And now – for one of the most misinterpreted verses in the entire Bible. Please do not try to understand it in the light of personal experience.
1 John 3:9
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.
It is essential for believers to keep in mind that the above verse is speaking of the new nature – not the old nature – because the old nature was not born of God. The old nature is born of fallen man, and it is completely depraved. The new nature is born of God, and it is completely holy. The two natures are present in every born again Christian.
what does the Bible say about the new nature?
1. The new nature does not sin, because it is the product of the seed of God. [see above verse]
2. The new nature does not sin, because it is the divine nature of God, and since God can not sin, the new nature that issues from His Holy Seed can not sin. 2 Peter 1:4 – Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
what does the bible say about the old nature?
1. The old nature will sin any time we allow it to sin. Rom. 6:12 – Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. If you are born again, you will continue under the old nature 1 Cor. 9:27 – But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. by not yielding to the desires of the flesh – or the old nature will keep you under, and you will live a defeated Christian life. Rom. 8:13 – For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
2. There is nothing good in the old nature. Nothing whatsoever. Rom. 7:18 – For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. The power to live a righteous life cannot be found in the old nature, it can only be found in the new nature. Gal. 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The Vine Vigil 