In 5:18 John tells us something that is closely related to our Christian life. He says that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin. Then he says that he who is begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. Here we have a thought that has not previously been introduced—the thought that regenerated persons can keep themselves from sinning.
Some teachers say that “he” in 5:18 refers to Christ, who was begotten of God and keeps the regenerated one, based upon John 17:15. But the phrase “begotten of God” in this clause, as a repetition of that in the preceding clause, should be the logical and determining factor that “he” refers still to the regenerated believer. A regenerated believer (especially his regenerated spirit, which is born of the Spirit of God— John 3:6), keeps himself from living in sin, and the evil one does not touch him, especially his regenerated spirit. His divine birth with the divine life in his spirit is the basic factor of such a safeguard.
This understanding of the pronoun “he” in 5:18 is supported by John’s word in 5:4: “Because everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world.” Strictly speaking, this verse refers to our regenerated spirit. It is this regenerated spirit that keeps us from sinning.
As we have indicated, some translators say that “he” in 5:18 refers to the Lord Jesus and should be rendered “He.” According to this understanding, Christ has been begotten of God, and He keeps us. But as the result of much study and according to our experience, we have come to understand that the pronoun “he” refers to the person who has been begotten of God. This is indicated by the fact that “begotten of God” is used twice in this verse. First, we are told that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin, and then that he who is begotten of God keeps himself. It is not logical to say that in the first case “begotten of God” refers to a regenerated believer and that in the second case this phrase refers to Christ. In 5:18 “he” refers to a regenerated person, a person who has been begotten of God and who thereby keeps himself from sinning. The word “keeps” means to guard by watchful care.
In 5:18 John says that the evil one does not touch the one who has been begotten of God and who keeps himself. Here “touch” means to grasp, to lay hold of, for doing harm and fulfilling evil purposes. The Greek word rendered “evil one” is poneros. This word differs from kakos, which refers to an essentially worthless and wicked character, and also differs from sapros which indicates worthlessness and corruption, degeneracy from original virtue. The Greek word poneros means pernicious, harmfully evil, affecting and influencing others to be evil and vicious. Such an evil one is Satan the Devil, in whom the whole world lies (v. 19).
At least one version says, “The evil one cannot touch him,” instead of, “The evil one does not touch him.” To say that the evil one cannot touch you is different from saying that the evil one does not touch you. The correct translation is, “The evil one does not touch him.” The thought here is not that the evil one is not able to touch us; the thought is that the evil one does not touch us. Here John is saying that as long as we abide in our regenerated spirit, this spirit will keep us from sinning, and the evil one does not touch us. He knows that if he tries to touch us when we are abiding in our regenerated spirit, he will be wasting his time. Hence, the thought here is not that the evil one cannot touch us, but that he does not touch us when we are in spirit.
We know from experience that when we are in the flesh, forgetting our regenerated spirit, we become prey to the evil one, even a “delicious dish” for him to eat. At such a time, the evil one may say, “Oh, here is something good for me to eat.” The evil one will not only touch us—he will swallow us. But when we are in our regenerated spirit, he will not waste his time with us.
The thought in 5:18 is that we have been born of God and have the divine life. This divine birth took place in our regenerated spirit, and now the divine life is in our regenerated spirit. Therefore, we should simply stay in our regenerated spirit. Regeneration with the divine birth and the divine life keeps us from sin, failure, and defilement. When we stay in our regenerated spirit, Satan knows that there is no way for him to touch us, and he will not try to touch us.
If we consider the entire Epistle, we shall realize that the apostle John is trying to impress us with the fact that we have been born of God. We have had a divine birth, and we possess the divine life. A specific part of our being—our spirit—has been regenerated with the divine life. Now we have a safeguard: our regenerated spirit with the divine life. As long as we stay in our regenerated spirit, we are in a refuge, a place of protection and safeguard, and the evil one does not touch us.