1 John 4:5 (DBY)

Passage

*They* are of the world; for this reason they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:3 and every spirit which does not confess Jesus Christ come in flesh is not of God: and this is that [power] of the antichrist, [of] which ye have heard that it comes, and now it is already in the world.

1 John 4:4 *Ye* are of God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that [is] in you than he that [is] in the world.

1 John 4:5 *They* are of the world; for this reason they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them.

1 John 4:6 *We* are of God; he that knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another; because love is of God, and every one that loves has been begotten of God, and knows God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "reason", "speak", and "hears". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "reason", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Ye are of God children and have..." into verse 6's "We are of God he that knows...", so "world" and "reason" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "reason" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.