1 John 2:29 to 1 John 5:12. GOD IS LOVE There seems to be no serious break in the Epistle from this point onwards until we reach the concluding verses which form a sort of summary (1 John 5:13-21). The key-word ‘love’ is distributed, and not very unevenly, over the whole, from 1 John 3:1 to 1 John 5... [ Continue Reading ]
1. After ἈΓΑΠΑ͂Ι we should perhaps omit ΚΑΊ with [761], Vulgate, and Thebaic against [762][763][764][765] and Syriac. [761] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles. [762] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf... [ Continue Reading ]
2. For τηρῶμεν ([766][767][768]) read ΠΟΙΩ͂ΜΕΝ ([769] and Versions). [770] omits from ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ in 1 John 5:2 to ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ in 1 John 5:3 : _homoeoteleuton_. [766] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles. ... [ Continue Reading ]
3. ΑὝΤΗ ΓΆΡ ἘΣΤΙΝ. ‘_This_ is what it tends towards; _this_ is its outcome’: see on 1 John 1:5. Love implies obedience. Comp. John 14:15; John 14:21; John 14:23; John 15:10; 2 John 1:6. For ἵνα comp. John 6:29; John 17:3; 2 John 1:6. βαρε [ Continue Reading ]
4. Reason why keeping even the difficult commandment of loving others rather than oneself is not a grievous burden. It is the world and its ways which makes the Divine commands grievous, and the new birth involved in faith gives us a new unworldly nature and a strength which conquers the world. With... [ Continue Reading ]
5. The δέ which [771] has after ἘΣΤΙΝ and after ΤΊΣ is possibly genuine. It is represented in several Versions. [771] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles. 5. ΤΊΣ ἘΣΤΙΝ Ὁ ΝΙΚΩ͂Ν. Here the present tense is r... [ Continue Reading ]
6. After ΑἽΜΑΤΟΣ [772][773], Thebaic, and Memphitic insert καὶ πνεύματος: [774], Peschito, and Vulgate omit. With [775][776][777] omit ὁ before ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ. [772] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles. ... [ Continue Reading ]
7. For the notorious interpolation here see Appendix D. The disputed words (ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα· καὶ οὖτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσι. καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ) are absent from _every Greek MS_. earlier than the _fourteenth_ century, from _every Greek Father_ in di... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ὝΔΩΡ ΚΑῚ ΤῸ ΑἾΜΑ. These of course have the same meaning as before; Christ’s Baptism and Death. “The real value of our Lord’s baptism and His death may be estimated by supposing that neither had taken place, and that our Lord had appeared on His mission without openly confessing His mission from G... [ Continue Reading ]
9. For ἥν ([778][779]) read ὍΤΙ with [780][781][782] and most Versions. [778] 9th century. All three Epistles. [779] 9th century. All three Epistles. [780] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles. [781... [ Continue Reading ]
9–11. S. John’s characteristic repetition of the word ‘witness’ is greatly weakened in A.V. by the substitution of ‘testify’ in 1 John 5:9, and ‘record’ in 1 John 5:10-11 : see on 1 John 1:2; 1 John 2:15; 1 John 2:24; 1 John 4:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
10. After ΤῊΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΊΑΝ [783], Vulgate, and Memphitic insert τοῦ Θεοῦ. For ἑαυτῷ ([784]) read ΑΥΤΩ͂Ι ([785][786][787][788]). But it remains doubtful whether αυτῷ represents αὐτῷ or αὐτῷ: the latter seems preferable. For ΤΩ͂Ι ΘΕΩ͂Ι ([789][790][791][792], Memphitic) [793] and Vulgate have τῷ υἱῷ to wh... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΑὝΤΗ ἘΣΤῚΝ Ἡ ΜΑΡΤ. As R.V., AND THE WITNESS is THIS, as in 1 John 5:9 : this is what the external witness of God, when it is internally appropriated by the believer, consists in; viz. the Divine gift of eternal life. ΖΩῊΝ ΑἸΏΝΙΟΝ. See on 1 John 1:2 and on John 3:36; John 5:24. ἜΔΩΚΕΝ is literal... [ Continue Reading ]
12. A deduction from the preceding clause. If the Son has the life in Himself, then whoever has the Son has the life, and no man can have the one without the other. ‘To have the Son’ must be compared with ‘to have the Father’ in 1 John 2:23. In both cases ‘have’ signifies possession in living union... [ Continue Reading ]
13. After ὙΜΙ͂Ν omit τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ with [794][795][796], Vulgate, Memphitic, Thebaic, and Syriac against [797][798]. For καὶ ἵνα πιστεύητε ([799][800]) read ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΠΙΣΤΕΎΟΥΣΙΝ ([801][802], Syriac): but οἱ πιστεύοντες ([803]3[804], Vulgate, Memphitic, Thebaic) is stro... [ Continue Reading ]
13–17. INTERCESSORY LOVE THE FRUIT OF FAITH AND OF THE POSSESSION OF LIFE 13–17. Eternal life, faith, and brotherly love shewing boldness in intercession, are the leading ideas of this section. We have had most of these topics before, and the section is more or less of a recapitulation. But S. John... [ Continue Reading ]
13–21. CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY Some modern writers consider that 1 John 5:13 constitutes the conclusion of the Epistle, the remainder (14–21) being a postscript or appendix, analogous to chap. 21 of the Gospel, and possibly by another hand. Some go so far as to conjecture that the same person added... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΑὝΤΗ ἘΣΤῚΝ Ἡ ΠΑΡ. _And the_ BOLDNESS _that we have_ TOWARDS _Him is this_: see on 1 John 1:5 and 1 John 2:28. For the fourth and last time in the Epistle the Apostle touches on the subject of the Christian’s ‘boldness’. Twice he speaks of it in connexion with the Day of Judgment (1 John 2:28; 1... [ Continue Reading ]
15. For παρʼ αὐτοῦ ([805][806][807]) read ἈΠ ̓ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ ([808][809]). [810]1[811] omit from ἩΜΩ͂Ν to ἩΜΩ͂Ν: _homoeoteleuton_. [805] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. All thre... [ Continue Reading ]
16. ‘The prayer of faith’ is all-prevailing when it is in accordance with God’s will. This is the sole limit as regards prayer on our own behalf. Is there any other limit in the case of prayer on behalf of another? Yes, there is that other’s own will: this constitutes a further limitation. Man’s wil... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑ͂ΣΑ�. A warning against _carelessness_ about breaches of duty, whether in ourselves or in others. All such things are sin and need the cleansing blood of Christ (1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:2). Here, therefore, is a wide enough field for brotherly intercession. The statement serves also as a farewell dec... [ Continue Reading ]
18. For ἑαυτόν ([812][813]2[814][815][816]) read ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ ([817]1[818], Vulgate). [812] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles. [813] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, fro... [ Continue Reading ]
18–20. THE SUM OF THE CHRISTIAN’S KNOWLEDGE 18–20. The Epistle now draws rapidly to a close. Having briefly, yet with much new material, retouched some of the leading ideas of the Epistle, eternal life, faith in Christ, and boldness in prayer united with brotherly love (13–17), the Apostle now goes... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἼΔΑΜΕΝ. The conjunction must be omitted on abundant authority. This introduces the second great fact of which the believer has sure knowledge. And, as so often, S. John’s divisions are not sharp, but the parts intermingle. The second fact is partly anticipated in the first; the first is partly repe... [ Continue Reading ]
20. For γινώσκωμεν ([819]2[820]) read ΓΙΝΏΣΚΟΜΕΝ ([821][822][823]1[824]). [825] and Vulgate add Θεόν after Τ. ἀληθινόν. Before ΖΩῊ ΑἸΏΝΙΟΣ omit ἡ with [826][827][828] against [829]: [830] inserts ἠ after ΖΩΉ. [819] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of... [ Continue Reading ]
21. Omit the final ἀμήν with [831][832][833] and most Versions against [834][835]. [831] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles. [832] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople,... [ Continue Reading ]