1 John 3:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

NIV: But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

NASB: You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

CSB: You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him.

NLT: And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

KJV: And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

NKJV: And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

Three important truths are noted in this verse. First, that Jesus appeared; earlier verses in 1 John specify that this was in a real, flesh-and-blood form. While false teachers may argue Jesus never came as a human, believers accept the coming of Jesus to this world, called the incarnation, as an essential part of the faith (John 1:1–14).

Second, Jesus had a clear purpose for coming to this world. He did not come to merely make us better. His mission was to remove the power of sin from our lives. He did so by paying the price of our evil actions on the cross. Christ's sacrifice is the only one sufficient to pay the price for every sin, once and for all.

This is explained in John's third area of emphasis, that there is no sin whatsoever in Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 echoes this teaching, noting, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

First John 3:4–10 strongly condemns sin, and leaves no excuse for it. While this warning is often interpreted as a ''litmus test'' for salvation, John's specific audience is actually Christian believers. Salvation is no excuse for sin, because all sin is from the Devil, not God. Sin always disrupts our ''walk'' with God. And, those who only walk in sin and darkness cannot claim to be children of God.

The third chapter of 1 John focuses mostly on the concept of love. Because of His love, God not only calls us His children, He actually makes us His children. John also explains how sin, including hate, is never the result of a proper relationship with God. Christians, in contrast to the world, are supposed to do more than simply ''feel'' love; we are to act on it, as well

Chapters 1 and 2 introduced the stark differences between those who truly have fellowship with Christ, as opposed to those who are ''in darkness.'' Chapter 3 continues this discussion, with a particular emphasis on love. This serves as a bridge, between John's descriptions of lives lived abiding either in darkness or light, to an explanation of how God's faithfulness gives us confidence as Christian believers.

First John seems to assume that the reader is familiar with the gospel. Rather than re-state these facts, John is concerned with building confidence in Christian believers. At the same time, his words encourage believers to examine their own lives for signs of their relationship with Christ. This letter also challenges false teachers and their incorrect claims about Jesus. Many themes are shared with the Gospel of John.

Accessed 11/21/2024 7:37:32 AM