1 John 3:9 kjv
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.
1 John 3:9 nkjv
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 niv
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
1 John 3:9 esv
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.
1 John 3:9 nlt
Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
1 John 3 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jn 1:12-13 | ...to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent...but born of God. | Becoming children of God through faith. |
| Jn 3:3-8 | Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... | Necessity of new birth for spiritual understanding. |
| Rom 6:2 | By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it? | Death to sin, inability to live in its practice. |
| Rom 6:11-14 | ...consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus... Sin shall not have dominion over you... | New status in Christ; sin's lack of dominion. |
| Rom 6:18-22 | ...having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness... | Deliverance from sin's bondage to righteousness. |
| Rom 8:4 | ...so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. | Spirit-led walk fulfills the law. |
| Rom 8:9 | ...you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. | Spirit's indwelling signifies spiritual status. |
| 2 Cor 5:17 | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation... | New identity, old things passed away. |
| Gal 5:16 | But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. | Spirit-filled life subdues sinful desires. |
| Gal 5:24 | And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. | Crucifying the flesh implies freedom from its rule. |
| Eph 2:10 | For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works... | Created anew for righteous living. |
| Eph 4:24 | ...and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. | New self desires righteousness and holiness. |
| Col 3:9-10 | Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self... | Discarding old sinful ways, embracing new self. |
| Ti 2:11-12 | For the grace of God has appeared...training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives... | Grace empowers righteous living. |
| Ti 3:5 | ...He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. | Regeneration is a work of the Spirit leading to newness. |
| Heb 8:10 | For this is the covenant that I will make... I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts... | Internalized law leads to obedience. |
| 1 Pet 1:15-16 | ...as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct... | Call to imitation of God's holiness. |
| 1 Jn 1:8 | If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. | Acknowledgment that believers still commit sin. |
| 1 Jn 1:9 | If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins... | Provision for forgiveness of post-conversion sin. |
| 1 Jn 3:4 | Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. | Defining habitual sin as lawlessness. |
| 1 Jn 3:6 | No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. | Reiterates the non-habitual nature of sin for believers. |
| 1 Jn 3:8 | The one who practices sin is of the devil... The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. | Contrasts children of God with children of the devil. |
| 1 Jn 5:18 | We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning... | Reinforces the truth that a new nature breaks sin's pattern. |
| Jude 1:24 | Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless... | God's power to preserve from stumbling. |
1 John 3 verses
1 John 3 9 Meaning
This verse asserts that a person truly born of God, having received a divine, new nature, cannot continually or habitually practice sin as a lifestyle. The inherent "seed" or life principle of God remains within them, providing both the desire and the power to resist and overcome sin's dominion. While believers may still stumble and commit individual sins, their new nature makes it impossible for them to persist in an unrepentant, lawless pattern of life that characterized their former self or defines those not of God.
1 John 3 9 Context
First John Chapter 3 addresses the distinct characteristics and conduct of those who truly belong to God versus those who do not. Immediately preceding this verse, John contrasts the "children of God" with the "children of the devil," establishing a clear dichotomy based on their practice. Verse 4 defines sin as lawlessness (anomia), implying a direct contradiction of God's revealed will. Verse 6 states, "No one who abides in Him sins," reinforcing that a continued lifestyle of sin is incompatible with truly knowing Christ. Historically, John was countering early Gnostic influences and antinomian tendencies that either downplayed the reality of Christ's humanity or argued that spiritual enlightenment allowed one to disregard moral law. Thus, 1 Jn 3:9 serves as a strong ethical imperative and a definitional statement for the genuine believer, challenging any notion that true faith can coexist with an ongoing, unrepentant life of sin.
1 John 3 9 Word analysis
- No one: (Pas + ou) An emphatic universal negative. It means "absolutely no one" who fits the description can be characterized by the action.
- who is born: (ho gegennēmenos) A perfect passive participle, indicating a completed act of birth by God (divine action, not human effort) with continuing results. This birth results in a new, permanent spiritual identity and nature.
- of God: (ek tou theou) "From God," emphasizing the divine source of this spiritual birth. It is a work entirely originating from God.
- will continue to sin: (hamartian ou poiei or ou dunatai hamartanein in some Greek manuscripts; many translations reflect practice sin) The Greek uses the present tense, denoting continuous, habitual action or a lifestyle. The "no" (ou) negates the practice of sin as a defining characteristic. This is key: it's not saying believers never commit an individual sin, but they do not make sin their ongoing way of life. Their nature rejects it.
- because: (hoti) Introduces the reason or ground for the preceding statement.
- God's seed: (sperma autou) "His seed" or "His offspring." This refers to the divine life, the new nature, the incorruptible Word (1 Pet 1:23), or the Holy Spirit imparted by God at new birth. It is the living principle that makes ongoing sin foreign to the believer's true identity.
- remains in them: (en autō menei) The verb menei (to abide, remain, dwell) indicates a continuous, abiding presence. This divine "seed" is not fleeting but a permanent indwelling power.
- they cannot: (ou dunatai) A strong negative statement of inability. Not that they lack the physical capacity to sin, but they lack the spiritual compulsion or mastery by sin. Their new nature, energized by God's seed, makes habitual sin alien to them. They are no longer enslaved by it (Rom 6:6-7, 18).
- go on sinning: (hamartanein) Another present infinitive, again emphasizing the practice or habitual state of sin.
1 John 3 9 Bonus section
The emphasis on "practice" (using the Greek present tense) is critical for a proper interpretation. This grammatical aspect describes a habitual state or an ongoing pattern of life, not isolated acts. This means the individual born of God will not be found living in sin as a characteristic behavior. John’s language here, particularly the repeated causal clause "because they have been born of God," underscores that the new birth is the absolute and decisive reason for this change in one's relationship to sin. It's not human effort, but divine transformation that makes the difference. This verse forms a cornerstone of John's ethical teaching in the epistle, providing a definitive marker for distinguishing genuine believers from false claimants. It strongly reinforces the idea that true faith always expresses itself through ethical living, flowing from the new nature received from God. The verse is an encouragement for believers to live out their new identity, trusting in the divine enablement within them to walk in righteousness and maintain a lifestyle of seeking to please God.
1 John 3 9 Commentary
First John 3:9 is a foundational verse regarding the transformative power of divine regeneration. It does not teach sinless perfection but rather the fundamental incompatibility of a true divine birth with a continual, practiced lifestyle of sin. The critical distinction lies between an isolated act of sin (which believers undeniably commit, as per 1 Jn 1:8-10) and an ongoing, unrepentant pattern of life dominated by sin. A person genuinely "born of God" receives a new spiritual nature and the indwelling "seed" (often understood as the Holy Spirit, God's Word, or the divine principle of life itself), which fundamentally reorients their desires and abilities away from habitual rebellion against God. This divine seed actively "remains in them," empowering them to resist sin's mastery and prompting them towards righteousness. Therefore, they "cannot go on sinning" in the sense of making it their characteristic behavior because their deepest identity and new spiritual inclination oppose it. This verse serves as a crucial test of genuine conversion, highlighting that true faith is always accompanied by a new life marked by a trajectory of obedience, even if that trajectory involves stumbles. It urges believers to walk consistently with their new identity and not succumb to old patterns of behavior. For example, a person truly born of God will not habitually lie, steal, or live in unrepentant immorality. While they may err, their default inclination will be toward repentance and pursuing God's way.