He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
All Commentaries on 1 John 3:8 Go To 1 John 3
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
He who committeth sin is of the devil, because he follows his practices and suggestions. To be of the devil is to imitate the devil. For, as S. Augustine says, "The devil made no Prayer of Manasseh , begat no Prayer of Manasseh , but whoever imitates the devil, is born of him, by imitating him, and not actually by being born of him." He then who sinneth is of the devil as his follower and imitator, and not, as the Manichees dreamed, as being descended from him. There is a similar phrase, Ezek. xvi3 , respecting wicked Jews.
For the devil sinneth from the beginning, not from the first moment of his creation, but shortly after it. And this was the beginning of sin. As S. Augustine says (in loc.) and S. Cyril (Catech. ii.), the devil is the beginning of sin, and the father of the wicked. To which Didymus adds, "He infuses the first suggestions of sin, and lastly he perseveres in his sin," as the Ps. [lxxiv. ult.] says, "The price of them that hate Thee ever rises up."
S. John alludes to his own Gospel, John 8:44; on which Isidorus (De Summo. Bono, i3) remarks, "He abode not in the truth, because he fell as soon as he was made. He was created in the truth, but by not standing therein he fell from the truth." To which Bede adds, "He never ceased to sin, unrestrained either by his enormous sufferings, nor by the dread of sufferings to come. And Hebrews , therefore, who neglects to keep himself from sin is rightly said to be from him." He explains further that his sin was pride, and rebellion against God.
For this Purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. To loose, that Isaiah , for sins are the cords which the devil twines, to entangle and ensnare the sinner. See Proverbs 5:22; Isaiah 5:10. And Christ gave His Apostles power to burst those bonds asunder.
It is clear from this that Christ would not have been incarnate if Adam had not sinned, though some of the Schoolmen think otherwise. But both Scripture and the Fathers give no other reason for His Incarnation than our redemption from sin. See Nicene Creed. And the Church sings at the blessing of the Paschal candle (using the words of S. Gregory), 0 most necessary sin of Adam, which was blotted out by the death of Christ0 blessed sin which required so great a Redeemer. So S. Ambrose, S. Augustine, S. Leo, and others.
