1 John 3

Commentary summary.

As the one who is righteous, Jesus effects atonement and forgiveness (2:1). He destroys the unrighteous works of sin and the devil. He provides a model of conduct for the believer (2:6; 3:5). And he will return to complete the work he has begun--to transform us into the image of the God who is pure (3:3). Both the initial manifestation of Christ and his return are spoken of in terms of the effect his work had on sin: in his first coming he took away sin (3:5, 8); in his return (2:28; 3:3) he purifies us.

Clearly, in all this discussion, attention should be focused not on our efforts to become pure or to attain a state of sinlessness, but on what has been done for us to purify us, to transfer us to the realm where righteousness, and not sin, holds sway. God's work through Christ has created a realm where the purifying and transforming power of righteousness, truth and love are operative. And if now we are children of God by virtue of that power, what we will be has not yet been made known. From beginning to end of our life with Christ, the power at work within and among us is the power of righteousness. That is the privilege and promise that is ours.
Inherent in that promise is an exhortation to righteous conduct. Those born of God no longer live without acknowledging God, but are fully aware of the responsibility incumbent upon them as God's children. Their orientation is toward the God who is light (1:5). Their direction in life derives from the character of God. Their responsibility is to live as Jesus did (2:6), in conformity with the character of a God who is righteous, loving and just. Those who say yes to God, whose orientation derives from the will of God, open themselves to God's transforming power. Although God's purifying work is yet to be completed, that transforming power is even now at work among and in those who have been called the children of God.

In short, the statement No one who is born of God will continue to sin, and others like it, ought to be heard simultaneously at several levels: First, it orients us to our future hope, a hope that as the children of God we shall yet become more like God. Second, in directing our gaze to our future hope, the statement also assumes that the same power that will remake us at that time is already at work in us. Third, that power is now active in the world because it was manifested by Jesus himself in his work of breaking the grip of sin on us. And finally, in his own life, Jesus exemplified the self-giving love and obedience to God that is the responsibility of God's children as well. If John's statement seems hyperbolic (exaggerated), it is because of his eager anticipation of the blessings of the future age, now being realized through the ministry of Jesus among his followers.