1 John 3:6

Bret A. Hicks bret at viafamily.com
Wed Oct 9 09:31:54 EDT 2002


Jeff,

    I have just completed teaching 1 John, so I spent a lot of time
wrestling with this passage, as well as 1 John 5:16-18, which has some
similar statements and difficulties.  As has already been noted by Brian
Swedburg, I do not think the answer lies in what the grammar MUST say.  The
"literal" translation is probably best (as opposed to the NIV which has
"keeps on sinning") so that all of the options are left open and the reader
has to struggle through what John is saying.
    There are several options offered for how to understand the passage,
including that this is a present continuous tense (as in the NIV), or that
John is speaking of an "ideal" situation that is not met in reality, or that
it is possible for Christians to live in perfection.  The commentaries by
Raymond Brown, John Stott, and I Howard Marshall contain good discussions of
the possibilities.
    I would also encourage you to consider the context of the entire letter.
John deals a lot with the Christians relationship to sin in the letter, and
this passage should not be considered in isolation.
    Personally, I think the idea of the present continuous is the best
option here, but this is based more on how John handles the issue in the
rest of the letter than on what the present tense must mean.  Hope this
helps a little.



Bret A. Hicks
Pastor
Bay Ridge Christian Church
Annapolis, Maryland




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