1 John 3:8

1Jn_3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning--

The existence of the devil and the origin of evil

I.

Refute the three theories in which the devil-denying doctrines are comprised.

1. The doctrine that two principles, of good and evil, eternally existed, and that the devil is only the evil principle personified.

2. The theory that the devil, specified in the Bible, is only the personification of fallen human nature.

3. The theory that sinful actions are the only devil that the Bible guards us against.

II. Explain the origin of evil, and exhibit the real existence of satan, as established by reason and revelation. (W. Barnes.)

Children of the devil

1. The unregenerate sinner, living in the habitual practice of sin, is of Satan, because his will harmonises with Satans will; and it follows, therefore, that all the powers and faculties which he possesses, influential as they are upon those with whom he associates, become instrumental to the working out of the dictates of Satans will rather than Gods will.

2. The unregenerate sinner, living in the habitual indulgence of sin, is under the despotic influence of Satan, whose slave and vassal he is. He may be a free member of a free community, but his heart, his intellect, his body, all are bound in unresisting submissiveness to Satan.

3. The unregenerate sinner, living in the habitual indulgence of sin, must, if unreclaimed by sovereign grace, share the final end of Satan. If he is of the devil in sinning, he must be of the devil in suffering. (G. Fisk, LL. B.)

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil--

Satans works destroyed

I. The fact--that the Son of God was manifested

1. By His mysterious incarnation.

2. By His personal ministry.

3. By the promulgation of His gospel.

4. By the presence of His Spirit.

II. The design of this manifestation--that He might destroy the works of the devil. (J. Jowett, M. A.)

Christ a destroyer

I. The works of the devil. What these may be in the unseen world we know not; we find enough of them here in our world to astonish us.

1. Moral evil, sin, is one of these works. It is this which the apostle has more especially in his mind here, and which we may regard as the foundation of all the rest.

2. What we call natural evil, suffering, is another of his works. It grows out of sin.

3. And then comes discord, another work of Satan. Man and his God were walking together at first in a blessed amity. Satan came in and severed between them. And think of the contentions which have ever been going on between man and man in nations, societies, churches, and even families--Satan has fostered them all; nay, given rise to them all.

4. And then there is the deception which prevails in our world. We must trace this also to Satan. He is called in Scripture the father of lies, of all lies, but more especially of all spiritual lies. Well knowing that he cannot keep religion altogether out of the world, he deludes men with false religions.

5. Another work of Satan is the obscurity he has thrown here over Jehovahs glory. He seems to have baffled God in all His purposes as to our world; to have brought to nothing all the designs of His goodness towards it when He created it.

6. And one thing more must be added--death. This crowns the work of Satan.

II. The manifestation of the Son of God to destroy them. Even the omnipotent Son of God cannot be a Saviour unless He is at the same time a destroyer. The works of Satan must be demolished, or Gods great work of mercy cannot be accomplished.

III. The destruction of these works.

1. The Lord Jesus effects their destruction in a wonderful character. Had we been told that the Son of the Highest was about to manifest Himself in our world as a Destroyer, we should have expected Him to appear among us in His glorious majesty, withering Satan, as He will do hereafter, by the brightness of His coming. But the Lord is wiser than we. This would have been a display of the Divine power only. The Lord would not thus honour Satan. He lays aside His majesty when He comes forth to this work of destruction. Satan and his works shall be overthrown by one of those very creatures whom Satan has long triumphed over.

2. If the character was wonderful in which our Lord achieved this work, the means whereby He achieved it were still more so. Through death, we are told, He destroyed him that had the power or death, that is, the devil. (C. Bradley, M. A.)

The design of Christs incarnation

I. As for the manifestation of the Son of God, though it principally relates to the actual coming of Christ into the world, yet it is a term of a larger comprehension, and so ought to carry our notice both to passages before and after His nativity. We find Him first exhibited in promises, and those as early as the first need of a Saviour, even immediately after the fall; by such a hasty provision of mercy, that there might be no dark interval between mans misery and his hope of recovery (Gen_3:15). But when at length prophecy ripened into event, and shadows gave way upon the actual appearance of the substance, in the birth of Christ, yet then, though the Son of God could be but once born, He ceased not to be frequently manifested; there was a choir of angels to proclaim His nativity, and a new star to be His herald. Christ was the light of the world; and nothing is more manifest or visible than that which manifests both itself and all things else; and needs no invitation to the eye, but will certainly enter, unless it be forcibly kept out. But the Jews were purposed not to believe their eyes; to question whether it was day when the sun shined. It is clear, therefore, that the Jews rejected the Son of God, not because He was not manifested, but because they delighted to be ignorant, and to be sceptics and unbelievers even in spite of evidence.

II. The end of His manifestation, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

1. I reduce the works of the devil, destroyed by the manifestation of the Son of God, to these three--

(1) Delusion.

(2) Sin.

(3) Death.

There is a natural coherence between these: for sin being a voluntary action, and so the issue of the will, presupposes a default in the understanding, which was to conduct the will in its choices; and then when the delusion and inadvertency of the understanding has betrayed the will to sin, the consequent and effect of sin is death. Christ therefore, that came to repair the breaches, and cure the miseries of human nature, and to redeem it from that frenzy into which it had cast itself, designs the removal and conquest of all these three.

2. I come now to show what are the ways and means by which He destroys them.

(1) As a prophet He destroys and removes that delusion that had possessed the world, by those Divine and saving discoveries of truth exhibited in the doctrine and religion promulged by Him.

(2) As for the second work of the devil, sin, this the Son of God destroyed as a priest, by that satisfaction that He paid down for it; and by that supply of grace that He purchased, for the conquering and rooting it out of the hearts of believers. By the former He destroys the guilt of sin, by the latter the power.

(3) As for the third and last work of the devil, which is death; this Christ, as He is a king, destroys by His power: for it is He that has the keys of life and death, opening where none shuts, and shutting where none opens. At the command of Christ the sea shall give up its dead, the graves shall open, and deliver up their trust; and all the devourers of nature shall make a faithful restitution. (R. South, D. D.)

The purpose of the incarnation

I. The mystery of Christs incarnation--the Son of God was manifested.

1. The propriety, to whom this work of subduing the devil and destroying his works, properly belongs; that is God.

(1) He only had right to do it; whether we consider Him either as the Judge, or as the party wronged.

(2) He only had strength and power to effect this destruction of Satans works.

2. The appropriation of this work. It is ascribed to the second Person in the glorious Godhead; to the Son of God. And that the Son of God should undertake this work, there are two congruities.

(1) The first congruity is grounded upon His relation, in that He is the Son of God. And suitable to this there were two works of the devil to be destroyed; and none so fit to do it as the Son of God.

(a) The first work of Satan, was to make us degenerate from our original, and to become the children of the devil; that was our woeful condition (Joh_8:44). This work must be destroyed by our spiritual adoption; that rescues us out of that cursed family, and reduces us to a new sonship, makes us become the children of God. Now, who so fit to make us adopted sons as the natural Son of God?

(b) The second work of the devil was the defacing and destroying that holy image of God, in which we were created, and so stamping upon our souls that blemish of the devils similitude. Now, who so fit to deface the image of Satan, and to repair the blessed image of God upon our souls, as the Son of God, who is the lively express image of God the Father (Rom_8:29)?

(2) A second congruity is grounded upon that special attribute which is ascribed to the Son of God; that is, the attribute of wisdom. Well, did craft and subtlety ruin us? Here is wisdom of God to restore us (1Co_3:19).

3. The manner of effecting this work, the dispensation observed in it, theft is called here His manifestation.

(1) It is a manifestation, that is the representation of that which was before, but did not appear before.

(2) Christs incarnation is the appearing of Him, who before was invisible.

(3) Christ is now really and actually exhibited to the sons of men; before He was promised only, but now that promise is fully performed to us.

(4) This degree and temper of His manifestation was thus ordered and proportioned for these considerations.

(a) This manifestation under the veil of His flesh was fitted for our capacity, we could not otherwise have beheld Him. We can fix our eyes upon the sun when it is under a cloud; we cannot do so when it is in its full splendour.

(b) This manifestation was under the veil of the flesh to make way for the exercise of faith; and faith was to have a principal part in the work of our redemption. And the property of that is to believe that which we see not. And therefore, that our faith might have what to believe, he concealed His Divinity under the veil of His humanity.

(c) His manifestation was under the veil of the flesh, as the fittest way to conquer and destroy the devil.

(i) It was a fit way to requite the devil, He wrought our ruin by a counterfeit incarnation, appearing to our first parents in another habit; and Christ works Satans ruin by a real incarnation.

(ii) This was done to bring on the devil to this encounter, by which he might be destroyed. He durst not have assaulted our Saviour appearing in His glory.

II. The work and employment of our incarnate Saviour. It was to destroy the works of the devil. The fruit and benefit of our Saviours incarnation hath other expressions in Scripture (Mat_18:11; 1Ti_1:15; Joh_6:41; Joh_10:10). These are all comprehended in this of St. John, it was to destroy the works of the devil.

1. What is that which Christ sets Himself against and opposes? They are the works of the devil. So then, in general, the work for which Christ came into the world is a spiritual work, to oppose spiritual wickedness. The gospel is conversant in mortifying of sins, not in invading of possessions, as Bernard speaks.

(1) See the extension of the object that Christ comes to destroy.

(a) Sin, that is the work of the devil.

(b) Death, that is the work of the devil; and Christ destroys both.

(2) The limitation. That which Christ came to destroy is the works of the devil, those and only those. The works of God, those Christ came not to destroy, but to preserve and restore, to improve and better them (Isa_58:12); the souls of men, to recover them; the lives of men, He came not to destroy, but to save (Luk_9:56). It must teach all undertakers of works of destruction to carry a steady hand in so perilous a work. They had need of three caveats;

(a) Look to thy warrant and authority. Every man is not to be a destroyer, even of those things that deserve to be destroyed.

(b) Take heed you mistake not a work of God for a work of the devil.

(c) When these two works meet in one--the work of God and the work of the devil--then separate the precious from the vile, discern and distinguish them.

2. The opposition which Christ makes against the works of the devil. It is called a destroying. It is a full word, of great vehemence and intention. Christ came not only to abate the power of Satan, and to bring him under, as Saul did with Agag, or the Israelites did with the Canaanites: spared their lives, but subdued them only, and made them tributaries. It is charged on them as a sin (Psa_106:34). No; sin and Satan are to be devoted to utter destruction. Not only restrain sin, but root it out and destroy it. And that we may do this, we must beget in us a destroying affection. What is that? Hatred--a double hatred.

(1) Hatred of enmity, that must be against the devil; hate him with a perfect hatred.

(2) Hatred of abomination, that must be against sin, the work of the devil. These two, the hatred of emnity against Satan, and the hatred of, loathing, and antipathy against sin: that will make us imitate the work of Christ, in destroying of sire And this Christ doth in three degrees, till sin be utterly destroyed.

(a) He destroys the condemning power of sin by purchasing the pardon of sin, and confers this upon us in our justification.

(b) He destroys the dominion and reigning power of sin by inspirations of His grace, thereby mortifying sin in our sanctification.

(c) He destroys the very being of sin; roots up the bitter root of sin by His final and finishing grace in our glorification. Thus do thou--

(i) Sue for the pardon of sin.

(ii) Strive against the power of sin.

(iii) Long for the final abolishing of sin.

III. The design and intendment of this work: For this purpose.

1. This destroying of sin and Satan and so the rescuing of us from both, was His intention. He foresaw our fall, and pitied our misery, and forecasts our recovery: His eternal thoughts of grace and mercy were employed about us.

2. This work was His primary intention. The main end of His coming into the world was to destroy Satan and to free us from his bondage and captivity.

3. This destroying of Satans works is His effectual and real intention. Did He purpose it? Then surely He will accomplish it, and effectually perform it. (Bp. Brownrigg.)

The first promise accomplished; or, the head of the serpent bruised by the seed of the woman

The text is a distinct doctrine, viz., that the Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

I. To offer some things with relation to this renowned champion.

1. He is a person of a noble extract and pedigree; He is the Son of God by eternal generation, His Fathers first born, and therefore higher than the kings of the earth.

2. This renowned person, the Son of God, had an ancient kindness for our family; for He from eternity rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and His delights were with the sons of men.

3. That He might be in a capacity to help and relieve us from the hand of the enemy, He marries our nature into a personal union with Himself. Law and justice required that the same nature that sinned should suffer.

4. This renowned Champion is one of a very martial and heroic spirit; He fears no enemy that stands in His way (Isa_59:16-18).

5. He is one that is successful in all His enterprises: He never lost a battle, victory follows Him in His train.

6. He is incomparable for power and wisdom; hence His name is Christ the power of God, and Christ the wisdom of God.

II. To offer a few thoughts concerning the grand enemy of mankind, that the Son of God had in His eye when He appeared upon the stage, and that is the devil.

1. That he was once an angel of light, and had his habitation at first in glory.

2. Pride and ambition was the sin of the devil.

3. Being cast out of heaven, he was filled with the madness of revenge and enmity against God.

4. By virtue of the curse of the broken law, the devil comes to have a legal title to, and dominion over, every son of Adam by nature.

5. The enemy into whose hands we are fallen is of all others the most dangerous and terrible.

(1) He is a very powerful enemy.

(2) He is a subtle and cunning enemy.

(3) He is an experienced enemy.

(4) A most vigilant enemy.

(5) He is a most fierce and raging enemy.

(6) He is a numerous enemy. His name is legion.

I will tell you of some works of the devil brought about by sin.

1. The dishonour of God.

2. The disturbing of the creation.

3. The ruin of man.

4. The erection of his own kingdom of sin and darkness.

III. The manifestation of the Son of God in order, to His destroying these works of the devil.

1. He was manifested initially in the first promise (Gen_3:15).

2. He was manifested typically to the children of Israel in the Mosaic economy. The tabernacle, the temple, the passover, the manna, the rock that followed them, the sacrifices and ceremonies of that dispensation--what else were they but the shadows of good things to come?

3. To this there was added a prophetical manifestation of the Son of God.

4. He was manifested personally in the fulness of time by the assumption of the nature of man (Gal_4:4).

5. There is a declarative manifestation of the Son of God in the dispensation of the gospel.

6. He is manifested sacramentally.

7. Christ is manifested in a spiritual and efficacious way in the day of conversion.

8. There is the public and solemn manifestation of the Son of God at the last day (Rev_1:7). Thus you see how it is that the Son of God is manifested; and in every one of these manifestations He had in view the destruction of Satan and his works.

IV. To speak of the Son of God destroying the works of the devil.

1. The first thing is, to prove that it was the great business of the Son of God to destroy the works of the devil.

(1) Was it the plot of hell to have God dishonoured in all His attributes and perfections by the sin of man? Well, Christ counteracts the devil in this; for He brings a great revenue of glory to the crown of heaven by the work of redemption.

(2) It was the work of the devil to disgrace the holy law of God, by breaking it himself, and teaching man to break in upon it; but the work of Christ is, to magnify the law, and to make it honourable.

(3) Was it the work of the devil to disturb Gods government in the world, and to cast all into disorder? Well, God the Father lays the government upon Christs shoulders on purpose that He may restore everything into the order wherein He had set them at first (Rom_8:19, etc.).

(4) Was it the devils work to establish his own kingdom of darkness in this lower world, by establishing error, ignorance, unbelief, atheism, pride, carnality, profanity, and all manner of sin and wickedness? Well, it is the work of Christ to pull down these strongholds of Satans kingdom.

(5) Was it the devils work to break all fellowship and friendship betwixt God and man? Well, it is the work of Christ to bring them into friendship one with another; therefore He is called a Mediator, or a Peacemaker.

(6) Was it the work of the devil to bring man under the curse and condemnation of the law, that so he might be in the same condition with himself? Well, it is the work of Christ to redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.

(7) Was it the work of the devil to deface the image of God which He stamped upon man? It is the work of Christ to restore it.

2. The second thing here is, to inquire, How is it that Christ destroys the works of the devil? Christ destroys the works of the devil four ways.

(1) By the virtue of His blood.

(2) By the light of His Word.

(3) By the power and efficacy of His Spirit.

(4) By the prudence of His government and administration.

3. The third thing was, to observe upon some particular times and seasons wherein Christ destroys the works of the devil.

(1) The day of Christs death gave a notable blow unto the devils kingdom.

(2) The day of Christs resurrection gave a signal blow to the works of the devil; for He rose for our justification.

(3) The day of Christs ascension into heaven was a notable destruction unto Satan and his works; for when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive; He opened a passage between this world and heaven, through the territories of the prince of the power of the air, by which all His friends might follow Him to glory.

(4) In the day of Pentecost Christ gave another stroke to the devil and his works.

(5) The day of a sinners believing in Christ is a time when Satans works are destroyed.

(6) Times of espousals, nearness betwixt God and a soul, are times of destroying the works of the devil.

(7) When at any time an honourable testimony is given to the Lord, to the doctrine, discipline, worship and government of His Church, in a day of uncommon defection and backsliding.

(8) When a believer dies, and goes away to glory, under a guard of angels, along that road that Christ opened.

4. The fourth thing here was, to give the reasons why Christ the Son of God is manifested to destroy the works of the devil.

(1) Christ encounters this enemy, and destroys his works, because it was His Fathers will and pleasure; and He did always these things that pleased His Father, rejoicing always before Him.

(2) Christ destroys the works of the devil, because it was for His own honour to engage in this expedition.

(3) Christ destroys the works of the devil, out of the ancient and wonderful love that He did bear to man upon earth.

(4) Out of regard to His own law, which the devil by his works had dishonoured.

(5) Christ destroys the works of the devil that He may still this enemy and avenger.

(6) He destroys the work of the devil, for the manifestation of all the Divine perfections.

V. The last thing in the method was the use of the doctrine, which I shall despatch in the following inferences.

1. See hence a glorious ray of the Godhead or supreme independent Deity of the glorious Redeemer.

2. See hence how the kindness and love of God hath appeared toward man upon earth.

3. See hence the evil of sin, and the folly of those that are in love with it, and give themselves up to its power and service.

4. See hence a good reason why the believer is at war with sin in himself, and wherever he finds it.

5. See hence why hell and earth took the alarm when Christ appeared in the world.

6. See one great reason why believers breathe so much after manifestations of the Lord.

7. From this doctrine we may see how much it is our concern to keep up the memorials of a Redeemers death, and why the truly godly love to flock to a sacrament.

Use second may be of trial, whether the Son of God was ever savingly manifested to thy soul.

1. If ever She Son of God was manifested in thy soul, thou wilt be for pulling down the works of the devil, and for building up the works of the Son of God.

(1) You will pull down self-righteousness, and put on the righteousness of Christ.

(2) You will be much employed in pulling down the image of the first Adam, and in setting up the image of the second Adam in your souls.

(3) You will be clear for pulling down the wisdom of the flesh, and for setting up the wisdom of God above it.

2. If ever the Son of God was manifested savingly unto thy soul, the union of the two natures in the person of Christ will be the wonder of thy soul.

3. It will be your great design, in attending ordinances, to have new manifestations of His glory, as David (Psa_27:4; Psa_63:1-11; Psa_84:1-12, etc.).

4. You will be concerned to manifest His glory to others. The last inference is this, Is it so that the Son of God was manifested? See hence noble encouragement to all honest ministers and Christians to make a stand against the defections of the day we live in. (E. Erskine, D. D.)

The works of the devil destroyed

I. First, the works of the devil. This very strong expression is descriptive of sin; for the preceding sentence so interprets it.

1. This name for sin is first of all a word of detestation. Sin is so abominable in the sight of God and of good men that its various forms are said to be the works of the devil. Think of that, ye ungodly ones--the devil is at work in you, as a smith at his forge.

2. Next, it is a word of distinction: it distinguishes the course of the ungodly man from the life of the man who believes in the Lord Jesus. If you have not the life of God in you, you cannot do the works of God. The mineral cannot rise into the vegetable of itself, it would require another touch from the creative hand; the vegetable cannot rise into the animal unless the Creator shall work a miracle; and, even so, you as a carnal man cannot become a spiritual man by any spontaneous generation; the new life must be imparted to you by the quickening Spirit.

3. The language before us is, next, a word of descent. Sin is of the devil, it came from him; he is its parent and patron. Sin is not so of the devil that we can lay the blame of our sins upon him, for that is our own. It is our work because we willingly yield. Let us be thoroughly ashamed of such work when we find that the devil has a hand in it.

4. Consider, next, that we have here a word of description. The work of sin is the work of the devil because it is such work as he delights in. He has led the human race to become accomplices in his treason against the majesty of heaven, allies in his rebellion against the sovereignty of God most high. The works of the devil make up a black picture: it is a thick darkness over all the land, even a darkness that may be felt.

II. The purpose of God--For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Yes, mark that word, destroyed, not limited, nor alleviated, nor neutralised, but destroyed.

1. The work which lies in this purpose is assuredly a Divine work. The Lord who can create can certainly destroy.

2. And there is, to my mind, about it the idea of a conquering work. When are the palaces and the fortifications of great kings destroyed? Not till the kings themselves have been overthrown in fair fight; but when their power is broken then it is that the conquerors raze the castle and burn the stronghold.

3. This means also a complete work. The product of evil is not to be cut down for a time and left to grow again.

4. It is a complete work and a conclusive work; for the Lord Jesus will so break the head of the old dragon, that he shall never wear the crown again. Sin in every shape and form the Lord shall destroy from off the face of the earth forever.

III. Our text plainly tells us how this is to be done--by the manifestation of the Son of God. Behind, and under, and over the works of the devil the Lord had ever the design that this evil should be permitted that He might baffle it with love, and that the glory of His grace might be revealed. My text has in it to my mind a majestic idea, first, of the difficulties of the case--that the Son of God must needs be manifested to destroy the works of the devil; and then, secondly, of the ease of His victory.

1. First, Christs manifestation, even in His incarnation, was a fatal blow to the works of Satan. Did God come down to men? Was He incarnate in the infant form that slept in Bethlehems manger? Then the Almighty has not given up our nature to be the prey of sin.

2. Next, look to the life of Christ on earth, and see how He there destroyed the works of the devil. It was a glorious duel in the wilderness when they stood foot to foot--the champions of good and evil! All our Lords preaching, all His teaching, all His labour here below was in order to the pulling away the corner stone from the great house of darkness which Satan had built up.

3. But oh, it was in His death that Jesus chiefly overthrew Satan and destroyed his works. Man, accepting this great sacrifice, loves and adores the Father who ordained it, and so the works of the devil in his heart are destroyed.

4. Our Lords rising again, His ascension into glory, His sitting on the right hand of the Father, His coming again in the latter days--all these are parts of the manifestation of the Son of God by which the works of the devil shall be destroyed. So also is the preaching of the gospel. If we want to destroy the works of the devil our best method is to manifest more and more the Son of God.

5. Lastly, on this point, our blessed Lord is manifested in His eternal power and kingdom as enthroned in order to destroy the works of the devil; for the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful, the mighty God, the Father of the ages.

IV. A few words of inquiry as to the experience of all this in ourselves. Has the Son of God been manifested to you to destroy the works of the devil in you?

1. At first there was in your heart an enmity to God; for the carnal mind is enmity against God. Is that enmity destroyed?

2. The next work of the devil which usually appears in the human mind is self-righteous pride. Have all those rags gone from you? Has a strong wind blown them right away? Have you seen your own natural nakedness?

3. When the Lord has destroyed self-righteousness in us, the devil generally sets us forth another form of his power, and that is despair. But if the Lord Jesus Christ has been manifested to you, despair has gone, that work of the devil has been all destroyed, and now you have a humble hope in God and a joy in His mercy. What next?

4. Have you any unbelief in your heart as to the promises of God? Down with it! Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. All mistrusts must die. Not one of them must be spared. Do fleshly lusts arise in your heart? In whose heart do they not arise? The brightest saint is sometimes tempted to the foulest vice. Yes, but he yields not thereto. He cries, Away with them! It is not meet even to mention these vile things; they are works of the devil, and to be destroyed. Do you quickly become angry? I pray God you may be angry and sin not; but if you are of a hasty temper, I entreat you to overcome it. Do not say, I cannot help it. You must help it, or rather Christ must destroy it. It must not be tolerated. Oh, there is to be in every true believer the ultimate abolition of sin. What a prospect this is! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:8 destroy: This does not mean “to annihilate” but “to break down” (see Eph 2:14), “to undo,” or “to render ineffective.” Christ did not obliterate Satan; he came to undo the works of the devil by freeing people from sin and its awful consequences.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Jn 3:8. Ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, of the devil) as a son: 1Jn 3:10. The word born is not however here employed, nor seed, but works. For from the devil there is not generation, but corruption.—ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, from the beginning) from the time when the devil is the devil. He seems to have kept his first estate but a very short time.—ἁμαρτάνει, sins) An abbreviated expression: that is, has sinned from the beginning, and is the cause of all sins, and still goes on sinning: he sins (with guilt becoming heavier from day to day), and induces others to sin: he is never satiated.[8] The because in 1Jn 3:8 is in antithesis to the because in 1Jn 3:9.—εἰς τοῦτο, for this purpose) The devil does not make an end of sinning: to destroy sin, is the work of the Son of God.—τὰ ἔργα, the works) which are most contorted [perverse], and to unravel which, was an occasion worthy of the Son of God.

[8] But this the great sinner shall be shut up, in the abyss, as in a prison; then, in fine, punishment shall be inflicted on him in the fire.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn_3:8. ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν] forms the diametrical opposite of ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην, inasmuch as it signifies the man whose life is a service of sin, who lives in sin as his element (Sander). While the former belongs to Christ, and is a τέκνον Θεοῦ, the latter is ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου; ἐκ does not signify here either merely connection (de Wette), or similarity (Paulus), or imitation (Semler), but, as the expression τέκνον τοῦ διαβόλου (1Jn_3:10) shows, origin (so also Ebrard): the life that animates the sinner emanates from the devil; not as if the devil created him, but that he introduced the evil into him (Russmeyer). The apostle confirms the truth of this statement by the following words: ὅτι ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. The words ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς are put first, because the chief emphasis rests on them, inasmuch as those who commit sin are ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, not because he sins, but because it is he who sinneth ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς. From this expression it must not, with Frommann and Hilgenfeld, be inferred that John was considering the devil as an originally evil being,in dualistic fashion (comp. Köstlin, p. 127, and Weiss, p. 132 ff.),for John is not here speaking of the being, but of the action of the devil. In order not to accuse John of the Manichaean dualism, the attempt has been made to define ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς more particularly, either by referring it to the creation of the world (Calvin, S. G. Lange; also Hofmann, Schriftbew. 2d ed. I. 429: since the beginning of the world, or: from the beginning of history, in the course of which the sin of men has begun), or to res humanae (Semler), or to the time of the devils fall (Bengel: ex quo diabolus est diabolus); but all these supplements are purely arbitrary. Many modern commentators take the expression in reference to the sin of man, and find this idea expressed in it, that the devil is related to all the sins of men as the first and seductive originator (Nitzsch, Syst. der christlichen Lchre, 6th ed. p. 244 f.); thus Lücke, Düsterdieck, Ebrard, Weiss, Braune, and previously in this commentary; but this thought, while it no doubt lies in the preceding ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου and in the following τέκνον τοῦ διαβόλου, and hence in the thesis to be established, does not lie in this confirmatory clause, apart from the fact that in ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἁμαρτάνει no reference is indicated to the sin of man. It is otherwise in Joh_8:44, where the more particular definition of the relation of the devil to men is supplied with ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς from the context (since he has put himself in connection with men); here, on the contrary, John does not say: what the devil is to men, but what is his relationship to God (Hofmann as above); but as he describes his relationship by ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἁμαρτάνει, as a sinning which has continued from the beginning, this can only mean that the devils first action was sin, and that he has remained and remains in that action. Likewise in the interpretation which Brückner gives of ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς: i.e. so long as there is sin, ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς does not receive its full force.[211]

The present ἉΜΑΡΤΆΝΕΙ describes the sinning of the devil as uninterruptedly continuous.

ΕἸς ΤΟῦΤΟ ἘΦΑΝΕΡΏΘΗ Κ.Τ.Λ.] As 1Jn_3:6-7 refer to the second part of 1Jn_3:5, these words refer to the first part of that verse; they not only express the antithesis between Christ and the devil, but they bring out the fact that the appearance of Christ has for its object the destruction of the ἜΡΓΑ ΤΟῦ ΔΙΑΒΌΛΟΥ, i.e. of the ἁμαρτίαι which are wrought by him (not the reward of sin, Calov, Spener; nor the agency that seduces to sin, de Wette). ΛΎΕΙΝ is used here as in Joh_2:19 (similarly 2Pe_3:10-12), in the meaning of to destroy; less naturally some commentators (a Lapide, Lorinus, Spener, Besser, etc.) maintain the meaning to undo, sins being regarded as the snares of the devil.

[211] The idea that the devil, before he sinned, was for a time without sin, is nowhere expressed in Scripture; neither in Joh_8:44 nor in the deuterocanonical passages Jud_1:6 and 2Pe_2:4 (see my comm. on these passages).The view of Frommann, that Johns statements do not justify the representation of a personal existence of the devil, that he is nothing further than the world-spirit that tempts man, considered in concrete personality, is to be rejected as arbitrary.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 3:8 . ὁ ποι . τὴν ἁμ ., an emphatic and interpretative variation of ὁ ἁμαρτάνων “he that makes sin his business or practice”. ἐκ of parentage ( cf. 1Jn 3:9 ); “hoc est, ex patre diabolo” (Clem. Alex.). ἀπʼ ἀρχ ., a vague phrase. In 1Jn 1:1 “ere time began”; in 1Jn 2:7 , 1Jn 3:11 ,“from the beginning of your Christian life”. Here “from the beginning of his diabolic career”; “a quo peccare cœpit incontrovertibiliter in peccando perseverans” (Clem. Alex.). λύσῃ , “loose,” metaphorically of “loosening a bond,” “relaxing an obligation” (Mat 5:19 ; Joh 5:18 ), “pulling to pieces” (Joh 2:19 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He saith not sinned, but sinneth, for he did nothing else but sin.

An argument taken of contraries: the devil is the author of sin, and therefore he is of the devil, or is ruled by the inspiration of the devil that serve sin: and if he be the devil’s son, then is he not God’s son: for the devil and God are so contrary the one to the other, that even the Son of God was sent to destroy the works of the devil. Therefore on the contrary side, whosoever resists sin, is the Son of God, being born again of his spirit as of new seed, insomuch that of necessity he is now delivered from the slavery of sin.

Resembleth the devil, as the child doth the father, and is governed by his spirit.

From the very beginning of the world.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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 his creation [BENGEL]. Since the fall of man [at the beginning of our world] the devil is (ever) sinning (this is the force of "sinneth"; he has sinned from the beginning, is the cause of all sins, and still goes on sinning; present). As the author of sin, and prince of this world, he has never ceased to seduce man to sin [LUECKE].

destroy--break up and do away with; bruising and crushing the serpent's head.

works of the devil--sin, and all its awful consequences. John argues, Christians cannot do that which Christ came to destroy.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 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, he will probably have it at death; and, if so, throughout eternity.

For this purpose] ειςτουτο. For this very end-with this very design, was Jesus manifested in the flesh, that he might destroy, ιναλυση, that he might loose, the bonds of sin, and dissolve the power, influence, and connection of sin. See note on 1Jo 3:3.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8 He that committeth sin, This word, to commit, or to do, refers also to outward works, so that the meaning is, that there is no life of God and of Christ, where men act perversely and wickedly, but that such are, on the contrary, the slaves of the devil; and by this way of speaking he sets forth more fully how unlike they are to Christ. For as he has before represented Christ as the fountain of all righteousness, so now, on the other hand, he mentions the devil as the beginning of sin. He denied that any one belongs to Christ except he who is righteous and shews himself to be such by his works; he now assigns to the devil all others, and subjects them to his government, in order that we may know that there is no middle condition, but that Satan exercises his tyranny where the righteousness of Christ possesses not the primacy.

There are not however two adverse principles, such as the Manicheans have imagined; for we know that the devil is not wicked by nature or by creation, but became so through defection. We know also that he is not equal to God, so that he can with equal right or authority contend with him, but that he is unwillingly under restraint, so that he can do nothing except at the nod and with the permission of his Creator. John, in the last place, in saying that some were born of God and some of the devil, imagined no tradition such as the Manicheans dreamt of; but he means that the former are governed and guided by the Spirit of God, and that the others are led astray by Satan, as God grants to him this power over the unbelieving.

For the Devil sinneth from the beginning As before he spoke not of Christ personally, when he said that he is righteous, but mentioned him as the fountain and the cause of righteousness; so now, when he says that the Devil sins, he includes his whole body, even all the reprobate; as though he had said, this belongs to the Devil, to entice men to sin. It hence follows, that his members, and all who are ruled by him, give themselves up to commit sin. But the beginning which the Apostle mentions, is not from eternity, as when he says that the Word is from the beginning, for there is a wide difference between God and creatures. Beginning as to God, refers to no time. Since, then, the Word was always with God, you can find no point of time in which he began to be, but you must necessarily admit his eternity. But here John meant no other thing than that the Devil had been an apostate since the creation of the world, and that from that time he had never ceased to scatter his poison among men.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested He repeats in other words what he had before said, that Christ came to take away sins. Hence two conclusions are to be drawn, that those in whom sin reigns cannot be reckoned among the members of Christ, and that they can by no means belong to his body; for wherever Christ puts forth his own power, he puts the Devil to flight as well as sin. And this is what John immediately adds; for the next sentence, where he says that those who sin not are born of God, is a conclusion from what is gone before. It is an argument drawn from what is inconsistent, as I have already said; for the kingdom of Christ, which brings righteousness with it, cannot admit of sin. But I have already said what not to sin means. He does not make the children of God wholly free from all sin; but he denies that any can really glory in this distinction, except those who from the heart strive to form their life in obedience to God.

The Pelagians, indeed, and the Catharians did formerly make a wrong use of this passage, when they vainly imagined that the faithful are in this world endued with angelic purity; and in our own age some of the Anabaptists have renewed this dotage. But all those who dream of a perfection of this kind, sufficiently shew what stupid consciences they must have. But the words of the Apostle are so far from countenancing their error, that they are sufficient to confute it.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

8. He that committeth sin] Better, as in 1Jn_3:4, in order to bring out the full antithesis, He that doeth sin. ‘To do sin’ is the exact opposite of ‘to do righteousness’: as before, both substantives have the article in the Greek: see on 1Jn_3:4. And, as before, the present participle indicates the habitual doer of sin. Such an one has the devil as the source (ἐκ), not of his existence, but of the evil which rules his existence and is the main element in it. “The devil made no man, begat no man, created no man: but whoso imitates the devil, becomes a child of the devil, as if begotten of him. In what sense art thou a child of Abraham? Not that Abraham begat thee. In the same sense as that in which the Jews, the children of Abraham, by not imitating the faith of Abraham, are become children of the devil” (S. Augustine). It is one of the characteristics of these closing words of N. T. that they mark with singular precision the personality of Satan, and his relation to sin, sinners, and redemption from sin.

for the devil sinneth from the beginning] Or, because from the beginning the devil sinneth. ‘From the beginning’ stands first for emphasis. What does it mean? Various explanations have been suggested. (1) From the beginning of sin. The devil was the first to sin and has never ceased to sin. (2) From the beginning of the devil. This comes very near to asserting the Gnostic and Manichaean error of two co-eternal principles or Creators, one good and one evil. The very notion of sin involves departure from what is good. The good therefore must have existed first. To avoid this, (3) from the beginning of the devil as such, i.e. from the time of his becoming the devil, or (4) from the beginning of his activity; which is not very different from (3) if one believes that he is a fallen angel, or from (2) if one does not. (5) From the beginning of the world. (6) From the beginning of the human race. The first or last seems best. “The phrase ‘From the beginning’ intimates that there has been no period of the existence of human beings in which they have not been liable to the assaults of this Tempter; that accusations against God, reasons for doubting and distrusting Him, have been offered to one man after another, to one generation after another. This is just what the Scripture affirms; just the assumption which goes through the book from Genesis to the Apocalypse.” (Maurice.) Note the present tense: not he has sinned, but he is sinning; his whole existence is sin.

the Son of God] In special contrast to those habitual sinners who are morally the children of the devil.

that he might destroy] Literally, that he might unloose or dissolve or undo. All destruction is dissolution. The metaphor here has probably nothing to do with loosening bonds or snares. It is a favourite one with S. John; ‘Destroy this sanctuary’ (Joh_2:19). Comp. 1Jn_5:18, Joh_7:23, Joh_10:35, where either notion, loosening or dissolving, is appropriate.

the works of the devil] The sins (1Jn_3:5) which he causes men to commit. Christ came to undo the sins of men.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that committeth sin is of the devil,.... Not everyone that sins, or commits acts of sin, then every man is of the devil, because no man lives without the commission of sin; but he who makes sin his constant business, and the employment of his life, whose life is a continued series of sinning, he is of the devil; not as to origin and substance, or by proper generation, as some have literally understood the words; but by imitation, being like him, and so of him their father, doing his lusts, living continually in sin, as he does, and so resemble him, as children do their parents; and hereby also appear to be under his government and influence, to be led captive by him at his will, and so to belong to him, and such as will have their part and portion with him in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, so living and dying:

for the devil sinneth from the beginning; not of his creation, for he was made by God a pure and holy creature; but from the beginning of the world, or near it, at least from the beginning of man's creation; for he not only sinned by rebelling against God himself, and by drawing in the rest of the apostate angels into the rebellion with him, but by tempting man, as soon as created, to sin against God: what was his first and particular sin is not certain, whether pride or envy, or what; seems to be, his not abiding in the truth, or an opposition to the truth of the Gospel, respecting the incarnation of the Son of God, mentioned in the following clause; see Joh 8:44; however, he has been continually sinning ever since: he "sinneth"; he is always sinning, doing nothing else but sin; so that he that lives a vicious course of life is like him, and manifestly of him:

for this purpose the Son of God was manifested; in human nature, as in Jo1 3:5; whence it appears that he was the Son of God before his incarnation, and so not by it; he did not become so through it, nor was he denominated such on account of it; he was not made the Son of God by it, but was manifested in it what he was before; and for this end:

that he might destroy the works of the devil; and the devil himself, and all his dominion and power, and particularly his power over death, and death itself; and especially the sins of men, which are the works of the devil, which he puts them upon, influences them to do, and takes delight in; and which are destroyed by Christ, by his sacrifice and death, being taken, carried, removed away, finished, and made an end of by him; See Gill on Jo1 3:5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Ver. 8. He that committeth sin] ποιων, that makes a trade of it, and can art it (as the word properly signifieth), not act it only.

Is of the devil] Bears his image, wears his livery; is as like him as if spit out of his mouth.

For the devil sinneth] Or is a sinning; he never ceaseth to sin, he commits the sin against the Holy Ghost every moment.

That he might destroy the works] The devil then hath his works in the very hearts of the elect, for whose cause Christ came into the world, that he might unravel the devil’s work, break his head, Gen 3:15. The Son of the woman, our Saviour (not the Virgin Mary, as Papists blasphemously affirm, illa conteret tibi caput) breaks the serpent’s head, that first of the devil’s works against mankind: trampled upon him and triumphed over him on the cross, and will tread him under our feet also shortly. But what a bold conceit is that of Josephus, that God, when he said "He shall bruise thy head," meant no more but this, Every son of Eve, whensoever he meeteth with a serpent, shall strike it upon the head, which containeth in it somewhat hurtful to mankind. (Antiq. Judaic, i. 2.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that committeth sin - Habitually, willfully, characteristically.

Is of the devil - This cannot mean that no one who commits any sin, or who is not absolutely perfect, can be a Christian, for this would cut off the great mass, even according to the belief of those who hold that the Christian may be perfectly holy, from all claim to the Christian character. But what the apostle here says is true in two senses:

That all who commit sin, even true believers, so far as they are imperfect, in this respect resemble Satan, and are under his influence, since sin, just so far as it exists at all, makes us resemble him.

(2)All who habitually and characteristically sin are of the devil.” This latter was evidently the principal idea in the mind of the apostle. His object here is to show that those who sinned, in the sense in which it would seem some maintained that the children of God might sin, could have no real evidence of piety, but really belonged to Satan.

For the devil sinneth from the beginning - The beginning of the world; or from the first account we have of him. It does not mean that he sinned from the beginning of his existence, for he was made holy like the other angels. Notes, Jud 1:6. The meaning is, that he introduced sin into the universe, and that he has continued to practice it ever since. The word sinneth here implies continued and habitual sin. He did not commit one act of sin and then reform; but he has continued, and still continues, his course of sin. This may confirm what has been already said about the kind of sin that John refers to. He speaks of sinning habitually, continuously, willfully; and anyone who does this shows that he is under the influence of him whose characteristic it has been and is to sin.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested - Became incarnate, and appeared among people, 1Jo 3:5. Compare the notes at 1Ti 3:16.

That he might destroy the works of the devil - All his plans of wickedness, and his control over the hearts of people. Compare the Mat 8:29 note; Mar 1:24 note; Heb 2:14 note. The argument here is, that as the Son of God came to destroy all the works of the devil, he cannot be his true follower who lives in sin.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The devil sinneth from the beginning: not that he was created in sin, but sined soon after he was created. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He that committeth sin: the apostle’s notion of committing sin may be interpreted by his own phrase, 3Jo 1:11, ο κακοποιων, a doer of evil; and by that, used in both Testaments, a worker of iniquity; which is not every one that doth any one single act of sin; as his ο ποιων δικαιοσυνην, 1Jo 3:7, a doer of righteousness, and ο αγαθοποιων, 3Jo 1:11, a doer of good, is not every one that doth any one righteous or good action; any more than we call him a worker or maker of any thing, (as signifying a manual occupation), who only makes a single attempt, but him who hath acquired the habitual skill, and doth ordinarily employ himself accordingly. A worker or maker of sin, (as we may fitly render this ο ποιων την αμαρτιαν), is an habitual or customary sinner; one that sinneth with deliberation, not by surprise, from a prevailing habit, that either continueth him in a course of actual known sin, or that withholds him from repenting sincerely, and turning to God from the sin which he hath committed; by which repentance he should not only refrain from further gross acts of sin, (which an impenitent person upon other inducements may do), but mortify and prevail against all sinful habits and inclinations. In the same sense he useth the expression of sinning, 1Jo 3:6,9. And such a sinner, he says,

is of the devil; as if he were born of him, were his child, really conformed to him, and having his sinning nature. As our Saviour tells the Jews, having applied to them the same phrase before of committing sin, Joh 8:34, that they were of their father the devil, Joh 8:44. As also this apostle, 3Jo 1:11, says: He that doeth good is of God, i.e. born of God, or his child; as we find he uses the expressions of being born of God, and being of God, promiscuously, and with indifference, 1Jo 3:9,10; 5:18,19, the latter being elliptical in reference to the former. Whereas sin was therefore originally the devil’s work, he adds, (as a further engagement against it), that

the Son of God was manifested, (as 1Jo 3:5) appeared in the flesh, showed himself in this world of ours, on purpose

to destroy, or (as the word signifies) that he might dissolve the frame of all such works.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Committeth sin—The opposite of doeth righteousness in previous verse, and both are in the continuous present tense, referring not to single subordinate acts, but to predominant practice.

Of the devil—The practiser of sin is not a justified Christian, but a sinner, and is of the devil.

Sinneth—The continuous present again; the devil sinneth from the beginning, even to the ending.

Destroy—Not matter as the essence of sin, but the actual works of the devil, performed in his own person and through his agents. This does not mean to abolish the penalty of sin, which is a work of divine justice.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The contrary position given to make the statement clear and emphatic. The devil oJ diabolov is the great accuser or slanderer, as in Job 1 and 2 (comp. Joh_13:2; Rev_2:10 Rev_12:9, 12 20:2, 10) The devil sinneth from the beginning ajp ajrchv. From the beginning of what? From the beginning of sin. The devil was the first sinner, and has never ceased to sin. Other answers are: from the beginning

(1) of the devil,

(2) of the creation,

(3) of human history.

Some of these are scarcely in harmony with Scripture; none, perhaps, fit the context so well as the explanation adopted. If the devil committed the first sin, and has sinned unceasingly ever since, then whoever sins is akin to him, is morally his offspring. (Joh_8:44) There is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the evil one, and man cannot find or make a third domain; if he is not in the one he is in the other. This verse, like Joh_8:44, seems to be conclusive as to the personal existence of the devil. Ek tou diabolou balances ejk tou Qeou: if the one is a mere personification of a tendency, why not the other? Both should be personal or neither. "It is not true that St. John speaks so confidently of a devil because he was a Jew and was filled with Hebrew opinions. For once that the devil is introduced in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, he is spoken of twenty times in any Gospel or Epistle" (Maurice), and not least in the Gentile Luke. With the latter half of verse 8. comp, verse 5. Christ"s act in removing our sins from us destroys the devil"s works; for by the manifestation of the Light (Joh_1:5) the darkness is dispersed and destroyed. Our sins are the evil one"s works: what is sin in us is his natural occupation. (For luein in the sense of unbinding or dissolving, and therefore destroying a use specially frequent in St. John (comp. Joh_2:19 Joh_5:18 Joh_7:23 Joh 10:35) The fanerwsiv includes the whole work of Christ on earth.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that committeth sin is a child of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning - That is, was the first sinner in the universe, and has continued to sin ever since. The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil - All sin. And will he not perform this in all that trust in him?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

That is, "So far as a man sinneth, so far he is of the devil, and like unto him, in whom sin is predominant: he having been an old sinner, soon after the beginning of the creation, and a bold tempter to sin all his days."

Learn, 1. That Satan has kept in a constant and continued course of sinning against God from the beiginning of his apostacy, and first moment of his revolt from God; the devil sinneth from the beginning.

Learn, 2. That such as make sin their work, do make themselves the devil’s children; they are his children by imitation: Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the works of your father ye will do.

As if he had said, "The Son of God came purposely into the world to destroy sin, the work of the devil, in all that he will save.

Note, 1. The odious character wherewith sin is branded, it is the work of the devil; that work which he is always doing himself; and which he is continually tempting and soliciting others to do, that they may be as miserable as himself.

Note, 2. Our Saviour’s manifestation in the flesh asserted; the Son of God was manifested, namely, to the world, and in the world; he appeared in our nature, and was seen in our flesh; it was a real exhibition, and not an imaginary manifestation of him.

Note, 3. The great end of this gracious manifestation of the Son of God in our nature, it was to destroy the works of the devil, to loose and dissolve; so the original: This supposes mankind to have been in bonds and fetters; we were in durance and captivity, shut and locked up in the prison-house; we were under the dominion of sin, and power of Satan, but the Son of God came to rescue us, to knock off our fetters, and to set us at liberty: By the works of the devil understand all sin in general.

2. Those sins in particular, which have most of the devil’s image upon them, and render persons most like unto him, such are malice and envy, rejoicing at the calamities, and delighting in the evils, that befall others, rage and passion, bitter strife and contention, schism and faction, lying and falshood, craft and treachery; but especially pride and haughtiness, which was the sin that turned Satan out of heaven, and made him a devil in hell.

3. By the works of the devil here are meant in particular, idolatry, and all idolatrous worship, even to the worshipping of the devil himself; this, and all other kinds of idolatry, had strangely prevailed and over-run the world before the coming of Christ, who came on purpose to deliver mankind from this slavery, and to put down the kingdoms of Satan, and beat him out of those strong-holds which he thought had been impregnable; The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. He that committeth sin is of the devil. A sinful life is a proof of the devil's power. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and it is his work to destroy sin in all his disciples.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

8. ὁ ποιῶν τ. ἁμαρτ. He that doeth sin, as in 1Jn 3:4, to bring out the contrast with ‘he that doeth righteousness.’ Qui facit peccatum. The first half of this verse is closely parallel to the second half of 1Jn 3:7. The habitual doer of sin has the devil as the source (ἐκ), not of his existence, but of the evil which rules his existence and is the main element in it. “The devil made no man, begat no man, created no man: but whoso imitates the devil, becomes a child of the devil, as if begotten of him. In what sense art thou a child of Abraham? Not that Abraham begat thee. In the same sense as that in which the Jews, the children of Abraham, by not imitating the faith of Abraham, are become children of the devil” (S. Augustine). Jerome (Hom. in Jerem. vi.) quotes this passage thus; Omnis qui facit peccatum, ex zabulo natus est. Neither the omnis nor the natus is in the Vulgate or in the Greek. The form zabulus occurs in MSS. of Cyprian and Lactantius, and also in Hilary and Ambrose: it is not found in the Vulgate. (With zabulus for διάβολος comp. ζάχολος, ζαπληθής, ζάπυρος, ζάπλουτος, ζάχρυσος: and zeta for δίαιτα.) Jerome continues; Toties ex zabulo nascimur, quoties peccamus. Infelix iste qui semper generatur a zabulo. Rursumque multum beatus qui semper ex Deo nascitur. It is one of the characteristics of these closing words of N.T. that they mark with singular precision the personality of Satan, and his relation to sin, sinners, and redemption from sin.

ὄτι ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ὁ δ. ἁμ. Because from the beginning the devil sinneth. Ab initio diabolus peccat (Vulgate): a primordio delinquit (Tertullian). ‘From the beginning’ stands first for emphasis. What does it mean? Various explanations have been suggested. (1) From the beginning of sin. The devil was the first to sin and has never ceased to sin. (2) From the beginning of the devil. This comes very near to asserting the Gnostic and Manichaean error of two co-eternal principles or Creators, one good and one evil. The very notion of sin involves departure from what is good. The good therefore must have existed first. To avoid this, (3) from the beginning of the devil as such, i.e. from the time of his becoming the devil, or (4) from the beginning of his activity; which is not very different from (3) if one believes that he is a fallen angel, or from (2) if one does not. (5) From the beginning of the world. (6) From the beginning of the human race. The first or last seems best. “The phrase ‘From the beginning’ intimates that there has been no period of the existence of human beings in which they have not been liable to the assaults of this Tempter; that accusations against God, reasons for doubting and distrusting Him, have been offered to one man after another, to one generation after another. This is just what the Scripture affirms; just the assumption which goes through the book from Genesis to the Apocalypse.” (Maurice.) Note the present tense: not he has sinned, but he is sinning; his whole existence is sin.

ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. In special contrast to those habitual sinners who are morally the children of the devil. Origen here gives the reading γεγέννηται, which is probably a mere slip of memory. There seems to be no trace of it elsewhere. The metaphor in ἵνα λύσῃ has probably nothing to do with loosening bonds or snares. All destruction is dissolution. The word in a figurative sense is a favourite one with the Apostle: comp. Joh 2:19; Joh 5:18; Joh 7:23; Joh 10:35, where either notion, loosening or dissolving, is appropriate. Comp. χρῄζω οὖν πραότητος, ἐν ἧ καταλύεται ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου (Ign. Trall. IV). The ἔργα of the devil are the sins which he causes men to commit. Christ came to undo these sins, to ‘take away’ both them and their consequences. They are the opposite of τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ (Joh 9:3), the same as τὰ ἔργα τοῦ σκότους (Rom 13:12).

The recognition of the personality of the devil in this passage is express and clear, as in Joh 8:44, where we have Christ’s declaration on the subject. It is there implied that he is a fallen being; for he ‘did not stand firm in the truth’ (οὐκ ἔστηκεν). He is here the great opponent of the Son of God manifest in the flesh and the author of men’s sins. In both passages he appears as morally the parent of those who deliberately prefer evil to good. Nothing is said either as to his origin, or the origin of moral evil.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8.] The contrast is again stated, and introduced by a solemn warning not to be misled respecting it: and, as usually in St. John’s repetitions, a new feature is brought in, which the following verses take up and further treat: viz. ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν.

8.] Contrast to ver. 7: cf. ὁ ποιῶν … ὁ ποιῶν: but here by the necessity of the case, when a positive assertion comes to be made respecting the sinner, the new element ἐκ τ. διαβ. ἐστίν is introduced: see below. He that doeth sin is of the devil (notice first ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, as indicative not so much of individual acts as of a state, corresponding to ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην. And then ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν must not be rationalized away, as is done by those who deny the personal existence of the devil. It is the distinct opposite correlative of ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν (ver. 10 al. freq.), and implies a personal root and agency just as much as that other does. But again, it does not imply any physical dualism on the part of the Apostle. “Neminem fecit diabolus,” says Aug. h. l. Tract. iv. 10, 11, vol. iii. p. 2011, “neminem genuit, neminem creavit; sed quicunque fuerit imitatus diabolum, quasi de illo natus, fit filius diaboli, imitando, non proprie nascendo.… Omnes peccatores ex diabolo nati sunt, in quantum peccatores. Adam a Deo factus est; sed quando consensit diabolo, ex diabolo natus est, et tales omnes genuit qualis erat.…” And below, § 11, “Ergo duas nativitates attendite, Adam et Christi. Duo sunt homines, sed unus ipsorum homo homo, alter ipsorum homo Deus. Per hominem hominem peccatores sumus, per hominem Deum justificamur. Nativitas illa dejecit ad mortem, ista nativitas erexit ad vitam: nativitas illa trahit secum peccatum, nativitas ista liberat a peccato: ideo enim venit Christus homo, ut solveret peccata hominum.” Origen (in Joan. tom. xx. 13, vol. iv. p. 325 d) remarks that ἐστίν is said ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, not ἐπὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, and on the other hand γεγεννημένος is said ἐπὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, not ἐπὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου. This must not be urged too far, seeing that St. John does speak of εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, e. g. ch. 5:19, and places over against one another the τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ and the τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου ver. 10: besides which, the devil is said to be ὁ πατήρ of the unbelieving (Joh 8:44). All that we can say is, that the two are not strictly correspondent: that Origen’s latter assertion is true—we have no γεγεννῆσθαι ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου. In the case of the children of God, there is a definite time, known to Him, when they passed from death unto life (ch. 2:29, 3:14, 5:11; Joh 1:12, Joh 1:3:3 ff., Joh 1:5:24, &c.): from which their new life unto God dates: but there is no such point in the life of those who are the children of the devil: no regeneration from beneath corresponding to that from above: the natural life of men is not changed by seed of the devil as it is by seed of God. Rather may we say, that in those who are of the devil this latter change has never taken place. Since sin has come to reign in the world by man’s sin, our natural birth, which is properly and essentially a birth from God, a creation by the eternal Word, has become a birth from the devil: so that it is, as Bengel expresses it, “corruptio, non generatio,” and there is no trace of a physical dualism in St. John’s doctrine: nay, the idea is at once precluded by the fact that according to the Apostle (Joh 1:12) those who are children of God have become so from having been children of the devil. See this expounded, as usual, in Düsterd.’s note, from which much of the above is gathered): because the devil sinneth from the beginning (= ‘sinned in the beginning, and has never ceased to sin since:’ as Bede: “cum præmitteret ‘ab initio,’ subjunxit verbum præsentis temporis ‘peccat:’ quia ex quo ab initio cœpit diabolus peccare, nunquam desiit.” But the question meets us, what is ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς? Bede, al., understand it of the beginning of all creation: “neque enim dubitandum est inter primas creaturas angelos esse conditos; sed cæteris ad laudem Creatoris gloriam suæ conditionis referentibus, ille qui primus est conditus, mox ut altitudinem suæ claritatis aspexit, contra conditorem cum suis sequacibus superbus intumuit, perque eandem superbiam ex initio peccans, de archangelo in diabolum est versus.” Many Commentators, to avoid all chance of dualism, make it mean not from the time of his creation, but from that of his fall: so Estius, understanding the ἀρχή of the beginning of our world: “statim a mundi creatione diabolum peccasse, cum prius nullum esset in mundo peccatum:” Calvin, “nihil aliud vult Johannes, quam diabolum statim a creatione mundi fuisse apostatam.” But again, others suppose the term to mark the beginning of the devil’s own apostasy: so Bengel, “ex quo diabolus est diabolus,” Sander, al. And lastly, Lücke, De Wette, Brückner, Düsterd., Neander, take it with Seb.-Schmidt, “ab initio τοῦ peccare,” from the time when any began to sin. And this seems, when we compare Joh 8:44, to be the true interpretation. He has ever been the depositary, as it were, of the thought and the life of sin: the tempter to sin: the fountain out of which sin has come, as God is the fountain out of which has come righteousness. See on this subject, my Sermons on Divine Love, Serm. v. pp. 68 ff., “the First Sinner;” and Sartorius, “Lehre von der heiligen Liebe,” i. pp. 115 ff.). To this end was the Son of God manifested (viz. in His incarnation, pregnant with all its consequences), that He might destroy (do away, break up, pull down: see reff.: of a building, or a law, or an organized whole) the works of the devil (what are these? Clearly, in the first place, works whereof the devil is the author: not as Baumg.-Crus., merely devilish works. And then, are we to include in the list not only sins, which manifestly belong to it, but also the consequences of sin, pain, sorrow, death? The fact would be true if we did: for Christ hath abolished death (2Ti 1:10): and Estius’s objection need not have any weight with us, “mors peccatum non est, sed pœna peccati, Deum habens auctorem.… Destruitur mors per Christum, non quod ipsa sit opus diaboli sed quod ex opere diaboli justo Dei judicio subsecuta:” for even thus considered, it would be implicitly one of those works. But the context seems to require that we should at all events keep death and the results of sin in the background, as no mention is made of them here, and sinful works are clearly in the Apostle’s mind. These works the whole φανέρωσις of Christ went directly to nullify: more especially His Death, in which His power over Satan reached its highest point,—the bruising of His heel, in which He bruised the Enemy’s head:—for it was in that, that He won for us that acceptance which is sealed by His glorification, and in virtue of which the Holy Spirit is given us, of whose work in us it is said that we πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατοῦμεν, Rom 8:13).

9,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν] The contrast to 7b. He whose whole course of action is the expression of “sin,” belongs to the Devil, from whom the life which animates him is derived, as the higher life which issues in righteousness proclaims its possessor a τέκνον θεοῦ.

ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν] Cf. Bede, “Non carnis originem ducendo ex diabolo sicut Manichaeus impurissime de cunctis credit hominibus: sed imitationem uel suggestionem peccandi sumendo ab illo, quomodo et nos filii Abrahae sumus facti, imitando fidem Abrahae,” a suggestive note, though it ignores the nearer illustrations of the context.

ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς] The meaning of ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς has been variously interpreted. It has generally been understood either of (1) the beginning of “sinning,” i.e. the Fall of Adam, or events which preceded the first sin of man; or (2) the beginning of the existence of the Devil. His first act was one of sin. The uncertainty of both these interpretations has led Rothe and others to give the phrase a logical rather than a temporal meaning. “Satan sins, the author would say, ‘par principe,’ for the sake of sinning. Other sinners sin for the sake of another. In contrast to him all human sin is derived.” Whether the actual phrase can bear such an interpretation or not, the point of view of the readers has surely been overlooked. The writer must have intended a meaning which the words could suggest to them. The phrase must therefore be interpreted in accordance with Joh 8:44, Joh 8:1:1; Gen 1:1, etc. The attempt to assign a definite date, so to speak, is a mistake. “The earliest times spoken of Genesis” would perhaps be the nearest popular paraphrase. “From the first” would give its meaning with fair accuracy. It denotes the earliest events which have any bearing on the point at issue. From the very first, long before the first actual sin of any man, “the devil sinneth,” and the course begun from the first has been continued ever since. All human sin, therefore, has its origin in what is external to the man who sins. It comes from an external source. It is not self-originated or part of man’s nature. As Westcott has said elsewhere, “There is no view of human nature so inexpressibly sad as that which leaves out the Fall.” As also F. D. Maurice has said, “There has been no period of the existence of human beings in which they have not been liable to the assaults of this Tempter.”

There is nothing in the passage to suggest that the writer held a “dualistic” view of the origin of evil, considering the Devil “an originally evil being”; but it is manifest that he believed in a personal Tempter. Cf. Joh 8:44.εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη κ.τ.λ.] All such action is in direct opposition to the purpose of the Incarnation of the Son of God, who was manifested in the flesh in order to destroy the works of the Devil, i.e. the sins which he has introduced into the lives of men.

λύσῃ] “destroy.” The word generally includes the suggestion of destroying, undoing or dissolving, that which forms the bond of cohesion. Cf. Joh 2:19, Joh 5:18, Joh 7:23 (the Lord “dissolved” the Jewish sabbatical tradition by applying to the question the higher principle of the duty of restoring man to his true self). Windisch aptly quotes the λογίον of the Egyptian Gospel, ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὰ ἔργα τῆς θηλείας.

ο 1o] + δε A 25, 68 kscr tol. boh-ed. arm. aeth. Lcif.

λυση] λυσεί B 100: λυθη P.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Devil. See on 2 13. Compare Joh 8:44. "The devil made no one, he begot no one, he created no one; but whosoever imitates the devil, is, as it were, a child of the devil, through imitating, not through being born of him" (Augustine).

Sinneth. The present tense indicates continuousness. He sinned in the beginning, and has never ceased to sin from the beginning, and still sinneth. The Son of God. For the first time in the Epistle. Hitherto the title has been the Son, or His Son. See on 1 7.

Might destroy [λυση] . Lit., dissolve, loosen. Compare Act 27:41; Act 13:43. "The works of the devil are represented as having a certain consistency and coherence. They show a kind of solid front. But Christ, by His coming, has revealed them in their complete unsubstantiality. He has 'undone' the seeming bonds by which they were held together" (Westcott).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.