1 John 3:6-10

 

1 John 3:6 (KJB)

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

 

We can look at the word “abideth” and see that as a synonym for salvation. The only ones who abide or remain in Christ are those whom the Father has saved. Here we read in this verse that those who are truly saved will not sin. Both uses of the word “sinneth” are in the present tense. This means that those who are truly in God will not live a life of practicing sin. A Christian may sin because we are still in the flesh and face all the temptations of the world. When a Christian does sin, they will not make it a practice as the unbeliever does. Those who claim to be saved and live a life in sin are proving, by their actions, that they have never been saved. If they truly would know God by means of salvation, then they would know a life of sin is inconsistent with the regenerated life.

 

Now another aspect of this must be introduced for the next couple of verses. When Christ went to the cross, He completely removed all of our sins.

 

(Psa 103:12 KJV) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

 

(Isa 43:25 KJV) I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

 

(Col 2:13-14 KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

 

This means that our souls have been totally cleansed because every sin has been removed and paid for. The sins we commit in the future have also been paid for and removed. Now since we still live in the flesh, it means that we will still be subject to sinning. The Apostle Paul had this situation where he struggled with sin because the flesh was still prone to sin but his soul was totally cleansed. (Rom 7:17 KJV) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Notice Paul states that it is no longer he that is sinning but sin which dwells in him. The sin dwells in the flesh. (Rom 7:18 KJV) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. This is why upon the death of the believer, the body must go into the ground to face corruption but the believer, in their spirit essence goes directly into the presence of the Lord. This is because the spirit essence of the believer has been totally cleansed of all sin and is made ready for Heaven. (Rom 7:22 KJV) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: Paul delighted himself in the law of the inward man, that is, grace because he knew that it made him sinless in his soul existence. This is why it is important for a Christian to know that not only were all their sins forgiven but they were extracted and totally removed. This is why John could state that those who are truly saved will not commit sin because their souls are sinless. Sin cannot come out of a source of sinlessness. I am definitely not speaking of the sinless perfection that John Wesley believed in because in their belief of “entire sanctification,” the body was also included in that sinless existence. This, of course, is untrue because we see the body still decaying every day as the spirit grows stronger. (2 Cor 4:16 KJV) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. If the body was regenerated along with the soul, then death would never take place because the body would have been transformed at that moment but as you can see in your own body, that it is dying by means of disease or age but your soul is totally unaffected by death.

 

1 John 3:7 (KJB)

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

 

Deceive - Lead astray

 

John once again is giving a stern warning to the believers that they should not be deceived in the area of living a holy life. Those who live a righteous life are giving evidence of their regeneration in Christ. It is not a life of just words but is a life lived in manifested righteousness. Some may have been trying to skew living a righteous life to their own belief systems but John is very clear. Those who are truly saved must evidence it by living a righteous life. Righteousness will produce a righteous life and sin will produce a sinful life. Like begets like! The deception is that a person who is unregenerate will be able to live a righteous life. (James 3:11 KJV) Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? James gives the principle concerning the tongue. Can a fountain give bitter and sweet water at the same time? The answer is no and the same principle applies that a sinful source will not send forth righteousness.

 

1 John 3:8 (KJB)

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

Committeth - Practicing (present tense verb)

Destroy - Break up, abolish, or free

 

The first part of this verse tells us the source of sin. A person who is unregenerate is still in the kingdom of Satan and therefore is a child of Satan and that is why they sin habitually. Satan has been at war with God since the earth was formed and man was created. This war of rebellion against God will continue until the last day when Satan is thrown into the lake of fire.

 

The second part of this verse teaches us that one of the aspects of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ was to destroy the works of the devil. When the Lord Jesus was in the teaching phase of His earthly ministry, He was already exposing the works of the devil such as false religion. The Lord Jesus had started opening up the understanding of His hearers on many subjects such as Heaven and their understanding of God the Father. One of the major works of the devil was to keep his people in darkness concerning the truth of the Gospel. (2 Cor 4:4 KJV) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, and after His resurrection, that is, when He was beginning to plunder the kingdom of Satan by saving people and transforming them from sinner to Saint. He would remove them from the kingdom of Satan and place them into the Kingdom of God. There are so many aspects of the work of Satan that it would be impossible to name each one but I make this general statement that on the last day all sinful activity will cease, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, the unbelievers judged, and the world and universe will be made new. Therefore, 1 John 3:8 will have its consummation in that the Lord Jesus Christ will have destroyed all the works of the devil.

 

1 John 3:9 (KJB)

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

 

One of the key words in this verse is the word “cannot.” The word “can” is a word of ability making the word “cannot” a word of ability also. This verse states that a person who is born of God cannot sin. Now back in verse 6, we saw that Paul had struggled with sin in the flesh, therefore, if we try to understand this verse as a Christian being unable to sin in their body owing to some type of spiritual maturity, we will have a great contradiction because even in the Scriptures, prominent Christians have sinned, such as David with Bathsheba, Solomon with all the false gods, Moses disobeying God by striking the rock twice, etc. What is in view here in 1 John 3:9 is what we discussed in verse 6. When Christ cleansed the soul of the Christian by means of His sacrifice on Calvary, the soul of the Christian was purified and made sinless. The Holy Spirit indwells the true believer, so sin and the Holy Spirit cannot occupy the same place, remember the darkness and light. Light always displaces darkness, no matter how small the light. No true believer can ever sin in their soul because it has been completely cleansed of sin but they may sin in their flesh, as we have previously saw in Romans 7:19, that is where sin abides until we are changed or experience physical death.

 

This verse also speaks of God’s seed in us. What seed is that? It is the seed of the new nature or the regeneration of the inward man. When a person becomes saved, at that moment salvation is like a small planted seed. As the seed becomes watered with the word it begins to grow, that is, it starts to manifest a spiritual life in the recipient and as they continue to grow in the faith, the seed begins to really grow and then begins to manifest an outward righteous life based upon the cleansing of their soul they received at the moment of salvation and their growth in sanctification in the faith. As they continue to grow, it is like the seed turning into a plant or maybe a tree. As they continue to mature, the seed continues to grow in all areas of their life. Then as they mature, they will not commit sin, that is, live a life of sin because they will reflect the transformation which took place in their soul. If a Christian commits a sin, it does not mean they are living a life of sin but momentarily fell prey to the flesh.

 

1 John 3:10 (KJB)

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

 

Here is the summation of the previous section. Those who are truly born again will not live a life of sin but will have shunned the ways of the world. Those who are still unsaved will continue in a life of sin and embrace the ways of the world. Those whose lives manifest unrighteousness are definitely not born of God and another area of revelation that a person is unsaved if they have hatred toward others. If a person was truly born again, they would love the Saints but if a person hates the children of God, then this is evidence they are still in the kingdom of Satan. (Gal 5:19-20 KJV) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, {20} Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

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