Remember What You Know

Read 1 John 5:18-21.
What does verse 18 tell us that we know?

Kenneth Wuest, a teacher emeritus of New Testament Greek at Moody Bible Institute, translates this verse like so: We know absolutely that everyone who has been born of God and as a result is a regenerated individual does not keep on habitually sinning. But He who was born of God maintains a watchful guardianship over him, and the Pernicious One does not lay hold of him. (This is a word-by-word direct translation from the Greek.)

So, what is the first part of verse 5:18 saying?

Is sinning part of a believer's lifestyle?

How would you describe the inherent, true, inward nature of a believer?

What helps the one who is born of God not to sin?

How does that first part of 5:18 compare with what John wrote in 2:29, 3:9, and 5:4?


What is contrasted in verse 19?

What did John previously tell us about the world? See 2:15-17


Who does John say abides forever?

And what did we previously learn is God’s will?

According to 5:20, who do we know has come?

Who has John witnessed is that Son of God?

What does John say the Son of God has given us?

Why did the Son of God give us understanding?

Whom does John say we are in?

Who is that?

How is it possible for us to be in God?

Who does John say is the true God and eternal life?

Notice how John is affirming the deity of Christ, something that the antichrists deny.
"Know” is used twice in 5:20. The first “know” corresponds to the Greek word eido (G1492), and the second “know” corresponds to the Greek word ginosko (G1097). Here’s how this verse reads in my expanded translation by Wuest: We know with an absolute knowledge that the Son of God has come and is here, and that He has given us a permanent understanding in order that we may be knowing in an experiential way the One who is genuine. And we are in the Genuine One, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the genuine God and life eternal.

How does John end this letter?

In the Greco-Roman world of John’s day, idolatry permeated every level of the pagan life. Therefore, if they were to abide in God, they needed to keep away from the worldly life that involved idols. Idols would be anything that would draw them away from abiding in God.

What is it that John asked them to remember in this passage?

How is knowing these things going to keep them away from the love of the world and keep them abiding in God?

What did you hear in this passage that will help you abide in true God and eternal life?