1 John 3:6Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Sin
Sin is an interesting word in the Greek. It begins with alpha. In Greek, when a word begins with alpha, it is often a negative particle which serves to negate the remainder of the word. It is the same in English: the negative particle in English is the letter a. An example in English is asymmetrical which is not symmetrical. The point is that you will not know what sin is until you know what it is not. In the Greek, the remainder of the word for sin is meros, meaning part. If you mimic the Greek word in English and add the negative particle to the remainder of the word, you get the English word, apart.
The concept of sin is an action taken by a person when acting apart from God, separate from God. Death is separation from God, that is why sin and death are so closely associated.
The first half of 1 John 3:6, whosoever abideth in him sinneth not, includes a double negative, which has a profound effect on its meaning. That, in addition to the verb tense, present progressive, makes for a stunning revelation. Translating the first half of the verse, taking these things into account, you would get this:
Whosoever abides in him does not continually act apart from God.
Stunning! This is the difference between never getting it wrong versus never getting it right. Applying this concept to the second half of the verse, you get Whosoever has never worked with God has not seen him, neither known him.
1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Here John restates his point without the double negative. Righteousness is the product of us working with God as co-laborers. When God works in us, the result is always good. All things that we do together with God are good.
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
If we set out to attempt righteousness on our own, we will fall short. The only hope of righteousness is to get God to work in us.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.
Sin unto death; obedience unto righteousness. Here, sin is likened to disobedience. This characterization of sin also models the concept of negating its root: obedience. Disobedience unto death versus obedience unto righteousness. The path to righteousness is obedience. But what is it that we should obey?
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
The last word in this verse is you, singular. And what was delivered you, personally? That form of doctrine. The Greek word for form is tupos. One of Thayer’s definitions of tupos is an example to be imitated. The Greek word for doctrine is didache, meaning instruction. This is in perfect alignment with the new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.
As I have loved you corresponds to the form of doctrine which was delivered you. The love with which Jesus loves you is the thing to be imitated.
Loving one another corresponds to obeying from the heart. When you are loved by Jesus, a law is written upon your heart. When you obey from the heart, you are obeying the law that was written upon your heart. Faith is receiving the law (the substance of things hoped for), and fulfilling the law through obedience (the evidence of things not seen).
John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Abide means to traffic in his love. Abide means to keep his commandment to love one another as you have been loved. You have been loved – live there, love there, abide there, dwell there, walk there. How can you love one another as he has loved you? You can’t, but he can through you. That is the point – righteousness is the Holy Spirit doing the work using your members as instruments of righteousness.
If something seems good for you to do, if it would take a step of faith to do it, what would be the basis for your faith? Is it a feeling, or are you following his instructions? Are you swimming in your lane? Are you loving as you have been loved? Loving one another is not a random act of kindness.
Abide in his love. You have been delivered the Master’s goods. Don’t bury them. Abide in them.
New Wine 