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Whoever remains in him does not sin,[a]
and whoever sins has not seen him
nor known him.
Dear children,
do not let anyone deceive you.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
Everyone who sins comes from the devil,
for the devil has been a sinner
from the very beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this very purpose:
to destroy the work of the devil.
Whoever is born of God
does not sin,
because his seed[b] remains in him.
He cannot sin
because he is begotten by God.
10 This is what distinguishes
the children of God from the children of the devil:
anyone who fails to live righteously
does not belong to God;
neither does anyone who fails to love a brother.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:6 Whoever remains in him does not sin: the author is not speaking about sinless perfection (see 1 Jn 1:8—2:1). He is simply asserting that the life of believers is dominated not by sin but by doing the right thing.
  2. 1 John 3:9 His seed: a reference to Christ (see 1 Jn 5:18; Gal 3:16) or to the Holy Spirit (see 1 Jn 2:20-27) or to the seed of Divine life that God introduced into us.