Daily Devotions
1 John
"Whoever has been born of God does not sin..."
Text: 1 John 3:9
THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
When the Lord Jesus came He did many wonderful things. He preached, He taught and of course, He healed many too. But one of the most significant things He did was to enable people to become children of God (John 1:12). John added an important theological perspective in the following text concerning our being made children of God.
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him;
and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
1 John 3:9
1. “Whoever has been born of God”
a) This is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12).
b) Authority is given to all genuine believers to be called children of God (John 1:12).
c) The Holy Spirit does a special work of regeneration.
d) Believers are said to be “born again” (John 3:3).
2. “Does not sin”
a) This does not mean that the children of God would never sin again.
b) But when believers have been truly born again the following happens:-
i) They do not succumb to sin so easily.
ii) They will battle sin vigorously.
iii) They will not desire to be enslaved by sin.
3. “For His seed remains in him”
a) In the work of regeneration God has planted “His seed” in the heart of the believers.
b) That special divine seed can do a number of things:-
i) It protects them from succumbing to sin.
ii) It makes them sensitive and alert to the threat of sin.
4. “He cannot sin”
a) This clause was written using the Present Infinitive.
b) The Infinitive often points out “purpose”.
c) The believer’s sense of purpose leads him away from sin.
5. “Because he has been born of God”
To be born of God is much more than having a sense of security about having a home in heaven. To be born of God also means that the true believer would never indulge in a life of sin!