In Us, In Him

1 John 1:10 vs. 1 John 3:9

Some may say that there contradiction in 1 John 1:10, which says "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" versus 1 John 3:9, which reads “Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Is there a contradiction here between these two verses?

Let’s examine what 1 John 1:10 is actually saying here. In other words, let’s dig deep into the full meaning, circumstances, perspective and proper context by reading the words and passages surrounding this verse and correlating it with other scriptural teaching that supports this verse. John writes, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.” In other words, “If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.” (TLB).

For example, if a Christian were to say that he or she was not a sinner then that would be like them suggesting that Jesus is a liar, because Jesus said that we are all sinners. Moreover, John proposes that if we make Jesus out to be a liar by admitting that we are not sinners then “his word is not in us.” In other words, if God’s Word was in us then we would have a heart of repentance and admit that we are sinners.

John writes in 1 John 3:9, “Whoever 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 other words, “The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him- he has been born again.“ (TLB)

Why would John write a letter that states, that if we say that we are not sinners then we make God a liar and then just a few paragraphs later say that whoever is born of God does not commit sin? This would sound like a contradiction if we didn’t know what John was really saying and didn‘t know the character of God.

Let’s look at 1 John 3:4-8 to get a proper perspective on the situation. “Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. 6 So if we continue to live in him, we won’t sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil.(NLT)

It’s not that when we become a Christian that we instantly stop sinning. However, over time as we grow in spiritual maturity with our walk in Christ and we continue to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we will develop a deeper relationship with him and we voluntarily choose not to return to a sinful lifestyle; that’s what true repentance is! As we learn to trust Christ, we mature and become stronger by obeying the Holy Spirit and we are able to resist the temptations of the world and of the flesh by the power that is in him, that’s in us.

I don’t know how many times the King James Version has caused people to stumble because of the Middle-English language that is still being printed today. Some scoffers may say that languages do not evolve. Well, I have news for them, it does. Just look at the terminology and phrasings used in the King James Version, we don't speak like that anymore! The word “gay” used to mean happy. Today, it prodominently means being homosexual or lesbian. There are many examples of this; just open a dictionary and a thesaurus.

What’s my point? My point is that what is written in the Middle-English style doesn’t mean exactly what its original intention is supposed to convey. That's why its important to look at context, the original language and the version you are reading.

There is no contradiction.