1 John 3

Chap. III. Ver. 1—24. The grace of God in the adoption, sanctification, and salvation of his people.—“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” So astonishing did this seem, when one of the Malabarian converts was required by the Danish missionaries thus to translate this passage, that he shrunk from it, as far too bold: “Let me rather render it (says he,) They shall be permitted to kiss his feet.” But even this is not all; not only are we to be recognised as the adopted children of God, but also, conformed to the image of his only begotten Son. And such is the transforming efficacy of his glory, that when we “see him as he is,”

we shall be changed into his image—we shall be pure, as he is pure; for we “know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is a 73 This similitude will not, we confess, be complete in the present life: we must see Christ even as he is, before we can be conformed wholly to his image. There is, however, a partial resemblance, which becomes more and more complete as grace prevails in us. In this state we ‘know but in part,” and are sanctified but in part, as the holiest and best of men admit, and as St. John himself assures us: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” ((1 John 1:8).) The same apostle, therefore, cannot mean to be understood absolutely, when he says, “‘He that is born of God doth not commit sin;”

but it is yet a question how the words can be best explained, in harmony with other passages in this epistle, and of the Scriptures in general. We shall mention two ways in which this has been attempted. 1., It has been commonly understood, that by committing sin is here meant the habitual practice thereof, as the heathen practised idolatry, and the Jews their now obsolete and superstitious ritual. It must, however, be admitted, that every act of sin is as much forbidden as the habit; that neither the law nor the gospel tolerate even “the thought of foolishness;” ((Proverbs 24:9);) yet it is not every sinful thought, or even act, that proves a man hypocritical or insincere. Christians are bound to the practice of piety and good works; and yet, as St.

James says, ((1 John 3:2),) “In many things we all offend;” and as St. John “If any man sin,” upon repentance and humiliation, “we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ” himself; so that, as we must not presume on this to encourage ourselves in sin, neither must we despair of pardon when we repent. And this exposition is, we think, in perfect harmony with Scripture truth. But, 2. The late ingenious Mr. Fuller has remarked, (and we have met with the suggestion in him only,) that the apostle had been before exhorting Christians to abide in the truth, and to “walk as Christ also walked.” In the close of this Epistle, also, the apostle speaks of apostacy—that is, of complete and final apostacy—as “a sin unto death,”

or a fatal and soul-destroying sin: of this sin, therefore, Mr. Fuller conceives that the apostle here treats, and which he describes as utterly inconsistent with true godliness. He that is born of God, in this sense, “sinneth not,” and “cannot sin.” Mr. F. would, therefore, for the term sin, substitute apostacy—meaning, inveterate and complete apostacy, and reads the text as follows:—“Whosoever abideth in him, apostatizeth not: whosoever apostatizeth hath not seen him, neither known him.—He that is guilty of apostacy is of the devil; for the devil hath been an apostate from the beginning.—Whosoever is born of God doth not apostatize, for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot apostatize, because he is born of God.”

Either of these expositions may be sufficient to reconcile our apostle to himself, and to the general tenor of Scripture. Our readers will judge for themselves; we feel too much of our frailty to dogmatize, where wise and good men differ. Mutual love among Christians is the burden of this Epistle; but that love must be connected with love to Christ, because we are commanded to love them as brethren, that is, as fellow Christians; and to the extent, (ver. 16,) that we should be ready to “lay down our lives” for them, if circumstances should require. Now this mutual love produces mutual fellowship and communion, not with them only, but also with God, our common Father, and with Christ, our common Saviour, through the medium of his Holy Spirit, which he hath given to abide with us for ever.