We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:18-20 New International Version (NIV)
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21 (NIV)
That which was from the beginning… this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
1 John 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning… God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
John 1:1-4 (NIV)
That which was from the beginning… this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
1 John 1:1-2 (NIV)
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 15:11-13 (NIV)
“There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to him, and bad when it turns from him.” -C.S. Lewis
An idol is anything that, though not itself divine, invites worship and service as if it were. 1 John is all about wrong views of Jesus, which are ultimately wrong views of God, and about the behavior which follows from worshipping that which is not the true God.” -N.T. Wright
“If we look carefully at our culture and into our own hearts, we will find that we are ultimately concerned about ourselves, our entertainment, our comforts, and our wallets. None of these are worthy of our highest devotion; but we put more time, energy, money and emotion into these than we do into the one true God. So, John’s warning should be heeded: watch out for the steady impulse to love other things more than God.” -Voice Bible Translation
…we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little Children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:20-21 (NIV)
How are you keeping watch against the counterfeit gods that threaten your life with the true God?