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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What does "remaining in Him" really mean | Mark 15:5 | DocTrinsograce | 178888 | ||
Dear newbeginning, Welcome to the forum! I think you may be asking about 1 John 3:9, "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." (If I'm mistaken, please advise.) This verse is talking about the nature of the believer. He has experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in the miracle of regeneration; i.e., the new birth. Such a person does not live in habitual sin. This is because they are a new creature. This "seed" is the grace of the Holy Spirit (cf 1 Peter 1:22-23), that works in the believer to finish the work that God has begun in him (Hebrews 12:2). John Calvin puts it very succinctly, but you have to work through the language a bit: "or God's Spirit so forms the hearts of the godly for holy affections, that the flesh and its lusts do not prevail, but being subdued and put as it were under a yoke, they are checked and restrained. In short, the Apostle ascribes to the Spirit the sovereignty in the elect, who by His power represses sin and suffers it not to rule and reign." In Him, Doc |
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2 | What does "remaining in Him" really mean | Mark 15:5 | NewPilgrim | 178972 | ||
Hi Newbeginning and Doc :) Doc, my understanding of this passage is a little different to the one which you have presented. In the verse of 1John 3:9 it is esposued that "that which is born of God CANNOT sin" The greek text I believe says: "ou dunamai hamartano" which translates as "is unable to commit sin" There is a discrepency between the two greek words for sin in the passage... 1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth ( Poieo- to make\do\perform) not commit sin (Hamartia - sins/a sin) ; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin(Hamartano - to commit a sin), because he is born of God." If we follow hermeneutics, I believe that the rule of thumb would be that the latter reference would follow the form and function of the first, in terms of context. However it would seem that the popular translation would be based on the reverse of that premise. Let us look again at the verse as I understand it from the use of the greek words "hamartia" (sins/ a sin) and "hamartano" (to commit sin) 1Jo 3:9 Whosoever is born of God "performs not sins"; for his seed remaineth in him: and he "is unable to perform sins", because he is born of God. The full impact of this is that John states whosever is born of God is unable to commit sin, not refrring habitually, but literally and practically. Now, before you start worrying that I am gnostic and a heretic, let me explain that there is a clear disctinction between that which is born of God and that which is not...and you and I have BOTH. That is to say that when we are born again, John teaches us that we are "born from above" or "born of God" This of course refers to our spiritual birth at salvation. However despite the birth of spirit which is of God and therefore incorruptable seed, as Paul tells us, we still have with us our flesh which is of corrupted seed with a propensity for sin, as Paul also tells us and illustrates for us beautifully in his lamentations in Romans 7. Paul understood only too well, as did John, that the christian man leads an existence of duality. Our perfect and holy spirit, born of God, which is unable to sin and desires all righteousness - and our corrupt and sinful flesh which is born of corrupt seed and seeks corruption. Therefore, when we apply this understanding to John 3:9 we can see that when he speaks of "that which is born of God" he is referring to our spirit, rather than our entirety of spirit AND flesh. John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God (the spirit of the believer) doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he (the spirit of the believer) cannot sin, because he is born of God." What say you brother? By the way it is good to be with you once again having been out of touch with you for so long and I look forward to more of our discussions :) |
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3 | What does "remaining in Him" really mean | Mark 15:5 | Morant61 | 178981 | ||
Greetings NewPilgrim! You wrote: "There is a discrepency between the two greek words for sin in the passage..." In what sense is there a discrepency between the two greek words? The only difference is that the first word is a noun and the second is a verb. Also, you wrote: "Therefore, when we apply this understanding to John 3:9 we can see that when he speaks of "that which is born of God" he is referring to our spirit, rather than our entirety of spirit AND flesh." This would seem to be quite a stretch for several reasons. First of all, 'spirit' is a neuter noun, while the pronoun used in 1 John 3:9 is a masculine pronoun. Thus, it can't be a reference to the neuter spirit. Secondly, 'spirit' has not yet been used in this passage anyway, so it cannot be the antecedent of the pronoun. In my understanding, it is much more likely that 1 John 3:9 refers to habitual sin, since this is one of the possible meanings of the present tense. This understanding also does not conflict with 1 John 1:8-9 or 1 John 2:1. Interesting post my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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4 | What does "remaining in Him" really mean | Mark 15:5 | NewPilgrim | 178985 | ||
Thanks for the input Tim...I'm no greek scholar, I'll be the first to admit, but I do what I can to delve into the original greek text using my lexicon. I'll give good consideration to your comments :) | ||||||