Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 3:5

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin." — 1 John 3:5 (ASV)

In this verse John turns again to the teaching received “from the beginning” and raises two additional arguments against sin as a principle of life. (1) Not only is sin lawlessness (v.4), but Jesus appeared in history in order to remove it (cf. Jn 1:29; Hebrews 9:26). (2) Jesus himself lived a sinless life (cf. 2:1; 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). In this latter statement the author probably is looking in two directions. Because Jesus was sinless, the devil had no hold on him (cf. John 14:30), so that

Jesus was able to destroy the works of the devil (3:8). In addition, Jesus’ sinlessness reveals the kind of lifestyle required for those who abide in him. John uses the present tense to emphasize that sinlessness is characteristic of Jesus’ eternal nature. He was sinless in his preexistence, in his life in the flesh, and in his eternal position as Son.