1 John 3:4 - Exposition

Once more the apostle turns from the positive to the negative. Having shown what birth from God involves, he goes on to show what it excludes. "Every one that doeth sin" evidently balances "every one that hath this hope" ( 1 John 3:3 ), and "to do sin" is the exact opposite of "to do righteousness" ( 1 John 2:29 ). Sin is lawlessness ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία . Both words having the article, the two terms are exactly equivalent—all sin is lawlessness, and all lawlessness is sin. ἀνομία , like "lawlessness,'' expresses the ignoring of the law rather than the absence of it. "The law" means the law of God in the fullest sense, not the Mosaic Law. In short, sin is defined as the transgression of God's will.