1 John 3:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Everyone who commits sin, because he sins, is of the devil and is called a son of the devil. Thus the Apostle Paul said to Elymas, "Son of the devil, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10). Clearly, the one born of God, being a son of God, does not sin, because his seed is God's. This means either the Spirit, whom we have received through the gift of which we were deemed worthy. Abiding in us, He makes our mind unwilling to admit sin. Or it means Christ Himself, who dwells in believers and makes them sons of God. So too Christ Himself, in the seed of Abraham, is the Son of Abraham (Mt 1:1). And it is said that in Abraham's seed, that is, in Christ, the nations shall be blessed (Gen 12:3; Gal 3:16). Chrysostom's explanation.

Now, of course, everything is clear from his words, including who does not love his brother. This means that love alone marks the difference between the sons of God and the sons of the devil. Let all be marked with the sign of Christ's Cross. Let all answer, "Amen." Let all sing, "Alleluia." Let all receive baptism, enter the churches, and build the walls of basilicas. Yet only by love are the sons of God distinguished from the sons of the devil. He who has love is born of God. In this lies the most important sign. In this lies the great distinction. Let you have anything whatever. If you lack this one thing, nothing else benefits you. But if you have nothing else, and possess only this, you have fulfilled the law.

The first author of sin and father of evil (see Jn 8:44) is the devil. The Lord said this, not I. For the devil sinned from the beginning (1 Jn 3:8). Before him no one had sinned. He sinned, not because he had received from nature a necessary inclination toward sin. Otherwise, the cause of sin would fall upon Him who created him such. Rather, having been created good, he made himself the devil by his own free choice. He received this name from his deeds. For although he was an archangel, afterward, because of his slander, he was called the devil. Though from the beginning he was a good servant of God, he received for himself the fitting name Satan.

Only love distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil. Those in whom love exists are born of God. Those in whom it does not exist are not of God. If you have everything whatever, but do not have love, nothing will profit you. Conversely, if you have nothing, but have love, you have everything, and you have fulfilled the law. Everyone who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The fullness of the law is love.

Summarizing what was said above about the difference between those regenerated into the life of grace and those not regenerated, the Apostle says: "The children of God and the children of the devil are recognized in this way." That is, they are recognized by their inward disposition, or spirit, and by their works. The children of God do not give themselves over to grave sins. They do not lead a sinful life or become slaves of sin, for they are led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14). But the children of the devil carelessly surrender to sins, following sinful desires or lusts, and do not fulfill God's commandments. The children of God, loving God, also love their neighbors. The children of the devil, having no love for God, do not love their neighbors, who were created in the image of God.

Since the regenerated are distinguished by such sharp signs from the unregenerated, for whom the light of grace seems not to exist, and who roll in the abyss of sin. One attentive to himself and to others will always be able to indicate who among us is worthy to be called a son of God, and who is a son of the devil. Let each enter into himself, and your conscience will tell you who you are. It will tell you where your lot is and where your inheritance is. Is it in the mansions of the heavenly Father and with the choirs of the saints? Or is it in Tartarus and the unquenchable fire? Impress this truth upon your heart: everyone who turns aside from the laws of God's righteousness and does not love his neighbor does not belong to the company of God's elect. He is not of God.

By the construction of the discourse, this verse is divided into two halves. The first may be referred to what precedes, and the last to what follows. Or both may be regarded as one complete sentence. If the first half is separated from the second, it may be interpreted according to the structure of the discourse in this way. This is how the children of God are distinguished from the sons of the devil. They are distinguished by the traits that the Apostle has set forth and explained above (vv. 1-9). Thus this first half of the verse may be regarded as a summary or conclusion of what has been said in verses 1 through 9 of this chapter.

The sign of our sonship before God, in relation to our neighbors, is brotherly love (1 Jn 3:10-15). “Everyone who does not practice righteousness,” that is, the sinner, “is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother” (1 Jn 3:10). This means that the clearest and surest sign of our sonship before God must be our love for our neighbor. According to the Apostle, this love constitutes the very essence of all our righteousness before God. He identifies practicing righteousness with loving one’s neighbor. What ground is there, then, for placing all our righteousness before God in loving one’s brother?

Having depicted holy and corrupt life as two opposed realms, the Apostle presents God as the Lord of light and goodness, and the devil as the ruler of sin. Therefore, just as those who act according to truth are called children of God, so all who live sinfully are called children of the devil. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do" (Jn 8:44). Jesus Christ Himself said this of the Jews who did not believe in Him and were corrupt. Sin lives in the mortal being of man like an evil seed, and it bears fruit according to its kind. But this seed, in its first appearance, owes much to the devil's temptation. He also contributes much to the growth of man's sinfulness and its evil fruits.

The characteristic mark of the children of God, as distinct from the children of the devil, is not only personal righteousness. It is also love for neighbors and faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He truly came to earth in the flesh, not in appearance, and suffered for the sins of the world. Therefore the Apostle exhorts Christians not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits, whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (ch. 4).

Since he who does justice is born of God, it follows that he who does not have justice, because he does not practice it and bears hatred toward his brother, is in no way born of God, except in the sense that he is not born of Him.