1 John 4:5 Commentary and Bible Study

Switching back to the false prophets of verse 1, and all who follow them, John identifies them as of the world. This is not a matter of earthly citizenship, or ethnicity, or status in society, but of something far more profound. It is a matter of the nature all receive by physical birth, and it concerns their ultimate allegiance and whom they serve. The evidence for this is found in their speech, for words are a window on the inner man. The hearts of worldlings are full of beliefs that contradict God’s word: that God is other than he has revealed himself to be, that man is essentially good, that they can find fulfilment without God, that there are no serious consequences to sin, that man can solve his deepest problems. The bias in unbelievers’ hearts means that they readily accept such ideas from one another.