Abiding in Christ

In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.

1 John 3:5–6

‘‘You know,’’ the apostle John said in verse 5, ‘‘that He was manifested to take away our sins,’’ and thereby indicated salvation from sin as the great object for which the Son was made man. The connection shows clearly that the ‘‘taking away’’ has reference not only to the Atonement and freedom from guilt but also to deliverance from the power of sin, so that the believer no longer practices it. It is Christ’s personal holiness that constitutes His power to accomplish this purpose. He admits sinners into life-union with himself; the result is that their life becomes like His. ‘‘In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.’’ As long as the believer abides, and as far as he abides, he does not sin. Our holiness of life has its roots in the personal holiness of Jesus. ‘‘If the root is holy, so (also) are the branches’’ (Romans 11:16).

The question at once arises: How is this consistent with what the Bible teaches about the continuing corruption of our human nature, or with what John tells us in 1 John 1:8, 10— that if we say we have no sin, or have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and call God a liar? It is this passage that, if we look at it carefully, will teach us to understand our current text correctly. Note the difference in the two statements (v. 8), ‘‘If we say that we have no sin,’’ and (v. 10), ‘‘If we say that we have not sinned.’’ The two expressions cannot be equivalent; the second would then be merely a repetition of the first. Having sin in verse 8 is not the same as practicing sin in verse 10. Having sin means having a sinful nature.

The holiest believer must each moment confess that he has sin within him—namely, the flesh, in which dwells ‘‘no good thing’’ (Romans 7:18). Sinning or practicing sin is something very different: It is yielding to the indwelling sinful nature and falling into actual transgression. And so we have two admissions that every true believer must make. The one is that he still has sin within him (v. 8); the second is that sin has in former times broken out into sinful actions (v. 10).

No believer can make either statement: ‘‘I have no sin in me,’’ or ‘‘I have in time past never sinned.’’ If we say we have no sin at present, or that we have not sinned in the past, we deceive ourselves. But although we have sin, we need not confess that we are presently practicing sin; the confession of actual sinning refers to the past. It may, as appears from 1 John 2:2, be in the present also, but it is not expected to be. And so we see how the deepest confession of sin in the past (as Paul acknowledged his having been a persecutor of the church), and the deepest consciousness of still having a vile and corrupt nature in the present may coexist with humble but joyful praise to Him who keeps us from stumbling as we abide in Him.

But how is it possible that a believer, having sin in him— sin of such intense vitality, and such terrible power as we know the flesh to have—can yet not be practicing sin? The answer is: ‘‘In Him there is no sin. He that abides in Him does not sin.’’ When abiding in Christ becomes close and unbroken, so that the soul lives from moment to moment in perfect union with the Lord his keeper, He does, indeed, keep down the power of the old nature to such an extent that it does not regain dominion over him. We have seen that there are degrees in abiding. With most Christians the abiding is so weak and intermittent that sin continually obtains supremacy and brings the soul into subjection. The divine promise given to faith is: ‘‘Sin shall not have dominion over you’’ (Romans 6:14). But accompanying the promise is the command: ‘‘Do not let sin reign in your mortal body’’ (Romans 6:12).

The believer who claims the promise in full faith has the power to obey the command, and sin is kept from overpowering him. Ignorance of the promise, unbelief, or carelessness, however, opens the door for sin to reign. And so the life of many believers is a course of continual stumbling and sinning. But when a believer seeks full admission into a life of continual, permanent abiding in Jesus, the Sinless One, then the life of Christ can keep him from actual transgression. ‘‘In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.’’ Jesus does save such a believer from his sin—not by the removal of his sinful nature, but by keeping him from yielding to it.

I have read of a young lion that could only be awed or kept down by the eye of his keeper. With the keeper anyone could come near the lion, and he would crouch—his savage nature still unchanged, thirsting for blood—trembling at the keeper’s feet. You might even put your foot on his neck so long as the keeper was with you. But to approach him without the keeper would be instant death. In the same way, we can have sin and yet not practice sin. The evil nature, the flesh, is unchanged in its rebellion against God, but the abiding presence of Jesus keeps it under control. In faith the believer can entrust himself to the keeping, the indwelling, of the Son of God; as he abides in Him, he can count on Jesus to be there for him. It is union and fellowship with the Sinless One that is the secret of a holy life: ‘‘In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.’’

And now another question arises: Admitting that complete abiding in the Sinless One will keep us from sinning, is such abiding possible? May we hope to be able to so abide in Christ, even for one day, that we may be kept from actual transgressions? If the question is fairly stated and considered it will suggest its own answer. When Christ commanded us to abide in Him, and promised us such rich fruit-bearing to the glory of the Father, and such mighty power in our intercession, could He mean anything but the healthy, vigorous, complete union of the branch with the Vine? When He promised that as we abide in Him He would abide in us, could He mean anything else but that His dwelling in us would be a reality of divine power and love? Is not this way of saving from sin most glorifying to Him?

By keeping us on a daily basis humble and helpless in our consciousness of our evil nature, watchful and active in the knowledge of its terrible power, dependent and trustful in the remembrance that only His presence can keep the lion down—this gives all glory to Him and not to ourselves. O let us believe that when Jesus said, ‘‘Abide in Me, and I in you,’’ He meant that, while we were not to be freed from the world and its tribulation, from the sinful nature and its temptations, we were at least to have this blessing fully secured to us—the grace to abide wholly, only, in our Lord. Abiding in Jesus makes it possible to keep from actual sinning; and Jesus himself makes it possible to abide in Him.

Dear Christian, I am not surprised if you find the promise of the text almost too high. Do not, however, let your attention be diverted by the question as to whether it would be possible to be kept for your whole life, or for so many years, without sinning. Faith only has to deal with the present moment. Ask this: Can Jesus at the present moment, as I abide in Him, keep me from those actual sinful acts that have been the stain and weariness of my daily life? You must say, ‘‘Surely He can.’’ Take Him then at this present moment and say, ‘‘Jesus keeps me now; Jesus saves me now.’’ Yield yourself to Him by earnest, believing prayer to be kept by His own abiding in you—and go into the next moment, and the succeeding hours, with this trust continually renewed. As often as the opportunity occurs in the moments between your activities, renew your faith in an act of devotion: Jesus keeps me now; Jesus saves me now. Let failure and sin, instead of discouraging you, only urge you to seek even more your safety by abiding in the Sinless One.

Abiding is a grace in which you can grow wonderfully, if you will but make a complete surrender, and then persevere with ever-increasing expectations. Regard it as His work to keep you abiding in Him and His work to keep you from sinning. It is indeed your work to abide in Him; but this is only possible because it is His work as the Vine to bear and hold you, the branch. Gaze upon His holy human nature as something He prepared for you to be partaker of with himself, and you will see that there is something even higher and better than being kept from sin—that is, the restraining from evil. There is the positive and larger blessing of now being a vessel purified and cleansed, filled with His fullness, and made a channel for showing forth His power, His blessing, and His glory.