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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 | 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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2 | What does "remaining in Him" really mean | Mark 15:5 | DocTrinsograce | 179013 | ||
Dear NewPilgrim, As our brother Tim has pointed out, context is one of your most powerful allies in developing a sound exegesis. Context of words in phrases, phrases in sentences, sentences in passages, passages in sections, sections in books. Remember, also, to bring along the light of the rest of Scripture in your study. Be encouraged to continue digging. However, as one of my professors once said, after you've sweated through the hard work of a sound exegesis, only then look back at what others have concluded regarding a passage. "Never be so arrogant," he said, "as to imagine that you will come up with something out of Scripture that no one else has ever found in two thousand years of study." God is the great revealer, we simply uncover the truth He has spoken to us all. Here are what a few commentators (in more or less chronological order) have written on 1 John 3:9: "[We conclude] that those in whom sin reigns cannot be reckoned among the members of Christ..." --John Calvin "...does not make it [sin] his trade and business; it is not the constant course of his life; he does not live and walk in sin, or give up himself to it..." --John Gill "This cannot mean that one who is renewed has not physical ability to do wrong, for every moral agent has; nor can it mean that no one who is a true Christian never does, in fact, do wrong in thought, word, or deed, for no one could seriously maintain that: but it must mean that there is somehow a certainty as absolute as if it were physically impossible, that those who are born of God will not be characteristically and habitually sinners." --Albert Barnes "...he who is born of God does not practise sin." --John Darby "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... Sin is ever active, but no longer reigns. The normal direction of the believer's energies is against sin..." --Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown "...distinction between individual acts of sin (which a Christian may occasionally commit) and habitual sin as a lifestyle..." --W. Hall Harris III "People who are settled in habitual sin are not the children of God..." --David Guzak There is safety staying within the context of the broad concensus of Christian orthodoxy. It almost always is helping us stay safely within the context of all of Scripture. :-) In Him, Doc |
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