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NASB | 1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because God's seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again--who is reborn from above--spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him. |
Subject: does this mean we aren't born of God. |
Bible Note: Dear Elice; Here is an excerpt from Spiros Zodhiates commentary on the Epistle of 1 John 3:9 Who ever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed abides in him and he cannot be habitually sinning, because he has been born of God. This verse starts with (pas - 3956), whoever or every one. It refers not only to one individual, but to every individual within the group of all those who have been born of God: "whoever has been born (ho ge-gennemenos) of God." (See also 1 John 2:29; 3:3 (twice), 9; 4:7; 5:1 (thrice), 4, 18 (twice). Ho gegennemenos is a participal noun with the definite article ho (3588), the one; gegennemenos, the perfect participle passive singular of gennao (1080), to beget or bear. Thus we have one who has been born of God and is now His child, indicating a specific time when the new birth (John 3:1-12) occurred which resulted in the possession of eternal life (John 3:16). John uses the perfect tense consistently when indicating those who were born of God and continue to be in Him (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18). God does not give birth to children and then abandon them. In 1 John 5:1 we find gegennetai, has been born, the perfect third person singular, in the expression, "Whoever (pas) believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God." And the verse continues, "and whosoever (pas) loves Him who gave birth (ton gegennemenon, the perfect participle passive of (gennao)." When it comes to God who gives birth to the believer, it is the aorist active that is used, gennesanta, Him who begot or gave birth to, which indicates the importance of the actual giving of life to everyone who believes and loves. The stress in 1 John 3:9 is on the believer who was born of God and now possesses the life of God. He is a child of God. The one who has been born of God does not (ou (3756), the absolute not) practice sin (poiei, the present indicative of poieo (4160), to practice, do habitually, hamartian, the accusative of hamartia (266) without the definite article, indicating sin of any kind). This is a statement of fact. A born- again believer has God's Spirit in him and does not habitually sin. He is asked not to sin. He simply does not. Why? Because God's seed (sperma (4690), sperm, a seed or germ of the divine life) abides in him (menei, the present indicative of meno (3306), to remain, abide, a favorite word in the epistles of John (1 John 2:6,10,14,17,19,24 (thrice), 27 (twice), 28; 3:6,9,14,15,17,24 (twice); 4:12,13,15,16 (twice); 2 John 1:2,9 (twice). It is the Holy Spirit in the believer who abhors sin and does not permit him to engage in habitual sin. Then John goes one step further. "And he cannot be habitually sinning." Here we have the absolute negative ou, not, and dunatai, the present indicative of dunamai (1410), to be able; thus he cannot be sinning because he is born of God, and God's Spirit indwells him (see 2 Pet. 1:4). Regrettably, the believer may fall into sin. 1 John 2:1 states, "and if one were to fall into sin (hamarte)." The verb is the subjunctive aorist which means the falling into an occasional sin for which there is confession (1 John 1:9) and forgiveness. A person who sins habitually without a sense of conviction and repentance cannot claim to have the Holy Spirit within him, and he who has Him cannot sin habitually. The two states are mutually exclusive. The reason for the inability to habitually sin is that he has been born (gegennetai, the perfect indicative passive of gennao) of God. From Spiros Zodhiates Th.d (pages 183-185 of the Exegetical Commentary Series - The Epistles of John) - ISBN 0-89957-107-7 |