KJV 1 John 3:3 “Even as He is pure.”
NASB 1 John 3:3 “Just as He is pure.”
KJV 1 John 3:5 “In Him is no sin.”
NASB 1 John 3:5 “In Him there is no sin.”
KJV 1 John 3:7 “Even as He is righteous.”
NASB 1 John 3:7 “Just as He is righteous.”
Sadly, grammar is no longer stressed in many schools; in some instances, it is not even taught. However, any serious approach to the Word of God must take seriously the tenses that the Spirit of God has chosen to employ. The Lord Jesus refuted the Sadducean doctrine of no resurrection by quoting from the Scriptures that God is (at this present moment) the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt 22:32). He is not the God of the dead but of living individuals.
When we come to John’s first epistles, we are again confronted with the doctrinal implications and the glories revealed in tenses. All that John ascribed to the Lord in these early verses of chapter 3 are true of Him at this very moment. As a living Man in heaven, He is pure, free from any taint of sin, and righteous. However, all these wondrous truths will have a very practical bearing on your life and mine.
He is Pure
As the chapter opens, John sets before us the wonder of God’s love and the position into which it has brought us. We are the children of God. He then sets the coming day of His manifestation before us, a hope that should stir us to personal sanctity. The standard for this is the Lord Jesus Himself. At this very moment, there sits in heaven a real Man Who once bore our sins on His body on the tree. But now He is pure. He so coveted our holiness and sanctity that He died to make it possible. He bore what He hated to produce in us what He loves.
In Him is No Sin
To further buttress his argument and appeal for holiness of life, John again reminds us that a life marked by the practice of sin belies the profession of a relationship with Him. It does it on at least two fronts. The Lord Jesus was manifested to take away our sins. How can we then go back and find delight in what cost Him the entirety of Calvary’s suffering? But also, if we abide in Him — if we enjoy fellowship with Him, how can we practice sin and claim to abide in the One in Whom there is no sin?
Once again, it is the sinless character of Christ and our link with Him that forbids a return to the practice of sin.
We are often reminded that as a Man on earth, He did no sin, knew no sin, and in Him was no sin. Here, a verb-tense reminds us that at this very moment, there is a Man in heaven Who loves righteousness and hates iniquity!
As He is Righteous
Finally, in verse 7, John reminds his readers of the conflict between light and darkness, between the evil one and the Righteous One. To claim allegiance to the Lord Jesus Who is righteous, and to be marked by a way of life more consistent with the evil one (3:8) is inconsistent. A third reason for the Lord’s coming is now mentioned: “He was manifested that He might destroy (undo) the works of the devil.” A life of sin means that I am frustrating the very purpose of His coming.
Here is the Lord Jesus Christ in His character: He is righteous, and righteousness is inherently His.
Consider
How do these three statements also make our salvation secure?