Proclamation Summaries
5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the One who was born of God keeps him, and the Evil One does not touch him.
5:19 We know that we are God’s offspring and the whole world rests entirely in the Evil One.
5:20 We also know that the Son of God has come and He has given us understanding to know the Real One. And we are in the Real One, by being in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Real God and Eternal Life.
5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.
Structure and Content of Proclamation Summaries
The Proclamation Summaries section (5:18-21) is the final section in the letter of First John. In this section, three “we know” statements are used as a rhetorical device to provide a framework for John’s final words that state basic truths to reassure the true believer in Christ:
- We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin.
- We know that we are God’s offspring.
- We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding through which we can be saved and have fellowship with God.
The letter then ends on an affectionate note with a final admonition:
5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
Click here for a full outline of First John.
Verse 5:18
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin,
The first thing “we know” is that everyone who has been born of God does not sin.
This statement flows naturally from the previous section that dealt with sin that leads to death and praying for fellow believers that fall into sin that does not lead to death. John reminds his readers that sin is not the practice of those who are born of God.
This statement is nearly identical to one that John made in verse 3:9:
3:9 Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin because ˹God’s˺ offspring abide in Him, and he is not able to sin because he has been born of God.
And is similar to one made in verse 3:6:
3:6 Everyone who abides in ˹Christ˺ does not sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
Commentators typically explain the statement in this verse that the person who has been born of God “does not sin” as referring to habitual sin. Even though this person may occasionally sin, sinning is not an ongoing activity in their life. They do not live in sin, or as John says elsewhere in this letter, they do not walk in the darkness (1 John 1:6).
Another way to understand this statement is to see it as a simple conditional statement of fact, thus: “If someone has been born of God they do not sin.” Why? Because they abide in God. To the extent that one abides in God, one does not sin. Sin is not compatible with abiding.
The bottom line is that the one who has been born of God can enjoy freedom from sin. But this kind of life is only available by abiding. And if that person does sin, he or she can confess the sin and be cleansed (1:9).
Note that a few commentators think that John is still talking about sin that leads to death from the previous section. So what he is stating is: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin in a way that leads to death”. While this is a true statement, I don’t think this is what John is talking about in this summary statement.
For an fuller explanation of what it means that the believer “does not sin“, please see the detailed comments in the previous posts on verses 3:9 and 3:6.
but the One who was born of God keeps him, and the Evil One does not touch him.
“the One who was born of God” is a reference to Jesus Christ.
Not sinning is possible because Jesus Christ guards the believer and keeps him safe. Because of the presence and the power of God, the Evil One cannot overcome the person born of God.
Karen Jobes notes in her commentary: “While the powers of evil may tempt, entice, and otherwise influence the believer, even to the point of lapses into sin, the evil one cannot take hold of a child to remove them from the light and life and drag them back into darkness and death.” [JOBES p. 238]
David Smith makes the insightful comment that, “our security is not our grip on Christ but His grip on us”. [SMITH p. 199]
In the overall context of First John, this is assurance that Jesus Christ will keep the readers from being led astray by the false teaching of the disruptors. [KRUSE p. 210]
Greek Note: born of God
In this verse, John refers to the believer as the one “who has been born of God” and to Jesus Christ as the One “who was born of God“. The Greek is:
believer: ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ / ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou
Jesus Christ: ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ / ho gennētheis ek tou theou
The phrases are identical except for the tense of the verb γεννάω / gennaō (I beget, G1080): γεγεννημένος / gegennēmenos referring to the believer is perfect tense. Note that John always uses this phrase in the perfect tense when referring to believers. γεννηθεὶς / gennētheis referring to Jesus Christ is aorist, perhaps representing a summary expression of the eternal sonship of Christ.
John probably uses these similar designations to emphasize the relation or shared nature that believes have with Jesus Christ. It is the way in which He identifies with those who believe in Him.
Verse 5:19
We know that we are God’s offspring and the whole world rests entirely in the Evil One.
The second thing “we know” is that mankind is divided into two families – God’s offspring (4:4) and the Devil’s offspring (3:8). The Devil’s offspring are completely under his control and are in the godless world. God’s offspring are not part of the world and so the Devil “does not touch them” (5:18). As David Smith notes in his commentary, “On the child of God the Evil One does not so much as lay his hand, the world lies in his arms”. [SMITH p. 199]
Verse 5:20
We also know that the Son of God has come and He has given us understanding to know the Real One. And we are in the Real One, by being in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Real God and Eternal Life.
The third thing “we know” is that Jesus Christ has given us understanding through which we can be saved. It is a summary of John’s letter and counters the main point of dispute with the disruptors – Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in the flesh through the incarnation and provided atonement for sin through His death. Jesus Christ is the only way to fellowship with God.
This third statement reiterates three themes from the Prologue as described below.
We also know that the Son of God has come and He has given us understanding to know the Real One.
First, through the incarnation, God’s message was revealed to mankind in such a way that it could be audibly heard, visually seen, and even physically touched. It took on a personal form in Jesus Christ so that it can be understood. Compare this phrase in 5:20 with what is stated in verses 1:1-2a:
1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked at intently and our hands touched, concerning the Word, the source of life – 1:2 This Life was revealed…
God’s Son came into the world and brought us understanding so that we can know the Real One, God. We cannot know about God or know God apart from God revealing the truth about Himself and the way to fellowship with Him. God also provides the ability to understand what He has revealed. He did all this through Jesus Christ. Whoever receives that truth has fellowship with God.
The words “has come” refer to the incarnation, the appearance of the Son of God in history as the historical person of Jesus. See a similar expression of this truth in verse 4:2.
“The Real One” refers to God. The Greek adjective translated “real” (ἀληθινός / alēthinos G228) has the sense of real or genuine, as opposed to something that is false or counterfeit, such as the idols mentioned in verse 5:21. Robert Yarbrough notes in his commentary that the adjective is often used in the Gospel of John to convey what is real or genuine because it is divine. [YARBROUGH p. 319, footnote 10]
And we are in the Real One, by being in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Second, as believers, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Compare this phrase in 5:20 with verse 1:3:
1:3 …this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the Real God and Eternal Life.
Third, Jesus Christ is the Eternal Life, which He gives to others who receive the truth. Compare this phrase in verse 5:20 with verse 1:2
1:2 This Life was revealed. We have seen it. And so, we testify to it and proclaim to you this Life, the Eternal Life, which was in the presence of the Father and was revealed to us.
The pronoun “He” refers to Jesus Christ. Here at the climax of his letter, John attributes full deity to Jesus Christ – He is “the Real God” (though not God the Father, from whom He is distinct).
Verse 5:21
Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
John closes his letter on an affectionate note and with a final admonition that seems, on first read, abrupt and out of place with the themes of the letter. Idols or idol worship have not been mentioned previously in the letter. However, the word “real” and the title “Real God” in verse 5:20 set up a contrast with the idols of 5:21, which are false. The Son of God has given understanding to know the Real One (5:20). In opposition to Him are the false idols. So, this is a final exhortation to guard against being led astray by the false teaching of the disruptors.
As Karen Jobes notes in her commentary: “The original recipients would most likely have seen the ‘punchline’ as a rhetorically powerful ending that demanded a response to the implied question, ‘Whom will you serve? The one true God or idols, who represent only false ideas, darkness, and death?’” [JOBES p. 242]
Here are three other good explanations of this final admonition about idols:
“John is referring to false conceptions of God. Having emphasized that Jesus is the true God, John warns against being misled into the worship of any other alleged manifestation or representation of God.” [MARSHALL p. 255]
“The modern reader may wonder what all this has to do with idolatry. In the author’s mind, to follow the secessionist opponents [i.e., disruptors] with their false Christology would amount to idolatry, since it would involve worshiping a false god instead of the true God, Jesus Christ. Thus guard yourselves from idols means for the readers to guard themselves against the opponents and their teaching.” [NET Bible note 54sn on John 5:21]
Idols are “false conceptions of God. Any conception of Him that is at variance with His self-revelation in Christ is an idol. Hence, says John, since you have received the truth, have nothing to do with counterfeits, beware of imitations and refuse all substitutes.” [BRUCE p. 128]
Do you worship the real God revealed in Jesus Christ, or a false god fabricated by human imagination? What is at stake is nothing less than fellowship with God and eternal life.
Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only real God, and the one whom you sent – Jesus Christ. (John 17:3)
Go back to verses 5:14-17
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
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