And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
What does 1 John 5:19 mean?
All mankind are divided into two parties or dominions; that which belongs to God, and that which belongs to the wicked one.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 1 John 5:18-21 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 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 power of the wicked one - εν τω πονηρω en to ponero.
Key words
- lieth
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Lieth in wickedness - "In the wicked one," or under the power of the wicked one - εν τω πονηρω en to ponero.
Context in 1 John 5
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1 John 5 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as assurance and final warning. First John is a profound epistle of light, truth, love, assurance, obedience, and confession of the incarnate Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of love, truth, and assurance in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on peace with God, peace in the heart, peace in community, and the biblical difference between true peace and false reassurance.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.