(Photo by Boris Baldinger on Unsplash. Berean Standard Bible.)
Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Pacific.
In Lesson 91, we are going to study the second part of 1 John 3:9.
Let’s read this part of the verse:
1 John 3:9 …because God’s seed abides in them…
Let’s go over the definitions of the words.
Because (3754. hoti) — introduces the reason or explanation for what has been stated.
God’s (846. autos) — refers to what comes from God or belongs to God.
Seed (4690. sperma) — refers to the source from which life springs. It can describe the life or principle of life that has been implanted.
Abides (3306. menó) — means to remain, continue, dwell, or stay. This is in the present tense.
In (1722. en) — means within.
Them (846. autos) — refers to those who have been born of God.
In other words, John is saying that the reason a person born of God cannot continue in a life dominated by sin is because God has placed a new spiritual life within them. This new life remains in the believer and continually works through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to transform their desires, character, and actions.
John begins this verse with the word "because." He is explaining the reason why someone who has been born of God cannot continue living in a pattern of sin. We studied this in Lesson 90.
When someone is born of God, they do not simply become a slightly improved version of their old self. God gives them a new spiritual life. They receive a new heart, new desires, a new direction, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
This does not mean believers will never sin. Scripture teaches that Christians still struggle with sin and must confess and repent when they fall. God will give them the strength to live a life of holiness and resist sin.
1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Someone who has been born of God cannot remain comfortable living in continual rebellion against Him. God’s life within them changes their relationship with sin. Sin now brings conviction, grief, and ultimately a desire to return to fellowship with God.
Christian growth and maturity are ultimately the result of God’s transforming work within the believer rather than human effort alone. As believers respond in faith, obedience, and dependence on God, the life God has placed within them produces increasing righteousness and a growing desire to reflect His character.
This new life is what John describes as God’s seed. Through the new birth, God implants His life within His children, and that divine life remains in them, producing spiritual growth and an increasing likeness to Christ.
This seed abides in the believer. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, this divine life remains within the believer and continues God's transforming work throughout their life and into eternity.
We read in 2 Peter 1:4 that believers are given God's precious and magnificent promises so that they may become "partakers of the divine nature." This means that through faith in Christ, God gives believers new spiritual life and progressively transforms them by the Holy Spirit to reflect His character. As they grow in Him, they increasingly escape the corruption of the world caused by sinful desires.
2 Peter 1:4 Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read that through Christ, believers become a new creation. God gives them a new identity, a new life, and a new direction. The old life has passed away, and God begins His transforming work within them, making them increasingly more like Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
The believer now possesses a new spiritual life that comes from God. The old life, once enslaved to sin, has been broken, and God gives believers new desires to know, love, and please Him.
The Bible connects this new birth with the Word of God. In 1 Peter 1:23, Peter explains that believers have been born again through the imperishable seed of the living and enduring Word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Just as a physical seed contains life and grows when planted, God’s Word brings spiritual life when it is received into the heart. The Word is the means God uses to bring about the new birth and continues to transform believers as they grow in Him.
James uses the same imagery of God’s Word being planted within us. As believers humbly receive and obey the Word, it continues to shape their hearts and produce spiritual growth.
James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
The Word is not merely heard; it is planted. In the parable of the sower, Jesus explains that the Word enters the heart, takes root, grows, and produces fruit in those who receive it. God’s Word brings His life into us, and that life continues transforming us into the image of Christ.
Luke 8:11, 15 Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 15 But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.
God’s seed works together with the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel 36:26-27 God promises to give His people a new heart and a new spirit. Through the new covenant, God places His Spirit within believers, who works in them by convicting, transforming, teaching, and leading them away from sin and toward obedience to God.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.
In Genesis 1:11, we see the imagery of a seed. When God created plants and trees, He established a principle in creation: a seed produces according to its kind. In a similar way, when God’s life is placed within a believer, it produces spiritual fruit that reflects His character.
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
Just as a physical seed contains life but takes time to grow into a mature plant, God’s seed within the believer begins a process of transformation. New life begins immediately, but spiritual maturity develops gradually as we remain connected to God, receive His Word, and walk by the Spirit.
God’s desire is for us to grow and mature through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we patiently trust Him, He faithfully works within us, producing spiritual fruit and conforming us to the image of Christ.
As we read in James 5:7–8, spiritual growth requires patience. Just as a farmer plants seed and waits for the harvest, believers must trust that God will continue the work He has begun and bring it to maturity in His perfect timing.
James 5:7–8 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient the farmers are for the fall and spring rains.
We see the idea of a seed at the beginning of the Bible. After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that the seed of the woman would one day defeat Satan, the one who brought sin and death into the world. Although Adam and Eve would be removed from the garden because of their rebellion, God’s promise revealed that He had already planned a Savior who would ultimately overcome the enemy.
This was the first promise of the coming Savior. Satan would strike the heel of Jesus through His suffering and death on the cross, but Jesus would ultimately crush Satan’s power through His resurrection. The promised Seed is Jesus Christ.
Through Christ, God’s victory over sin and Satan is now at work in the believer. When someone places their faith in Jesus, they receive new life through the Holy Spirit. This is the new life John describes as God’s seed abiding within His children. Because God’s seed remains in them, believers are no longer under sin’s dominion but are being transformed to reflect the character of Christ.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
In conclusion, 1 John 3:9 reminds us that the Christian life begins with God’s work. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the promised Seed who defeated sin and Satan, God gives believers new life through the Holy Spirit. Through His Word, He plants His life within us, giving us new desires, a new direction, and a new heart.
God’s seed abides in the believer, changing their relationship with sin. Although Christians still struggle with sin, they are no longer enslaved to it. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to bring conviction, lead us to repentance, and strengthen us to walk in obedience.
Just as a physical seed grows over time and produces fruit according to its nature, God’s life within us gradually produces the character of Christ. As we remain in His Word and walk by His Spirit, God faithfully transforms us from the inside out, growing us toward maturity and conforming us to the image of His Son.
Here’s a prayer to help you to respond to today’s lesson:
Lord, thank You for the new life You have given me through Jesus Christ. Thank You that Your seed abides within me and that You are continually transforming me through Your Word and Your Spirit. Help me turn away from sin, grow in obedience, and produce the fruit that reflects Your character. Continue Your work in me and make me more like Christ each day. Amen.
Let’s read this part of the verse one more time:
1 John 3:9 ...because God’s seed abides in them...
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Thank you and God bless you.
Jeff M Newman
