The Close of the Letter: Three Things We Know

John has written this entire letter so that his people could know that their salvation is true, so it’s fitting that he closes the letter with three more things that we should know. As he’s done throughout this letter, John packs these little verses full of great theological truth.

First, John reminds us that born-again Christians do not live lives of habitual sin.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. (1 John 5:18)

He’s not saying that a believer never sins. He’s already taught us that when a believer sins, God is being both faithful and just when he forgives our sins (1 John 1:9). We have Jesus Christ as our advocate, the One at our side proclaiming that our sins are forgiven (1 John 2:1). So obviously John isn’t saying that believers don’t sin. 

Neither is he saying that believers are never tempted. The devil is active and will always attack those who strive to serve God. Even Jesus was tempted. The wickedness is in the temptation itself, not in the fact that we face it.

No, John says a believer won’t be trapped by long-term, way-of-life sin. Why? Because Jesus protects us. We may be no match for Satan, but Satan is no match for Jesus. And our Savior keeps us safe. We are God’s children. That relationship lasts forever. Our struggle with sin will never change that relationship.

A second truth John tells us is that we belong to God and are not part of this world. 

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)

As we discussed in part 5 of this series, John refers to “the word” as the evil world system that opposes everything God stands for. It’s the structure of everything that rejects God and fights against his will. This is the world that Satan rules. 

It isn’t that Jesus is up in heaven while Satan is in control down here. There isn’t a single part of all creation not under the complete control of our Savior (Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3). The evil one is, however, in control of all opposition to God. As you watch our world grow farther and farther away from God’s design, as you see our culture turn God’s idea of right and wrong upside down, know that behind all of that is our enemy. We, however, belong to Christ. We are not part of this evil system of rebellion and lies. 

Finally, John says that we know the truth because Jesus has given us the truth. 

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

Without Christ bringing us into the truth, we would never know the way of salvation. We would not, could not, know God in a personal way. Not only do we, as Christians, know our Creator, but we are “in him.” We know God because we are “in” Jesus. 

We believers are united in Christ in such a way that it’s as if we had physically paid for our sins on the cross. We’re so united in Jesus that it’s as if we were raised on the third day. When God sees us, he sees us in light of what Jesus has done for us — because we are “in” Jesus.

When Jesus died, your old self died. When Jesus rose, you rose as a brand new person. You are now a forgiven, justified, new person who is free from sin’s power and no longer has to sin. You were a sinner, and now you’re a child of God. That’s who you are. At the very core of your being, you are a child of God (see Romans 6:3-7).

And with that high point of the entire letter, John has just one thing left to say to us:

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

John refers to what he’s mentioned throughout the letter: the false teachings of those who had been in the church but were now preaching heresy. In his final sentence of the letter, John offers one last warning to his people not to fall for any alternative teachings about who God or Jesus are. 

That’s a warning to us as well. We must maintain our guard against anything that wants to substitute for God’s place in our lives. Jesus is God and the only source of eternal life. Anyone or anything else is a cheap counterfeit. Anything that takes away your focus on your Father and competes with your attention on God, obedience to God, or love for God, is an idol. Jesus Christ is the true God and the only way to eternal life. It’s on that statement of fact that John closes his first letter.

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