The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 101

panicd with daily falls into sin, for which forgiving grace is needed; still, it is his principle not to sin. Whosoever sinneth, i.e. makes it his principle to sin, makes self the centre of his thoughts and life-hath not seen Mm, neither knoweth him. IIe hath not yet truly cast bis eye on Christ, neither is he in the circle of his thoughts. 5. Same truth emphasized. "My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he [that One] is righteous." He addresses them as objects of his warm affection. His affection goes out to them as in danger. He cannot bear the thought of their being led astray. He bas just been referring to knowing 'l'hat was a word which the Gnostic teachers used, Gnostic is literally "known." Thos<l teachers said in one form or another, that, if men knew, it did not matter what their CCY.?,duct was. Let no man, whatever_ bis seeming authority, whatever his plausibility, whatever his use of the name of Christ, lead them astray. None can be placed above the demand for rightness of conduct. The only way in which a man can be regarded as righteous in the sight of God is by doing rightwusness, i.e. carrying right principles into bis whole conduct. It was so with that One; nay, it is so with him still. Even in his glorified life he can be thought of as held by Divine restraints. And, if we would maintain communion with him, we must love Divine restraints too. 6. Sin connects with an evil source. "He that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Taking up him that doeth sin, Le. acts without regard to Divine restraints, he advances to the thought of his spiritual genesis. He is blessed with no high origin, He is connected with the name that is most repellent. The devil, originally good, "stood not in the truth." Appearing on the scene of human activity, he was the means of introducing sin into the world. That was his flagrant sin at the beginning; and he bas not recoiled from his position. It is still his thought to bafH.e God, to destroy human happiness. This, then, is the spiritual parentage of him that doeth sin. God is not owned by him. He revels in such ungodly thoughts as Satan revels in, engages in such nngodly designs as Satan engages in. It is evident that be cannot have communion with Christ; for there is a deadly antagonism between Christ and the worlcs of the devil. He was the Son of God, naturally zealous (so to think of it) for the Father's honour. It was no matter of indifference to him to think of the fair creation as marred, of human happiness as destroyed. And in the depths of eternity he burned to retrieve our lost position, and to this end, in the fulaess of time, he was manifested. He came to be a destroyer too, but not like Satan a destroyer of good things, but a destroyer of Satan's works, i.e. all works that have this common bond that they are done against God, in disregard or defiance of his authority. If a man, then, is Satan's worker, Christ has a controversy with him; he is the deadly antagonist of his works, he aims at their utter destruction. 7. Divine origin is shown in opposi- tion to sin. "Whosoever is begotten of God doetb no sin, because his seed abideth in him: a.nd he cannot sin, because be is begotten of God." He starts here from the high origin. He takes a man who is begotten of God, and he uses the strong language regarding him that he doeth not sin, the reason given being that his seed, i.e. the principle of the Divine life, abideth in him. Nay, he uses the still stronger language that he cannot sin, the reason given being that it is of God and of no other that he is begotten. An animal (which is suggested) does not live, cannot live, but in accordance with tho principle of life from which it has sprung, and which is being unfolded in it. So he who has received the Divine principle into his life, and is having it uafolded in him, is not as though he had only the seed of depravity in him. Though there is depravity remaining in him, corning out in sins for which he has to humble himself, yet it can be said that oin is utterly foreign to his life. A man can only have properly one principle in his life, and his principle is not, cannot be sin, because the Divine seed is there, and of God he is begotten. III. 'fRANSITION TO A NEW SEOTION. 1. Mark of brotherly love. "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." So for as the principle of life is concerned, there aro two, and oaly two, classes of men. \Ve are either the children of God or ·,he children of the devil. It becomes us to ask of ourselves to which class we belong. And, seeing Christ shall say of many who profess to have eaten a.ad drunk in his presf\nce, "I know not wheuce ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity," I JOHN, B  THE FlRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [cu. m. 1-24,