Keeping Ourselves
View daily reading plan: 1 John 5.18-20
In an epistle speaking much about knowledge, we now have another little cluster of things that “we know” (5.18,19,20). First, John restates truth that he had explained formerly (3.9); those who are “born of God” are not in the habit of committing sin.
For the sake of consistency, “he that is begotten of God” must still mean the believer, but is it conceivable that the believer “keepeth himself”? In the ultimate we are “kept by the power of God” (1 Pet 1.5), but God has made provision for our spiritual preservation. For example, there is “the whole armour of God” (Eph 6.13), and using such available resources contributes to us keeping ourselves. Again, “his seed remaineth in him” (3.9); we have “the divine nature” (2 Pet 1.4); we are “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom 8.14).
So, while it is unimaginable that left to his own devices a believer could “keep himself”, every facility has been made available to us to that end. That being the case, the evil one cannot get a real hold on the child of God, as is the concept of the word “toucheth”.
Tuesday, 21 May, 2024