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What does 1 John 3:9 mean?

Anyone born from God doesn’t keep on sinning, because God’s own life is in them. They can’t keep living that way, because they’re born from God. 1 John 3:9 - Modern Text Bible

(A new birth from God brings a real change — it’s not possible to keep living in the old, sinful way.)

People who are born of God don’t keep repeating the same old sins, because something new has taken root in them. The Greek word for "seed" is sperma, meaning the source of new life or origin. The idea is that a genuine connection to God plants something fundamentally different inside a person, making it impossible to keep living the same way as before.

This pushes back on the belief that people never really change or that our habits define us forever. It claims that new beginnings are possible, and that real transformation starts from the inside out—not just with willpower or effort.

If you’ve ever wished you could break free from old patterns, this verse says it’s possible for something new to grow in you. Change isn’t just about trying harder, but about a new source of life taking hold and making the old ways less and less appealing.