Those in Christ Cannot Sin
Those in Christ Cannot Sin
A question about 1 John 3:6-9
Someone recently asked this question, In 1 John 3:6-9, in verse 3, the word for “sins” is hamartanō, “to miss the mark and miss out on the prize.” In verse 9, the word “sin” is the word hamartia, an offense or trespass. It seems to point to a single act of sin, at least in verse 9. When I look at myself, I do see a few sin habits in existence.
Two Greek root words are in play with regard to the word sin in this passage. Hamartano (Strong’s #264) and hamartia, (Strong’s #266). These both mean missing the mark. The first speaks of the commission of a wrong but the second is more pointed, referring to departure from human or divine standards of uprightness.
Here's the text in NASB 2020. One thing we notice is that the translators have used the words "practice" and "continually" in a number of places. These words help us see the Greek verb forms used in each of these instances.
1 John 3:6–9 (NASB 2020)
6No one who remains in Him sins continually; (hamartano <264>) present, active, indicative) no one who sins continually (hamartano <264>) has seen Him or knows Him.
7Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
8the one who practices sin (hamartia <266>) is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning (hamartano <264>) from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
9No one who has been born of God practices sin, (hamartia <266> acusative case) because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin (hamartanein <264>) present, active, infinitive) continually, because he has been born of God.
In Greek, a verb in the present tense indicates that the action is continuous (it’s going on at present). The active voice indicates that the subject is producing the action, and the indicative mood is the mood of certainty, meaning it is true, factual, actual, or real from the speaker’s point of view. There are some instances here where the word is a present active participle (who sins, who practices righteousness). These can act as a verb and as an adjective, but their form indicates continuous action as well. In the last case "he cannot sin continually" at the end of verse nine, the word is hamartanein which is a present-tense, active, infinitive. That means that it is a continual action, but the subject is not specified. That's simply because of the way the word is being used grammatically.
Consequently, the language does not allow us to read into this passage the thought that individual sins we may commit, or even frequent failures we find ourselves unable to overcome, are an indication that we are not in Christ or have somehow fallen out of Christ.
