4th Annual WML Academic Symposium - Kenneth Vandergriff

The epistle of 1 John stands as a letter to a community in turmoil, concerning divisive teachings from false prophets. It serves as a polemic commentary against proto-Gnostic doctrines, which had become prevalent within the Johannine community. The letter also contains material that is difficult to understand, including radical passages such as 1 John 3:1-12, which suggests that those who are children of God are without the ability to commit sin. To be sure, the idea that a person will completely stop sinning because he or she has been born of God seems impossible to us. This idea, however, may not be as impossible as a quick reading of the text suggests. By engaging apocalyptic thought on the eschaton and the dualism of the present age and the age to come with regards to the nature of sin as understood within the context of 1 John 3 it is possible to make sense of the statement "no one who abides in God keeps on sinning.” Moreover this reinterpretation of the nature of sin in 1 John 3 presents new and daunting challenges to the church today.