[B-Greek] 1 John 3:9

Alexander Loney alexander.loney at duke.edu
Fri Oct 29 00:56:10 EDT 2004


 

Martin, you have put it very nicely, thank you. I would add that I agree
with you that we that the issues of syntax and context should be kept
separate--at first. It is equally fallacious, though, if not more so, to
consider individual sentences in a vacuum. Thus if Johannine theology,
John's historical milieu, Hellenistic/Hebraic rhetorical convention, and the
actual co-text of the epistle represent the context of the letter, all these
factors must be considered when determining the discourse-level semantics of
any particular verse, such as 3:9. Thus, I would assert that syntax (which
is conventional, not absolute, anyway) and context must be combined, after
they have been separately determined, in order to arrive at real "meaning"
in the text. I think you, Martin, have done so in your analysis.

 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------

Alexander Loney

Duke University

Classical Studies

 

now the ears of my ears are awake and 

now the eyes of my eyes are opened

                                          - e e cummings

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Martin Culy
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:59 AM
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org; sethvm at hotmail.com
Subject: [B-Greek] 1 John 3:9

 

Alexander Loney's comments offered some helpful guidance for this passage.

Let me add my two cents.  It is important when interpreting such passages to

keep syntactic, theological, and rhetorical issues separate in our minds.

If we allow our theological presuppositions to drive our exegesis, we run

the risk of misrepresenting the syntax and overlooking the rhetorical force

of the text.  I believe that common analyses of 1 John 3:9 serve as a case

in point.  Let me share my comments on hAMARTANEI in 1 John 3:6, where many

find themselves experiencing similar theological discomfort, given John's

apparent claim that Christians do not sin.  "The author's statement here

with the present tense verb has led to widespread debate regarding the

meaning of the passage.  Given the writer's penchant for absolute

statements, the rhetorical force of this statement must be kept in mind.

His concern is not with projected eschatological realities (contra Wallace,

524-25).  Rather . . . as Smalley (159) puts it, the writer's statement

makes it clear that 'an intimate and ongoing relationship with Christ . . .

precludes the practice of sin.'  Read within the context of the rest of the

letter, it is clear that the writer does not necessarily expect a sinless

life for those who 'remain in him.'  He had made it clear in 2:1 that sin

may occur in the believer's life.  His ethical standards, both here and

elsewhere in the letter, however, are incredibly high.  It is important,

then, not to water down his statement by pressing the present tense to imply

a focus on continual or habitual sin (contra e.g., Burdick, 239; Young,

108), as though the writer were claiming that true Christians may sin as

long as it is not continual or habitual.  The tense simply portrays the sin

as a process without regard to the event's frequency of recurrence-a process

that should have no place in the life of one who 'remains in him.'" (I, II,

III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text, 73):  What I am suggesting we do,

then, is take the syntax and semantics of the text seriously, ask how this

passage fits within the larger argument of 1 John (i.e., ask how it

functions rhetorically), and then work through the theological implications

of the text.  I believe the same "absolutist" rhetoric is being employed in

3:9 as 3:6 to highlight the fundamental incompatibility of being born of God

and committing sin.  I am thus more comfortable saying that John is

employing hyperbole to add force to his argument, than weakening his

rhetoric by claiming that he is concerned with habitual sin.

 

Martin Culy

Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek

Briercrest College and Seminary

510 College Drive

Caronport, SK S0H 0S0 

Phone: (306) 756-3207

 

 

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