1 John 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
committeth	ποιῶν poiōn	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
sin	ἁμαρτίαν hamartian	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — accusative singular feminine
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
of	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
devil	διαβόλου diabolou	G1228	a traducer · adjective — genitive singular masculine
for	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
devil	διάβολος diabolos	G1228	a traducer · adjective — nominative singular masculine
sinneth	ἁμαρτάνει. hamartanei	G264	properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
from	ἀπ᾽ ap᾽	G575	"off · preposition
beginning	ἀρχῆς archēs	G746	(properly abstract) a commencement · noun — genitive singular feminine
For	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
purpose	τοῦτο toûto	G5124	that thing
Son	υἱὸς huios	G5207	a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — nominative singular masculine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
manifested	ἐφανερώθη ephanerōthē	G5319	to render apparent (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
destroy	λύσῃ lusē	G3089	to "loosen" (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
works	ἔργα erga	G2041	toil (as an effort or occupation) · noun — accusative plural neuter
devil	διαβόλου. diabolou	G1228	a traducer · adjective — genitive singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might…
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,…
Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto ju…
Mark 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 3:4-10

The apostle, having alleged the believer's obligation to purity from his hope of heaven, and of communion with Christ in glory at the day of his appearance, now proceeds to fill his own mouth and the believer's mind with multiplied arguments against sin, and all communion with the impure unfruitful works of darkness. And so he reasons and argues, I. From the nature of sin and the intrinsic evil of it. It is a contrariety to the divine law: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also (or even) the law (or, whosoever committeth sin even committeth enormity, or aberration from law, or from the law); for sin is the transgression of the law, or is lawlessness, Jo1 3:4. Sin is the destitution or p…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil--in contrast to "He that doeth righteousness," Jo1 3:7. He is a son of the devil (Jo1 3:10; Joh 8:44). John does not, however, say, "born of the devil." as he does "born of God," for "the devil begets none, nor does he create any; but whoever imitates the devil becomes a child of the devil by imitating him, not by proper birth" [AUGUSTINE, Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Homily 4.10]. From the devil there is not generation, but corruption [BENGEL]. sinneth from the beginning--from the time that any began to sin [ALFORD]: from the time that he became what he is, the devil. He seems to have kept his first estate only a very short time after h…

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Adam Clarke on 1 John 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil - Hear this, also, ye who plead for Baal, and cannot bear the thought of that doctrine that states believers are to be saved from all sin in this life! He who committeth sin is a child of the devil, and shows that he has still the nature of the devil in him; for the devil sinneth from the beginning - he was the father of sin, brought sin into the world, and maintains sin in the world by living in the hearts of his own children, and thus leading them to transgression; and persuading others that they cannot be saved from their sins in this life, that he may secure a continual residence in their heart. He knows that if he has a place there throughout life,…

The Church Fathers

As often as we sin, we are born of the devil. But we are of God once again, as often as we pursue virtue.
— Andreas of Caesarea, CATENA

Insofar as we commit sins, we have not yet put off the generation of the devil, even if we are thought to believe in Jesus. Everyone who is not of the devil does not commit sin.
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 20.103-4

"He that does unrighteousness is of the devil," that is, of the devil as his father, following and choosing the same things. "The devil sins from the beginning," he says. From the beginning from which he began to sin, incorrigibly persevering in sinning.
— Clement of Alexandria ((as quoted by Cassiodorus)), From the Latin Translation of Cassiodorus

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Devil, The · Sinned against God — Sinned against God
Power Of Christ, The · Exhibited in: Destroying the works of Satan — Exhibited in: Destroying the works of Satan
Sin · Is of the devil — Is of the devil

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 John 3:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 3:4-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 3:8

Adam Clarke on 1 John 3:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 John 3:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 3:4-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 3:8

Adam Clarke on 1 John 3:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 John 3:8

John Calvin on 1 John 3:7-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 John 3:8