1 John 3:9

If anyone belongs to God, they don’t keep on doing bad things. It’s like they are one of God’s kids, and God gave them new life. So they can’t keep on doing bad things.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

In Context

8If anyone keeps on doing bad things, it shows that they belong to the devil. The devil is the boss over all the bad spirits. Everything he does is bad. Yes, he always did bad things, right from the time when God made everything. So if anyone keeps on doing bad things, it’s like they are one of the devil’s kids. The devil always gets people to go wrong, but you know, God’s son Jesus came to earth to stop the devil’s work for ever.

10So this is how we can know which people belong to God, and which people belong to the devil. If somebody does not live the right way, then we know that they don’t belong to God. And if somebody does not love other Christians, then we know that they don’t belong to God either.

Read all of 1 John 3

Cross References

Matthew 7:18A good tree can’t make bad fruit. A bad tree can’t make good fruit.

John 3:3Jesus said to him, “Listen, I am telling you straight, people have to get born again, and then they can be in God’s family.”

Romans 6:2No way. Just think about that baptism ceremony. Church leaders baptised us to show that we joined up with Jesus Christ. And you know that Jesus died, and they buried him, but God, our really great father, made him alive again. And we joined up to him, so we can’t think about doing bad things any more. It is like we died to those bad things. And it is like God makes us alive again to do good things. That baptism ceremony was to show that we died to bad things and got buried, just like Jesus Christ died and got buried, but God gave us new life too, just like Jesus came back to life. If we live in a new way like that, we will not go wrong any more. So if we start to think about doing something bad, we have to remember that we are dead to doing bad things, and so we can’t do it. We have to live in a new way like that all the time.

Titus 1:2A long time ago, before God made anything, he promised that his people will live with him for ever. And God doesn’t lie. His promise is still true, and it stops his people from worrying about what will happen after they die.

1 John 2:29You know that Jesus is properly good, and he always does what is right. Well, it’s the same for those people that are joined up with Jesus. They always try to live God’s way and do what is right. So if you live that way, you can be sure that you are one of God’s kids.

Matthew Henry on 1 John 3:5-11

The Mark of God's Children. ( a. d. 80.) 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this… Read the whole commentary →

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