the thousand year reign that Revelation 20 refers to now.

Not in the future, but now. And, that the millennial age is not literally a thousand years but it's a metaphor for an extended period of time including the present period between this, between his first and second comings of Christ.

So, this is over 2 ,000 years now. It's well over a thousand years. With the gospel advancing through the world and eventually, notice this, listen to this carefully, and eventually Christianizing all the nations prior to Christ's final return.

It expects Jesus to return at the end of that long era of gospel success after a prolonged season of righteousness and peace. And, many connected with an optimistic reading of history and of the future with ideas like theonomy, which overall is just not a good, that's not a sound school of thought.

Or, a golden age, a golden age of prosperity and righteousness. While others emphasize that it does not necessarily mean a straight uninterrupted march of victory from start to finish. So, overall, this view is highly optimistic of both the history and of the future.

It's always getting better. The future is always getting better. Even though some might say that there's dips, there's dips in iniquity or in wickedness, nevertheless, the trajectory is going better, not worse.

So, postmillennialism also teaches that Satan is bound already or that he is being actively bound by the preaching of the gospel, such that demonic oppression and deliverance is no longer necessary. Now, there's just a few problems with all of that.

Christ's Return and the Judgment of the Nations

If you might, you might catch on to or perceive. First of all, how is it that Satan is bound or is being bound when we just read that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one? How is he bound while he's still in control, fully in control of the evil, of the world, of the whole world?

How does that make any sense? Well, it doesn't really. Right? There's another problem. There's many problems with this view. And, unfortunately, many prominent men even of the past held to this view, but it doesn't change the fact that it clearly opposes many passages in Scripture.

How is Satan bound or being bound, once again, when the evil one has dominion of this present evil age? He's the prince of the power of the air. Right? There's another problem. Just another small problem.

If all of this were true, that the future is getting better, things are going to get better, the nations are all going to become Christian, then why is Jesus coming back in his final return with eyes of flaming fire, clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and what else?

What else? Why is the description so graphic? Let's turn over to Revelation 19, verse 15. Why is Jesus coming back this way? We have to ask ourselves that question. This is in reference to the final return of Christ, which hasn't happened yet.

Revelation 19, verse 15. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword. This is from the mouth of Christ when he returns. A sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the what? The nations. Why? Why is he striking down nations?

The nations. Is it because they're all Christian or because they're all evil? And he will rule them with a rod of iron. And if that wasn't enough, he treads the winepress of the wrath of the rage of God the Almighty.

And he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, come assemble for the great supper of God, the great feast of God.

What is this feast of God, the supper of God? So that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of strong men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men.

Well, wait a minute. But didn't they say that most men will become Christian in the end according to post-millennialism? If that's true, then why is it that even the corpses of all these men are being severely judged?

It's even being commemorated with a supper of God. And God Christ is calling on the birds to feast on their fallen flesh, on their corpses, both free men and slaves, and small and great, because they oppose God.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assemble to make war. Make war with who? With him, who sits on the horse, on the white horse, and with his army. It's talking about Christ.

These nations, these men, these kings are assembling their armies to make war with Christ. So if most nations will be Christian at this future point, why are they doing this? Why are they all opposing God?

And why is God slaughtering them and calling on birds to feast on their flesh? Doesn't make any sense, beloved. We have to make proper sense of the Scriptures. Systematically, to not fall prey to these severely misguided misunderstandings of the future, because they can lead us to become deceived or misled by what's going to happen.

Are things getting better or worse? I also encourage you to look at the sermon that I previously preached on this from the series on Knowing Your Enemy called The Devil's End, which was based on Revelation 20 to get more context on that, on this whole thing.

The Last Hour and the Increasing Evil of the Last Days

Now, 1 John 2 .18 says,. Children, it is the last hour. And he's speaking back in the New Testament era. And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour.

Why? Because many Antichrists have appeared already and will continue to appear and deceive many. Right? We have been living in this last hour and these last days ever since the time of the Apostles. And likewise, 2 Corinthians 4 .3 says,.

And even if our gospel is veiled, hidden, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age, who does that happen to be, beloved? The evil one, the devil, who has actively blinded the minds of the unbelieving, who belong to the whole world that lies under the power of the evil one, so that they might not see the light of the gospel and of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Amen. So we have to ask ourselves these questions. How is it Satan being bound by the gospel when it says here that he is preventing unbelievers from believing the gospel and seeing the light of the gospel?

That doesn't make any sense. He's blinding them actively. How is he bound when he's blinding them? It's the exact opposite of what Scripture describes to us and warns us about. The devil is raising up Antichrist all around us, within the church and without the church.

And it's continuing to happen. The apostles could not have dreamed of all of the wild, wacko religious cults and religions that have erected themselves since the time of the apostles. They've multiplied like rabbits.

And so, how does God Himself describe these last days? Let's turn over, beloved, to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. As we start to tie everything together now. 2 Timothy chapter 3. This whole world that lies in the power of the evil one.

This provides us an even more detailed description of what's going on in this evil world. Chapter 3, verse 1 of 2 Timothy. But know this. Paul is writing here. In the last days, wonderful good times will come.

Wait a minute. Is that what it says? Wonderful times will come? Good times are coming? No, it says difficult times will come. Will come. They haven't fully come yet, but they will come. And they are already there.