“He who commits sin is of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Ch. 2:1. It appears as if John is contradicting himself, but we do not believe he is. Therefore there must be a difference between “he who commits sin” and, “if anyone sins.” Sin is lawlessness. Ch. 3:4. In other words, one is aware of the fact that one is sinning. He who commits sin does not grieve over it. He does not seek God in all seriousness so he can be liberated from it. You can call it a “fall” if you grieve over your sin afterwards and want to turn away from it. If you walk on a path and fall, then you do not commit the fall. What you are doing (committing) is walking. He who commits falls is of the devil. If a person falls, he either has not been sufficiently careful or his strength has failed him. And if he falls, he wakes up, gets a fear over his life, and becomes careful. Therefore we read, “If anyone sins.” Those who keep falling and falling and do not grieve over it, they lie in sin—they commit sin. They are of the devil and need to repent. When we repent and come to Jesus, we come as sinners. We are immediately set free in our minds. But it takes time to gain power over the body—our nature. Therefore John wrote these things, and for this reason all the servants of Christ are working with this goal in mind: those who have repented should not sin. Col. 1:28-29. “Whoever has been born of God does not commit sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9. Being born of God is the same as being sat in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:6. It is the same as seeking the things that are above where Christ is seated, and not the things that are on earth. God’s seed is God’s Word. Those who are born of God are interested in God’s Word and in sanctification. God’s Word comes to them in the difficulties of life, and they cannot go against it. Religious people who are not born again are interested in earthly things. They do not see any Word of God when difficulties come; all they see is earthly things, and so they sin. They believe they are God’s beloved children in spite of living in darkness. John, who is the apostle of love, does not let them live in this darkness, which is why he says, “He who commits sin is of the devil.” And then he continues with a glorious message to them: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Whoever wills may come, for He rejects no one who comes to Him. “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:34, 36. These are the glad tidings. Blessed are all those who can proclaim this message because they have experienced it, and blessed are all those who receive it. Only they can be one even as the Father and the Son.Sigurd Bratlie