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"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one."
(1 John 5:19)
John says we know that we are of God. The word "know" is one of John's favorites. He uses it forty times in this Epistle, seven in this last chapter. John states, with certainty and boldness, that followers of Jesus Christ are of God. The Bible affirms that those who believe in Jesus and serve Him have an abundant and eternal life. Basic Christian doctrine states that the eternal God manifested Himself in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, died a substitutionary death on the cross, and was raised from the dead by the power of God the Father, and then ascended back to heaven. Those who believe in Jesus are of God.
To say that Christians are of God is not only a word of promise, blessing, and inclusion, but it is also a word of controversy and exclusion. John draws a clear, unmistakable line separating believers in Christ and unbelievers. The former are of God, and the latter are of Satan, or they are under his sway or control. The Greek word translated "sway" is keimai, which means "lies in the power of the evil one, i.e. is held in subjection by the devil." (Source: BlueletterBible.org)
John Stott writes: "The world according to John here is not 'of' the evil one, as we are (literally) of God, . . . but rather 'in' him, in his grip and under his control. Moreover (again literally) it 'lies' there. It is not pictured as struggling vigorously to be free but as quietly lying, perhaps even unconsciously asleep, in the embrace of Satan. The evil one does not 'touch' the Christian, but the world is helplessly in his grasp. 'On the child of God, the evil one does not so much as lay his hand; the world lies in his arms' (Smith)." (Source Stott, The Letters of John, p. 193)
John says the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. For John there was no in- between: you are either of God or of the devil. Many today dismiss the Bible at this point and say that it is so insensitive to those of different beliefs and religions, so provincial, narrow, hard, and cruel. But if the Bible is true and its hard teachings are accurate, then what is cruel is to believe it and refuse to share it with others.
John tells us who the world (Greek: cosmos) is in 2:16. It is not the physical universe but those who reject Jesus and embrace beliefs and actions antagonistic toward God. John MacArthur says this includes the world's ethics, economy, entertainment, and education, all of it. (From his sermon "Christian Certainties," 1 John 5:18-21)
There is good and there is evil; there is right and wrong; there is a God and a devil. But thanks be to God that Jesus saves and delivers all who call upon Him in repentance and faith!
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