1 John 5:19An Understandable Version (2005 edition)We [also] know that we are [children] of God and that the people of the whole world lie under [the control of] the evil one [i.e., Satan]. See the chapter |
You practiced such things when you lived according to the evil ways of this world, and according to the ruler of the [spiritual] powers of the air. [Note: This refers to Satan, whose influence permeates life around us]. He is the [evil] spirit who is now at work in people who are disobedient [to God].
For I am suffering these things [See verse 8] for this reason [i.e., because of being a Gospel preacher]. Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed in [i.e., Jesus], and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him [i.e., Paul’s spiritual well-being] until that day [i.e., the Day of Judgment].
The person who [sincerely] believes in God’s Son has the evidence [of it] within his heart, [confirming God’s testimony]. The person who does not believe God [i.e., what He says about Jesus], accuses Him of lying, because he has not accepted the [irrefutable] testimony of God concerning [the identity and mission of] His Son.
We know that every person who has been [spiritually] conceived by God [and eventually born] does not continue in [a life of] sin, but God’s only conceived One [i.e., His Son] keeps him [from continuing to sin], and the evil one [i.e., Satan] does not continue to touch him [i.e., continue to control his life].