Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.
- BSB No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
- NKJV Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
- NASB No one who remains in Him sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him.
- NLT Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever abides in Christ does not keep on sinning; persistent sin shows one neither knows nor has seen him. True abiding breaks the dominion of sin.
Overview
John speaks of habitual, unrepentant sin as incompatible with abiding in Christ. He is not teaching sinless perfection (see 1:8 to 2:1) but that those truly united to Christ no longer live in the practice of sin. Continuing in sin betrays a lack of genuine knowledge of Christ. Faithful readers understand this of a settled pattern, not occasional failure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
- 1 Jn 3:9Whosoever 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 Jn 2:4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- 1 Jn 4:8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
- John 15:4–7Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
- 1 Jn 5:18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
- 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
- 2 Cor 4:6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- 1 Jn 2:28And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
- 2 Cor 3:18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 3:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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