John, once in the inner circle of Jesus' disciples, was now the elder statesman of the New Testament Church. The Gospel he wrote had stressed that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him have eternal life. Now, in this pastoral letter, he counters false teachings that have emerged and reassures Christians that God is light (truth), love, and life. This paragraph concludes the letter.

1. What, according to verse 19, is the spiritual status of all who have not been made part of God's family?
   
   
2. On what basis (v. 20) are we members of God's family?
   
   
3. And what (v. 18) is the evidence that we are no longer in Satan's clutch?
   
   
4. Does this mean that we no longer commit any sins?
   
   
5. What does it mean? Are you growing in your ability to win battles with temptation? (See 1 John 2:13b).
   
   
6. Do you regularly ask for divine protection from Satan's continuing attacks? Should you?
   
   
7. How are you doing (v. 21) at keeping any loyalty that replaces God from the center of your life?
   
   

Ask God to keep you alert to Satan's tactics, and protected from them by your reliance on God's overcoming power.

¹⁸ We 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. ¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ And 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.

²¹ Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts.

Prayer for the Week

Deliver me, Lord, from the twin errors of underestimating Satan and being intimidated by him.

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