1 John 5

Brian Swedburg brian at discoveryhills.org
Fri Sep 22 15:17:46 EDT 2000


Greetings Blahoslave and list,

Blahoslav Cicel wrote:

   Hello brothers and friends,

   I would like to ask if the following structuring of the text is
possible:

   1 John 5:3,4
   AUTH GAR ESTIN hH AGAPH TOU QEOU,
                   hINA TAS ENTOLAS AUTOU THRWMEN
                           - KAI hAI ENTOLAI AUTOU BAREIAI OUK EISIN -
           hOTI PAN TO GEGENNHMENON EK TOU QEOU NIKA TON KOSMON. (or ,
or ; as you
   like)
   KAI AUTH ESTIN hH NIKH hH NIKHSASA TON KOSMON
           hH PISTIS hHMWN.

   It seems to me, that the AUTH ... ESTIN introduces a statement. So
there are
   two statements in the passage:
   1. (So) This is the love of God,
                   for us to keep (note the Subjunctive) his
commandments
                           - and his commandments are not hard -
           that everyone born from God ovecomes the world.
   2. (And) This is the victory which overcomes the world
           our faith.


Blahoslav:  Consider the possibility that in the phrase hH AGAPH TOU
QEOU, God is an objective genitive, i.e.. the
object of the love we show, and that this is often the case in 1 John.
    Secondly, your second statement is in my mind not a second
statement, but rather a further explanation, on
John's part, of the "overcoming"


   In the first statment I se a possibility that the logic is as
follows:

   The love of God causes everyone born from God to overcome the world
which
   makes him (her) able to keep God´s commandments.

   The second statment explains the base on which the victory is
obtained - our
   faith.


Again, your interpretation has grammatical legitimacy, but I would argue
that John is exhorting his readers that Love
towards God is carried out in His commands.  John further motivates them
by assuring them that such obedience is
not a burden, but rather the the dependable by-product of every one who
is born again of God.

My translation would be as follows

For this is love for God, that we should keep His commands, and His
commands are not burdens because everyone
who has been born (again) by God overcomes the world. Yes, this is the
victory overcoming the world, our faith! Who
is the over comer of the world, if not the one believing that Jesus is
the Son of God?!


   One question more to the v.2
   EN TOUTW GINOSKOMEN hOTI AGAPWMEN ...

   AGAPWMEN is 3p Pl Active and may be both Indicative and Subjunctive.
Is
   there any claer reason to tag it as Indicative (as On Line Bible tags
it an
   as it is usualy translated), or it is a case of mere decission?


 I am comfortable with either indicative or subjunctive.






    Thanks for the dialogue.

   Brian Swedburg

   Student
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