1 John 5:18 God Preserves Us –18 We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who
was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
The final verses of this epistle give some summary statements about things that we know concerning
our Christian life. The overall idea is that a healthy relationship with God produces confidence in our
relationship with Christ, and our position as believers in this hostile world.
We know that everyone who has been born from God does not sin
We can be sure that everyone who has been born of God, born again lives as a child of God. And
because we are His, John is echoing his words in 1st John 3:9 saying 9 No one who has been born of God
practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been
born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who
does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.
If we are really saved, then we are changed—we have a new heart of flesh, and God has removed the
old heart of stone. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things
passed away; behold, new things have come. And, of course, this will be reflected in our life. Our
Christianity is shown in our walk. The way we choose to walk is infallibly and perfectly expressed in the
walk itself. It’s obvious to all.
But, John is not claiming sinless perfection. 1st John 1:7-10 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is
in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all
sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
So Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit allows us to walk in the light, as He is in the light, and allows us
to have Holy Spirit inspired agape, self-sacrificing love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And this
same Jesus, God’s Son makes sure that the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us—that we sin. And the Holy
Spirit intercedes for us on our end of the communication line Romans 8:27 continues: 27 and He who
searches the hearts (that would be Jesus) knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes
for the saints according to the will of God. Then we come to God in agreement that sin is sin, in
confession that we have sinned, and in repentance, that we turn away from our sin, and Jesus is faithful
and righteous to forgive us of our sin. For those of us who have put our faith in Jesus, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). It is the work of God’s Holy Spirit in
us, working in the deepest part of us, the Spirit, in sanctifying us from the inside out, that enables those
who are abiding with Jesus to avoid sinning. And to the extent that we do sin, as John lets us know that
we’re not walking in the newness of life that has been purchased for us on the cross. The ideas of divine
sonship and sin are mutually exclusive—sinful acts are the expression of the imperfectness of our walk.
And, as we confess our sins, and rely on the faithfulness of Christ to act as our Advocate before the
father, forgiving our sins, we allow ourselves to be sanctified, set apart for service. As Eph 5:26 puts it
26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that
He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;
but that she would be holy and blameless. So, John is affirming that the new nature, from God does
not participate in sin.
When Paul commands believers not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies (Rom 6:12), he lets us know that
this can and does happen in the lives of believers, unfortunately. Remember that enslavement is not
something that someone can just walk away from. It requires a fight in cooperation with the Holy Spirit
to break the bonds of sin, in order to even walk in the new nature that we’ve been given in Christ. Being
born from God gives a person a new nature, that nature does not guarantee immunity to habitual sin
any more than occasional sin, we must choose to follow Jesus; we must choose to live righteously. The
flesh is still active and tempting, and still likes to sin. It has neither been eradicated nor incapacitated. It
must still be dealt with in the life of the believer by putting it to death, or it will continue to rise up.
That’s why Paul commands us to “reckon” ourselves “dead to sin” (Rom 6:11) and alive to Christ, and to
walk by the spirit, not by the flesh. Failure to do this causes drifting away from God, then backsliding,
resulting in slavery to sin rather than righteousness, and then, ultimately, if not corrected, to apostasy,
or rejection of Christ completely. A born-again believer has a struggle against sin, while an unregenerate
person may dislike the consequences of sin, may have enough of a conscience to feel bad about it, but
doesn’t hate sin itself—they would do whatever is best for them, and whatever they think that they can
get away with. It’s a completely different attitude.
but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
He who was born of God, Jesus, protects us from the evil one’s influence. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit molding us into the image of Christ, Jesus guards and keeps every believer by allowing us to
confess our sins and be forgiven. Jesus affirmed His preservation of the eleven during His earthly
ministry, saying in His High Priestly Prayer in John 17:12 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them
in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except
the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. Judas heard Jesus’ teachings, and
participated in ministry, along with the others, but his heart just wasn’t in it. He chose not to follow,
and so was lost. He refused to submit to Jesus, and let Him guard his heart.
So just as Jesus Guarded the disciples hearts who trusted in Him, God keeps us. John 10:27-30 27 My
sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and
they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given
them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and
the Father are one.” So those who are truly God’s Children will know Jesus’ voice and Follow Him in
discipleship. These are the ones who have eternal life and no-one else, and nothing can take that away.
Rom 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As followers of Jesus, we can and should have eternal security. Remember that according to 1st John
5:13 John’s purpose for writing is to make us secure in our salvation. These things I have written to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. Jesus
also prays for our protection from “the evil one” to God, saying in his High Priestly prayer John 17:15 15 I
am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one.
We see also see something similar in the Model Prayer the Lord gave us in Matthew 6:13 when Jesus
concludes His prayer saying, 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Or from
the evil one, depending on the translation.
And, so it’s no surprise that since the Lord is keeping us, then “and the evil one does not grasp him.”
The result of God’s watchful preservation and protection is that “the evil one” is kept from grasping and
destroying us. Because God keeps us, and because Jesus has prayed for us, and intercedes for us, we can
be secure in our salvation, because it depends on God, not on us! All we have to do is follow Jesus in
obedience to God, and when we mess up and sin, repent, confess, and be forgiven.
