Is John saying that if you’re a ‘real Christian’, you will never sin? Of course not! What he is saying, is that we should not go on in unrepentant sin, as we did before we knew Christ. Remember just two chapters earlier, John wrote this:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
John is making the point that we have God’s seed in us, and that seed must grow and change us – from the inside out. And the change must be done after the seed is there, not before. We cannot make ourselves ‘Godly’ if we don’t have any God in us!
Think about it this way: You don’t go dig a hole the size a mature oak tree will need when you put an acorn in the ground. No! You need only a small hole, and onlly through time and continual effort will the earth shift and a way slowly made through the dirt of the world. until the grand oak finally reaches maturity.
This is our walk in faith - we cannot change ourselves before God’s seed is planted - we must plant the seed first. Only through time, trials, and effort, will we mature in the faith.
#LoveMatters