1 John 5:19

1 John 5:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
• New International Version (NIV)We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
• English Standard Version (ESV)We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
• New King James Version (NKJV)We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

Context of 1 John 5:19

17Any wrong thing that a person does is sin. But not all sins cause death. 18Nobody who has become a child of God continues to do wrong things. Instead, the Son of God keeps him safe. Satan cannot do anything against a child of God. We know that we belong to God. We know that Satan rules all the people who belong to this world. 20We also know that the Son of God has come into the world. He has helped us to understand what is true. As a result, we know the only true God. We live together with this true God, because we belong to his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God. He is the one who gives us life with God for ever. 21My little children, be careful to keep away from idols.

1 John 5:19 word by word

οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν καὶ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• we knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• we areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• liethκεῖμαιkeimai · to lay/be appointedG2749
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• wickednessπονηρόςponēros · evil/badG4190

Cross-references for 1 John 5:19

• 1 John 5:10Anyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God, will know that what God says is true. But anyone who does not believe God is saying that God tells lies. He does not believe the message that God has told us clearly about his Son.
• 1 John 3:14We know that we now have new life with God. Death no longer has power over us. We know this because we love our Christian friends. But anyone who does not love other believers is still under the power of death.
• 1 John 4:4My little children, you belong to God. You have won against those people with a false message. You have been able to do that because God's Holy Spirit is in you. He is more powerful than the spirit that belongs to this world.
• Romans 8:16God's Spirit himself causes us to know that we are God's children. God's Spirit and our own spirits agree that this is true.
• 2 Corinthians 1:12We can be proud of how we have lived in this world. We have been careful to be honest and good with everyone. And we have been like that with you even more. We are sure in our own minds that this is true. We have not tried to be clever in a human way. But we have lived in the way that God has helped us to live.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1Our bodies are like a tent that we live in here on earth. One day, that home will come to an end. But we know that God will give us a new home. It is not a house that a human builder has built. God has built it for us in heaven and we will live there for ever.
• 2 Timothy 1:12That is why I have these troubles. But I am not ashamed to be in prison. I have believed in Christ and I know him well. I know that I can trust him to keep his message safe. God has given me the authority to speak that message to people at this time. Christ has the power to keep it safe until that great day when he comes back.
• John 15:18‘The people who belong to this world may hate you. But remember this: They hated me before they hated you.
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
• Romans 3:9So then, what do we learn from that? We cannot say that we Jews are better than other people. No, certainly we cannot say that! I have said already that sin has power over everyone. That is true for both Jews and Gentiles.
• Galatians 1:4Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice because of all the wrong things that we have done. He did that to save us from all the bad things of this world in which we live now. This is what God, our Father, wanted him to do.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!
• 1 John 5:18Nobody who has become a child of God continues to do wrong things. Instead, the Son of God keeps him safe. Satan cannot do anything against a child of God.
• John 12:31It is time now for God to judge the people in this world. Now he will throw out the ruler of this world.
• John 14:30I will not talk with you much more, because the ruler of this world will come soon. He has no power over me.
• John 16:11They are wrong about how God judges people, because God has already judged Satan, the ruler of this world.

Commentaries on 1 John 5:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19We know that we are of God - Have the fullest proof of the truth of Christianity, and of our own reconciliation to God through the death of his Son. The whole world lieth in wickedness - ͅ ͅ · Lieth in the wicked one - is embraced in the arms of the devil, where it lies fast asleep and carnally secure, deriving its heat and power from its infernal fosterer. What a truly awful state! And do not the actions, tempers, propensities, opinions and maxims of all…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19And we know that we are of God - We who are Christians. The apostle supposed that true Christians might have so clear evidence on that subject as to leave no doubt on their own minds that they were the children of God. Compare 1 John 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:12. And the whole world - The term “world” here evidently means not the material world, but the people who dwell on the earth, including all idolaters, and all sinners of every grade and kind. Lieth in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 All mankind are divided into two parties or dominions; that which belongs to God, and that which belongs to the wicked one. True believers belong to God: they are of God, and from him, and to him, and for him; while the rest, by far the greater number, are in the power of the wicked one; they do his works, and support his cause. This general declaration includes all unbelievers, whatever their profession, station, or situation, or by whatever…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. world lieth in wickedness--rather, "lieth in the wicked one," as the Greek is translated in 1Jo 5:18; 1Jo 2:13, 14; compare 1Jo 4:4; Joh 17:14, 15. The world lieth in the power of, and abiding in, the wicked one, as the resting-place and lord of his slaves; compare "abideth in death," 1Jo 3:14; contrast 1Jo 5:20, "we are in Him that is true." While the believer has been delivered out of his power, the whole world lieth helpless and motionless still in…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 5:19

• Depravity of Man

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Idol
• Hope
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of

Commentaries on 1 John 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings