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1 John 3:9–10
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
Those born of God are marked by an inner principle that prevents them from settling into a life of unrepentant sin. The new birth continues to shape the believer’s whole existence. This is the reverse of those who make it their practice to live a life of sin and lawlessness and who thus align themselves with the devil (1 John 3:4–6).
John writes, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God” (v. 9). The image of the seed is striking. Just as a planted seed contains within it the principle of the plant that will grow from it, so the new birth deposits within the believer a living principle that grows into the character of the new life. The believer’s growing conformity to Christ is the natural result of this seed’s flourishing in the soul.
Because of this indwelling seed, John can say that the one born of God “cannot keep on sinning.” The language is strong, but it must be carefully interpreted. John is not denying that Christians sin; he has already taught the opposite (1:8–10). What he denies is the possibility of habitual, unrepentant sin in those who are genuinely born of God. Where the divine seed truly abides, the soul is restless in sin and grieved when it falls. Even when the believer stumbles, the deepest orientation of his heart is toward the holiness of his Father.
This teaching addresses the Reformed doctrine of perseverance from a particular angle. Those who have been born of God will continue in the way of righteousness because the divine seed within them carries them forward. They cannot finally be lost, even if they fall into sin occasionally or for a time. They will ultimately persevere not because of their own resolve but because of the abiding work of God within them.
Verse 10 of 1 John 3 sums up the matter with a clarifying contrast: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” Here John joins the two great tests that have run throughout the letter: righteousness and love. The two are inseparable. If righteousness is genuinely practiced, love for the brethren accompanies it; if either is absent, neither is genuine. The marks of true sonship are unmistakable in those who possess them, and equally unmistakable in their absence.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The believer’s perseverance does not rest finally on the strength of his own resolve but rests on the abiding seed that God has planted within him. Take heart, then, when you find yourself fighting against sin and grieving when you fall. Such restlessness is itself the mark of the new birth at work.
For further study
- Jeremiah 32:38–40
- Ezekiel 11:19–20
- John 6:37–40
- Philippians 1:6
The bible in a year
- Jeremiah 8–9
- 1 Timothy 4