translation_id: net-engnet

label: NET translator note

text: According to BDAG 255 s.v. δοκιμάζω 1 the verb means “to make a critical examination of someth. to determine genuineness, put to the test, examine .”


text: The phrase “to determine” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.


text: “False prophets” refers to the secessionist opponents (compare 2:19 ).


text: There is no subordinating conjunction following the ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) here in 4:2 , so the phrase could refer either (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. Contextually the phrase refers to what follows, because the following clause in 4:2 b-3a ( πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν … ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν , καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ), while not introduced by a subordinating conjunction, does explain the preceding clause beginning with ἐν τούτῳ . In other words, the following clause in 4:2 b-3a is analogous to a subordinate clause introduced by an epexegetical ἵνα ( Jina ) or ὅτι ( Joti ), and the relationship can be represented in the English translation by a colon, “By this you know the Spirit of God : Every Spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every Spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”


text: Or “acknowledges.”


text: and others) read ὁμολογήσῃ αὐτὸν Χριστόν ( Jomologhsh auton Criston ). This structure exactly parallels 1 John 4:2 , and a case can be made that this is actually the preferred reading in John 9:22 ; furthermore, it is clear from the context in John 9:22 that Χριστόν is the complement (what is predicated of the first accusative) since the object (the first accusative) is αὐτόν rather than the proper name ᾿Ιησοῦν . The parallel in John 9:22 thus appears to be clearer than either 1 John 4:2 or 2 John 7 , and thus to prove useful in understanding both the latter constructions.


text: The καί ( kai ) which begins 4:3 introduces the “negative side” of the test by which the spirits might be known in 4:2-3 . Thus it is adversative in force: “every spirit that confesses Jesus as Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every Spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”


text: Or “does not acknowledge.”


label: NET textual note

text: A number of variants are generated from the simple τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν ( ton Ihsoun ), some of which turn the expression into an explicit object-complement construction. ᾿Ιησοῦν κύριον ( Ihsoun kurion , “Jesus as Lord”) is found in א , τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν ( ton Ihsoun Criston , “Jesus as Christ”) is read by the Byzantine minuscules, τὸν Χριστόν (“the Christ”) is the reading of 1846, and ᾿Ιησοῦν without the article is found in 1881 2464. But τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν is well supported by A B Ψ 33 81 1739 al , and internally best explains the rise of the others. It is thus preferred on both external and internal grounds.


text: “Spirit” is not in the Greek text but is implied.


text: “But” supplied here to bring out the context. The conjunction is omitted in the Greek text (asyndeton).


text: The phrase ἐκ τούτου ( ek toutou ) in 4:6 , which bears obvious similarity to the much more common phrase ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ), must refer to what precedes, since there is nothing in the following context for it to relate to, and 4:1-6 is recognized by almost everyone as a discrete unit. There is still a question, however, of what in the preceding context the phrase refers to. Interpreters have suggested a reference (1) only to 4:6 ; (2) to 4:4-6 ; or (3) to all of 4:1-6 . The last is most likely, because the present phrase forms an inclusion with the phrase ἐν τούτῳ in 3:24 which introduces the present section. Thus “by this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit” refers to all of 4:1-6 with its “test” of the spirits by the christological confession made by their adherents in 4:1-3 and with its emphasis on the authoritative (apostolic) eyewitness testimony to the significance of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry in 4:4-6 .


text: This ὅτι ( Joti ) is causal, giving the reason why the readers, as believers, ought to love one another: because love comes from God. The next clause, introduced by καί ( kai ), does not give a second reason (i.e., is not related to the ὅτι clause), but introduces a second and additional thought: Everyone who loves is fathered by God and knows God.


text: As in 2:23 and 3:4 , the author uses πᾶς ( pas ) with the present articular participle as a generalization to describe a category of people. sn From the author’s “either/or” perspective (which tends to see things in terms of polar opposites) the use of a generalization like everyone who presents a way of categorizing the opponents on the one hand and the recipients, whom the author regards as genuine Christians, on the other. Thus everyone who loves refers to all true Christians, who give evidence by their love for one another that they have indeed been begotten by God and are thus God’s children. The opposite situation is described in the following verse, 4:8 , where (although everyone [ πᾶς , pas ] is omitted) it is clear that a contrast is intended.


text: The verb γεννάω ( gennaw ) in this context means to be fathered by God and thus a child of God. The imagery in 1 John is that of the male parent who fathers children (see especially 3:9 and 5:1 ).


text: The author proclaims in 4:8 ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν ( Jo qeo" agaph estin ), but from a grammatical standpoint this is not a proposition in which subject and predicate nominative are interchangeable (“God is love” does not equal “love is God”). The predicate noun is anarthrous, as it is in two other Johannine formulas describing God, “God is light” in 1 John 1:5 and “God is Spirit” in John 4:24 . The anarthrous predicate suggests a qualitative force, not a mere abstraction, so that a quality of God’s character is what is described here.


text: Once again there is the problem of determining whether the phrase ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) refers (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. This is the first of 5 uses of the phrase in the present section ( 4:9, 10, 13, 17; 5:2 ). In this case (as also in the next two instances) there is a ὅτι ( Joti ) clause following which is related and which explains (i.e., which is epexegetical to) the phrase ἐν τούτῳ . Thus the meaning here is, “ By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his only Son into the world in order that we might live through him.”


text: In terms of syntax the force of the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ ( tou qeou ) may be (1) objective, (2) subjective, or (3) both. The phrase occurs for the first time in the letter in 2:5 . Here in 4:9 the epexegetical ὅτι ( Joti ) clause which follows makes it clear that this is a subjective genitive, emphasizing God’s love for us rather than our love for God, because it describes God’s action in sending his Son into the world.


text: This phrase is best understood as the equivalent of a dative of sphere, but this description does not specify where the love of God is revealed with regard to believers: “in our midst” (i.e., among us) or “within us” (i.e., internally within believers). The latter is probable, because in the context the concept of God’s indwelling of the believer is mentioned in 4:12 : “God resides ( μένει , menei ) in us.”


text: Once again there is the (by now familiar) problem of determining whether the referent of this phrase (1) precedes or (2) follows. Here there are two ὅτι ( Joti ) clauses which follow, both of which are epexegetical to the phrase ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) and explain what the love of God consists of: first, stated negatively, “not that we have loved God,” and then positively, “but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”


text: The two ὅτι ( Joti ) clauses are epexegetical to the phrase ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) which begins the verse. sn What is important (as far as the author is concerned) is not whether we love God (or say that we love God – a claim of the opponents is probably behind this), but that God has loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice which removes believers’ sins . This latter point is similar to the point made in 2:2 and is at the heart of the author’s dispute with the opponents, because they were denying any salvific value to Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, including his death on the cross.


text: Grk “and.” The Greek conjunction καί ( kai ) introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.


text: This is a first-class conditional sentence with εἰ ( ei ) + aorist indicative in the protasis. Reality is assumed for the sake of argument with a first-class condition. sn The author here assumes the reality of the protasis (the “if” clause), which his recipients, as believers, would also be expected to agree with: Assuming that God has loved us in this way, then it follows that we also ought to love one another. God’s act of love in sending his Son into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (v. 10 ) ought to motivate us as believers to love one another in a similar sacrificial fashion. The author made the same point already in 1 John 3:16 . But this failure to show love for fellow believers is just what the opponents are doing: In 1 John 3:17 the author charged them with refusing to love their brothers by withholding needed material assistance. By their failure to love the brothers sacrificially according to the example Jesus set for believers, the opponents have demonstrated again the falsity of their claims to love God and know God (see 1 John 2:9 ).


text: The phrase “God resides in us” ( ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει , Jo qeo" en Jhmin menei ) in 4:12 is a reference to the permanent relationship which God has with the believer. Here it refers specifically to God’s indwelling of the believer in the person of the Holy Spirit, as indicated by 4:13 b. Since it refers to state and not to change of status it is here translated “resides” (see 2:6 ).


text: The phrase “his [God’s] love is perfected ( τετελειωμένη ἐστίν , teteleiwmenh estin ) in us” in 4:12 is difficult. First it is necessary to decide whether αὐτοῦ ( autou ), which refers to God, is (1) subjective (God’s love for us) or (2) objective (our love for God). It is clear that a subjective genitive, stressing God’s love for us, is in view here, because the immediate context, 4:11 a, has believers as the objects of God’s love ( ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς , Jo qeo" hgaphsen Jhma" ). The entire phrase ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν τετελειωμένη ἐστίν ( Jh agaph autou en Jhmin teteleiwmenh estin ) then refers to what happens when believers love one another (note the protasis of the conditional sentence in 4:12 , ἐάν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους [ ean agapwmen allhlou" ]). The love that comes from God, the love that he has for us, reaches perfection in our love for others, which is what God wants and what believers are commanded to do (see 3:23 b).


text: Again whether the referent of the phrase ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) (1) precedes or (2) follows is a problem. This time there are two ὅτι ( Joti ) clauses which follow. The first is an indirect discourse clause related to γινώσκομεν ( ginwskomen ) and giving the content of what believers know: “that we reside in him and he in us.” The second ὅτι clause is epexegetical (or explanatory) to the ἐν τούτῳ phrase, explaining how believers know that they reside in God and God remains in them: “in that he has given us of his Spirit.” sn By this we know. According to the author of 1 John, the Father’s giving of the indwelling Holy Spirit to the believer is one means of providing assurance to the believer of his relationship to God. This is what was also stated in 1 John 3:24 b in essentially identical terms.


text: Grk “in him.” Context indicates that the pronoun refers to God (see 4:12 ).


text: Because σωτῆρα ( swthra ) is the object complement of υἱόν ( Juion ) in a double accusative construction in 4:14 , there is an understood equative verb joining the two, with the resultant meaning “the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”


text: Grk “Whoever.”


text: Here μένει ( menei , from μένω [ menw ]) has been translated as “resides” because the confession is constitutive of the relationship, and the resulting state (“God resides in him”) is in view.


text: Both ἐγνώκαμεν ( egnwkamen ) and πεπιστεύκαμεν ( pepisteukamen ) in 4:16 are perfect tenses, implying past actions with existing results. In this case the past action is specified as the recognition of ( ἐγνώκαμεν ) and belief in ( πεπιστεύκαμεν ) “the love which God has in us.” But what is the relationship between the two verbs γινώσκω ( ginwskw ) and πιστεύω ( pisteuw )? (1) Some interpreters would see a different nuance in each. (2) But in the Gospel of John the two verbs frequently occur together in the same context, often in the same tense; examples may be found in John 6:69, 8:31-32, 10:38, 14:7-10, and 17:8 . They also occur together in one other context in 1 John, 4:1-2 . Of these John 6:69 , Peter’s confession, is the closest parallel to the usage here: “We have come to believe [ πεπιστεύκαμεν ] and to know [ ἐγνώκαμεν ] that you are the holy One of God.” Here the order between “knowing” and “believing” is reversed from 1 John 4:16 , but an examination of the other examples from the Gospel of John should make it clear that there is no difference in meaning when the order of the terms is reversed. It appears that the author considered both terms to describe a single composite action. Thus they represent a hendiadys which describes an act of faith/belief/trust on the part of the individual; knowledge (true knowledge) is an inseparable part of this act of faith.


text: The force of the preposition ἐν ( en ) in the phrase ἐν ἡμῖν ( en Jhmin ) in 4:16 a is disputed: Although (1) “for” (in the sense of “on behalf of”) is possible and is a common English translation, the other uses of the same phrase in 4:9 (where it refers to God’s love for us) and 4:12 (where it refers to God’s indwelling of the believer) suggest that (2) the author intends to emphasize interiority here – a reference to God’s love expressed in believers. This is confirmed by the only other uses in 1 John of the verb ἔχω ( ecw ) with the preposition ἐν ( 3:15 and 5:10 ) both of which literally mean something in someone.


text: Once again μένω ( menw ) in its three occurrences in 4:16 looks at the mutual state of believers and God. No change of status or position is in view in the context, so the participle and both finite verbs are translated as “resides.”


text: The referent of ἐν τούτῳ ( en toutw ) here is more difficult to determine than most, because while there are both ἵνα ( Jina ) and ὅτι ( Joti ) clauses following, it is not clear whether or not they are related to the ἐν τούτῳ . There are actually three possibilities for the referent of ἐν τούτῳ in 4:17 : (1) it may refer to the ἵνα clause which immediately follows, so that the love of believers is brought to perfection in that they have confidence in the day of judgment. The main problem with this interpretation is that since the day of judgment is still future, it necessitates understanding the second use of the preposition “in” (second ἐν [ en ]) to mean “about” or “concerning” with reference to the day of judgment in order to make logical sense. (2) The ἐν τούτῳ may refer to the ὅτι clause in 4:17 b, meaning “love is perfected with us… in that just as he [Christ] is, so also are we in this world.” This makes logical sense, and there are numerous cases where ἐν τούτῳ is explained by a ὅτι clause that follows. However, according to this understanding the intervening ἵνα clause is awkward, and there is no other instance of the phrase ἐν τούτῳ explained by a following ὅτι clause where a ἵνα clause intervenes between the two in this way. (3) Thus, the third possibility is that ἐν τούτῳ refers to what precedes in 4:16 b, and this also would make logical sense: “By this – by our residing in love so that we reside in God and he resides in us – is love brought to perfection with us.” This has the additional advantage of agreeing precisely with what the author has already said in 4:12 : “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.” Thus option (3) is best, with the phrase ἐν τούτῳ referring to what precedes in 4:16 b, and the ἵνα clause which follows indicates the result of this perfection of love in believers: In the future day of judgment they will have confidence. The ὅτι clause would then give the reason for such confidence in the day of judgment: because just as Jesus is, so also are believers in this world – they are already currently in relationship with God just as Jesus is.


text: The preposition μετά ( meta ) means “with” and modifies the verb τετελείωται ( teteleiwtai ). If the prepositional phrase modified the noun ἡ ἀγάπη which immediately precedes it, it would almost certainly have the Greek article, thus: ἡ ἀγάπη ἡ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ( Jh agaph Jh meq ’ Jhmwn ). sn To say love is perfected with us means “with regard to our actions in loving our brothers.”


text: Grk “that one” (a reference to Jesus is indicated in the context). Once more the author uses the pronoun ἐκεῖνος ( ekeinos ) to refer to Jesus Christ, as he did in 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, and 16 . A reference to Christ is confirmed in this context because the author says that “just as he is, so also are we [believers] in this world ” and since 3:2 indicated that believers are to be like God in the future (but are not yet), the only one believers can be like already in the present age is Jesus Christ.


text: Grk “punishment, and the person who fears.”


text: “Punishment” is not repeated in the Greek text at this point but is implied.


text: Grk “if anyone should say…”


text: “Yet” is supplied to bring out the contrast.


text: See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9 .


text: The ἵνα ( Jina ) clause in 4:21 could be giving (1) the purpose or (2) the result of the commandment mentioned in the first half of the verse, but if it does, the author nowhere specifies what the commandment consists of. It makes better sense to understand this ἵνα clause as (3) epexegetical to the pronoun ταύτην ( tauthn ) at the beginning of 4:21 and thus explaining what the commandment consists of: “that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”