What We CAN Know - 1 John 4-5

1 John 5:18-21 (ESV)

18 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.

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

20 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. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 

In the above verses, John is concluding his letter.  He has been writing to warn the church about those who denied Jesus was the Son of God.   Both his Gospel and this letter are for this reason.  There was a growing group of false teachers who not only denied Jesus was THE Son of God, but also practice their teaching without love for the saints of God.    In this little letter John has been showing that those who are truly born again both confess that Jesus is the Son of God and show the love God demonstrated through the Son, in their loving others.   In these last three concluding remarks John starts them each with the phrase, we know.  He is emphasizing that these are the truths he had hoped they learned from his writings.  

1. (verse 18) - We know that those who are born of God should have a change in their lifestyle.   You can’t keep sinning if you are truly born of God.  God promises to make a change in your life if you believe in the Son of God.   That is a spiritual act, done by God, through the Son of God.   Even though Satan wants to destroy us and wants to entice us to sin, God promises to protect us from him.  He can’t touch us.  
2. (verse 19) - We know that we are of God and the whole world is in the hands of the Evil One.   That means our lives should look distinctively different from the world.  That was a major identifier of the false teachers.  They look just like the world that is controlled by the Evil One.  As we are to look like our Father, God the lover, they look like their father, Satan, the liar. 
3. (verses 20 & 21) - We know that we can truly know God and know the truth.  Therefore we are not lead away by false idols.   Knowing the real true God, through His Son, keeps you from worshipping false gods, idols.   If we are truly born of God we have discernment between what if true and what is false.   

John wrote the letter so that we can know the truth of Jesus and the falsehood of false teachers, sent by the Evil One to destroy us.  That is the summary of 1 John.