“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”
and the wicked one
The word “wicked” means the malice one. Satan is out to hurt Christians if he can. He is very active in his opposition to believers. He is not content to relax, but he is pernicious in his attempt to corrupt Christians. With all his attempts to undermine the Christian life, he cannot corrupt the new nature in Christ.
does not touch him
The New Testament uses the word “touch” in two places, here and in John 20:17. The idea is to lay hold of or snatch up. Satan cannot snatch us out of God’s hand. Satan cannot “touch” believers because they do not belong to him. Christians are in God’s family and belong to Him. Satan cannot assault that relationship because the new life in Christ is impervious to sin (Ep 4:24; Co 3:10).
PRINCIPLE:
God assures us that we have the capacity to have victory over sin and the Devil.
APPLICATION:
Satan does not have absolute sovereignty over us. God limits the sphere of his influence on us because we are His children. God allows him to tempt or induce us to sin, but He does not give the devil absolute right over our souls (2:13).
Job 1:10, “[Satan speaking to God about Job] Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
God puts a hedge about the believer so that nothing can touch him unless God concurs with it. The devil protested against this hedge (Job 2:5). Although we live in an evil world and are subject to the influence of Satan, we are not alone in the world.
Ro 16:20, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Some people say, “The devil made me do it.” Satan may tempt us, but he cannot make us sin. The devil cannot recapture the true believer. The devil might intimidate us to do this, but it is only a hollow threat. He can make us question our salvation, but he cannot take it from us. He can derail our fellowship with the Lord but not our relationship with the Lord. He cannot make us sin, but he can set the context for inducement to sin.
We do not have to keep ourselves saved. A Christian can no more keep himself saved than he could save himself. It is Jesus that safeguards us. He provides and protects. The One who saves us in the first place keeps us in the second place.
The Christian cannot serve the Lord with confidence until he or she believes in eternal security. Otherwise, everything he does, he does with the idea of keeping himself saved. His priority is to stack up brownie points with God. This results in the energy of the flesh.
