1 John 3:4-9 (NKJV) Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
V4 “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” God makes distinction between human law and His law. His law is, in summery, the 10 Commandments. Human law varies depending on the government. Breaking human law has consequences, but how much severe is breaking God’s law? It results in spiritual death and eternal torment unless one trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation. What is the difference between sin and lawlessness? The Greek word for sin is (G0266) ἁμαρτία hamartia, which means missing the mark. An arrow goes straight to the bull’s eye but if it misses it is hamartia. If I steal, then I miss the bull’s eye (the command) not to steal. The Greek word for lawlessness is (G0458) ἀνομία anomia, which means without law as ignoring it or not observing it. It also has the sense of rebellion. All people sin (except the Lord Jesus) in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. All sin has consequences some in this life and some for eternity. A Christian should be showing respect for the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), desire to do right, and attempt to do right.
V5 “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The purpose of Jesus’s first coming was to offer the Kingdom to Israel (they refused) and to be the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), bearing our sins (1 Peter 2:24, Leviticus 16:22, and Isaiah 53:4-12), and rising from the dead for our righteousness (Romans 4:24-25). Jesus never sinned. Could Jesus have sinned? Some say He could, others He could not. I believe He could not because God cannot sin. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), cannot tempt to sin or be tempted to sin (James 1:17), God’s unconditional statements cannot be changed (Luke 16:17, John 10:35, and Numbers 23:20), always save without failure (Isaiah 59:1), or deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13), or anything against His holy character or logic. God does not change in any way (James 1:17).
V6 “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” “Does not sin” means does not continually sin. There is a change of heart with the changing desires, motives, attitudes, and thoughts. Before salvation our heart produced sin (Matthew 15:18-19). If a person has no change after claiming faith in Jesus, they are a fake. No one is sinless but our lives should show attitudes and actions wanting to please God and show the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). There will be a desire to not sin and effort (with God’s assisting grace (2 Corinthians 12:9) given to not sin and avoid temptations.
V7 “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” From the fruit (the results) of what we say and do, one can know if the heart is good or evil (Matthew 7:17-20). Compare Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33. The deception creeps in from thinking, “I’m saved, so I can sin this once, twice, etc.” This verse is another test to see if we are Christians. Do we practice sin? Compare the things God hates–1 Corinthians 6:8-11, Galatians 5:19-21, and 1 John 2:16. Compare the previous with what God considers good–Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 6:11-18, and Colossians 3:10-17.
No matter what, it is time to live these verses:
- Romans 13:12 (NKJV) “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
- Romans 6:19 (TCENT) (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
V8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Even though he was created pure and holy, he sinned. All sinners are children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1), children of the devil (John 8:38-44), children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), children of serpents (Matthew 3:7), children of the wicked one (Matthew 13:38), and children of shame (Hebrews 12:8). The beginning probably refers to the creation of the devil. Why did Jesus come? He came to destroy the works of the devil. The works of the devil are what the devil does to destroy God’s character, creation, humans, families, babies, the innocent, Israel, Christians. The devil is total chaos. Jesus is order.
V9 “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” This doesn’t mean we never sin (1 John 1:8). It refers to a life characterized by our lives before we believed in Jesus. If there is no change to worship and strive to do what God wishes in holiness, we might want to examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
Comments:
- 1 John 3:9 (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary) “It is not said, Because a man was once for all born of God he never afterwards can sin; but, Because he is born of God, the seed abiding now in Him, he cannot sin; so long as it energetically abides, sin can have no place. Compare Ge 39:9, Joseph, “How CAN I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” The principle within me is at utter variance with it. The regenerate life is incompatible with sin, and gives the believer a hatred for sin in every shape, and an unceasing desire to resist it.”
- 1 John 3:7 (Holman Commentary) “Doing what is right does not make a person righteous. But the false teachers must recognize that if a person is righteous, he or she will do what is right. You cannot claim to be righteous, as did the antichrists, while living in open sin. It might be amplified to read, “It is the person who does what is right who is righteous, not the antichrists who claim to be righteous but do what is wrong.”
- 1 John 3:7 (Holman Commentary) Scripture takes seriously the nature of believers as born-again, Spirit-filled, new creatures in Christ. It will not tolerate any casual attitude toward sin. Sin and salvation are opposites. Wanting to sin is not part of being led by the Spirit or having Christ in us. Refusal to take this warning seriously should call us to reexamine our commitment to Christ.
We learn:
- One description of sin is that it is lawlessness (rebellion)
- Jesus came to destroy sin and its effects
- Because of these, Christians are to live a holy life
- Our lifestyle, worldview, actions, and words reveal us to have a new nature or the old nature