No. Remember I said there are many categories of Present Tenses. 1 John 3.6 is the Gnomic Present, not the Historic Present. The Gnomic does not say that something IS HAPPENING, but that something DOES happen.
If I said in an earlier post that 1 John 3.6 is the Historic Present, I am sorry!!! I've been known to do that sometimes.
Just my 2 cents and then I'm out of here--
Greek Text and Morphological Analysis:
The Greek text of 1 John 3:6 (SBL Greek):
Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.
Pas ho en autō menōn ouch hamartanei; pas ho hamartanōn ouch heōraken auton oude egnōken auton.
Translation:
"No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him."
Key Verb Analysis:
μένω (menō) - Present Active Participle (Nominative Singular Masculine)
Denotes continuing or habitual abiding in Christ.
ἁμαρτάνει (hamartanei) - Present Indicative Active (3rd Person Singular)
The Present Indicative often signifies continuous or habitual action, especially in Johannine literature.
ἁμαρτάνων (hamartanōn) - Present Active Participle (Nominative Singular Masculine)
Again, this form highlights a habitual or ongoing practice of sin. Take note.
1 John is addressing the distinction between genuine believers and those who merely claim fellowship with God.
The epistle repeatedly contrasts righteous living (as evidence of true faith) with ongoing sinfulness (as evidence of not truly knowing Christ).
Comparative Verses:
1 John 1:8:
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Clearly acknowledges that believers do sin and must confess.
1 John 2:1:
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
Affirms that occasional sin does occur, but Christ intercedes on behalf of believers.
1 John 3:9
: "No one born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
The phrase
"practices sin" (ποιεῖ ἁμαρτίαν, poiei hamartian) again indicates continuous action rather than absolute sinlessness.
The Gnomic Present conveys general truths or axiomatic statements (i.e., what is characteristic or typical).
However, the Present Tense in 1 John 3:6 should be understood as describing ongoing, habitual sin rather than a single act or absolute sinlessness.
John’s emphasis-- Those who habitually live in sin demonstrate that they do not truly know Christ.
This is not the same as saying believers never sin at all. Instead, it points to the
incompatibility of habitual sin with a genuine relationship with Christ.
The contrast between walking in the light versus walking in darkness (1 John 1:6-7) supports the interpretation
that the apostle is concerned with patterns of behavior rather than absolute moral perfection.
It is
incorrect to claim that 1 John 3:6
demands absolute sinlessness as a prerequisite for being in Christ.
Rather, the passage emphasizes that genuine believers will not persistently practice sin as a way of life.
The text does
not negate the reality of occasional failure, as evidenced by the provision for confession and forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
So--
John’s point is not that believers never sin, but that they do not continue in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin.
The Greek Present Tense here conveys the idea of a persistent, habitual pattern, which is incompatible with the abiding life in Christ.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO 3:4-10 (interpretation problems caused by 3:6,9)
This passage has been the center of the controversy between
Christian perfectionism (cf. Romans 6; see Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, pp. 983-986),
sometimes called entire sanctification (i.e., Wesleyan theology),
and the continuing sinning of the Christian (cf. Romans 7; Eph. 6:10-18).
We must not allow our theological bias to influence our exegesis of this text. Also, we must not allow other texts to influence this text until our independent study of this text is complete and we have ascertained what John was saying both in 1 John 3 and in the entire book of 1 John!
This text clearly presents the goal that all believers long for, a total deliverance from sin. This same ideal is presented in Romans 6.
Through Christ's total defeat of evil we have the potential for sinless living (but note Romans 7; Eph. 6:10-19).
This passage, however, must fit into the larger context of the entire book of 1 John.
To interpret this passage without regard for 1 John 1:8-2:2 (Christians still sin) would be folly.
To interpret this passage in such a manner as to defeat the overall purpose of 1 John, the assurance of salvation against the claims of the
false teachers would be folly also.
This passage must be related to the false teachers' claims of sinlessness or sin's insignificance. Possibly 1 John 1:8-2:2
deals with one extreme of the false teachers, while 3:1-10 deals with another. Remember that interpreting the letters of the NT is like listening to one half of a phone conversation.
A paradoxical relationship exists between these two passages.
Sin in the Christian's life is a recurrent problem in the NT (cf. Romans 7; Eph. 4:14; 6:10-18). This forms the same dialectical tension as predestination vs. free will or security vs. perseverance. The paradox provides a theological balance and attacks the extreme positions.
The false teachers were presenting two errors in the area of sin.
sin does not matter
natural desires and needs are sinful
SPECIAL TOPIC: EASTERN LITERATURE
This entire theological discussion is based on a misunderstanding of the difference between
our position in Christ
our striving to fulfill that position experientially in daily life
the promise that victory will be ours one day!
We are free from sin's penalty (justification) in Christ, yet we still struggle with its power (progressive sanctification) and one day we will be free of its presence (glorification). This book as a whole teaches the priority of admitting our sin and striving toward sinlessness.
I’m familiar with the tenses, brother, but I haven’t consulted my exegetical sources yet.
Shalom.
J.
