5:19 We know that we are of God, and [that] the whole world lies under the power of under the evil one (οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν καὶ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται). John here returns to the duality between the world and God’s children that is so characteristic of his thinking. The inclusive “we” refers to those who have been born of God and therefore are no longer of the world, a world that lies under the power of the evil one, the devil. The reason the devil cannot “touch” or take hold of one of God’s children is that they are no longer within the realm of his power. IN DEPTH: What We Know The topic of knowledge of God and its source is of primary concern to John. The Son of God entered history in human form to reveal who God is—truth that would otherwise remain unseen and unknown (John 1:18). That revelation of God in Christ is the source of true knowledge about God, which cannot be acquired from any other source. The importance of true knowledge about God is seen in Jesus’ statement in John 17:3, which directly relates knowledge of God with eternal life: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (italics added). And the attainment of eternal life is paramount to John’s gospel, for it is the reason that gospel was written: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). It appears that some of the statements in John’s gospel, or the tradition that those statements represent, were being distorted and misunderstood to the point that true knowledge of God was being jeopardized. False teaching and beliefs were apparently the cause of the schism in the church(es) to which 1 John was written, for it was written so that those who believe in the name of the Son of God may know that they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). It is only logical, therefore, that 1 John be centrally concerned with the true knowledge of God and its source (see The Theology of John’s Letters). The opening verses of the letter (1:1–4) stress that not every spiritual leader who might appear on the scene has the authority and knowledge to speak the truth about Jesus Christ. Only those whose knowledge and authority go back to Jesus himself are qualified to teach the facts about Jesus and the significance of his life. Throughout the letter John refers to what “we know” with the implication that anyone who teaches or believes otherwise is not teaching the truth about Christ. Using two different verbs for knowing (οἶδα and γινώσκω), John makes remarkable statements throughout his letter that outline the truths of the gospel (italics added):
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2:3
| This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.
| There is no assurance apart from obedience.
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2:4
| The one who says, “I know him,” and does not keep his commands is a liar, and the truth is not in them.
| There is no true knowledge of God apart from obedience.
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2:5–6
| This is how we know that we are in him: the one who says, “I remain in him,” ought also himself to walk just as that One walked.
| There is no true knowledge of God apart from discipleship.
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2:13
| Fathers, I am writing to you because you do know the One who is from the beginning.
| Christian maturity entails personal knowledge of the eternal God.
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2:14
| Little children, yes, I write to you because you have known the Father. Fathers, yes, I write to you because you have known the One who is from the beginning.
| To be a child of God and to become a mature Christian means to know God truly.
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2:18
| Children … even now many have become antichrists, and so we know that it is the last hour.
| Knowledge of God provides discernment.
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2:29
| If you know that he is righteous, you know also that everyone who lives righteously has been born of him.
| True knowledge of God is the basis for Christian ethics.
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3:1
| For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know him.
| “The world” is all those who do not know Jesus.
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3:6
| Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.
| True knowledge of God requires obedience.
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3:16
| In this way we have known love, because that One laid down his life on our behalf.
| True knowledge of God allows true love.
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3:19
| This is how we will know that we are of the truth.
| Assurance requires true knowledge of God—that one “belongs to the truth.”
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3:20
| … whenever our heart convicts us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
| True knowlege of God allows us to put our guilt to rest.
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3:24
| In this way we know that he remains in us: from the Spirit, whom he gave to us.
| True knowledge of God requires the Spirit.
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4:2
| In this way you know the Spirit of God.
| True knowledge of God requires true knowledge of the Spirit.
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4:6
| We are of God; the one who knows God hears us, [but] whoever is not of God does not hear us.
| True knowledge of God means accepting the teaching of his apostles.
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4:7
| Everyone who loves has been begotten of God and … knows God.
| True knowledge of God motivates love.
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4:8
| The one does not love does not know God.
| True knowledge of God motivates love.
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4:13
| In this way we know that in him we live and he in us: because he has given to us of his Spirit.
| Assurance requires the Spirit.
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4:16
| And we have known and have trusted the love that God has for us.
| True knowledge of God means we know God loves us.
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5:2
| So this is how we know that we love the children of God.
| Assurance requires love.
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5:20
| We know that the Son of God has come and that he has given understanding to us so that we might know the True One.
| We cannot know God truly apart from knowing the Son of God.
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Jobes, K. H. (2014). 1, 2, & 3 John. (C. E. Arnold, Ed.) (pp. 238–240). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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