“ We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18, ESV).
My Dear Loved Ones in Christ Jesus,
It was back in 1974 when I was first exposed to the New American Standard Translation of the Bible (the 1963 edition funded by the Lockman Foundation). A high school classmate gave one to me for Christmas that year, and I was immediately hooked!
Up until that time, like many of you, I was reading the KJV. One of the things that was so beneficial about the NASB was that the translators saw fit to capitalize certain personal pronouns for the sake of clarity. In fact, in the preface to my edition of the NASB there is the note that, “ Personal pronouns are capitalized when referring to Deity.”
As you know, in the original language of the New Testament, there was no capitalization employed at all. And, furthermore, there was also a complete lack of punctuation! That means no capitalized words, no periods, not commas, no chapter or verse divisions, and no spaces between words!! Just imagine trying to read such a version. A verse from one of the original New Testament books would have looked something like this using English letters:
hellomynameismikeandiamfromhun
Well, thank the Lord for the work of Bible translators!
I bring this up today because the verse quoted from 1 John 5 above is one of those places where the capitalization of pronouns makes a significant difference in how we read and understand the verse. Let me show you what I mean.
Here is the way the KJV translation of 1 John 5:18 reads:
“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”
You can see that, despite the Old English ‘eths,’ the KJV and the more recent ESV, read somewhat alike. Both speak of “ he” who was born of God, little h. On initial glance, it is not so clear who is being referenced here. Who is the one that is born of God? Is it speaking of the believer himself, or someone else?
In this verse, the Apostle John is discussing the believer’s relationship to sin, and the nature of one’s new life in Christ. And he makes the claim that those who are genuinely redeemed do not (and cannot!) make a habit of sinning with impunity, or living comfortably in the life-style of sin and rebellion against God. This is the meaning of the phrase, “ no one who has been born of God sins” (NASB). Some NT Greek scholars render this phrase as, “ no one who has been born of God practices sin.” That is, none of us who have been saved by God’s triumphant grace will be comfortable, at home with, a life of persistent sinning against our Lord.
But why is this so? How is it that we are not overcome by sin? How is it that we don’t fall into such persistent rebellion against our God and Father? Why are we addressed in Romans 8:37 as those who “ overwhelmingly conquer” all evil? How can this be when we feel so weak and overwhelmed? How can this be true of us when we find ourselves tempted, attacked, and seduced not only by the world and the Devil, but by our own fleshly impulses? How are we conquerors when we are so frequently cast down, seemingly on the edge of collapse, treading that razor thin margin between faithfulness and compromise?
Well, here is where a simple capitalized pronoun makes all the difference in the world!
Notice how the following translations punctuate this same verse:
“ We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him” (NASB).
“ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (NIV, 1973).
And then, the Phillips Translation makes it even clearer:
“ We know that the true child of God does not sin, he is in the charge of God’s own Son and the evil one must keep his distance.”
Who keeps who from being hopelessly overwhelmed by temptation, adversity, doubt, and that awful host of other such enemies of our faith in Christ? It is none other than our Lord Jesus Himself! He will not let the evil touch us. He will keep us safe! He will deliver us from all harm!
The safety, strength, and the provision that we need today, and will need in the tumultuous days that are ahead, do not come from us! And if it were up to us, then Satan would surely “ sift” us “ like wheat” (Luke 22:31). For, as our dear Lord bluntly explained, “ apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NASB).
However, with one word, “ he,” or “ He,” the beloved Apostle John comforts us with the truth that it is because we have Jesus, or rather, because Jesus has us, that we shall overcome!
One little two-letter pronoun. One capitalized word. It changes everything!
Take encouragement today from this infallible truth: Jesus holds you in His hands. He holds His Church in His hands. You are loved and protected by the One who is King, the King! And in Him, and because of Him, we “ overwhelmingly conquer”! Everything depends upon His strength, His faithfulness, His grace, and His unceasing intercession for us! And since this is true, we can live this day, and this coming new week, with joy and peace!
I love you all, each and every one, with all my heart!
Mike