1 John 5:19
[19] “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
When you read this verse, notice that there are two separate truths placed before us. The first truth is about the saved, and the second truth is about the sinner. We are reminded of the great difference between the child of God, and the world that we live in. While we may be in this world, we are definitely not of this world. As the song writer has said, “This world is not my home”.
God’s children live in complete assurance of their identity while living in this wicked world. What a great blessing that is, as we journey down here. The question in my mind is, why is this world so wicked? “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Ps. 2:1). The answer is because they do not know God. When someone does not know the way of righteousness, then the only path for them to choose is a path of wickedness. They are destined to follow this path because they are not of God. Some will go further down this road of destruction than others may, but they are all on the same path. They are in a world that, the Bible says, lieth in wickedness.
The way of this world was set a long time ago in Eden’s garden, and will continue until the King comes, and lifts the curse from it. He will rule this world, conquer the kings and captains of this world, and bind and destroy the god of this world, proving he is the creator, conqueror, and King eternal. This is the promise we read about in the word of God. Until then, God’s children are despised and rejected by a world filled with wickedness, but we too are able to conquer this wicked world because we are of God!