1 John 3:1–10

Children of God see what love the Father has given · we shall be like him · the one born of God · children of God and children of the devil

John bids us stop and look at a wonder: the kind of love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God — and so we are. The world does not know us because it never knew him. Our present sonship is real, yet our future glory is still hidden: when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. That hope purifies. From this John turns to the family likeness: sin is lawlessness, and Christ appeared to take sin away; the one who abides in him does not keep on sinning, while the one born of God cannot make sin his settled practice, because God's seed abides in him. So the children of God and the children of the devil are made manifest — by righteousness practiced and love shown.

Greek Text (SBLGNT)

The Greek text below is the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament (SBLGNT), edited by Michael W. Holmes — © 2010 SBL and Logos, released CC BY 4.0. The paragraph moves from the Father's love (vv. 1–3) to the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil (vv. 4–10), with the nature of sin and the Son's sin-destroying mission at the center.

ἴδετε ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ἵνα τέκνα θεοῦ κληθῶμεν, καὶ ἐσμέν. διὰ τοῦτο ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν. ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν. καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ἁγνίζει ἑαυτὸν καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν. Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία. καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν. πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν. τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστιν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται. ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.

Working Translation

An original literal rendering, not borrowed from any copyrighted translation. Brackets mark phrases added for English clarity.

¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God — and [so] we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that, whenever he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is. ³ And everyone who has this hope [set] on him purifies himself, just as that one is pure. ⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know that that one appeared in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ Everyone who abides in him does not [keep on] sinning; everyone who [keeps on] sinning has neither seen him nor known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. ⁸ The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from [the] beginning. For this [purpose] the Son of God appeared: in order that he might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because his seed abides in him; and he cannot [keep on] sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this the children of God and the children of the devil are made manifest: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor [is] the one who does not love his brother.

Note on vv. 6, 9: the present-tense verbs ἁμαρτάνει / ποιεῖ are most often read as describing settled, characteristic practice ("keep on sinning, make a practice of sin"), which is why the brackets are added — but this is a debated reading; see the v. 6 and v. 9 commentary. Note on v. 1: καὶ ἐσμέν ("and we are") is the best-attested text; some later witnesses omit it.

Passage Structure

The paragraph falls into two movements held together by the family theme — what it means to be τέκνα θεοῦ, "children of God." Verses 1–3 dwell on the love that makes us children and the hope that flows from it; verses 4–10 expose the moral line that distinguishes God's children from the devil's.

vv. 1–2 — The Father's lavish love and the not-yet of glory. An imperative opens the section: ἴδετε, "See! Look!" The astonishing thing to see is what kind of love the Father has given, that we should be called — and truly are — children of God. The world's failure to recognize us mirrors its failure to know him (v. 1). Our sonship is a present reality (νῦν … ἐσμεν), but the full disclosure of what we will be is still future and hidden, awaiting Christ's appearing, when seeing him we shall be made like him (v. 2).
v. 3 — The purifying power of hope. The future hope has a present effect: everyone who holds this hope set on Christ purifies himself, taking the pattern of his purity from Christ himself. Eschatology produces ethics.
vv. 4–5 — Sin defined, and the sinless Sin-bearer. Sin is named for what it is: ἀνομία, "lawlessness" (v. 4). Against this dark backdrop stands the Son who "appeared in order to take away sins" and in whom "there is no sin" (v. 5).
vv. 6–9 — Two incompatible directions of life. The one who abides in Christ does not make sin his practice (v. 6); the one who practices sin is "of the devil," who has sinned from the beginning, and against whom the Son appeared "to destroy the works of the devil" (vv. 7–8). The one born of God "cannot keep on sinning, because God's seed abides in him" (v. 9). These are the hard verses; see the commentary.
v. 10 — The two families made manifest. The summary: the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed by the practice of righteousness and by love of the brother — the latter clause leading directly into vv. 11–18.

Three structural threads bind the paragraph. First, the verb φανερόω ("make manifest, appear") sounds five times (vv. 2, 5, 8, 10) — what is hidden now will be made manifest, the Son was made manifest, and the two families are made manifest. Second, the repeated πᾶς ὁ ("everyone who") plus a present participle (vv. 3, 4, 6 twice, 9, 10) sorts all people by their settled direction. Third, the demonstrative ἐκεῖνος ("that one") repeatedly points to Christ as the standard of purity and righteousness (vv. 3, 5, 7).

Verse-by-Verse Notes

1 John 3:1 — ἴδετε ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ἵνα τέκνα θεοῦ κληθῶμεν, καὶ ἐσμέν.

ἴδετε ("see! behold!"). The aorist imperative (plural) of ὁράω arrests the reader: look at this! John does not argue the Father's love; he points to it and tells us to gaze. What follows is not a doctrine to be inferred but a gift to be beheld.

ποταπὴν ἀγάπην ("what kind of love"). ποταπός originally meant "of what country?" and came to mean "of what sort? what kind?" with a strong note of astonishment — "what manner of love!" The wonder is qualitative, not merely quantitative: not only how much the Father loves, but what kind of love this is — love that makes enemies into children. The verb δέδωκεν (perfect of δίδωμι, "has given") presents this love as a settled, abiding gift, not a passing impulse: it has been given and it remains.

ἵνα τέκνα θεοῦ κληθῶμεν, καὶ ἐσμέν ("that we should be called children of God — and we are"). The ἵνα clause expresses the purpose and result of the Father's love: κληθῶμεν ("we should be called," aorist passive subjunctive of καλέω). To be "called" children of God is no empty title; the appended καὶ ἐσμέν ("and we are") shuts the door on any merely honorary sense — we are not styled children, we are children. John prefers τέκνα ("born ones, offspring") rather than Paul's υἱοί ("sons"), keeping the accent on the new birth (cf. v. 9; John 1:12–13); he reserves "Son" (υἱός) for Christ, the unique Son (v. 8). This is the language of adoption and new birth together — a status conferred by grace and a life imparted by God.

ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν ("the world does not know us because it did not know him"). The world's non-recognition of believers is traced to its prior non-recognition of God (or of Christ — the referent is left open and may be deliberately both). The present γινώσκει ("does not know") and the aorist ἔγνω ("did not know") echo John 1:10. To belong to a Father the world never recognized is to be a stranger to the world; alienation is a mark of the family, not a defect in it.

Careful Caution — κόσμος here is not all-inclusive humanity to be saved

κόσμος ("world") in John frequently means the created order in its organized hostility to God — humanity as it stands estranged from its Maker. Here it is precisely that which "does not know" the children of God and "did not know" him. Nothing in the verse hints at universal salvation; the contrast is between those given the love that makes them children and a world that fails to recognize both the Father and his own. Read κόσμος in step with John's usage, not as a slogan for all-inclusive redemption.

1 John 3:2 — νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα… ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν.

νῦν … ἐσμεν … οὔπω ἐφανερώθη ("now we are … not yet has it appeared"). The "already/not-yet" of Christian existence is set in two adverbs. νῦν ("now") affirms the present, settled reality of sonship; οὔπω ("not yet") confesses that "what we shall be" (τί ἐσόμεθα, future of εἰμί) has "not yet been made manifest" (ἐφανερώθη, aorist passive of φανερόω). We possess sonship truly but not yet in its consummated glory; the full splendor of the children is still hidden, awaiting display.

ἐὰν φανερωθῇ ("whenever he appears / it appears"). The subject of φανερωθῇ is ambiguous in Greek: it may be "he" (Christ appears, cf. v. 8 and 2:28) or impersonal/neuter ("it [what we shall be] appears"). Either way the moment is Christ's appearing. The ἐὰν with subjunctive does not express doubt about whether but contingency of timing — "whenever, at the time when."

ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν ("we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is"). Here is the substance of our future hope. ὅμοιοι ("like, similar") is carefully chosen: we shall be like him, not identical to him — glorified, conformed to his likeness, never merged into deity. The cause given is the beatific vision: ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν ("because we shall see him") καθώς ἐστιν ("just as he is"). Whether the transforming sight or the likeness is logically prior, John binds them inseparably: to see him as he truly is will be transformative — what no theophany granted (cf. Exod 33:20), the children will receive at his appearing. This is the unveiled vision still awaited at the consummation.

1 John 3:3 — πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ἁγνίζει ἑαυτὸν καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν.

πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ("everyone who has this hope"). The recurring formula πᾶς ὁ + present participle ("everyone who…") states a universal principle without exception. "This hope" is the hope of v. 2 — of being made like Christ when we see him. The hope is "set on him" (ἐπ’ αὐτῷ), anchored in Christ as its object and ground.

ἁγνίζει ἑαυτόν ("purifies himself"). ἁγνίζω ("purify, make clean") carries cultic overtones (ceremonial purification) now turned moral. The present tense marks ongoing self-purification — a continual, deliberate cleansing of life. This is not self-salvation; it is the active response of one whose hope is fixed on Christ. The pattern is given by the demonstrative: καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν ("just as that one is pure"). ἐκεῖνος ("that one") is John's habitual way of pointing to Christ; ἁγνός ("pure, holy") describes his settled character. Christ is both the goal of the hope and the standard of the purity — the future vision shapes present conduct.

1 John 3:4–5 — Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία… ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν.

πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν … τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ ("everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness"). The idiom ποιεῖν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ("to do/practice the sin," with the article) suggests sin as a course of action, not merely a single lapse. John then defines sin: ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία — "sin is lawlessness." Both nouns take the article, making the statement convertible: sin and lawlessness are coextensive. ἀνομία (literally "no-law-ness," from the alpha-privative + νόμος) is more than breaking individual rules; it is the condition and posture of rebellion against God's will and rule. Sin is not a private misfortune but lawlessness against the lawgiver — which is why it cannot characterize one who is "of God."

ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ ("that one appeared in order to take away sins"). Again ἐκεῖνος ("that one") = Christ, and ἐφανερώθη ("was made manifest, appeared") echoes the incarnation. The purpose is ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ ("that he might take away sins," aorist subjunctive of αἴρω, "lift, carry off, remove"). The verb recalls the Baptist's cry, "the Lamb of God who takes away (αἴρων) the sin of the world" (John 1:29). His mission is sin's removal — which makes continuance in sin a contradiction of his very purpose.

ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν ("in him there is no sin"). The sinlessness of Christ is stated absolutely (cf. 2:1, "Jesus Christ the righteous"; John 8:46; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22). The Sin-bearer is himself without sin — which is precisely why he can take sin away. His sinlessness grounds both his atoning work and the standard to which his children are conformed.

1 John 3:6 — πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.

πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει ("everyone who abides in him does not sin"). This is the first of the "hard verses." Read in isolation it seems to teach sinless perfection — yet the same letter has already said, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1:8) and "If anyone sins, we have an advocate" (2:1). John cannot be contradicting himself within two chapters. The key lies in the verbs. μένων (present participle, "abiding, remaining") describes a settled, ongoing union with Christ; and ἁμαρτάνει (present indicative) is most commonly understood as describing habitual, characteristic practice rather than every individual act: the abiding one does not make a practice of sinning, does not persist in it as the direction of life. On this reading John denies settled, unbroken sinning to the one who abides, not the occurrence of any sin at all.

πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν ("everyone who sins has not seen him nor known him"). The converse: the one whose life is characterized by sinning has neither "seen" (ἑώρακεν, perfect of ὁράω) nor "known" (ἔγνωκεν, perfect of γινώσκω) him. The perfects denote an abiding state resulting from a past encounter: such a person has had — and has — no real, transforming acquaintance with Christ. To "see" and "know" Christ in John's sense is to be changed by him; a life given over to sin betrays that no such knowing has occurred.

Careful Caution — this is not sinless perfectionism

Verses 6 and 9 must be read alongside 1:8–10, where John insists that believers do sin and need ongoing cleansing and an advocate. So the verses cannot mean that a true Christian never commits any act of sin. The most common solution reads the present-tense verbs as durative/habitual: the one born of God does not persist in sin as a settled practice. Other readings have been proposed — that John speaks of sin's incompatibility with the believer's new nature "in principle," or that he describes the ideal/eschatological reality, or that he combats a specific libertine claim. The durative reading is the most widely held and fits the participial contrasts of the chapter, but it is debated and should not be pressed as the only possible grammar. What is beyond doubt is the pastoral point: a life of unbroken, untroubled sin is incompatible with abiding in the sinless Christ. We hold this conviction without claiming a perfection John explicitly denies us.

1 John 3:7–8 — τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστιν… ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν… εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου.

τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς ("little children, let no one deceive you"). The affectionate diminutive τεκνία ("little children") signals pastoral urgency. μηδεὶς πλανάτω ("let no one deceive," present imperative of πλανάω, "lead astray, deceive") warns against teachers — likely the secessionists of 2:18–19 — who would sever conduct from status, claiming one can "know God" while living in sin. John insists: character is shown by practice.

ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστιν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν ("the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous"). Practicing righteousness does not make one righteous in a works-salvation sense; rather, it manifests the righteousness one has from being born of God. The standard is again Christ (ἐκεῖνος, "that one"): righteous conduct is conformity to the Righteous One (cf. 2:29). The fruit reveals the root.

ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν ("the one who practices sin is of the devil"). The stark antithesis: settled practice of sin reveals one's spiritual paternity — ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ("out of, from the devil"), belonging to and originating in him. The reason: ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει ("from the beginning the devil sins / has been sinning"). The present ἁμαρτάνει with ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς portrays the devil's sinning as a continuous course running from his first rebellion onward — he is the archetypal practitioner of sin, and those who make sin their practice show his family likeness.

εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου ("for this the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil"). Note the deliberate title: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ("the Son of God") — the unique Son set over against the children of the devil. ἐφανερώθη ("appeared, was made manifest") again names the incarnation; the purpose is ἵνα λύσῃ ("that he might loose/undo/destroy," aorist subjunctive of λύω) "the works of the devil." λύω pictures untying, dissolving, dismantling — Christ came to take apart what the devil has built. Where v. 5 said he appeared to "take away sins," v. 8 says he appeared to "destroy the devil's works"; the two are one mission. To live in sin, then, is to side with the very works Christ came to demolish.

1 John 3:9 — πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.

πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ ("everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin"). The perfect participle γεγεννημένος ("having been born," from γεννάω) is decisive: the new birth is a completed act with abiding effect — God has done it, and it stands. The one so born "does not practice sin" (ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ). As in v. 6, the most common reading takes the present ποιεῖ as durative — does not make sin a practice — not as a claim of flawless sinlessness (which 1:8 forbids).

ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει ("because his seed abides in him"). The reason for the changed life is a divine implantation. σπέρμα ("seed") is debated: it may mean God's life-giving principle imparted in the new birth, the word of God as the regenerating seed (cf. 1 Pet 1:23), or the Spirit — perhaps these are not sharply separable in John's thought. "His seed" (God's) "abides" (μένει, the favorite Johannine verb for continuance) "in him" (the believer). Because something of God now permanently indwells the regenerate, their lives are reoriented away from sin's dominion. The new nature does not merely discourage sin; it makes a settled life of sin impossible for the one in whom it abides.

οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται ("he cannot sin, because he has been born of God"). The strongest statement in the passage: οὐ δύναται ("is not able, cannot"). Again the present infinitive ἁμαρτάνειν is most often read duratively — he cannot go on sinning, cannot make sin the settled course of his life — because the new birth (γεγέννηται, perfect, "has been and remains born of God") has reconstituted him. This is not a claim that the believer is incapable of any sinful act, but that the regenerate cannot live in unbroken sin without contradicting the very life God has placed in him. The "cannot" is the moral impossibility created by the new birth, not the removal of all capacity to stumble.

Careful Caution — surveying the solutions without dogmatism

Interpreters have offered several ways to reconcile v. 9 with 1:8–10. (1) The durative/habitual present view (most common): the verbs describe ongoing practice, so the regenerate cannot persist in sin. (2) The nature/principle view: insofar as one is born of God, the new nature does not and cannot sin, even while the believer in this life is not yet wholly free of sin. (3) The "in him remains" / abiding-seed view: it is precisely so long as God's seed abides that sin is excluded. (4) The eschatological/ideal view: John states the goal and direction of the new life, not a present absolute. (5) An occasion-specific view: John counters a libertine slogan that sin does not matter for those who "know God." These readings are not all mutually exclusive, and Scripture nowhere requires us to choose dogmatically. The grammatical case for the habitual present is strong but contested; the safe and certain conclusion is John's own: the children of God are marked by a life that does not, and cannot, be at home in sin — while still needing daily cleansing and their Advocate (1:9; 2:1).

1 John 3:10 — ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.

ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν ("by this … are made manifest"). The verb φανερόω returns a final time. The two families — τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ ("the children of God") and τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου ("the children of the devil") — are not distinguished by claims, experiences, or knowledge professed, but are made visible (φανερά, "manifest, plain") by the test now stated. There is no third family in John's reckoning: one is either born of God or belongs to the devil; conduct discloses which.

πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ("everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God"). The familiar πᾶς ὁ + participle, now negated (μὴ ποιῶν, "not practicing"). The criterion is righteousness practiced — the absence of righteous living shows one is not "of God" (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, the same paternity-language as v. 8's "of the devil").

καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ("nor the one who does not love his brother"). The clause appends a second, defining mark and pivots the whole discussion: righteousness is now specified as love of the brother. The phrase is grammatically attached to the preceding ("...is not of God, and [neither is] the one who does not love his brother"), making love the concrete form that practicing righteousness takes. This clause is the hinge into vv. 11–18, where love of the brother becomes the explicit theme ("this is the message... that we should love one another"). For John, righteousness and love are not two tests but one: the child of God is known by a life of righteousness that shows itself as love.

Key Greek Words and Phrases

Greek	Translit.	Meaning	In context
ἴδετε	idete	"see! behold!" (aorist imperative of ὁράω)	v. 1 — a command to gaze in wonder at the Father's love
ποταπὴν ἀγάπην	potapēn agapēn	"what kind of love" — astonished, qualitative	v. 1 — not only how much but what sort of love makes enemies into children
τέκνα θεοῦ	tekna theou	"children of God" (τέκνον = "born one, offspring")	vv. 1, 2, 10 — John's new-birth word for believers; not the unique υἱός
φανερόω	phaneroō	"make manifest, reveal, appear"	vv. 2, 5, 8, 10 — what is hidden and the Son's appearing and the two families all "made manifest"
ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ	homoioi autō	"like him" (similar, not identical)	v. 2 — glorified conformity to Christ, never absorption into deity
ἁγνίζει ἑαυτόν	hagnizei heauton	"purifies himself" (present, ongoing)	v. 3 — hope set on Christ producing continual moral cleansing
ἀνομία	anomia	"lawlessness" (alpha-privative + νόμος)	v. 4 — sin defined as rebellion against God's rule, not mere rule-breaking
αἴρω	airō	"take away, lift, carry off"	v. 5 — Christ appeared to take away sins (cf. John 1:29)
μένω	menō	"abide, remain, continue"	vv. 6, 9 — abiding in Christ; God's seed abiding in the believer
ἁμαρτάνει	hamartanei	"sins" (present; most read as durative/habitual)	vv. 6, 8, 9 — the abiding one does not keep on sinning; debated grammar
ἐκεῖνος	ekeinos	"that one" — John's pointer to Christ	vv. 3, 5, 7 — Christ as the standard of purity and righteousness
πλανάω	planaō	"lead astray, deceive"	v. 7 — warning against teachers who sever conduct from status
λύω	lyō	"loose, undo, dissolve, destroy"	v. 8 — the Son appeared to dismantle the works of the devil
γεγεννημένος	gegennēmenos	"having been born" (perfect of γεννάω)	v. 9 — the completed, abiding new birth that reorients life
σπέρμα αὐτοῦ	sperma autou	"his seed" — God's life-principle / word / Spirit	v. 9 — the divine implantation that "abides" and excludes a life of sin
οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν	ou dynatai hamartanein	"cannot [keep on] sinning"	v. 9 — the moral impossibility created by the new birth; not flawless sinlessness

Grammar and Syntax that Affect Interpretation

The opening imperative ἴδετε — v. 1. John commands contemplation before exposition: "See!" The love of the Father is to be beheld and wondered at, and the whole ethical argument flows from this gift, not the reverse.
The appended καὶ ἐσμέν — v. 1. "And we are." This short clause forbids reading "called children of God" as a mere honorary title; sonship is a real, present possession. (The best texts include it; some later witnesses omit.)
τέκνα vs. υἱός — vv. 1, 2, 8, 10. John reserves "Son" (υἱός) for Christ and calls believers "children" (τέκνα), keeping the unique Sonship of Christ distinct from the derived, new-birth sonship of believers.
The νῦν … οὔπω tension — v. 2. "Now we are… not yet has it appeared." The grammar itself frames the already/not-yet: present reality of sonship, future and hidden glory. Neither side may be collapsed into the other.
Ambiguous subject of φανερωθῇ — v. 2. "Whenever he/it appears." Whether Christ or "what we shall be" is the subject, the reference point is Christ's appearing; the ambiguity does not change the sense.
ὅμοιοι, not "the same" — v. 2. We shall be like him. The word guards the creature/Creator distinction even in glorification: conformed to his likeness, not merged into his being.
Articular abstract nouns in ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία — v. 4. Both nouns carry the article, making the clause convertible: sin and lawlessness are coextensive. Sin is defined, not merely illustrated.
The present-tense verbs of sinning — vv. 6, 8, 9. ἁμαρτάνει / ποιεῖ / ἁμαρτάνειν are most commonly read as durative/habitual ("keep on sinning, make a practice of sin"), reconciling these verses with 1:8–10. This is the leading reading but is debated; it should be held without dogmatism (see the v. 6 and v. 9 cautions).
Perfect participle γεγεννημένος and perfect γεγέννηται — v. 9. The perfects present the new birth as a completed act with abiding result — God's decisive work that stands and continues to shape the believer.
οὐ δύναται — v. 9. "Cannot." A statement of moral impossibility grounded in the new birth, not a denial of all capacity to commit any sin (which 1:8 excludes). The "cannot" is real but qualified by the durative sense of the verb it governs.
The recurring πᾶς ὁ + participle — vv. 3, 4, 6, 9, 10. "Everyone who…" states universal, exceptionless principles that sort all people by their settled direction of life — the grammatical engine of the whole paragraph.
The trailing clause of v. 10. "...nor the one who does not love his brother" hangs grammatically on "is not of God," equating failure to practice righteousness with failure to love — and pivoting into vv. 11–18.

Theological Significance

Adoption and new birth — sonship by sheer grace. The passage opens not with a duty but with a gift: what kind of love the Father has given, that we should be — and are — children of God. This is the doctrine of adoption joined to the new birth. We are children not by nature or merit but because the Father lavished love on us; the status is conferred (we are "called" children) and the life is imparted (we are "born of God," v. 9). To be a Christian is to have been brought into God's own family by his love alone.

The already/not-yet of glorification. Verse 2 is one of Scripture's clearest statements of Christian hope: now we are God's children; what we shall be is not yet manifest; but when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Our sonship is real now, our glory hidden still. The beatific vision — seeing Christ "as he is" — will complete what regeneration began, conforming us fully to his likeness. This is the consummation toward which the whole Christian life leans.

Hope that purifies — eschatology that produces ethics. Verse 3 refuses to let hope float free of holiness: everyone who has this hope purifies himself, taking Christ's purity as the pattern. Genuine Christian hope is never an excuse for moral laxity; it is the engine of moral seriousness. We become like what we hope to see.

The nature of sin and the mission of the Son. Sin is lawlessness — rebellion against God's rule (v. 4) — and the Son appeared both "to take away sins" (v. 5) and "to destroy the works of the devil" (v. 8). The two purposes are one mission: in dealing with sin Christ dismantles the devil's whole enterprise. The atonement is thus also a victory; the Lamb who bears sin is the Son who overthrows the evil one.

The new birth and the impossibility of a life of sin. The hard verses (vv. 6, 9) make a vital point about regeneration: the one in whom God's seed abides cannot be at home in sin. This is not perfectionism — the same letter insists believers do sin and need cleansing (1:8–10; 2:1) — but it is a real transformation. The new birth so reorients a person that a settled, unbroken life of sin becomes a contradiction of the divine life within. Assurance and self-examination meet here: not "have I sinned?" (we all have) but "what is the settled direction of my life?"

Two families, one dividing line. Verse 10 leaves no neutral ground: children of God or children of the devil, made manifest by righteousness and love. The line is not drawn by profession or experience but by a life of practiced righteousness that takes the shape of love for the brother — the theme that now governs the rest of the chapter.

Common Misreadings and Careful Corrections

Verses 6 and 9 teach sinless perfection. They do not. Read with 1:8–10 (believers do sin and need cleansing and an Advocate), they describe the impossibility of a settled, characteristic life of sin for the regenerate — most commonly explained by the durative/habitual force of the present-tense verbs. The point is direction of life, not flawlessness.
The durative-present solution is beyond dispute. It is the leading and most defensible reading, but it is contested, and other solutions (the new-nature/principle view, the abiding-seed view, the eschatological/ideal view, the occasion-specific view) have been offered. We hold the conviction John clearly teaches — a Christian cannot be at home in sin — without resting everything on one grammatical argument.
"Children of God" (v. 1) puts believers on the same footing as the unique Son. John deliberately calls believers τέκνα ("children") and reserves υἱός ("Son") for Christ (v. 8). Our sonship is derived and by grace; his is unique and by nature. We are made like him (v. 2), not made into him.
"We shall be like him" (v. 2) means we become divine. The word is ὅμοιοι ("like"), not "the same." Glorification conforms us to Christ's likeness; it never erases the Creator/creature distinction or deifies the believer.
The Father's love (v. 1) is a generic divine benevolence toward the whole κόσμος, proving universal salvation. The love in view is the love that makes us children, and the κόσμος is precisely what does not know God's children and never knew him. The text contrasts the family with the world; it does not teach all-inclusive redemption.
Verse 4 ("sin is lawlessness") reduces sin to breaking individual rules. ἀνομία is the posture of rebellion against God's rule, not mere rule-breaking. Sin is relational and God-ward before it is a list of infractions.
Practicing righteousness (vv. 7, 10) earns or secures salvation. Righteous conduct manifests the righteousness one already has from being born of God; it is fruit, not root. John makes practice the evidence of paternity, not its cause.
"His seed abides in him" (v. 9) must mean one fixed thing (only the word, or only the Spirit). The referent of σπέρμα is debated — God's life-principle, his word, his Spirit — and may not be sharply separable in John. Build no doctrine on a single forced identification; the certain point is a divine, abiding implantation that reorients the life.

Cross-References

John 1:12–13 — to all who received him he gave the right to become children of God, born not of blood but of God; the new-birth background to "children of God" and "born of God."
1 John 2:28–29 — abiding so as to have confidence at his appearing; everyone who practices righteousness is born of him — the immediate run-up to 3:1–10. See 1 John 2:18–29.
1 John 1:8–10; 2:1–2 — if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves; if anyone sins we have an Advocate — the indispensable controls for reading 3:6, 9.
1 John 3:11–18 — the message from the beginning: love one another; the explicit unfolding of v. 10's "love his brother."
Romans 8:14–17, 29 — the Spirit of adoption, children and heirs of God, predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son; the Pauline parallel to sonship and conformity.
John 8:44 — "you are of your father the devil"; the background to "children of the devil" and the devil's sinning "from the beginning."
John 1:29 — "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"; the same verb αἴρω behind v. 5.
Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; John 8:46 — the sinlessness of Christ ("in him there is no sin," v. 5).
Genesis 3:15 — the promised crushing of the serpent; the Old Testament root of "to destroy the works of the devil" (v. 8).
1 Peter 1:23 — born again of imperishable seed, the living and abiding word of God; a parallel to the "seed" that abides (v. 9).
2 Corinthians 3:18 — beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image; the seeing-transforms principle of vv. 2–3.
Matthew 5:8; Revelation 22:4 — the pure in heart shall see God; they shall see his face — the beatific vision still awaited (v. 2).

Preaching / Teaching Summary

First John 3:1–10 sets the family of God against the dark backdrop of a world that does not know it, and draws the dividing line not at profession but at the practiced direction of a life. Three movements preach.

First, behold the love that makes us children. John does not begin with what we must do; he begins with a command to look: "See what kind of love the Father has given." Christian ethics is born of contemplation. We are not merely called children of God as a courtesy — we are children, brought into the family by a love that found us when we were enemies. And if the world does not understand us, that is no surprise: it never understood our Father. To belong to God is to be a stranger here, and the strangeness is a badge of the family, not a wound to be healed.

Second, let hope make you holy. What we will be is still hidden; but when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. That future is not an excuse for present drift — it is the great motive for present purity: "everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as he is pure." We become like what we hope to see. The Christian who truly longs for the day of unveiled glory cannot make peace with the sin that hope is meant to burn away.

Third, know which family you are in. Here are the hard, searching verses — and they must be handled with both honesty and care. John is not teaching that a Christian never sins; he has already told us we do, and that we have an Advocate when we fail. He is teaching that the one born of God cannot be at home in sin, cannot make it the settled course of life, because God's own seed abides in him. The Son appeared to take sin away and to dismantle the devil's works; to live in sin is to take the devil's side against the very mission of Christ. So the test is not "have I ever sinned?" — we all have — but "where is my life headed, and does it show itself in righteousness and love for my brother?" By that, says John, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain.

Memory and Review Questions

Why does John open v. 1 with the imperative ἴδετε ("see!"), and what does ποταπὴν ἀγάπην add?
He commands us to gaze in wonder at the Father's love before any duty is named — ethics flows from the gift. ποταπός means "of what sort?" with astonishment: not merely how much, but what kind of love makes enemies into children.
What does the clause καὶ ἐσμέν ("and we are") guard against in v. 1?
It forbids reading "called children of God" as an empty or honorary title. We are not merely styled children; we truly are children — a real, present possession by grace.
Why does John call believers τέκνα rather than υἱοί?
To keep the unique Sonship of Christ distinct. He reserves υἱός ("Son," v. 8) for Christ and uses τέκνα ("children, born ones") for believers, stressing the new birth and our derived, by-grace sonship.
How does v. 2 express the "already/not-yet" of Christian hope?
νῦν … ἐσμεν ("now we are" children) affirms present sonship; οὔπω ἐφανερώθη ("not yet has it appeared") confesses that our future glory is hidden, awaiting Christ's appearing, when we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is.
Why is ὅμοιοι ("like") significant in v. 2?
We shall be like Christ, not identical to or merged with him. The word guards the creature/Creator distinction even in glorification: we are conformed to his likeness, not deified.
How does v. 3 connect future hope to present conduct?
"Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as that one is pure." The future vision produces present purity; eschatology drives ethics, with Christ (ἐκεῖνος) as both the goal and the standard.
How does v. 4 define sin, and what does ἀνομία mean?
"Sin is lawlessness." Both nouns take the article, making them coextensive. ἀνομία (alpha-privative + νόμος) is the posture of rebellion against God's rule, not merely the breaking of individual rules.
What two purposes of Christ's appearing do vv. 5 and 8 give, and how are they related?
He appeared "to take away sins" (v. 5, αἴρω) and "to destroy the works of the devil" (v. 8, λύω). They are one mission: in dealing with sin Christ dismantles the devil's whole enterprise — atonement as victory.
How can vv. 6 and 9 say the one born of God "does not sin" / "cannot sin" without teaching sinless perfection?
They must be read with 1:8–10 (believers do sin, need cleansing and an Advocate). The most common solution takes the present-tense verbs as durative/habitual: the regenerate cannot keep on sinning, cannot make sin the settled course of life — a real transformation, not flawlessness.
What are the main proposed solutions to the "cannot sin" of v. 9, and how should we hold them?
(1) The durative/habitual present (most common); (2) the new-nature/principle view; (3) the abiding-seed view; (4) the eschatological/ideal view; (5) an occasion-specific (anti-libertine) view. The habitual-present case is strong but debated; we hold John's clear point — a Christian cannot be at home in sin — without dogmatism about the grammar.
What is "his seed" (σπέρμα αὐτοῦ) in v. 9, and what does it accomplish?
God's life-giving implantation — variously identified as his life-principle, his word, or his Spirit (perhaps not sharply separable). It "abides" in the believer and so reorients the life away from a settled course of sin. We build no doctrine on one forced identification.
By what does v. 10 say the children of God and the children of the devil are made manifest, and where does this lead?
By the practice of righteousness and by love for the brother — there is no neutral third family. The closing clause ("the one who does not love his brother") pivots directly into vv. 11–18, where love of the brother becomes the explicit theme.