Book of 1 John Chapter 3 Vs. 9

 Father hath Bestowed

I 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."


The 4th reason why Christians cannot practice sin is because it is incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who has imparted a new nature to the believer (John 3:5-8).

born of God... Facts of new birth, note, Gal. 4:19. John wrote here of the new birth (John 3:7). When people become Christians, God makes them new creatures with new natures (2 Cor. 5:17). Believers have God’s characteristics because they have been born into God’s family.

Whosoever is born (πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος)

On the form of expression, see on 1Jhn. 3:4. Rev., begotten. The perfect participle indicates a condition remaining from the first: he who hath been begotten and remains God's child.

does not commit... Greek: poieo, to do; commit; practice; perform (1Jhn. 3:4, 3:8, 3:9; Luke 12:48; John 8:34).

This new nature exhibits the habitual character of righteousness produced by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-24). John repeats this phrase twice for emphasis.

for his seed... This explains how a man born of God does not commit sin. The new birth involves the acquisition of a seed, which refers to the principle of life of God imparted to the believer at salvation’s new birth. John uses this image of a planted seed to picture the divine element involved in being born again.

his seed

The divine principle of life.

Seven Fallacies Based on 1Jhn. 3:9

1. That a born-again person cannot sin.

2. That his sins are not real ones.

3. That God automatically forgives his sins without confession.

4. That God does not see his sins; instead He sees the blood of Christ which he is trusting in.

5. That sins are not imputed to him.

6. That he does not practice sin, but commits occasional sin.

7. That all his sins—past, present, and future—are already forgiven.

At the best these fallacies are vain attempts to explain this verse and all of them are unscriptural. The secret of a proper understanding of this verse is in the word in, which means in harmony with or in union with and not physical entrance into, as proved in note, Luke 22:3. The seed is the Word of God by which a man is born again (1Pet. 1:23; Jas. 1:18). The simple idea is that as long as one remains in union with or in harmony with the seed, or the Word of God, he cannot sin. One who is consecrated to obey the Bible and refuses to sin, cannot break the commandments of God. Therefore, he cannot sin, for sin is transgression of the law (1Jhn. 3:4). The reason given here for not being able to sin is that His (God’s) seed (the Word of God) remains abides in him. That is, the one born again refuses to transgress the commandment of God and commit sin. As long as this consecration remains he will be unable to sin. If he grows cold in his love for God, ceasing to pray and maintain his spiritual life, he then may be overcome again and sin by transgressing the Word of God (1Jhn. 2:1; 2Pet. 1:5-10).

his seed remaineth... The word conveys the idea of the permanence of the new birth which cannot be reversed, for those who are truly born again are permanently transformed into a new creation (2Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:10).

he cannot sin... This phrase once again conveys the idea of habitual sinning, see verses 4 and 6.

cannot

See on 1Jhn. 3:6. Conceived as a perfect ideal, life in God excludes the possibility of sin. Compare Romans 4 throughout.

John is not teaching sinless perfection (see 1:8, 10; 2:2). He speaks here of habitual practice of known sinful acts. The true believer’s actions will conform to the character of his true father, either God or Satan. The person born of God will reflect this in his behavior.

This does not mean that it is impossible for you to commit a sin. It means it is not your nature to sin, when you have been born again in the spirit. When Christ takes up His dwelling place within you, the desire to sin is gone.

This is speaking of the new birth, when we bury the flesh man and raise the spirit man in Christ. As was pointed out in connection with 1Jhn. 3:6, adding such phrases as continue to and go on to John’s statements about sinning is not justified on the basis of the Greek text. As before, the statements are absolute. One who is born of God (cf. 1Jhn. 2:29; 4:7; 5:1, 5:4, 5:18) does not sin precisely because God’s seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. God’s seed is His nature, given to each believer at salvation (John 1:13; 2Pet. 1:4). The point here is that the child partakes of the nature of his Parent. The thought of a sinless Parent who begets a child who only sins a little is far from the author’s mind. As always, John dealt in stark contrasts. All sin is devilish (1Jhn. 3:8); it does not stem from the believer’s regenerate nature, God’s seed, but the child of God cannot and does not sin. The explanation here is the same as that given in 1Jhn. 3:6. The new man (or new self; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10) is an absolutely perfect new creation. By insisting on this point, John was seeking to refute a false conception about sin. Sin is not, nor ever can be, anything but satanic. It can never spring from what a Christian truly is at the level of his regenerate being.