IDENTIFY WHO/WHOSE YOU ARE - 1 JOHN 3:10

Verse 10: By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

 

John now moves on to the subject of the believer’s practice of righteousness. He begins by noting that there are two categories of believers: children of God and children of the devil.

Children Clarified

At the outset, to classify believers as being children of God is understandable, but how is it that John could classify believers as children of the devil? This can be explained by first examining how John uses the word children. This word occurs only 15 times in his writings: 3 times in his gospel account, 9 times in his epistles and 3 times in the Revelation. The majority of the time he is referring to a family relationship that influences the believer. Children are dependent upon a family authority figure for training and discipline. Thus the believer who submits to God’s authority is trained in the true character of Jesus Christ and is a legitimate child of God. 

However, the believer who rejects God’s authority will also reject His training in righteousness. The Apostle Paul explains that this can actually happen to a believer:

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

What Paul means by the latter times is equivalent to John’s reference that it is the last hour (2:18). Those who "fall away from the faith" exemplifies the times in which we live. These believers either never moved forward in their spiritual lives after having believed in Jesus Christ for salvation or have failed to embrace or have rejected sound doctrinal truth. Instead, their training comes from the demonic wisdom of this present age and John rightfully calls them children of the devil. Some Biblical scholars object to ascribing this characterization to believers; they wrongfully suppose that John is referring strictly to unbelievers. However, there is corroboration of other New Testament writers who harshly denounce believers that are influenced by the devil: “Hostile towards God” (Romans 8:7); “They are enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18); “An enemy of God” (James 4:4). Even Our Lord remarked how it was impossible for believers to have split loyalties:

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24)

As a child of the devil, the believer allows himself to be under the influence the devil’s training and thus imitates the unbeliever. It is one thing to have never moved forward after faith in Christ, but it is tragic to see a fellow believer that God had “began a good work in” (Philippians 1:6) to fall away and reject His grace provision for life, even after they “have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Hebrews 6:4b). Thankfully, there is cleansing and forgiveness available for them (1 John 1:9).

The Obvious Difference

We are able to detect the obvious difference between those who are children of God and those who are children of the devil. But those who are the children of God should be careful that they are not using this knowledge as a basis for displaying animosity towards fellow believers. We should adhere to Paul’s advice:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. (Romans 16:17)

And at the same time follow the Apostle Peter’s directive:

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

It might be wise to avoid the erring brothers in Christ, but not arrogantly snubbing them, instead respectfully praying for them. We need to tend to our own relationship with the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to do His convicting work with disobedient believers.

Practicing Righteousness

For the believer to practice righteousness means that they are consistently producing a clear indication of their relationship with Jesus Christ. The believer’s production of righteousness is based upon His truth standards and comprises all that they think and do. As previously considered in 2:4, His truth standards are contained in His commandments. Kenneth Wuest explained what His commandments are and where to find them:

The precepts (commandments) are those given by our Lord either personally while on earth or through His apostles in the New Testament Books.1

This means that they must be discovered through a careful and thorough study of Scripture. Numerous examples were observed in the comments on 1 John 2:3-4.

The believer who practices righteousness, keeps (obeys) His commands and therefore keeps themselves “unstained by the world” (James 1:27) and its false standards devised from the “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).

On the other hand, John states in no uncertain terms that “anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.” This is not a proof passage for validating if someone else is genuinely saved, it just doesn’t fit the context. The emphasis is for believers to look inward to verify if they are obedient to His commands and are pursuing this life of faith from His standards of truth, which has its ultimate source “of God.” Therefore, by the phrase “of God,” John specifically desires to clarify that their failure to produce righteousness is the evidence of their disobedience and not that they are unbelievers.

He then advances the issue regarding “the one who does not love his brother,” asserting that this negative attitude towards other believers also does not have its source from God’s commands. For he has previously stated that he who “hates his brother is in the darkness”/“walks in the darkness” (1 John 2:9, 11) referring to the spiritual darkness of sinfulness. This is the mark of believers who fails to produce a righteous character within the Christian community and before the world.

The Final Thought

Are we certain that we are obedient children of God? Or do we imitate the unbeliever as children of the devil? The Apostle Paul advises us to “examine ourselves, not other believers:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5; cf. 2 Peter 1:10-11)

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[1] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 13.113.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi

 

THE IMPOSSIBLE ORIGIN OF SIN - 1 JOHN 3:9

Verse 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.

John is now concluding his discussion of sin, lawlessness and righteousness as they relate to the believer. He declared in verse 6 that it is impossible for believers while habitually sinning to consider that they remain in fellowship with God. Now in verse 9 he explains the reasoning behind that assertion.

The opening phrase in the original Greek is exactly the same as verse 4 and should be correctly translated: “Everyone who is born of God does not practice sin.”  First we should identify what is means to be “born of God.” This is referring to the spiritual birth that Our Lord discussed with Nicodemus in John 3. Jesus stated that “You must be born again” (v.7) and that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v.3). He explained that being born again is different than child birth, instead it is a person being “born of the Spirit” (v.6). The Greek tense John uses in 1 John 3:9 emphasizes that the person who is born of God continues to be presently born again, which accentuates the eternal aspect of our salvation.

Secondly, John declares emphatically that no one who is born of God practices sin. We have previously defined this word practice as “any external act as manifested in the production of something tangible.”1 This has been at the core of John’s inquiry of believers: what is the production of our lives? Is it our intention to produce righteousness or sin and lawlessness?

We should carefully note his declarative statements: “Everyone who is born of God does not practice sin,” and in the previous verse “the one who practices sin is of the devil.” There seems to be an apparent contradiction, for if the genuinely born of God believer does not produce sin, then why would John state, concerning we believers: “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves” (1:8); “if we confess our sins” (1:9); “if we say that we have not sinned” (1:10); “if anyone sins” (2:1)? And then why would there be a need to provide believers with the divine remedy “to forgive us of our sin” (1:9) and the continuous cleansing “from all sin” (1:7)?

God’s Seed

Nevertheless, we can be assured that there are no contradictions in Scripture; this is made clear by the remainder of the verse. “His seed abides in him” refers to God’s seed, specifically, His divine nature which is given to each believer at salvation.2 The Apostle Peter affirmed that this is God’s intention for believers, to “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This is the same nature characterized by Our Lord, “Who committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21).

W.E. Vine maintains the enduring permanence of this divine nature:

The seed signifies the divine principle of imparted life in the believer, and this, once it is imparted, is unalterable; it remains in the believer.3

Born of God—The Imparted Life

The Holy Spirit is the source of our having been born of God—our new birth (John 3:6). The Apostle Paul underscores this fact stating that God “also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5) and that we are “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13-14). Hence, the Holy Spirit indwells each believer as internal evidence of this new birth.

However, Paul warns us “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30) by sinning and reverting back to the “old self” (Ephesians 4:22ff). Instead he instructs that we “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) cautioning us “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), for sin short-circuits His power source for our fellowship with God.

According to Dr. L.S. Chafer, “That ministry of the Holy Spirit which is termed His filling is the very center of the entire theme of the spiritual life.”4 For the Holy Spirit is our forever helper (John 14:16), He will teach us (John 14:26) and guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13), and He intercedes for us in prayer (Romans 8:26-27). He is our mentor and power source enabling us to live a holy, sinless life.

Something to Ponder

Taking all of this into consideration, we are now able to understand John when he states emphatically that the believer “cannot sin,” since it is impossible for the believer to sin while under the divine controlling nature of the Holy Spirit. The believer sins when he relinquishes the Spirit’s control of his life, reverting back to his old sin nature. The Apostle Paul explained this when he wrote that when he sinned he realized that it was “no longer I [the new divine principle of God’s seed in control of my life] the one doing it [sinning], but sin which dwells in me [the old sin nature/old self]” (Romans 7:17). Paul asserts that the old self is “in my flesh” (Romans 7:18) and is never removed from the believer and continues to be the wretched link to our old sin nature. It is the reason Paul commanded that we “lay aside the old self” (Ephesians 4:22) and “put on the new self” (Ephesians 4:24)—the one controlled by the Holy Spirit.

We must remember that it is the believer who initiates sin, just as James tells us, that “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14). The lust that James infers to is the mental decision to do what I want instead of what God wants me to do—whether it is a sin of action or a sin of thought. In the millisecond that it takes for the believer to decide to give in to the old self and sin, it is at that precise moment when he is immediately no longer under the control of the Holy Spirit—the divine seed, the mark of being born of God.

Therefore, it is impossible for sin to originate from the divine nature of the genuinely born of God believer.

Conclusion

John is not attempting to provide a test for determining if another believer is truly born of God, by proof that they never sin. He has already acknowledged that believers do sin and God has provided the remedy for forgiveness and cleansing. Instead, throughout this epistle John is encouraging us, his readers, to live an obedient life, by demonstrating our decision to maintain fellowship with Him by obeying His commands and endeavoring to live a holy and sinless life. This is what the Apostle Paul so aptly explains:

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:11–14)

Do we have this attitude of obedience to God? Are we choosing to live a holy and sinless life?

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G4160.

[2] Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 2.895.

[3] Vine, W. E. (1996). Collected Writings of W.E. Vine. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1 John 3:9.

[4] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 6.42.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi

 

THE TRUE LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS - 1 JOHN 3:7-8

Verses 7-8: Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

John continues his discussion of the production of the believer’s spiritual life. In verse 4, he clearly equated the production of sin as lawlessness; that it is an active revolt by the believer against God’s prefect ideal of righteous living.

Now John affirms that the believer who produces righteous living is righteous. To be righteous means to be one who is in “conformity to the claims of higher authority and stands in opposition to lawlessness.”1 Our Lord explained that the claims we should conform to are His commandments. He stated not once but four times that our love for Him is demonstrated when we keep and obey His commandments:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10)

Keeping His commandments not only proves our love for Him but it is evidence of our production of righteousness.

Exactly what are His commandments? As was mentioned at the beginning of chapter two, they do not refer specifically to the Ten Commandments. Kenneth Wuest explained that,

 The precepts (commandments) are those given by Our Lord either personally while on earth or through His apostles in the New Testament Books.2 

Here are some examples of a few: John commanded, “Do not love the world” (1 John 2:15); Peter warns us, “do not be conformed to the former lusts” (1 Peter 1:14); Paul commands us to “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17); in Hebrews we are directed: “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2); and James instructs: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8), just as Our Lord had commanded (Mark 12:31). These are some of the numerous directives that the believer must discover through a careful and thorough study of Scripture.

Works of the Devil

On the other hand, the one that is practicing sin, their source of influence is of the devil—Satan. This is another of John’s simple declarative statements and most likely a description of the antichrist deceiver. Here he proclaims that the origin of sin into humanity was by the devil, who has been sinning from the beginning. Even prior to his complicity in the Fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), Satan in eternity past, clearly demonstrated his lawless sinfulness with the prideful boasting of his 5 “I wills” recorded by Isaiah:

          “I will ascend to heaven”

        “I will raise my throne above the stars of God”

       “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north”

       “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”

         “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14)

 By the devil’s deceptiveness, believers are being influenced to revert back to their former manner of life, otherwise the Apostle Paul would not have needed to warn believers to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Interceding on our behalf, Our Lord prayed to the Father that we might receive divine protection from the devil:

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

Therefore, John is attempting to impress upon believers that a life of practicing sin is counterproductive of God’s divine purpose for the Incarnation of His Son—“to destroy the works of the devil.”

So, what are the works of the devil? The 19^th Century American theologian Albert Barnes stated it concisely: “All his plans of wickedness, and his control over the hearts of men.”3 Some of his notorious works include doubting Jesus’ deity: “If You are the Son of God” (Luke 4:3); obscuring the gospel by blinding the minds of man (Luke 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4); a liar (John 8:44; Acts 5:3); the accuser of the believers (Revelation 12:10; Zechariah 3:1); the tempter of believers (1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

Deception Warning

So with this in mind, John is warning us of a spirit of deception designed to lead us astray from living a righteous life. In the Apostle’s day, the Gnostic heresy sought to deceive believer with false teachings concerning Our Lord, denying His unique person as the God-man. Today, some of their false teachings are still prevalent. But there is a more subtle deception perpetrated by other believers and Christian groups, by those who fail to recognize the authority of Biblical directives for righteous living. Instead they rely on their own wisdom and they incorporate the philosophies and mindset of the unbelieving world. Donald Grey Barnhouse described these believers as,

Being ignorant of God’s righteousness, they go about to establish their own righteousness. In other words, they attempt to claim that human righteousness is good, that it is satisfactory, and that because it is satisfactory to men, God should also be satisfied with that righteousness.4

The Apostle Paul warned those in Colossae about this exact issue—this wisdom of the world:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

We note again, that the ‘elementary principles of the world’ is descriptive of cosmic thinking that comprises all the opinions, values, aspirations, norms and standards of Satan’s world system that are indifferent to the Word of God. And therefore, the present day deceivers devise standards of living that they approve and enjoy, regardless of what God says, and promotes them as if they were approved by God.

As difficult as this may sound, this is the spirit of the times we live in today; a further evidence of the antichrist influence upon the minds of believers. John affirmed this when he wrote that “This is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7). John’s warning is a reminder that presently, there is an intensification of deception that will be pervasive throughout the remainder of the Church Age. Is it any wonder that he advises us in 1 John 4:1 to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God”?

Something to Contemplate

What is our intention for living a righteous life of faith? Do we seek His commands and strive to obey them? Are we “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 13:2)?

If so, then we are rejecting the devil’s philosophies that formulate cultural dictates and instead we are embracing the absolute authority of God’s Word.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Because only in His Word can believers acquire God’s absolute standards for their “training in righteousness.”

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1343.

[2] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 13.113.

[3] Barnes, A. (2005). Notes on the New Testament: Hebrews to Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, XIII.2.318.

[4] Barnhouse, Donald Grey (1994). Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, IV.1.62.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi