Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (5) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (6) Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (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. (9) Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (10) 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. (11) For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (12) Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
I include the whole of these verses under one reading, because the whole subject is but one and the same; though several and various observations arise out of it. I will beg the Reader's attention to them in order. And first of sin. Whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. As well as I recollect, this is the fullest account we have of sin, in all the Bible. And yet, all we gather from hence concerning it, is, that sin is the transgression of the law; and that transgression is of the devil. It is defined so far, as to understand the malignity of its nature, and the malignity of its origin. Both bad enough you will say, and very dreadful to consider. But neither of these make discoveries what sin itself is. That it is an infinite evil, because committed against an infinite Being; and, because nothing less than an infinite sacrifice, could do away its baleful effects. Here is bounded our knowledge of it. Unless, indeed, we add to it this further discovery, that, in all creatures, its nature is the same. Where sin is found, whether in men or Angels, the damned in hell, or bad men upon earth, sin is sin wherever it is, And this latter view serves to set forth and magnify the distinguishing riches of grace, wheresoever the Lord recovers his people from the evil of it, and blessedly proves that sweet scripture, that as sin hath reigned unto death, so it is grace alone that reigneth through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord; Romans 5:21
Secondly. Though we cannot any further define sin, yet, as the source and origin of it is traced to the devil, it is our mercy to discover from scripture, as here set forth, that the productions of sin, on the different characters in whom it appears, though all brought about by the agency of the devil, is nevertheless induced very differently, in the different characters of the children of the devil, and the children of God. In God's children, he acts upon them by temptation. In his own children, by the natural tendency of their heart. God's children may, and God's children will, by the devil's artifice and seduction, fall into sin; but the children of the devil follow sin by the natural bias of their nature. In the one, they are wrought upon by bondage, fears and servitude, for whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, Jesus saith; John 8:34. God's children are the devil's servants and drudges, and wear his livery, and delight in his work, while in a state of unrenewed nature; but they are not his sons, neither is there any relationship between them. Whereas in the other, there is an affinity between the serpent and his seed; so that their actions cannot but correspond. Hence, Christ said to the Pharisees; Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do; John 8:44
This different feature of character forms an eternal line of distinction between the two; and is, as this scripture states, a decided manifestation between the children of God, and the children of the devil.
Thirdly. But there is another, and, if possible, yet more clear mark of discrimination, to form the different seeds. For, as they are acted upon differently, so their very nature from the first, is different. The seed of Christ are said by Christ to be the children of the kingdom. The seed of the Serpent, by Him also declared to be the children of the wicked one. Our Lord himself hath beautifully explained this, in his parable of the Good Seed and the Tares, see Matthew 13:36-40. And although the both are born in the Adam-nature of sin, and involved alike in the ruin of it, yet, by virtue of this relationship to the two distinct heads, the one is brought out of the death of sin, by the quickening and regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit; while the other remains unquickened, and forever dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:1
Fourthly. Though the scripture hath not explained, perhaps while in the instance of all others, the deadly seed of the serpent, in every generation to the same nature, brings forth the spawn of sin; yet the fact itself, that it is so, is all that we are interested to prove, and know. And God's promises to his people most fully confirm and establish the truth of the one, and, both his word and the nature of them, determine the other. To the one, the Lord saith, I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; Isaiah 44:3; see also Isaiah 59:21. To the other, we hear Christ speaking, Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell; Matthew 23:33
Fifthly. The everlasting war, which hath been through all time, And must be through all eternity kept up, between the children of the kingdom, and the children of the wicked one, draws a yet further line of discrimination. For the enmity is on this sole account, according to God's sentence at the fall, which he then pronounced on the serpent, and his venomous brood; I will put enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy seed and her seed; Genesis 3:15. By which seed of Christ is meant all the children given to him, before the foundation of the world, and all as seed, included in the Covenant of Grace. And by the seed of the serpent is meant, all the race of ungodly men, of whom Cain as one, is given as an example in this scripture. He is expressly said to be of that wicked one, That the seed of' the serpent means men, is evident from another consideration, namely, that Angels do not beget Angels. We nowhere read of the propagation of spirits by spirits. And we know that the whole crew of the rebellious Angels, namely, the devil and his angels which are now in hell, were once in heaven; Revelation 12:9; Jude 1:6. So that by the children of the devil are meant men, and not Angels or spirits!
Lastly, to add no more. What is here said of the seed of Christ, and their inability to commit sin, is wholly in reference to their spiritual nature. For thus the words express it. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, The new-birth, Or the being born of God, which is the same thing, is wholly spiritual. For the body of flesh remains the same in the Adam-nature of a fallen state. And as it is corrupt and sinful, se its daily tendencies are to corruption. At the last day it will arise a glorified body; and though sown in dishonor at death, it will be raised in glory at the resurrection. Whereas the spiritual part of every child of God, when new born in God from the Adam-nature, induced by the fall, being dead in trespasses and sins, is quickened to a new and spiritual life. And, as this scripture blessedly saith, it cannot sin, because it is born of God, and his seed remaineth in him. It is born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, which liveth and abideth forever; 1 Peter 1:23
It hath all things given to it according to his divine power, which pertain to life and godliness. And it is made a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust; 2 Peter 1:3-4
Reader! after those many observations, I must not trespass any longer than just to say, seeing God the Holy Ghost hath here laid the foundation, so deep and so sure in the privileges of God's children; let every child of God see to it, that they never lose sight of God's mercies, and their interest in him. The seed of Christ, chosen in Christ, preserved in Christ, made holy in Christ, accepted in Christ are begotten to all blessedness. Well might the Apostle, under the impression, cry out! Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.