1 John 5:18
[18] “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
I see two facts, in this verse, that prove that a believer belongs to Christ. What a blessing to be able to read the Bible and find the blessed assurance that we have been born again. This gives us great comfort, and victory, over the wicked one mentioned here in our text.
The first fact is that a true child of God cannot continue on a course of sin, without receiving chastisement. The word “sinneth” refers to a continuous course of sin. In other words, there is a sin unto death, as the previous verses taught us. This draws a concern for a lot of people who claim to know Christ, but live a continual life of sin, with no chastisement. Whenever a believer lives in sin, they are miserable, defeated, and chastised. If they continue to rebel against God, then they run the risk of being taken home early. These are all clear indicators of who they belong to. We know that believers can sin, but a good example would be that of a sheep. A sheep may fall into a mud puddle, and get filthy. A sheep might even deliberately go into the mud. But a sheep will not enjoy the mud, or wallow in it like the pig, because it is not his nature.
The second fact that we belong to him is that the wicked one cannot touch us. We certainly battle Satan in this life, but God is the one in control of our lives, not Satan. Like Job of old, God puts a hedge around his children, and protects us. The devil cannot do anything to us without God’s permission, and even then he is restricted as to what he is able to do. God has already considered us before the devil has, and knows what we can, and cannot, take. The devil has to keep his distance because we belong to Christ!