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

17All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death. 18We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. 20And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. 21Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

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 5:10All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
• 1 John 3:14If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
• 1 John 4:4But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
• Romans 8:16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
• 2 Corinthians 1:12We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
• 2 Timothy 1:12That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.
• John 15:18“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.
• Romans 1:28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
• Romans 3:9Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.
• Galatians 1:4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.
• James 4:4You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
• 1 John 5:18We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.
• John 12:31The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.
• John 14:30“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me,
• John 16:11Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

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