PROLOGUE (VSS.1-4)
GNT 1 John 1:1 }O h=n avpV avrch/j( o] avkhko,amen(
o] e`wra,kamen toi/j ovfqalmoi/j h`mw/n( o] evqeasa,meqa kai. ai` cei/rej
h`mw/n evyhla,fhsan peri. tou/ lo,gou th/j zwh/j
NAS 1 John
1:1 What was
from the beginning, }O o[j (rel. pro./nn-s; "That
which/What"; neuter gender looks at the essence of Deity; the relative
pronouns throughout this verse are the objects of the main verb "we
proclaim" in vs.3) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s; "was";
IPF looks at continuous uninterrupted action)
avpV avpo, (pAbl) avrch/j(
avrch, (n-gf-s;
"a beginning"; the emphasis is eternity past with the concept of
uniqueness and separate identity in view;
cp. Joh.1:1a,2) what we have heard, o] o[j (rel. pro./an-s; "that
which/what"; accusative denotes the subject now becomes the object within
the relative clauses of this verse) avkhko,amen(
avkou,w (viPFa--1p; "we have audibly heard"; the plural subject denotes
John and others; the PF denotes action with existing results) what we
have seen with our eyes, o] o[j (rel. pro./an-s; "that
which/what") e`wra,kamen
o`ra,w (viPFa--1p;
"we have seen"; this verb emphasizes a depth of spiritual reality
that is manifested/translated into a
physically coherent reality; could be translated "physically
appeared"; cp. Rev.1:7; 11:19; 12:1,3; et al; the PF denotes action with
existing results) h`mw/n( evgw,
(npg-1p;
"our") toi/j o`
ovfqalmoi/j ovfqalmo,j (d.a. + n-Im-p; "with the
physical eyes") what we beheld and our hands
handled, o] o[j (rel. pro./an-s; "that
which/what") evqeasa,meqa
qea,omai (viad--1p; "we have beheld"; this verb emphasizes viewing
something as a spectator and does not require a deeper or spiritual insight and is based simply on the
overt appearance; cp. Mat.6:1; 11:7; Luk.5:27; etc.; the aorist looks at a
point of time and emphasizes the incarnation) kai, (cc) h`mw/n evgw, (npg-1p) ai` h` cei/rej cei,r (d.a. + n-nf-p;
"hands") evyhla,fhsan
yhlafa,w (viaa--3p; "touched/groped/felt/handled"; used 4x; again the aorist looks at a point of
time) concerning
the Word of Life-- peri, (pg;
"concerning") tou/ o`
lo,gou lo,goj (d.a. + n-gm-s) th/j h` zwh/j
zwh, (d.a.
+ n-gf-s; "the life"; ref. eternal life)
GNT 1 John 1:2 kai. h` zwh. evfanerw,qh( kai.
e`wra,kamen kai. marturou/men kai. avpagge,llomen u`mi/n th.n zwh.n th.n
aivw,nion h[tij h=n pro.j to.n pate,ra kai. evfanerw,qh h`mi/n
NAS 1 John
1:2 and the life
was manifested, kai, (cs; introduces a parenthetical
insertion comprising all of vs.2) h` zwh, (d.a. + n-nf-s) evfanerw,qh( fanero,w (viap--3s; "has been
manifested/caused to be revealed"; the aorist looks at the incarnation) and we have seen and bear witness and
proclaim to you the eternal life, kai, (ch) e`wra,kamen o`ra,w (viPFa--1p; "we have seen
physically with spiritual depth of cognizant understanding") kai, (cc) marturou/men marture,w (vipa--1p; "keep on bearing
witness/testifying/confirming") kai, (cc) avpagge,llomen avpagge,llw (vipa--1p; "keep on
proclaiming/reporting/declaring/ publicly confessing/plainly stating" cp.
Joh.16:25) u`mi/n su, (npd-2p; "you all";
introduces the recipients of the proclaiming)
th.n h` aivw,nion aivw,nioj (d.a. + restrict. attrib.
adj.--af-s; "eternal/everlasting/without end"; emphasizes the quality
of "the life" to follow) th.n h` zwh.n
zwh, (d.a.
+ n-af-s; "the life") which was with the Father and was manifested
to us-- h[tij o[stij (rel. pro./nf-s;
"which"; ref. to the life in view)
h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s)
pro,j (pa; "face to face with")
to.n o` pate,ra path,r (d.a. + n-am-s)
kai, (cc) evfanerw,qh
fanero,w (viap--3s; "has been manifested") h`mi/n evgw, (npd-1p; ref. John and company
of eyewitnesses to the incarnation; end of parenthesis)
GNT 1 John 1:3 o] e`wra,kamen kai. avkhko,amen(
avpagge,llomen kai. u`mi/n( i[na kai. u`mei/j koinwni,an e;chte meqV h`mw/nÅ
kai. h` koinwni,a de. h` h`mete,ra meta. tou/ patro.j kai. meta. tou/ ui`ou/
auvtou/ VIhsou/ Cristou/Å
NAS 1 John
1:3 what we have
seen and heard we proclaim to you also,
o] o[j (rel. pro./an-s; "that which/what"; picks up the object in view
of vs.1) e`wra,kamen o`ra,w (viPFa--1p) kai, (cc) avkhko,amen( avkou,w (viPFa--1p) avpagge,llomen avpagge,llw (vipa--1p; "we
proclaim"; the main verb of the sentence)
u`mi/n( su, (npd-2p; "to you all"; first clear ref.
to the recipients of the epistle being the Saints of Asia Minor as brought out
by the following adjunctive conj.) kai, (adjunct.; "also/in
addition to") that you also may have fellowship with
us; i[na (cs; purpose; "in order that"; intro. 2nd
parenthesis) u`mei/j su, (npn-2p) kai, (adjunct.;
"also") e;chte e;cw (vspa--2p; "may have";
the subjunctive denotes the potential of having) koinwni,an koinwni,a (n-af-s;
"fellowship/sharing with someone/close association with another/fellow
participation in mutual friendship"; used 19x) meqV meta, (pg) h`mw/nÅ evgw, (npg-1p) and indeed
our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. de, (cc; "now/and") kai, (adjunct. or emphatic;
"also/indeed";) h` h`mete,ra
h`me,teroj (d.a. + emphatic possess. adj. restrict. attrib.--nf1s; "our/that
which we possesses with emphasis on quality") h` koinwni,a (d.a. + n-nf-s; "the
fellowship"; defines the quality of fellowship in view and sets forth the
standard John expects) meta, (pg) tou/ o` patro.j path,r (d.a. + n-gm-s) kai, (cc) meta, (pg) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. the Father) tou/ o` ui`ou/ ui`o,j (d.a. + n-gm-s) VIhsou/ VIhsou/j Cristou/Å
Cristo,j (n-gm-s + n-gm-s; end of parenthesis)
1. Verses 1 – 4 constitute the
prologue to 1st John.
2. It is in summary an
eyewitness account of the reality behind the prologue of the Gospel of John
1:1-14.
3. The first 4 verses of 1st
John form one long sentence in the Greek.
4. While the Greek texts
generally include punctuation marks (as does the English translations), these
are considered editorial inserts by copying scribes and the Greek text is to be
viewed as without punctuation.
5. While punctuation at the
sentence level is found as early as 260 BC, its standard was not universal in
application and as a rule all of the sentences, like the words, ran into one
another in an unbroken line (scriptura
continua). Cf. Robertson’s “A
Grammar of the Greek New Testament”, pp. 241-245.
6. Punctuation such as coma’s
and question marks did not appear until as late as the 9th Century
AD.
7. The prologue features the
eternal Logos i.e., the eternal Son of God, becoming manifest in the flesh as
in the prologue to John’s Gospel (Joh.1:1 cp. 1:14).
8. Our author stresses His
visible, physical appearing to those that were His disciples.
9. He places the object first
for emphasis and keeps the reader waiting for the main subject and verb until
vs.3.
10. The object is the relative
pronoun “o[j/hos/that which/what” and
occurs 4x in vs.1 and 1x in vs.3.
11. The object consists of a
string of parallel relative clauses in vs.1, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with
our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled”.
12. It is expanded by a parenthesis
in vs.2 and resumes the grammatical string of thought in vs.3a, “what we have seen and heard”.
13. The parenthetical expansion
of vs.2 focuses on the element of the object’s manifestation more fully as
applied to vs.1.
14. The object in view is “that
which was from the beginning”.
15. The beginning is literally “a” beginning (avrxh, - without the d.a.) and
indicates a beginning without a beginning i.e., eternity past. Cp. Joh.1:1; if the readers were familiar
with the Gospel of John, then they would know what John was referring to.
16. The phrasing differs from
Joh.1:1 that has “in a beginning/evn
a,rch/|” as
compared to “from the beginning/avp’ avrch,” of the epistle.
17. The difference is the
emphasis placed upon the object in eternity past.
18. The emphasis in the Gospel is
on the Son’s eternal existence as God.
19. The phrase “from the beginning” occurs 18x in
addition to our verse, 9x in the Epistles of John, and in all other cases, it
looks at something that has formulated in thought, creation, age, concept,
etc., within the framework of the
beginning in view. Mat.19:4,8;
24:21; Mar.13:19; Luk.1:2; Joh.8:44;
20. The force of “from the beginning” in our verse
emphasizes the eternal formulation of the POG as it pertains to the eternal
Logos.
21. In other words, that which was from the beginning emphasizes the 2nd
member of the Godhead, God the Son, in compliance to all that He is to be in
accordance to the POG, culminating in the hypostatic union.
22. If the beginning is eternal past as formulated in plan by God, then
this must influence how we view the object, “that which”.
23. It demands that the POG
concerning the Son be exegeted in the realms of veracity, +R and +J.
24. Therefore, the first
instance of the relative pronoun o[j refers to the Deity of God the Son before He
became true humanity, but must be understood within the framework of what the
Father’s plan was for the Son from
eternity past. Eph.3:11 cp. 1:7-11
25. The first use of the
relative pronoun is to be taken as a nominative case to emphasize that it is
the POG concerning God the Son that is the emphasis of the object in view. (All of
the relative pronouns can be parsed as nominative or accusative.)
26. John’s opening phrase is a
frontal assault against the Gnostics that seek to reinterpret Christ into
something that is not in compliance with the eternal truth of BD and hence
falls into the realms of lies, unrighteousness and injustice.
27. In contrast to their
approach, John is unabashedly proclaiming that the object He now has in view
and will expound upon is “that which” is according to God’s Divine design.
28. By implication, John denotes
that God’s eternal plan concerning God the Son must be viewed in light of that
plan and liberties otherwise are to be avoided.
29. The neuter gender is used in
all of the relative pronouns although Logos/logos is masculine.
30. This emphasizes the natural
abstract nature of the Deity of the Logos as both a person and message in
essence.
31. The remaining 4 of the
relative pronouns are in the accusative case to indicate that which is
introduced as intangible, now becomes the object of actions that point to a
tangible existence.
32. John then denotes the object
in view is that which he and the
other eyewitnesses of the incarnation have
heard and have seen in correlation
to the POG regarding the Son.
33. This confirms that that
which had been with God in accordance to Divine design had come into the realm
of human experience in fulfillment of the POG.
34. According to the prologue of
John’s Gospel, the Logos, which was with God, was God and became true
humanity. Joh.1:1 cp. vs.14
35. What these men heard was the audible voice of Jesus in
hypostatic union with God the Son.
36. So far, the object could be
simply a word or message, but then John adds that he and others have seen it with their own eyes.
37. This expression leaves no
doubt that a literal seeing is in view.
38. In addition, the verb o`ra,w indicates that what they saw was perceived consciously
with a depth of understanding to figure out the spiritual reality behind
it. (Ex.
The use of horao in Joh.20:8 that denotes John seeing the evidence of the grave
clothes and coming to a logical in depth conclusion that Jesus had arisen from
the dead and believed. Also see notes on
Joh.3:3 regarding the word study and use of horao.)
39. It denotes that the tangible
object they saw was solidly concluded by all of them as being the intangible
subject of God the Son in Person.
40. Both verbs, “have heard” and “have seen” are perfects indicating past action with existing
results.
41. While some commentaries conclude
John’s use of the perfect here simply as literary style, they suggest much
more.
42. They cannot figure out why
John uses perfects with these two verbs and shifts to aorist tenses in the two
verbs in the next clause, “what we
beheld and our hands handled”.
43. That John combines these two
verbs under one relative clause sets them apart in emphasis contextually, while
retaining the general flow of thought.
44. It is this clause that John
hammers home that the Logos was indeed a tangible and physical reality and not
some vision or apparition they saw.
45. He first notes that they had
observed the Logos in a contemplative manner such as spectator to a sport.
46. The verb “beheld/qea,omai” emphasizes their
observance as a matter of a cognizant awareness of reality regarding Jesus’
physical humanity in all of His activities, as a matter of human existence in
His day to day life. (This verb simply contemplates that
something is real, no matter any additional thought or insight.)
47. In addition, he denotes that
they literally and physically had touched His body. (Exs.
Jesus’ washing the disciple’s feet [Joh.13:5ff]; John leaning against His breast at Passover
supper [Joh.13:23]).
48. That the two verbs “beheld” and “handled” are aorists, denoting a point of time, indicates that
these two actions were limited strictly to the incarnation and post
resurrection appearances.
49. Once the final ascension had
occurred, these men no longer could observe and touch the Logos in such manner.
50. However, all that they heard as well as what they saw (horao) with depth of spiritual understanding
regarding His Person is retained and available for continued recall via memory.
51. This is the force of the
perfects with the initial two verbs in that Jesus message and the insight they
had regarding the essence of His Person as being the Son of God, transcends the
incarnation.
52. What
they heard and saw in this regard is
still present with them in conscious memory and thought in the form of
knowledge.
53. The first two verbs “heard and seen” emphasize the disciple’s personal acquisition of knowledge
with existing results, while the final two verbs emphasize the total physical
reality behind the object in view as experienced during the incarnation.
54. It is the entirety of these
3 clauses that now strikes at the heart of Gnosticism and Doceticism.
55. While Gnosticism can have
many twists and avenues in application, it is the primary underwriting
principles behind it and resultant consequences that John will address.
56. He centers on the format of
Gnosticism that deals with the nature of man as a spiritual and physical
entity.
57. Gnosticism is the belief
that the created world was evil and totally separate from and in opposition to
the world of spirit.
58. Gnosticism seeks to elevate
knowledge as superior and would place one’s thinking above one’s actions as the
primary issue.
59. These would tend to mystify
life and seek to separate spiritual reality from physical reality (dualism) by
teaching that since knowledge is premier, one can live in a spiritual realm
mentally.
60. In turn, they separate themselves
from the reality of coexistence with the physical world and consequences of
their actions.
61. In addition, the Gnostic
would claim much of their knowledge was esoteric/secret and only the elite few
would be given insight (through visions, personal “spirit” revelation, etc), in
order to attain spiritual oneness and perfection.
62. Doceticism goes further to
say that Jesus was not true humanity since all physical matter is evil and
therefore good cannot coexist with the physical.
63. The common denominator
between the two is that a state of true spirituality cannot and does not exist
in any true physical form and the physical and spiritual must somehow reign
separate.
64. This human viewpoint
thinking of philosophy is man’s efforts to deal with the issue of evil/sin in
physical life while using “knowledge” as an entity of reign able in and of
itself to transcend in some mystic way the physical barriers of evil.
65. In other words, knowledge is
really God, matter is evil, and under the principle that all matter comes under
submission of fate, one transcends evil through enlightenment of knowledge (a
mystical dream world of their mind).
66. This in effect states that
sin/immorality/evil is destined to occur and the only way to deal with it is to
acquire spiritual knowledge and in so doing transcend in thinking, which is not
physical matter, living dualistically in spiritual thought apart from one’s
physical actions.
67. This approach demands that
only one’s knowledge or lack of holds consequences before God and therefore
one’s actions become moot.
68. While Gnosticism may seem
foreign to us today, one blatant form of its residue is clearly seen in the
Christian world through the allegorical approach to Scripture.
69. Those, such as Catholicism,
approach the Bible seeking to spiritualize in place of literal interpretation
and in effect proclaim a knowledge that transcends the world and only found
within the entity of what they consider to be the universal church i.e., the
RCC.
70. They espouse they hold
Divine revelation of knowledge, largely kept in secret, that is only for the
spiritual elite (members of the Catholic church) and that as a member, one
transcends the evil of this world and is guaranteed fellowship and existence
with God.
71. These are all poignant
principles revolving around Gnosticism.
72. The problem is that the
Gnostic approach to good/righteousness is relative to apprehension of
knowledge, whereas God demands that good/righteousness be absolute and is
apprehended by faith. 2Cor.5:21 cp.
Rom.3:22
73. The uses of the perfect
tenses of heard and seen in clauses 2 and 3 hit at the core
of Gnostic philosophy that somehow knowledge/thinking can actually be separated
from matter/physical that they consider to be evil.
74. That John first denotes what
was heard and seen with insight using the perfect tenses indicates that the very
thought process from which he now draws this eyewitness account comes from
knowledge of hearing and seeing while using the afferent impulses of his body
(ears and eyes).
75. In other words, the
knowledge that the Gnostic stands upon as something separate from matter/evil,
logically must be dismissed as no man can apprehend knowledge apart from the
function of their physical sensory devices, otherwise they’d be dead.
76. Stated in other terms,
knowledge comes through the use of our afferent impulses (primarily hearing and
seeing) and therefore there is no way possible that one can effectively
separate the spiritual from the physical and they of necessity must coexist.
77. This points to a primary
theme of Chapter one and that is how the believer can coexist with a fallible
nature and still have fellowship with God experientially. 1Joh.1:5-10 cp. vs.9
78. The principle is that
physical reality was designed by God to reflect spiritual reality and therefore
the spiritual and physical must be bound together in existence in one’s service
to God. (God created man in His own image Gen.1:26; cp. Joh.3:12 that ties the
physical and spiritual together as necessary for faith; cp. Rom.1:20 that
states that men come to God consciousness through creation itself.)
79. The issue is not to separate
the spiritual from the physical, but to combine ones physical experience with
spiritual reality and to separate one’s experience in the realms of +R from
-R. Rom.6:13 cp. 1Joh.1:9
80. That it is indeed an
experiential issue at hand is seen in the aorist tenses of beheld and handled in
the 4th clause.
81. John and company literally
experienced the very humanity of the Logos during the incarnation.
82. That He emphasizes a
literal, physical observance and touching in this regard is a direct slam
against the Docetics that denied Christ existed as true humanity.
83. Following the basic premise
of Gnosticism, some came to the only logical conclusion under that premise that
God cannot coexist or be united with anything that is physical in nature.
84. John in essence in the first
4 clauses engages logic of reality using the evidence of eyewitnesses to refute
the primary premise underwriting the doctrine of demons being promoted by the
false teachers.
85. In so doing, he strangles
them in any attempts of a valid rebuttal.
86. For them to disprove John’s
words, they would need to provide their eyewitnesses to substantiate their
philosophy and in order to do that, they would openly contradict their
foundation of thought.
87. It would be incumbent upon
the eyewitnesses to present physical and factual evidence for validation of
their doctrine, something they say cannot truly exist in the realm of spiritual
good.
88. In any attempt they may make
to provide hard evidence, John would simply say they are introducing evil to
substantiate their claims based on their own doctrine.
89. Hence, how can a mystic
refute literal physical facts concerning the same subject.
90. He completes the verse with
the prepositional phrase, “concerning
the Word of life”.
91. This phrase encompasses the
totality of both the perfect and aorist verbs used describing the Logos as both
a message/dispenser of knowledge and Person and hence, One.
92. John’s choice of title for
the Logos is a play on words that abstractly addresses the issues at hand,
knowledge in conjunction with life.
93. He declares Jesus as both
the messenger with whom they had sensory contact and the embodiment of the
message itself.
94. If we look at Joh.1:4, we
see that “In Him” was life.
95. As God, Jesus possesses the
attribute of eternal life.
96. As a result of His work as a
man, eternal life is made available
to man. Joh.11:25; 14:6
97. So this message and the One
that is the subject of the message, conveys eternal life to men. Phi.2:16;
Joh.3:16,36 cp. Luk.20:36
98. John’s use of this phrase in
essence declares that the message imparting knowledge and the messenger Himself
cannot be effectively separated as the Gnostics and Docetics are espousing.
99. And in contrast to the
esoteric approach the Gnostics would use regarding knowledge, John now openly
and publicly proclaims that the truth He is delivering is available for all,
even including these heretics.
100.
This is the force behind the parenthetical insert of vs.2, “and the life was manifested, and we have
seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the
Father and was manifested to us”.
101.
In order to fully understand this verse, the exegete must first
determine whom the writer has in view in his proclamation, as seen in the
dative plural of the pronoun “to you all”.
102.
That it is not the direct recipients of the epistle, the Saints/local
churches of
103.
The “to you” of vs.2
pinpoints the false teachers spreading the Gnostic and Docetic doctrines.
104.
It is the parenthesis of vs.2 that marks the epistle as being
apologetic or polemic in nature.
105.
It denotes that in part, John’s epistle is designed to address not only
the false doctrine espoused by these false teachers, but to address them
personally.
106.
That John addresses the false teachers in vs.2 denotes that he has full
expectation that this epistle will eventually come to their recognition and
perusal and he is now taking opportunity to openly proclaim to them the errors of their way.
107.
Furthermore, implicitly if not explicitly, it states that the false
teachers have infiltrated these churches and associations with them are being
maintained.
108.
This is further substantiated in John’s warning in his 2nd
Epistle to separate from these individuals.
2Joh.10-11 cp. vs.7
109.
John continues in vs.2 to make it exceedingly clear, beyond all
possibility of mistake that this life
was revealed by God in the historical person of Jesus.
110.
Its manifestation was the incarnation that John physically saw with
true and perpetuated understanding that literally became visible or
manifest. (The aorist tense of the verbs “manifested”
in conjunction with the perfect of “horao/we
have seen”.)
111.
His witness or testimony in
this regard consists of a life of proclamation by John and the believers that
were with him. (the present tense of “proclaim”.)
112.
Their witness is a
proclamation of facts that have never changed since the incarnation.
113.
In other words, the false teaching espoused by the heretics is not from
any information that had come from John and companions of Apostles/disciples.
114.
The life became
visible/manifest in the incarnation.
115.
The message of His Person declared the way to eternal life.
116.
That this manifestation and message was indeed the POG is seen in the
fact that John states it was with the
Father, a reference to Jesus’ pre-incarnate existence in correlation with
the author of the Plan.
117.
It is at this point that the “we”
of John and company should be addressed.
118.
Just as John referred to himself in the 3rd person
throughout the Gospel, so we see his use of the 1st person plural as
his trademark in the Epistle (“we”
used some 81x; “us” used some 39x).
119.
While there is much debate as to its grammatical use, the only clear
cross reference to draw on points to an oratorical/dramatic use.
120.
That John has used the 1st plural in this way previously, is
noted in the closing of his Gospel.
Joh.21:24; “… and we know that his witness is true”,
employing the dramatic emphasis to note all eyewitnesses (to include himself)
to the facts written in his Gospel that can validate it as true. See Exegesis notes.
121.
In addition, he employs an oratorical use in Rev.1:5,6, where the “us” clearly refers to all believers in
the Church Age.
122.
In our Epistle, John begins by restricting its oratorical use to refer
to himself and the inner circle of disciples that accompanied Jesus during His
ministry in vss.1-4.
123.
His purpose for so doing is to set the basis upon which all other uses
of the plural in this regard must stand.
124.
It denotes that the “we” or
“us” in its further usage must of
necessity be in agreement with John and the other Apostles doctrinally or they
are not “really of us”. 1Joh.2:19
125.
It is John’s literary way of separating +V from –V and truth from
distortions.
126.
It emphasizes that the doctrine that he is writing is not an
independent compilation of thoughts or ideas, but has complete support of and
is the same teaching espoused by all the true communicators headed by the
Apostles commissioned by Christ Himself.
127.
Further, it suggests that other Apostles preceded John in establishing
these churches and his role now as their shepherd is in lieu of their demise.
128.
In vss.6ff, its full compliment of oratorical use begins to include:
129.
John makes a transition to the 1st person singular in 2:1
that he then emphasizes throughout the remainder of the letter. 1Joh.:2,7,8,12,13,14,31,26; 5:13,16
130.
He does so to note that the remainder of the letter is designed
primarily as a monologue of teaching (though written) between right shepherd
and right congregation that do and will adhere to his teaching. (Epistle
established for +V.)
131.
However, with precedence set of the oratorical use, all further plural
references never loose their flavor of universal importance in interpretation
and application.
132.
In vs.3, John breaks the parenthesis and resumes with the final
relative clause and states, “what we
have seen and heard we proclaim to you also”.
133.
For the first time, John now formally introduces the main subject in
this long sentence and that the main action of the subject is to “proclaim to you also”.
134.
John now specifically addresses the direct recipients of his epistle,
the local churches in view.
135.
That they are the recipients of the action of the main subject and verb
imply they are the primary reason for writing of the epistle.
136.
It is to be seen primarily as an epistle from the teachers of BD to the
students.
137.
That he employs once again the perfects of “have seen” and “heard”
indicates that the totality of the message he and the other likeminded
disciples are proclaiming to the false teachers has direct impact and
ramifications for them as believers also.
138.
That he combines these two verbs in one relative clause sets his
exhortation apart from addressing the false teachers of vs.1 to the believers
in view.
139.
That he reverses the word order from “heard” and “have seen”
in clauses 2 and 3 to “have seen and
heard” within this clause denotes that in contrast to the Gnostic’s
emphasis on knowledge in separation from the physical, John and company’s
emphasis is first on the Person from which came the message He proclaimed as
One.
140.
That the primary purpose of the Epistle is indeed directed toward these
believers is seen in the stated purpose for proclaiming to them in the second
parenthetical insert of the prologue.
141.
This parenthesis includes the remainder of vs.3, “that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is
with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ”.
142.
It is this parenthesis that points to the edifying nature that the
epistle is designed to have upon the +V in the local churches to whom it is
sent.
143.
It points to the fact that any polemic reference within the epistle is
designed to build up the Saints with true knowledge in order for them to
effectively refute false doctrine.
144.
That it is extremely important to reject human viewpoint and embrace
the truth about the Person of Christ,
is seen in whether they do or not will determine whether or not fellowship with John and company is
established and retained. (The subjunctive mood of “may have” fellowship.)
145.
And the reason that this fellowship
in view is so important and desirable is because it is fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
146.
If the Saints of these churches do not continue to believe the truth about
the Person of Christ/BD, then fellowship
with their teachers and with God will
be broken. Col.1:23
147.
It denotes that one must maintain the truth of Ph1 doctrine
in order to be accepted in Ph2 where experiential fellowship is desired.
148.
Fellowship with the Godhead and with
those that are +V demands a correct apprehension of who and what Jesus Christ is.
149.
There can be no true fellowship
apart from a common belief in the doctrine concerning Christ.
150.
Since no one can enjoy a relationship with God apart from a relationship
with Jesus (2:23), true Christian fellowship begins with belief in Him.
151.
And that mere acceptance of the Ph1 aspects of the Christian
message is not enough to ensure Ph2 fellowship with God and other positive believers is strongly
suggested in vs.4 in the term “these
things”.
152.
Synopsis of vss.1 – 3:
GNT 1 John 1:4 kai. Tau/ta gra,fomen h`mei/j( I[na
h` cara. H`mw/n h=| peplhrwme,nhÅ
NAS 1 John
1:4 And these
things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. Kai, (cc) tau/ta ou-toj (near dem. Pro./an-p; “these
things”) h`mei/j( evgw, (npn-1p; emphatic) gra,fomen gra,fw (vipa—1p; “we write”) I[na (cs; purpose) h`mw/n evgw, (npg-1p) h` cara, (d.a. + n-nf-s;
“joy/happiness”) h=| eivmi, (vspa—3s; periphrastic +) peplhrwme,nhÅ plhro,w (+ circ. Ptc./PF/p/nf-s; “may be
made complete/fulfilled/made total/maximized”)
1. After John establishes that
the epistle is polemic in nature with an overall primary design to edify these
believers in their relationship with God (Eph.4:11-15), he now presents a
secondary purpose for it’s penning.
2. He completes this long
sentence started in vs.1 now in vs.4, “And
these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete”.
3. “These things” is reference to the combination of the relative
clauses pertaining to the Person and message of Christ, which John will detail
in teaching in the remainder of the letter.
4. That John is the sole writer
of the epistle is made clear in 2:1, “I
am writing these things to you…”.
5. The oratorical “we write” assumes that fellowship of
vs.3b with the Father and the Son remains intact.
6. It points to the fact that
the content of the letter is the exact message of truth the Godhead desires to
communicate.
7. This is in contrast to the
false teaching promoted by the Gnostics.
8. While John is doing the
actual act of writing, the composite “we”
indicates that the words and message it includes have total support and
validation by all preceding Apostles, God and Jesus Christ Himself.
9. It implies that John is
under the FHS as he pens the letter communicating the truth of the Logos.
10. The content of the epistle
is the same message and teaching that the other Apostles have written and
communicated to believers concerning the Word of life.
11. It indicates that its
content is in accordance with the POG.
12. It denotes that the
fellowship in view in vs.3 comes first and foremost due to like-mindedness of
thinking doctrinally.
13. The stated subsidiary reason
for writing is in order that his pastoral joy
may be made complete.
14. The news of their spiritual
well being after having received 1 John will fill up the pastoral joy.
15. It indicates that this
letter and all of the writings that the Apostles penned to their local churches
was for the purpose of their edification making their joy complete.
16. That they should take his
teaching to heart and reject the false teachers and their heresies will be that
which will make him truly happy.
17. John awaits the news of
their response to his letter.
18. There is a sense in which
the pastor’s happiness is tied to knowing that the royal family has responded
favorably to the latest teaching.
19. A pastor’s joy or happiness does not reach a full
potential of completeness (periphrastic present subjunctive of eivmi, with the perfect passive
participle plhro,w [to be full or complete])
until right congregation, on the whole (individuals come and go; cp. 2:19),
prevails over the current threat (testing) in the Angelic Conflict by adjusting
to the doctrine made available.
20. From the time the pastor is
made aware of the threat, until they prevail, his happiness is not complete.
21. This is not to say that he
has no happiness, for +H is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Gal.5:22
22. While a P-T has +H from his
own application of BD under the FHS (Rom.14:17), he will not experience that +H
that comes from right congregation’s application(s) until they respond.
23. An example is Paul’s
rejoicing over the news of the Corinthians’ positive response to
1Corinthians. 2Cor.7:5-7
24. A +V adjusted congregation
brings an experiential happiness to the P-T not otherwise enjoyed. Phi.1:4
25. Proper adjustment of the
congregation corporately is reflected in a unity of like-mindedness,
maintaining FHS, application of Divine good production and in seeking the
prize. Phi.2:2
26. So a pastor cannot
experience the full spectrum of +H so long as believers are not responding to
the teaching.
GNT 1 John 1:5 Kai. E;stin au[th h` avggeli,a h]n
avkhko,amen avpV auvtou/ kai. Avnagge,llomen u`mi/n( o[ti o` qeo.j fw/j evstin
kai. Skoti,a evn auvtw/| ouvk e;stin ouvdemi,aÅ
NAS 1 John
1:5 And this is
the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, kai, (cc; resumptive use; “Now”;
picks up the theme of the prologue that has been proclaimed and written) au[th ou-toj (near dem. Pro./nf-s) e;stin eivmi, (vipa—3s; “keeps on being”) h` avggeli,a (d.a. + n-Pred.nf-s; “the
message/news/report”; used 2x, 1Joh.3:11)
h]n o[j (rel. pro./af-s; “which”; not translated in NAS; ref. To the
message) avkhko,amen avkou,w (viPFa—1p; “we have audibly
heard”) avpV avpo, (pAbl) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; logical antecedent is
Jesus Christ of vs.3, Who is the vehicle used of God represented in the object
of the prologue) kai, (cc) avnagge,llomen avnagge,llw (vipa—1p; “keep on announcing/openly
declaring/disclosing”; used 14x) u`mi/n( su, (npd-2p; ref. Recipients of the
letter) that God is
light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. O[ti (conj. Intro. Indir. Disc. And
content of message) o` qeo,j (d.a. + n-nm-s) evstin eivmi, (vipa—3s) fw/j (n-Pred.nn-s; “light/source of
illumination”; God and light are in apposition (equal) to each other; it is
used without the d.a. to emphasize a quality of God with focus on His moral and
ethical attributes) kai, (cc) evn (pL) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s; ref. The God) ouvk ouv (neg. +) e;stin eivmi, (vipa—3s; “there is no”) skoti,a (n-nf-s; “darkness/absence of
light”; again without the d.a. denoting a quality of darkness in the moral and
ethical realm) ouvdemi,aÅ
ouvdei,j (neg. card. Adj./nf-s; “at all/not even one shade of darkness”)
1. In the prologue, John has
established that it is his aim and goal of the letter to address the fallacy of
false teaching that has direct impact upon believers in their fellowship with
God, John and company.
2. He now resumes his thought
in this vein by introducing a primary theme by which all thought must be
governed with respect to one’s approach to God and fellowship.
3. At this point, he will
establish the premise that notes there are conditions and barriers to
fellowship with God versus the correct approach in the following verses.
4. He has hinted strongly that
first and foremost one must acknowledge the foundational doctrine that the POG
was fulfilled in the historical Person of Jesus Christ as God.
5. Beyond this consideration,
he has noted that there is a Ph2 issue of fellowship for believers
beyond their initial acceptance of the gospel Ph1.
6. That he has established the
fact that the historical Jesus was indeed God in the flesh, he now focuses on
His teaching and states in vs.5a, “And/Now this is the message we have heard from Him
and announce to you”.
7. He denotes that this message at hand and his announcing
to them is the same information that he and the other apostles have been proclaiming
from the get go of their ministries and nothing has changed in this
regard. (The present tenses “keep on” used with “this is the message” and “announce”.)
8. The support John draws upon
in his proclamation is the fact that it is the same teaching he and the others
personally heard from Jesus and a
premise of doctrine that continued to impact their thinking throughout their
lives. (The perfect tense of “heard”.)
9. That He appeals to Jesus
words denotes the continued polemic intent of these verses in addressing the
false teachers.
10. In other words, he makes
clear that what he is about to say is not new doctrine contrived by himself or
others, but that it comes from the Teacher Himself.
11. It in fact implies that the
doctrine he is teaching is consistent in contrast to the new “improved” false
doctrine regarding Christ the Gnostic’s want to spread.
12. That the Gnostics are so
hyped up on knowledge, John now gives them a message of knowledge from Christ Himself.
13. The plural “to you all” combines the recipients of
the epistle of both the heretics and local churches establishing the full
compliment of the oratorical use of “we”
in vss.6f.
14. He then introduces the
content of the teaching in vs.5b, “that
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all”.
15. That God is “a” light (without the d.a.)
emphasizes His state of being qualitatively, regarding His character.
16. Though this description is
not found in the gospels in so many words, this does not mean that Jesus didn’t
say or teach it (cp. Joh.21:25).
17. The coming of Jesus was a
revelation of light (Mat.4:16;
Luk.2:32; Joh.1:4-9; 3:19-21) and Jesus so regarded Himself as the light of the world (Joh.8:12; 9:5 cp.
12:35,36,46).
18. He commanded His disciples
to take up the same role. Mat.5:14-16
19. All this implies that God’s
character is light and that Jesus
was the visible revelation of that light. Joh.1:18
20. Light
is used here figuratively as a symbol for God
and in part the word that He espouses.
Psa.119:105,130; Pro.6:23, etc.
21. Light
makes possible life and provides illumination in dark places and is therefore,
an appropriate symbol for God and
His plan.
22. Light reveals
what is there and the way we should go, symbolizing God’s veracity.
23. That light exposes what is there and since veracity demands integrity, light also symbolizes God’s +R/J.
24. Therefore light represents truth, righteousness
and justice.
25. This is in contrast to darkness that is any error of
truth/lies and falls short of righteousness and justice.
26. It is a comparison of good
and evil that is familiar and current in the ancient world. (It is
typical of the Iranian religion—Zoroastrianism; and it was taken up by
Gnosticism.)
27. And what John makes clear
here is that there is absolutely no
darkness in God, not even an
isolated area of His character.
28. To have any would be
intolerable and we could not absolutely trust Him.
29. It is God’s absolute
veracity, righteousness and justice that establishes the moral standards
characteristic of His Person.
30. He expresses these standards
with perfect moral love and combined reflect the integrity of His immutability,
as they are always absolute.
31. The force of John’s
statement is to present to all concerned a theological proposition that God is good and there is absolutely no
evil in Him.
32. In so doing, he addresses
the primary error of Gnosticism and that is that the state of being good is
relative to knowledge.
33. John establishes a primary
theme of “absolute” regarding God to
address the primary theme of Gnosticism that spirituality is “relative”.
34. John introduces the true
premise concerning God as taught by Christ
and that is that the goodness of God
is not relative to what He knows, but is absolute based on the moral character
of His Person.
35. Therefore, the issue of an
experiential spiritual state of fellowship with God, Who is absolute veracity and +R/J, demands that one’s state of
being reflect the same attributes of character in application.
36. One commentary calls this
the moral and ethical issue arising out of the character of God.
37. If God is absolute light,
then logic demands that He will not accept anything less than absolute light from those that desire fellowship
with Him.
38. And it is the issue of
veracity and righteousness/justice in one’s relationship with God that John addresses in vss.6-10.
39. John does not here address
the origin of darkness/evil, as light (+truth and +R/J) is the issue
one must first focus on in order to realize what construes darkness.
40. Light
always displaces darkness; darkness cannot overcome light.
Joh.1:5
CRITICISM OF THREE FALSE POSITIONS CLAIMING
VS.
THREE TRUE POSITIONS
Or
GNT 1 John 1:6 VEa.n ei;pwmen o[ti koinwni,an
e;comen metV auvtou/ kai. evn tw/| sko,tei peripatw/men( yeudo,meqa kai. ouv
poiou/men th.n avlh,qeian\
NAS 1 John
1:6 If we say
that we have fellowship with Him VEa.n eva,n (conj. intro. 3rd class
cond.) ei;pwmen le,gw (vsaa--1p; "we might
say") o[ti (cc; intro. indir. disc.) e;comen e;cw (vipa--1p; "keep on
having"; denotes durative action) koinwni,an
koinwni,a (n-af-s; "fellowship") metV meta, (pg) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. God from vs.5 as
the antecedent) and yet walk in the darkness, kai, (cc; assumes an adversative
force; "and yet") peripatw/men(
peripate,w (vspa--1p; "might walk"; used here figuratively for the modus
operandi and vivendi of one's life; emphasizes one's behavior; Cp. Rom.6:4;
8:4; 13:3; etc.) evn (pL; "in the sphere
of") tw/| to,
sko,tei sko,toj (d.a. + n-Ln-s; "the darkness"; the d.a. points to a definitive
aspect of the quality of darkness mentioned in vs.5 where there it was used
without the d.a.) we lie and do not practice the
truth; yeudo,meqa yeu,domai (vipd--1p; "we keep on
lying/speak falsely/say that which untrue"; used 12x) kai, (cc) ouv (neg. +) poiou/men poie,w (vipa--1p; "do not
practice/do") th.n h`
avlh,qeian\ avlh,qeia (d.a. + n-af-s; "the definitive truth"; the d.a. points to a
definitive aspect of the light of God in vs.5 (there it was without the d.a. to
emphasize the moral quality of both veracity and +R); the absolute state of
truth regarding light; equals BD; that truth is in view then the darkness in
view emphasizes human viewpoint/lies; that BD vs. hmvwpt is the emphasis here
is made clear as John will take up the issue of personal sin/unrighteousness in
vs.7bff)
GNT 1 John 1:7 eva.n de.
evn tw/| fwti. peripatw/men w`j auvto,j evstin evn tw/| fwti,( koinwni,an
e;comen metV avllh,lwn kai. to. ai-ma VIhsou/ tou/ ui`ou/ auvtou/ kaqari,zei
h`ma/j avpo. pa,shj a`marti,ajÅ
NAS 1 John
1:7 but if we
walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, de, (ch; "but/now") eva,n (conj. intro. 3rd class
cond.) peripatw/men peripate,w (vspa--1p; "we might
walk") evn (pL; "in the sphere
of") tw/| to,
fwti. fw/j (d.a. + n-dn-s; "the light/BD/truth") w`j (comp. conj.; "just as/in
like manner as") auvto,j (npnm3s; emphatic; "He
Himself") evstin eivmi,
(vipa--3s;
"keeps on being") evn (pL) tw/| o` fwti,( fw/j (d.a. + n-dn-s) we have fellowship with one another, e;comen e;cw (vipa--1p; "we keep on
having") koinwni,an
koinwni,a (n-af-s; "fellowship") metV meta, (pg) avllh,lwn (reciprocal pro./gm1p; "one
another") and the blood of Jesus His Son
cleanses us from all sin. kai, (cc) to, ai-ma (d.a. + n-nn-s; "the
blood"; used both literally and metaphorically in Scripture) VIhsou/ VIhsou/j (n-gm-s) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. God the
Father) tou/ o` ui`ou/ ui`o,j (d.a. + n-gm-s; "the
Son"; d.a. points to Jesus uniqueness in His relationship with God) kaqari,zei kaqari,zw (vipa--3s; "keeps on
cleansing/purify"; of moral purity denotes making something acceptable to
God) h`ma/j evgw, (npa-1p) avpo, (pAbl; "away from";
this preposition denotes a separation from)
pa,shj pa/j (a--gf-s; "all") a`marti,ajÅ a`marti,a (n-gf-s; "sin"; lit.
means "to miss the mark"; emphasizes personal sin; it is used here as
a collective singular to denote there is not a personal sin no matter how great
or small that is not in view.)
1. In vss.6-10 and 2:1, John
presents a series of six 3rd class conditional statements introduced
by the particle/conjunction “if/eva,n.
2. 3 of these conditional
statements (vss.6,8 and 10) are introduced by a protasis (the if clause) with a negative apodosis
(the conclusion).
3. The conditional conjunctions
(if) in these 3 verses are all followed
by “we say/le,gw”.
4. The remaining 3 conditional
statements in vss.7,9 and 2:1b use “if/eva,n” followed by other verbs
and the apodosis reflects a positive conclusion.
5. The “if we say” verses are designed to point to the claims of the false
teachers, while the remaining verses are designed to present the counter claims
of John.
6. The force of the 3 negative
claims of the false teachers that John criticizes reflect basic principles in
their thinking to include:
7. In each case, he labels the
statement as a lie and declares the individual outside truth.
8. In between each criticism,
John presents the reality of truth
as applied correctly for fellowship.
9. That John presents the
criticisms following His statement in vs.5 that God is absolute light, renders the force of his
arguments now presented as a fortiori (from the greater to the lesser and
therefore “even more so”).
10. In other words, that God is
absolute light, even more so it is
incumbent upon those of lesser being desiring fellowship with Him to operate within that same realm of light.
11. The first phrase of vs.6, “If we say” introduces the full
compliment of the oratorical use of “we”.
12. It is inclusive of John and
company, the recipient local churches and the false teachers in view.
13. Following on the heels of a
universal truth that God is light, John now presents argument that
is universal in interpretation and application and is therefore also applicable
for all believers in the Church Age.
14. That John retains the 3rd
class condition (maybe yes or maybe no) in all of the protosis denotes that
whether the individual falls on the side of truth or error, acceptance or rejection of the teaching, application
or misapplication, is totally dependent upon their own volition.
15. Further, it indicates that
there were those in these local churches that were making these false claims,
while others were not.
16. By lumping together everyone
in the oratorical “we”, John
indicates that we are dealing with some believers that have heard the truth (light) as taught by John and the other Apostles that have rejected
the teaching and are now opting for false teaching.
17. This is the force of his
first criticism in vs.6, “If we say that
we have fellowship with Him and yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”.
18. The fellowship in view is with
God, the antecedent of the personal pronoun “Him”.
19. That experiential fellowship is in view is seen in the
verb “walk”.
20. Therefore, John is indeed
dealing with an experiential truth contextually rather than positional.
21. It points to the fact that
John’s letter was written to believers and for believers.
22. To “walk” is figurative to denote the believer’s modus operandi (MO) and
vivendi (manner of life) that affects their behavioral standards.
23. That John places a definite
article with the noun “darkness”
indicates that there now is a definitive aspect of the overall darkness (without d.a.) mentioned in
vs.5 in view.
24. That aspect of darkness is determined contextually via
the apodosis that emphasizes lying in contrast to the truth.
25. The particular darkness in view is false doctrine
compared to the definitive truth
(with the d.a.) of BD/Divine viewpoint.
Cp. Joh.3:21; 5:33; 8:32,40 cp.vs.44,45, et al
26. Therefore, the darkness is theological darkness that has direct moral
ramifications.
27. In effect, these believers
claim that their darkness is light.
28. There are those that walk in darkness that do not claim they
have fellowship with God.
29. That God’s word is “the” truth indicates that there is only one theological truth given to men and that is the
content of Scripture—the Bible.
Heb.4:12a, “For the word of God is
alive and powerful…”
30. God’s word is Sovereign and
He has made it clear that we are not to take liberties with it straying either
to the right or left. Cp. Deu.28:14
31. To insert false doctrine as
a claim of being God’s word is tantamount to serving Satan and his demons.
32. Those believers that conduct
their life under human viewpoint doctrine are spiritually morally bankrupt
before God.
33. They are not only
self-deceived (they think they have fellowship
with God, but operate under human viewpoint), John makes it clear they are
liars.
34. Therefore, those believers
that do not follow the straight and narrow of BD in their own lives are not to
be trusted in their assertions regarding God and His plan.
35. The overt mark that these
are not in step with BD is seen in their consistent misapplication (p.a.i. of “practice”) of the truth.
36. Whether it be their circumvention/avoiding
of applying certain doctrines, a legalistic approach or plain distortion, these
believers do not have true fellowship
with God.
37. That it is one truth in view looks at the Bible as a
whole and further implies that these believers do not seek the entire counsel
of God and are not willing to orient to all BD across the board. Cp. Act.20:27
38. That John sets believers
apart in this fashion, while viewing them as a whole in the oratorical “we”, indicates those that walk in darkness are negative
believers.
39. That John and company are
also viewed as part of potential candidates that could fall into the realm of
false teaching, is his way to make adamant that no believer is excluded that
lines up with false doctrine (ex. if John had); they are all tagged as
negative.
40. That these believers walk in the sphere of human viewpoint
evil denotes that the conduct of their lives reflects living a lie.
41. It points to the fact that
the false doctrine of the Gnostics that one can separate the spiritual realm
from the physical realm (dualism) is bogus.
42. This is seen in the fact
that operation false doctrine in and of itself produces physical evidence in
application of the sphere of evil knowledge that these adhere to.
43. There lives and therefore
their thinking are a contradiction to the
truth.
44. John makes it clear in vs.6
that the 1st step that anyone must make in order to have fellowship with God is to operate under
the absolute veracity of the light.
45. This implies that the
believer must first come to the light
under a sound adjusted communicator in order for true/continuous fellowship with God to exist. Cp. Joh.3:20-21
46. It is the identification of
the definitive aspect of darkness
now in view as false teaching that is seen as the Achilles’ heel of novice
exegetes (those communicators less than adequate [2Cor.3:5-6]), dealing with
this portion of the epistle.
47. These disregard the definite
article and misinterpret the meaning of darkness
at this point as personal sin.
48. Their interpretation is that
a believer’s number one goal in life is to refrain from personal sin.
49. Yet, John does not address
the issue of personal sin until vs.7b.
50. That orientation to and
application of BD is indeed the emphasis is made clear in vs.7a, “but if we walk in the light as He Himself
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”.
51. John declares that there is
an option of not living like these, but rather
to live in the light.
52. Again, John attaches the
definite article to the noun “light”
to denote a definitive aspect of the light
(without the d.a.) of God in vs.5.
53. Its use in verse 7a harks
back to “the truth” ending vs.6.
54. John denotes that it is
those believers that are willing to submit all of their thoughts and actions to
the light of BD are those believers
that have true fellowship.
55. It is these that are +V
believers.
56. And just as the 3rd
class condition in vs.6 denotes that +V can go –V, it here denotes that –V
believers can go +V anytime they are willing to jettison their human viewpoint
approach to life and line up with the
truth.
57. The only way a believer can
accomplish this is to be consistently responsive to BD in class, learning what
is right.
58. Only then are we operating in the sphere of absolute
veracity as (w`j – like/as) God is.
59. This comparative clause
indicates that the believer that walks in
the sphere of truth indeed has fellowship with God.
60. And the result of such a walk is true Christian fellowship with one another.
61. Only where there is a common
belief (like-mindedness) and practice in line with God’s thinking, is there
true Christian fellowship.
62. The false teachers made
shambles of true Christian fellowship
and their elitism is an example of its breakdown.
63. They left the church and
those that cut themselves off from fellowship
with +V believers do not have fellowship
with God.
64. That John highlights the
importance of placing BD as the believers #1 priority in life sets the stage
for the remainder of vs.7, “and the
blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”.
65. That John has addressed the
aspect of veracity as it applies to God and the believer, he now addresses the
other moral aspects of God’s light,
+R/J.
66. It is only the +V believer
under sound doctrine that has the light
necessary to reveal all of his/her
personal sins that interrupt fellowship
with God, while walking in the veracity of His word.
67. The believer that walks in the light as their course of life is
the believer that is consistently aware and conscious of their sin activity.
68. John’s insertion of this
final clause hinges on nonchalant in attitude and is stated simply as a matter
of fact.
69. His intention for so doing
is to bring emphasis on the fact why hooking into and applying sound BD takes
precedence in fellowship with God.
70. And that is that the
believer that does so, the issue of sin
in the life will naturally and appropriately be dealt with in application.
71. The +V believer applying
doctrine knows about RB and takes advantage of the cleansing
provided by the blood of Christ.
72. John’s approach in this
fashion goes directly in the face of Gnosticism that declares that the #1
priority for the believer is to abstain from sin (2nd and 3rd criticisms, vss.8,9), which
is the general attitude of even most believers today.
73. However, John holds to
lining up with sound BD and applying it as the #1 priority noting that the
issue of sins has already been remedied.
74. Therefore, by lining up with
sound teaching that teaches the proper principles regarding sin, the work of Christ has its
designed impact in the believer’s life.
75. He is not implying that sin is not an issue in fellowship with God and one another, only that it is not the primary
issue.
76. John makes clear he is not
advocating sin activity (cp.2:1a),
but he is now just as clearly asserting that apart from one lining up with the truth across the board in their
everyday life and overall, the issue of personal sins in conjunction with fellowship with God really becomes a
moot point.
77. The crystal clear argument
of John now in view is that apart from the believer maintaining integrity to
the directive will of God as the MO in their life, there is no true fellowship.
78. What good is it to confess
our personal sins if our works and actions are not in step with the POG.
79. If our works and actions
indeed are in line with God’s directive will, then confession of sins is of all
importance, not only temporally, but for eternity under the doctrines of Divine
good production and SG3.
80. This is the 1st
of the big
lies of
Gnosticism.
81. And that is that personal
morality out weighs the importance of theological and doctrinal fidelity in
one’s Christian walk.
82. To say it another way; not
sinning at the expense of not following God’s directive will for one’s life in
thoughts, words and actions is a bogus approach to the POG and does not produce
true fellowship.
83. While both are important, it
is doctrinal fidelity that of necessity must take precedence.
84. The principle is that God
demands the believer to subscribe to His handbook in life (the Bible) with all
of it’s directives accurately
implemented, as individuals and corporate bodies, establishing these directives
as their governing rules for living and making them their life style.
85. It should be made clear
here, that John in his epistle is not arguing against the principle of
acquisition of knowledge that the Gnostics have abused, but is arguing against
false knowledge/teaching versus true knowledge/teaching (lying vs. the truth). (John
refers to knowledge as applied correctly some 40x in the epistle.)
86. Those of the Gnostic trend
advocate moral purity, but at the expense of doctrinal integrity.
87. They say that the primary
goal in the believer’s life should be abstinence of sin.
88. But the truth is, teaching false doctrine is morally a sin.
89. When a communicator or
believer tells others that God’s plan is such and such, when in reality it is
not, they morally have committed the sin
of lying. Cp. 2Cor.4:2 that equates distortion of BD as spiritual
adultery.
90. The 1st lie of Gnosticism is that the primary
issue in the believer’s life is being sinless, while John argues that the
primary issue is to ensure first that the content of Scripture is accurately
interpreted and set forth as our guideline for living.
91. It points to the fact that
those that adhere to this Gnostic approach to the Christian life make sin (“being good”) the primary issue
and distract believers from the Doctrine of the Importance of Bible Doctrine in
all of its facets.
92. That the Gnostic advocates
such an approach to fellowship and
the Christian life reveals the mindset behind the other aspects of Gnosticism
mentioned:
93. While Gnosticism in John’s
time had its unique idiosyncrasies, its basic premise of thinking has left its
distinct brand upon the Christian approach to life.
94. Apart from just an
allegorical approach to the Bible, its insidious stench is seen as
predominately saturating the Church today.
95. This is seen in churches and
believers that make the abstinence of sin
as the #1 priority in life and those that may fail consistently in this regard
are less +V than others.
96. Yet, they communicate and
follow principles of life not in line with sound truth across the board in their own lives.
97. They do not execute the POG
in the realm of absolute truth and
swap the truth for lies in whatever
areas.
98. They deny the rapid recovery
system of RB of those that have set their lives up under the pure truth of BD as all sufficient for
forgiveness of an act of sin.
99. They state implicitly if not
explicitly that one cannot engage in any one sin area in their life consistently and are still able to secure a
state of fellowship with God during
that period (even though the believer is utilizing RB and are
established and applying truth under
a sound adjusted communicator).
100.
They advocate a form of legalism attached to the principle of RB
that states one must somehow work their way back out of carnality (one approach
is a distortion of the principle of “repent”) and hence through a works system
maintain their deliverance. (Their idea of repent is a perfect and
permanent change of action.)
101.
Works do not establish or maintain fellowship;
they produce Divine good, while in fellowship.
102.
The evidence of communicators with this legalistic grid is seen that
they walk in the darkness in their
interpretation of this verse as noted in points 46-49.
103.
They seduce believers into leaving churches teaching sound BD with
maximum grace for churches that promote moral purity over theological purity.
104.
They promote a dualistic approach to life that is total hypocrisy.
105.
They promote a moralistic elitism.
106.
These include believers once lined up with sound doctrine and have
since separated themselves from +V.
107.
They opt for tainted truth
over moral imperfection as a standard of living.
108.
The irony is that believers of this ilk are deceived into thinking that
their darkness is light, fail to RB their
doctrinal lies and in all actuality are in lying reversionism.
109.
On the other hand, those that continue to adhere to sound teaching,
though failing morally in their lives, see their sin, RB it, and in their continued application of
following BD are spiritually advancing and producing Divine good production.
110.
I ask you, which believer has the greatest advantage of dealing with their
sin in the life; the believer
self-deceived under false teaching, or the believer under sound teaching seeing
their imperfections through the mirror of perfection. Jam.1:22-25
111.
It is the last believer gaining to maximum from Jesus work on the
cross.
112.
The blood of Christ is symbolic for
the spiritual death of Christ on the cross.
113.
John’s use of this term emphasizes Jesus’ humanity in compliance to the
POG with respect to sins.
114.
Each and every sin of the
human race was judged in the body of Jesus’ humanity. Heb.10:10 cp. 1Pet.3:18
115.
This denotes the application of God’s perfect justice as light making His +R available to
men. 2Cor.5:21
116.
It denotes the remaining issue for the believer that is lined up with
sound doctrine in having true fellowship;
personal sin in the life.
117.
It in statement reveals the fallacy of Doceticism that disregards the
necessity of Jesus’ humanity.
118.
The principle is that since all
sin stems from the flesh, then flesh itself must be judged. Rom.8:3
119.
And that required that the flesh that was judged be absolute
righteousness, otherwise there is no absolute payment back to God in the sphere
of absolute light.
120.
It was Christ that fulfilled this bill on behalf of all men.
121.
His atoning work always makes possible cleansing and forgiveness from
our sins.
122.
Since sins are a barrier to fellowship,
the one that walks in the light is
the believer that consistently seeks forgiveness experientially via confession.
123.
The self-deceived STA driven believer remains unclean, unforgiven, out
of fellowship and in spiritual darkness.
124.
John declares that for one to have true fellowship with God demands a combination of both operating in the
realm of truth and utilizing
Christ’s work on the cross with respect to their sins.
125.
It demands a simultaneous state of being and actions in the realm of
absolute truth, +R with perfect
judgment. Cp.1Cor.11:28-29
126.
The absence of either of these ingredients is walking in darkness.
127.
The effect on men regarding Christ’s blood is:
GNT 1 John 1:8 eva.n ei;pwmen o[ti a`marti,an ouvk
e;comen( e`autou.j planw/men kai. h` avlh,qeia ouvk e;stin evn h`mi/nÅ
NAS 1 John
1:8 If we say
that we have no sin, eva,n (cs; intro 3rd class cond.) ei;pwmen le,gw (vsaa--1p) o[ti (cc; intro. indir. disc.) ouvk ouv (neg. +) e;comen( e;cw (vipa--1p; "we keep on not
having/we have no") a`marti,an
a`marti,a (n-af-s; "a sin"; without the d.a. looks at sin qualitatively
and is technical for the characteristic of
the "sin nature/STA" that solicits all sin. Cp. Rom.6:6ff;
7:14-24; etc.) we are deceiving ourselves, and
the truth is not in us. planw/men
plana,w (vipa--1p; we keep on deceiving/leading astray/mislead/cause to be
mistaken/deluded/abandoning what is true and embracing error"; used 39x;
saw it in Joh.7:12,47) e`autou.j
e`autou/ (reflexive pro./am1p; "ourselves"; the subject receives back
the action of the verb) kai, (cc) h` avlh,qeia (d.a. n-nf-s; with the definite article = "the
truth of BD") ouvk ouv (neg. +) e;stin eivmi, (vipa--3s; "keeps on not
being") evn (pL) h`mi/nÅ evgw, (npd-1p)
1. John now addresses the 2nd
criticism against the false teachers.
2. That indeed they promote a
pursuit of sinlessness as being the critical issue in the believer’s life is
now made clear.
3. John addresses two claims
they are espousing regarding sin in
vs.8 and vs.10.
4. Their first claim is seen in
vs.8a, “If we say we have no sin”.
5. Again, the oratorical “we” universally includes anyone that
would make such a statement.
6. In our verse the noun “sin” is without the definite article
and is singular in person.
7. It emphasizes the
qualitative or behavioral nature of sin
rather than the individual or definite acts of sins.
8. It is therefore technical
for the STA(sinful trend of Adam)/OSN(old sin nature).
9. In vs.9, John will use the
definite article with the noun “sins” in the plural to point to the acts of sin.
10. What the Gnostics are
advocating is that somehow they have eradicated/extricated or dispossessed the
STA.
11. They claim that they have experientially dispossessed the
nature of man that is responsible for solicitation to sin. (The p.a.i. of e;cw; “do not keep on having”.)
12. They claim some piece of
knowledge that has shown them the way to jettison the STA totally in every
facet of its being.
13. Its expressions and
solicitations therefore are no longer a part of reality in their lives.
14. No matter the
theology/philosophy behind their reasoning, the force of their claim is they
have been given a power not to permit the intrusion of STA salivation’s across
the board, squelching its desires/lusts, and in that sense have eradicated it.
15. It implies, if not
explicitly states that they are believers that are immune to STA temptations.
16. The 2nd big
lie of
Gnosticism is that believers can experientially gain perfect/complete control
over the sin nature inhibiting it in
expression.
17. That the present tense is
used in this context denotes that this is possible at any point in time in
their life.
18. That the sin nature is looked on as a whole
(singular), it further suggests any aspect or area of STA trends.
19. John slam-dunks this notion
too in vs.8b and counters, “we are
deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us”.
20. The term “deceiving” goes hand in hand with the “lie” of the false doctrine these are
operating under back in vs.6.
21. It denotes the fact that
believers are only lying to themselves if they accept this false doctrine.
22. It points directly to their
intellectual dishonesty towards the POG.
23. The truth (with the d.a.) again refers to the content of Scripture, BD.
24. The Bible as a whole,
through examples as well as through specific teaching, proclaims emphatically
that the nature of man is inherently evil through out their lives and it is
impossible to totally subdue STA cravings in time.
25. Examples of OT saints that
reflect this fact include, Abraham, David, Jacob, Joseph, Isaac, Moses, Jonah,
blah, blah, blah.
26. Paul teaches that the STA
essentially has a “mind of its own”, is openly hostile to BD and causes even
the best of believers to do things they don’t want to do. Rom.7:7-8,11,14-15,18-21
27. John in his apodosis openly declares
that any believer that thinks that for even one second they have total physical
control over any trend of their STA, these people are deluded and are void of the truth of God’s word in this regard.
28. While these believers
advocate a complete “smothering” of the STA, believers are notorious today of
making the same claim at different levels.
29. These are believers that
spurn other believer’s moral weaknesses because they are not succumbing to the
same weaknesses in their own lives.
30. They are deluded and think
that because their STA doesn’t necessarily salivate and express itself in the
“disgustingly” same area as another believer, they are better believers because
they think they have control in that area.
(Moral elitism again.)
31. The truth of the matter is that though their STA may be lying dormant in any
specific area, under the right circumstances and situations, it can start
salivating in that area at the drop of a dime.
32. Those that adhere to this
false doctrine are believers that either disregard all that constitutes sin or are blind as to their own sin activities. (Establish
their own moral standards.)
33. The principle is that the
STA constantly seeks areas to “vent” its nature and though one may place a
stopgap in one area(s), it is venting in other area(s).
34. An example are
self-righteous types that while not committing any of the “big” sins, are
operating under arrogance that somehow they are above certain temptations, but
in reality are venting their STA through their arrogance.
35. The false teachers in view
are venting their STA’s through lying about the truth.
36. The STA is a genius and will
use itself to promote itself.
37. If a believer has ever
considered doing a sin, then inward
temptation has been introduced and is concrete evidence that the STA exists.
38. The reality is that the STA
constantly vents and remains a part of the believer’s life until this flesh is
ultimately shucked.
39. Paul in total agreement with
John’s teaching states unequivocally that there is only one way to truly master
the STA and that is after it generates the act of sin, and then through “grace”. Rom.6:14
40. The best any believer can do
is not let the STA reign unbridled/unchecked through RB, constantly
battle it and seek to apply BD through out.
Rom.6:12-13
GNT 1 John 1:9 eva.n
o`mologw/men ta.j a`marti,aj h`mw/n( pisto,j evstin kai. di,kaioj( i[na avfh/|
h`mi/n ta.j a`marti,aj kai. kaqari,sh| h`ma/j avpo. pa,shj avdiki,ajÅ
NAS 1 John
1:9 If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. eva,n (cs; intro. 3rd class
cond.) o`mologw/men o`mologe,w (vspa--1p; "might confess/
name/ cite/ acknowledge/admit"; it is from the basic meaning of saying the
same thing, hence to be in agreement; used 26x)
h`mw/n( evgw, (npg-1p) ta.j h`
a`marti,aj a`marti,a (d.a. + n-af-p; "the sins")
evstin eivmi, (vipa--3s; "He keeps on being"; subject
is God) pisto,j (a--nm-s;
"faithful/trustworthy/dependable/reliable"; used 67x) kai, (cc) di,kaioj( (a--Pred.nm-s; "righteous/upright/just/fair";
used 85x) i[na (ch; intro. non-final
appositional clause; as non-final, the following verbs are translated as
infinitives; the verbs to forgive and to cleanse are in apposition to or equal
to "faithful" and "righteous") avfh/| avfi,hmi (vsaa--3s; "to
forgive/pardon/cancel") h`mi/n evgw, (npd-1p) ta.j h` a`marti,aj a`marti,a (d.a. + n-af-p) kai, (cc) kaqari,sh| kaqari,zw (vsaa--3s; "to
cleanse/wash/purify/declare clean/make acceptable to God"; same as
1:7) h`ma/j evgw, (npa-1p) avpo, (pAbl) pa,shj pa/j (a--gf-s) avdiki,ajÅ avdiki,a (n-gf-s;
"unrighteousness/wrongdoing/violations of justice/evil"; used 25x)
1. As in vs.7, John now
presents the correct position in contrast to the false doctrine espoused.
2. In this case, it is applied
concerning the consequences of the STA.
3. Its inclusion apologetically
harks back to the blood of Christ in His work on the cross in vs.7b.
4. Therefore, this verse is for
believers, not unbelievers such as Joh.3:16.
5. He again begins with a 3rd
class condition, “If we confess our sins”.
6. The statement in and of
itself assumes that believers continue to sin.
Cp. Ecc.7:20; 1Joh.1:10; Jam.3:2
7. That rebound is stated as a
conditional clause recognizes human volition in the issue of sinning as well in
confession.
8. In addition, the statement
has the force of an obligation or command.
9. It denotes that believers
not only retain the STA after salvation, but that it consummates it desires
with the actual acts of sin (MA, verbal, overt).
10. The verb “confess” means to name, cite or
acknowledge and denotes that the believer is in agreement with God that he/she
has indeed sinned.
11. The verb does not carry with
it any nuance of emotionalism, feeling sorry or penitence and is simply an
intellectual acknowledgment.
12. Furthermore, the confession
is between the believer and God, since only God has the power to forgive sins. Cp. Josh.24:19; Psa.79:9; Mar.2:7
13. It denotes that rather than
making claims of avoiding temptation and sinlessness as believers, we should be focusing on confessing our
own sins as we commit them.
14. This means we are to name our known sins to God, since we cannot name what we do not know is a sin.
15. If we
do so, God’s response is that He is
faithful and righteous/just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
16. Faithful means that God is consistent with His character, doing the same thing
each time we RB. (By inference it looks at God’s moral
immutability in His application of moral love.)
17. In other words, He will not fail to forgive and cleanse on any occasion.
18. The term righteous or just indicates that
neither is He permissive by
extending His mercy each time we sin.
19. Since the sin was judged at
the cross, He is perfectly free to
righteously forgive and cleanse.
20. This is grace in that we do
not have to do penance, engage in physical forms of work, etc.
21. When we use RB,
then the light of veracity in which we walk is completed with the light of +R
under perfect justice and make experiential fellowship possible.
22. When the believer
acknowledges his/her known sins,
he/she is immediately forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness.
23. Jesus Himself acknowledged
this doctrine in the model prayer.
Mat.6:12
24. Whatever sin got you out of
fellowship (= an unforgiven or carnal state), may be followed by other acts of unrighteousness/STA activity.
25. All this renders the
believer unclean.
26. At the point of RB,
all sins, known and unknown are
forgiven, forgotten and you are cleansed.
27. Again, the cleansing is made
possible through the work of Christ on the cross, cp. vs.7b.
28. You might get out of
fellowship via an unknown sin, but soon you will commit a known sin and when
you RB both known and unknown sins
are forgiven.
29. You may even have failed to
RB for a long extended period of time and though you may not recall
any specific sin, as Christ’s model prayer implies, you can simply confess that you have sinned and that
will also take.
30. However, that is not the
preferred method and approach as this verse makes clear.
31. This is why being hooked
into the light of BD is so extremely important as only with the light of truth
can a believer maximize in keeping tabs on their sins and clock time in fellowship.
32. Some expressions that refer
to the RB technique and rapid recovery system include:
33. And as all of these verses
imply of “laying or putting aside”, sin is seen as a given in the believer’s
life as one cannot lay or put aside something that they do not have.
34. Sin in the life is a reality
that we all must and will face throughout our lives, no matter what level one
may be at in their spiritual growth.
35. Review the Doctrine of RB.
GNT 1 John 1:10 eva.n ei;pwmen o[ti ouvc
h`marth,kamen( yeu,sthn poiou/men auvto.n kai. o` lo,goj auvtou/ ouvk e;stin
evn h`mi/nÅ
NAS 1 John
1:10 If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. eva,n (cs; intro. 3rd class
cond.) ei;pwmen le,gw (vsaa--1p) o[ti (cc; intro. indir. disc.) ouvc ouv (neg. +) h`marth,kamen( a`marta,nw (viPFa--1p; "have not
sinned/ceased sinning") poiou/men
poie,w (vipa--1p;
"we keep on making") auvto.n
auvto,j (npam3s; ref. God) yeu,sthn
yeu,sthj (n-am-s; "a liar/one that speaks what is not true"; used of
Satan, cp. Joh.8:44; there is a double accusative, "Liar" and
"Him"; the noun liar is placed before the verb for emphasis; together
they are in apposition to one another and the levy of the charge is equating
God as a liar.) kai, (cc) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. God) o` lo,goj (d.a. + n-nm-s) ouvk ouv (neg. +) e;stin eivmi, (vipa--3s; “keeps on not
being”) evn (pL) h`mi/nÅ evgw, (npL-1p)
1.
John now asserts his 3rd criticism against the false
teachers in vs.10, “If we say that we
have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”.
2.
That the Gnostics advocate denial of the indwelling STA (vs.8), then
the next logical step they would promote is that they have quit committing
personal sins.
3.
John now engages the verb with the negative “have not sinned/ou, a`marta,nw-miss the mark” to put total emphasis on the act of
sinning.
4.
That it is in the perfect tense denotes that they have claimed to cease
from sinning at some time in the past with the state of ceasing existing to the
present.
5.
Certain believers were advocating that not only have they mastered
total control of inner temptation through some means of eradication, but that
they have also mastered being totally abstinent from all overt temptation and
have become sinless.
6.
This is the 3rd big
lie of Gnosticism; one can reach a state of sinlessness in time.
7.
This in turn reflects the number 1 goal of Gnosticism; moral elitism.
8.
This putrid doctrine is advocated by some denominations today claiming
a second working of the H.S., through which they have reached a sinless state.
9.
John in so many words informs them this is impossible since those that
hold to such nonsense are presently engaged in blaspheme.
10. He notes three things about us that hold to this view of the
post-salvation believer:
A. We make God out to be something He is not.
B. And that is, to make Him a liar. (This
is the force of the double accusative.)
C. Sound BD is not in us.
11. Some specific Scriptures on
the universality of human sinfulness are, 1Kgs.8:46; Psa.14:3; Job 4:17;
15:14-16; Pro.20:9; Eccl.7:20; Rom.3:23
12. Again, Paul totally concurs
as he declares his own post-salvation sinfulness in Rom.7.
13. We are to beware of anyone
that denies the presence of the lust pattern or the existence of personal
sinning.
14. While the extreme of total
sinlessness is in view, we should be wary of any believer that asserts any type
of moral elitism, as more important that one’s pursuit of the entire counsel of
truth.
15. Those that adhere to such arrogance
are no more than self-righteous.
16. It is these types of
believers that will try to play moral roughshod over other believers.
17. While we each are to do our
best not to sin, it is best to leave other believer’s sinning between them and
God, unless there is doctrinal dictate to address another’s personal sins.
18. And then you had better make
sure the approach is totally in line with the truth.
19. Review the Doctrine of the STA/OSN.