I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
As John was nearing the end of this letter he wanted to reassure his readers of their security in belonging to God. He acknowledges that they can be waylaid by sin sometimes, but ‘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.’ And when we see evil seeming to get the upper hand in human affairs we have to say with John ‘We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one’ and yet ‘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.’ We are caught up in the great battle that rages in the world; the outcome of it is certain but the impact of the battle on our lives is none-the-less real. It is impossible to be a spectator in the battle; you are involved and Satan would love to get his hands on you and make off with you as part of his spoils.
But he can’t! You are one of God’s untouchables.
The book of Job is one of the least read in the whole of the Bible. The trials and sufferings he endured don’t make pretty reading. It is the tale of the lengths to which the evil one goes to destroy faith and hope in God. The underlying message is that God remains the Lord of all circumstances and he sets limits beyond which Satan is unable to act. As disaster unfolded
Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. (Job 1:20-22)
Satan was not allowed to pursue and touch Job any more.
Your eternal security rests on the rock of God’s faithfulness.