1 John

3:1-6

2. God is righteous, 3:1-4:6

i] The family of God

In 3:1-3, John reminds his readers that they are children of God, which, when it comes to the world, isolates the believer. He then picks up on two ideas raised in 2:28-29, namely, the hope of Christ's return and the necessary purity of those who hope. John then goes on to explain that it is purity of life which sets the children of God apart from the children of the evil one.

idete (oJraw) potaphn aor. imp. "How great is [the love]" - just look at what manner of [love]. The construction serves to express a sense of astonishment and invites the reader to identify with the truth being expressed.

dedwken (didwmi) perf. "lavished on" - has given. The opening words emphasize the gift and so "lavish" rather than just "has given" is a better translation.

iJna + subj. "that" - Introducing either a purpose or consequence/result clause. Consequence seems best; "he loves us so much that he lets us be called children of God", CEV.

klhqwmen (kalew) aor. pas. subj. "we should be called" - called, invited. Probably in the sense of "named", "classed as", "designated as"; "given the title and standing of children of God."

tekna (on) "children" - children. The child possesses the nature of the father and therefore, as we are designated the children of God, by grace through faith, we can expect to be treated as Christ is treated and expect to see our lives oriented toward godliness.

auton "him" - Although we would assume John means "Christ", the context implies "God".

oupw efanerwqh (fanerow) aor. pas. "not yet been made known" - it was not yet revealed, manifested. "What we shall be has not yet been revealed", Barclay.

ean + subj. "when" - if. Although grammatically introducing a conditional sentence 3rd class, the strength of "we know that" prompts the relative pronoun + ean + subj. to form "that if" which is translated as "when / whenever"

fanerwqh/ (fanerow) aor. pas. subj. "[when] he appears" - he is manifested. The translation depends on the subject. The NIV takes the subject as Jesus/God, but it could well be "what we will be", in which case the translation would be "when it does become evident."

oJmoioi adj. "[we shall be] like [him]" - like. Reflecting the glory of the Creator. "We only know that if reality were to break through, we should reflect his likeness", Phillips.

autw/ "[like] him" - Like Jesus? Again, the context implies God, therefore we will take on divinity.

oyomeqa (oJraw) fut. "we shall see" - we will see.

elpida (iV, idoV) "hope" - A confident expectation in the promises of God. Note, the hope is "on him", not on some imagined intention or desire.

aJgnizei (aJgnizw) pres. "purifies" - purifies. The word is used for both devotional purity and ethical purity. "This hope makes us keep ourselves holy", CEV.

ekeinoV "he" - that one. Referring to God. Bultmann argues that "he" refers to Jesus, while on the other hand, commentators like Pink argue it refers to God.

oJ poiwn pres. part. "[everyone] who [sins]" - [all] the ones doing [the sin]. Participle as a substantive. "Everyone who commits sin", NRSV; "to commit sin is to break God's law", Barclay.

poiei (poiew) "breaks [the law]" - does [lawlessness]. "Is guilty of lawlessness", NRSV.

kai hJ aJmartia estin hJ anomia "in fact, sin is lawlessness" - and sin is lawlessness. "In fact" is rightly "and", although some suggest "for."

oidate (oida) perf. "you know" - know. Obviously, know by means of communication, from both divine revelation and Christian teachers. The knowledge of Christ's atonement is not something that can be worked out through human reasoning.

oJti "that" - because, since, that. Most often "because/for", but when introducing a noun clause, dependent statement of perception, "that". Here defining the content of the knowledge.

ekeinoV "he" - the one. Obviously Christ is intended here.

arh/ (airw) aor. subj. "take away" - he might bear, carry, remove, take away, lift up. "Christ appeared to remove sin altogether", Barclay.

en autw/ "in him" - Again Christ is obviously intended here.

estin "[in him] is [no sin]" - Note, the tense is present. Christ is alive and without sin continually "He isn't sinful", CEV.

oJ menwn (menw) pres. part. "[No one] who lives" - abiding, remaining, continuing. The participle functions as an adjective, "all/everyone who abide in him is not sinning." "No one who continues in a relationship with Christ is oriented toward habitual sin."

aJmartanei (aJmartanw) pres. ind. act. "continues to sin" - sinning. The present tense implies continued action and therefore "continue in sin", or as above, "is oriented toward habitual sin." Smalley suggests that John is pointing his readers toward a potential of victory over sin. A believer in Christ should not live in sin, in the sense of a habitual rebellion against God. What John is not saying is that a true Christian doesn't sin, cf 1:8, 9. "The regular sinner", Phillips.

eJwraken (oJraw) perf. "has [either] seen" - has [not] seen. "Seen" here does not mean visibly seen in the same way as "know" does not mean know by observation. Both "see" and "know" are used with the same meaning of "spiritually entered into a relationship with God through faith in Christ."

egnwken (ginwskw) perf. "known" - has known. "If they keep on sinning they don't know Christ", CEV.

1 John Introduction.

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