Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him.
He reasons from Christ's own entire separation from sin, that those in him must also be separate from it. abideth in him--as the branch in the vine, by vital union living by His life. sinneth not--In so far as he abides in Christ, so far is he free from all sin. The ideal of the Christian.
The apostle, having alleged the believer's obligation to purity from his hope of heaven, and of communion with Christ in glory at the day of his appearance, now proceeds to fill his own mouth and the believer's mind with multiplied arguments against sin, and all communion with the impure unfruitful works of darkness. And so he reasons and argues, I.
Commenting on 1 John 3:4-10
Verse 6. Whosoever abideth in him. See . The word here employed (μενων) properly means to remain, to continue, to abide. It is used of persons remaining or dwelling in a place, in the sense of abiding there permanently, or lodging there, and this is the common meaning of the word, , et saepe.