Having stated the theme of this section of the epistle in 3:1-3 (cf. 1:5-7) John proceeded to develop his assertion that believers are the children of God through Jesus Christ.
"In the preceding section John has been stressing the importance of continuing in Christ, doing what is right, and purifying oneself in anticipation of his coming. Now he deals more closely with the negative side of all this, the need for believers to abstain from sin and the possibility of their doing so."111
"The present vv, 3:4-9, form six strophes, each of which divides . . . roughly into half. The two halves of the strophes balance one another; for the second part of the v provides a development of the first part (vv 4, 5, 7), or a parallel (vv 6, 9) or a contrast (v 8) to it."112
3:4 Sin stands in opposition to purity. Furthermore sin is very serious. The use of the Greek word translated "lawlessness"(anosmia) carries a connotation of wickedness (cf. Matt. 7:23; 13:41; 24:2; 2 Thess. 2:7). It means rejection of law, flagrant opposition to God, rather than just breaking God's law. Evidently the false teachers had a soft view of sin (cf. vv. 7-8).
3:5 Two more facts believers know highlight the seriousness of sin. Jesus Christ became incarnate to remove sin, and there was no sin in Him. This is a strong assertion of Jesus' sinlessness (cf. 2:1; John 8:31-59; 10:30; 17:22; 1 Pet. 2:22)
"Because Jesus was holy, and without sin, this can become the character of those who abide in him (cf. Heb 2:10-4:16; 5:9)."113
"The dominant thought here is not that of the self-sacrifice of Christ, but of His utter hostility to sin in every shape."114
3:6 If abiding in God equals being a Christian, this verse appears to contradict what John wrote in 1:8 and 10. There he said that Christians sin (cf. 2a:1; 15, 29; 3:12, 18; 5:16, 21). It also seems to contradict personal experience since genuine Christians do indeed sin.
The key to understanding this statement, I believe, lies in the other terms that John used in the verse: "has seen"and "knows."John used these words throughout this epistle to refer to a believer who is walking in intimate fellowship with God (1:7; 2:3, 10). Still does this view not contradict what John said about the depravity of sinners, even Christian sinners (1:8)? I believe John was claiming that when a Christian walks in close fellowship with God he does not sin. The abiding believer never repudiates God's authority over him by doing anything that resists God's law or will while he is abiding in Christ. If he does, his fellowship with God suffers. He no longer "knows"God in that intimate sense. He no longer "sees"God because he has moved out of the light into darkness.
"John is thus saying that (translating the Gr. literally) everyone who lives in him (Jesus) does not sin'; and by this he means that an intimate and ongoing relationship with Christ (ho en auto menon, the one who lives in him,' using the present tense) precludes the practice of sin . . ."115
There was no sin whatsoever in Jesus Christ (v. 5). He consistently abode in the Father (cf. John 14:9). The Christian who consistently "abides"in a sinless Person does not sin (v. 6). If we could abide in Christ without interruption, we would be sinless. Unfortunately we cannot do that.
Some Christians have used this verse to support the theory that Christians are sinless and perfect. Scripture and experience contradict this position (e.g., 1:8-9). Others have used it to teach that a Christian does not habitually sin, but this too is contrary to experience and the same Scripture. Advocates of this second view usually support it with the present tense of the Greek verb (harmartanei) that they take to mean "keeps on sinning."
"In modern times a popular expedient for dealing with the difficulties perceived in 1 John 3:6, 9 is to appeal to the use of the Greek present tense. It is then asserted that this tense necessitates a translation like, Whoever has been born of God does not go onsinning,' or, does not continuallysin.' The inference to be drawn from such renderings is that, though the Christian may sin somewhat (how much is never specified!), he may not sin regularly or persistently. But on all grounds, whether linguistic or exegetical, the approach is indefensible.
"As has been pointed out by more than one competent Greek scholar, the appeal to the present tense invites intense suspicion. No other text can be cited where the Greek present tense, unaided by qualifying words, can carry this kind of significance. Indeed, when the Greek writer or speaker wished to indicate that an action was, or was not, continual, there were special words to express this."116
If we were to translate 1:8 and 5:16, where the present tense also occurs, "do not continually have sin"and "continually sinning a sin"respectively, these verses would contradict 3:6. It would involve no self-deception to say that we do not continuallyhave sin (1:8) since whoever is born of God does not continuallysin (3:6). Furthermore if one born of God does not continuallysin (3:1), how could a Christian see his brother continuallysinning (5:16)? Suppose we translated the present tense in John 14:6 the same way: "No one continuallycomes to the Father except through Me."This would imply that occasionally someone might come to God in another way. No orthodox translator would offer that as an acceptable translation of John 14:6, and it is not acceptable in 1 John 3:6 either.
". . . it is not surprising that commentators have attempted to water down John's teaching to refer merely to the believer's freedom from habitual sin. But we must not misinterpret the text for pastoral reasons. Properly interpreted, the text remains a source of comfort."117
Another view takes John to mean that no one who abides in Christ has the power to sin, or, to put it positively, Christians who abide in Him have the power not to sin.118Yet this is an idea that the reader must import into the verse. While it is true that Christians who abide in Christ have the power not to sin, this does not seem to be what John meant here. He seemed to link abiding and not sinning in a more direct cause and effect relationship.
Verse 4 sets forth the essential character of sin, verse 5 relates it to the person and work of Christ, and verse 6 relates it to the whole human race.
3:7-8 Evidently the false teachers were in danger of deceiving John's readers by telling them the opposite of what the apostles said here. John's point was two-fold: conduct manifests spiritual relationship (cf. 2:29), and God hates sin (cf. v. 5).
"By saying that the person who is a determined sinner (in the sense suggested by v 6) belongs to the devil,' John is in the first place drawing on the background of Gen 3 (1-15), where the power of evil is represented as a serpent who tempts the woman (and, through her, the man) to disobey God (the reference to Cain and Abel in v 12 confirms the suggestion that this section of the OT is in mind here)."119
3:9 Many English translations interpret the Greek present tense as saying no Christian habitually sins.120However the Greek present tense does not always indicate habitual action.121Frequently it describes absolute action.122Since earlier John wrote that the Christian does sin habitually (1:6-10; cf. 2:1) the idea that the Christian does not sin habitually seems inconsistent.123
The reason one born of God does not sin is he has been born of God. John could say the Christian is sinless because a sinless Parent has begotten the Christian. The Christian becomes a partaker of God's divine sinless nature when he or she experiences the new birth. The Christian sins because he also has a sinful human nature. However in this verse John was looking only at the sinless nature of the indwelling Christ that we possess.124
Again, if we were able to abide in Christ without interruption, we would never sin. The sinless nature of Christ controls the abiding Christian whereas the sinful human nature controls the non-abiding Christian.
"That is, sin is never the product of our abiding experience. It is never the act of the regenerate self per se. On the contrary, sin is the product of ignorance and blindness toward God [cf. 3:6b].
"To view sin as intrinsically foreign to what we are as regenerate people in Christ is to take the first step toward spiritual victory over it."125
John was saying that when a Christian abides in God he will behave as his heavenly Father, and others will recognize that he is a child of God.126
"If someone says, A priest cannot commit fornication,' one cannot deny that as a man he can commit it; but priests, functioning as priests, do not do those things. The Bible uses language in a similar way, A good tree cannot produce bad fruit' (Mt. 7:18). Of course a good tree can produce bad fruit, but not as a result of what it really is, a good tree. Also Jesus said, men cannot' fast while the bride groom is with them (Mk. 2:19). They can fast, but to do so is incongruous and unnatural.
"Similar notions are found in Pauline thought. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me' (Gal. 2:20). If a Christian sins, his sin cannot be expression [sic] of who he really is, because his true life is that of Christ in him [cf. Rom. 7:20-25].
". . . when a Christian sins (and John believes he can and will, 1 Jn. 2:1), in that act he is behaving like a child of Satan. Who he really is is not being made evident. To use Paul's phrase, he is walking like a mere man' (1 Cor. 3:3)."127
Note the chiastic structure of verse 9.
Verses 6 and 9 also form an inclusio.128
ANo one who abides in Him sins (6a)
BEveryone who sins . . . (v. 6b)
AThe one who acts righteously (v. 7)
BThe one who commits sin (v. 8)
ANo one who is born of God sins (v. 9).
This second condition for living as children of God reemphasizes the importance of obedience to God's law, specifically the command to love one another.
"The worldliness' in view here, as in 2:12-17, is primarily a wrong attitude: a determination to be anchored to a society which does not know God (cf. 3:1 . . .). But whereas in the earlier section John shows that worldly attitudes can be associated with material possessions and ambitions (the things of the world' as such; cf. 2:15, and the reference to pride in one's life style' at v 16), here the writer contrasts God and the world' chiefly in terms of truth and error . . ."140
"The battlefield is not so much the ecclesial community itself as the heart of the believer."141
John showed that a Christian's righteous behavior identifies him or her as a Christian (2:29-3:10a) and that love for the brethren and boldness in prayer characterize this behavior (3:10b-24). Next he pointed out that this behavior is a manifestation of God who indwells the believer.
4:1-3 It is necessary to distinguish the Spirit of God from false spirits (i.e., spirits advocating falsehood) because many false prophets have gone out into the world. False spirits (utterances or persons inspired by a spirit opposed to Christ) result in false teaching. John's test question whereby one can determine whether the Spirit of God or a spirit of falsehood possesses a person was this. What does the person believe about Jesus Christ? If a person denies the incarnation of Jesus Christ--a heresy false teachers were promoting among John's original readers--he has the spirit of antichrist (cf. 2:18-27). That is, a denial of the doctrine of Christ as the apostles taught it, deviation from orthodox Christology, evidences a spirit opposed to Jesus Christ.
"The test of the presence of the Divine Spirit is the confession of the Incarnation, or, more exactly, of the Incarnate Saviour. The Gospel centres in a Person and not in any truth, even the greatest, about the Person."142
4:4 John's readers had so far overcome these opponents of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit who indwelt them ("He who is in you;"cf. 3:24; 4:2, 13). The Holy Spirit is stronger than Satan ("he who is in the world"). We overcome Satan, his agents, and his influence as we resist his temptations to doubt, deny, disregard, and disobey the Word of God (1 Pet. 5:9; cf. Gen. 3; Matt. 4).143
4:5 The antichrists' teachings have an appeal to worldly minds because they come from the world and share the viewpoint of the world (cf. John 3:31).
"The term world (kosmos) is probably to be understood in two ways: as a system of thought antithetical to Christian belief and as a description of those members of the community who were led astray by the false teachers. That some members of the community were easily persuaded to forsake the truth of the gospel should not bewilder the faithful."144
"The word world' has several nuances of meaning; in verse 3 it means more the area inhabited by men, but in verse 4 it refers rather to sinful mankind, while in verse 5 the stress is more on the sinful principle found in such people"145
4:6 "We"probably refers to the apostolic eyewitnesses as elsewhere in this epistle, but it also includes the faithful. Those believers who "know"God intimately respond positively to the teaching of the apostles. By apostolic doctrine we know whether any teaching is truth or error, namely, having its source in the Holy Spirit or Satan. The way to distinguish truth from error is to compare it with what the Scriptures teach.
"When people confess that Jesus came in the flesh, when they hear God speak to them in the gospel of his Son and are obedient to it, then the Spirit of truth' has been present and active. When people deny the gospel, when they will not hear it as God's Word and will not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, then the spirit of falsehood' has been at work."146
"Since John issues warnings to his readers against being taken in by the false teachers (2:24; 2 Jn. 7-11), he appears to have reckoned with the possibility of true believers going astray."147
"By inserting this condition, John interrupts the symmetry which exists between the two halves of his letter . . .; for the idea of love' by itself is not given separate treatment in 1:5-2:29. However, the discussion of love at this point echoes the command to be obedient (by loving) considered at 2:3-11, and the parallel demand for obedient love which the writer sets out in 3:10-24. Indeed, the present section spells out precisely the nature of the love which is demanded from every believer, and may thus be viewed as an extension of the teaching contained in 2:3-11 and 3:10-24. Earlier, John has related the love command to the real light' which is already shining (2:8, 10), and to the eternal life' of which love is the evidence (3:14-15). Now he relates the requirement of Christian love to the very nature of God himself. We are to love as a response to God's own love, and to his loving activity in Christ and in the Church."148
This pericope contains a comprehensive treatment of the nature of true love.
Here John set out his fifth and final condition for living as children of God (cf. 2:18-29).
"We canbelieve, and therefore we shouldmaintain the faith."162
In the previous section (4:7-5:4) John wove together the themes of faith and obedient love. In this one he stressed faith and the witness which supports faith. Corollary ideas are victory and life.
5:5 Continuing to overcome is not automatic for the Christian. Not all Christians continue to overcome the world (cf. 2 Tim. 4:10). Only those who continue to live by faith (i.e., trust and obey God) do. Furthermore no one can overcome the world unless he or she believes that Jesus is the Son of God. That trust is the key to any and all overcoming. Obviously every believer will overcome the world ultimately when we go to heaven, but that thought is foreign to the context here.
5:6-7 This "water"probably refers to John the Baptist's baptism of Jesus in water. The "blood"probably refers to His death by crucifixion.
"The true identity of Jesus, the writer appears to be saying, is only to be discovered by looking at the whole of his life, including its end."163
Some false teachers in the early church taught that the divine Christ descended on the human Jesus at His baptism but left him before His crucifixion.164John repeated this teaching in this verse. He considered this teaching untrue because it did not come from the Holy Spirit (v. 7) who is truth (cf. John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).
5:8 Really there are three witnesses to the truth. These witnesses are the Holy Spirit teaching through the apostles and prophets, the water of Jesus' baptism, and the blood of His crucifixion. John personified the latter two in this verse. The testimony of eyewitnesses and prophets as well as that of the historical events affirmed the divine and human character of Jesus Christ.
5:9 God gave His witness concerning His Son through the prophets, at Jesus' baptism (Matt. 3:7; John 1:32-33, 34), and at His crucifixion (John 19:35-37). All three witnesses came from God ultimately.
5:10 Having spoken of the characterof the divine witness to Jesus (vv. 6-9) John moved to discuss the resultsof that witness (vv. 10-12). The witness is the truth about Jesus Christ that the indwelling Holy Spirit bears. This may be the objective witness of Scripture, or it may be a subjective witness in the believer's heart. Probably the Spirit witnesses in both ways. If someone does not believe this testimony, he is saying that God has lied (cf. 1:10). John clarified the implications of rejecting the gospel in stark terms.
"The writer, then, cannot allow that one can profess belief in God, as did his opponents, and yet reject God's testimony to his own Son. Such rejection cannot be excused on the basis of ignorance. The evidence is too clear and too weighty. Rather, it is deliberate unbelief, the character of which in the end impugns the very being and character of God. If Jesus is not God's own Son in the flesh, then God is no longer the truth. He is the liar."165
5:11-12 This is the content of God's testimony. Eternal life is inseparable from the person of Jesus Christ.
"Eternal' life is qualitative, not quantitive; it is the highest kindof spiritual and moral life, irrespective of time, which God enables the believer to share in relationship with Jesus."166
Some of the false teachers seem to have tried to separate them (cf. 2:25-26). Jesus Christ and eternal life are one gift from God.
5:13 The phrase "these things"evidently refers to what John had just written about God's witness (vv. 9-12) rather than to his whole epistle. The "these things"in 2:1 likewise refer to what immediately precedes in 1:5-10, and the "these things"in 2:26 refer to what immediately precedes in 2:18-25.167John stated the purpose of the whole epistle in 1:3-4.168
"This assertion [i.e., v. 13] is very frequently, and wrongly, taken as a statement of purpose for the entire epistle . . . . But this is contrary to the writer's usage."169
Our assurance of salvation rests on the testimony of God, His promise (v. 12). It does not rest on the presence of spiritual fruit (cf. John 15:12). It rests on God's Word, not on man's works.
John MacArthur claimed to believe that the Christian's assurance of salvation rests on both God's objective promises in Scripture and on the subjective evidence of the believer's works.170However the following quotation from him seems to ground our assurance only on subjective evidence.
"Those who cling to the promiseof eternal life but care nothing for Christ's holiness have nothing to be assured of. Such people do not really believe. Either their professed faith' in Christ is an utter sham, or they are simply deluded. If they did truly have their hope fixed on Christ, they would purify themselves, just as He is prue (3:3)."171
