1 John 3:1
Ἴδετε ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἵνα τέκνα Θεοῦ κληθῶμεν— καὶ ἐσμέν! διὰ τοῦτο, ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν.
Behold what kind of love the Father has given to us in order that children of God we might be called, and we are. On account of this, the world does not know us because it does not know Him.
Paraphrase: Now look and see what kind of love the Father has shown to us. He has adopted us into His family; and as a result, we are now called children. We are not slaves (John 15:15; Galatians 4:7; Romans 8:15; Philemon 16) or outsiders (Ephesians 2:19) any longer; we are members of God’s family and entitled to all the rights and privileges of children. (Romans 8:17) Now because of our new status as children, the world no longer wants anything to do with us. (1 Peter 4 :4) The world does not know God as their Father; and because of this, they don’t recognize us either. (1 Corinthians 3:19)
Comments:
1 John 3:2
Ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα Θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν.
Beloved, now children of God we are; and not yet, it is manifested what we will be. We know that when He might be manifested; like Him, we will be because we see Him even as He is.
Paraphrase: So now by the operation of the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14), we are children and God is our Father. Even so, we still don’t comprehend the fullness of what God has promised us. All we can know, at this point, is that when Jesus, our Savior, comes again for us, we will see Him with our own eyes. And when we see Him, we will be like Him. This vision of our returning Savior will transform us in such a way that we will be transformed into His spotless image. Then, truly it will be said that we are holy even as God is holy. (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26; 21:8; 1 Peter 1:15-16)
Comments:
1 John 3:3
καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ’ αὐτῷ, ἁγνίζει ἑαυτὸν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν.
and everyone having this hope on Him cleanses himself even as That One is clean.
Paraphrase: Now every person who has set his hope on Jesus, makes every effort to eliminate sin from his life. He works hard to purify Himself from every form of moral filth because he is in a saving union with Jesus Christ. (1 John 5:20) Now if there is no sin in Jesus, then none of His can tolerate the least transgression in their life. They hate sin with a bitter hatred.
Comments:
1 John 3:4
Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ· καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία.
Everyone doing sin even does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
Paraphrase: Every person who commits sin, breaks God’s law. In fact, that is what sin is. Sin is doing something which God has forbidden or failing to do something which God has commanded.
Comments:
See article 6 on p284.
1 John 3:5
καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ· καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν.
and you know that That One was manifested in order that sins might be taken away, and sin is not in Him.
Paraphrase: Now you know and have been taught that this is one of the reasons Jesus came to this earth. He came on a mission from the Father to take away sin, its guilt, and its punishment. (Hebrews 9:1-14; 10:1-4) There is no sin in Jesus; neither can there be any sin in those who are in a saving union with Him.
Comments:
1 John 3:6
πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων, οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν, οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.
Everyone remaining in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning, has not seen Him, neither known Him.
Paraphrase: Let this be a settled truth among us; anyone living in the practice of an unrepented sin is not in union with Christ. (1 John 5:18) Such a person has not seen Christ (John 9:39); they have not known Him (John 17:3); they have not believed in Jesus, nor do they have eternal life. They are under the wrath of God. (John 3:36)
Comments:
The Johannine seeing and knowing are both salvific; both are terms used for faith.
1 John 3:7
Τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην, δίκαιός ἐστιν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν.
Children, let no one mislead you. The one doing righteousness is righteous even as That One is righteous.
Paraphrase: My dear friends, don’t let anyone mislead you on this important point. That person who has a right legal status with God shows this status by a Godly character and a lifestyle which is marked by moral uprightness. Such a person has the same legal status as Jesus Himself.
Comments:
BBG 33.8.
1 John 3:8
ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου.
The one who is doing sin is from the devil because the devil is sinning from the beginning. Unto this, the Son of God was manifested in order that he might loose the works of the devil.
Paraphrase: On the other hand, the person who lives in the practice of unrepented sin is a child of the devil. He certainly is no child of the holy God. The devil is the one who first committed sin and broke God’s law. (Jude 6) Then, he made an entrance into God’s perfect kingdom and deceived Adam and Eve thus bringing death into God’s creation. (John 8:44) Now, Jesus Christ has come to this earth to undo this damage which Satan has done. Satan has won a few battles (Revelation 6:9-11; 13:7), but Jesus’ mandate is to destroy the devil’s kingdom (Revelation 17:14; 19:11-16) and to crush the head of the serpent. (Genesis 3:15)
Comments:
1 John 3:9
Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
Everyone having been born from God does not sin because His seed remains in him, and he is not able to sin because he is born from God.
Paraphrase: Every person who is a child of God does not live in the practice of unrepented sin. On the contrary, such persons hate sin and fight a bitter battle against it. (1 John 1:9; 3:3) How could such persons live in sin when they have the very life of God dwelling within them? (1 John 5:12) This life is the very Person of the Holy Spirit who lives in all of God’s children and teaches them the truth. (John 6:63)
Comments:
John may have in mind the heretics he references in 2 John 7.
1 John 3:10
ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
1 John 3:11
Ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους,
1 John 3:12
οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν, ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν καὶ ἔσφαξεν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ. καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν; ὅτι τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ πονηρὰ ἦν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, δίκαια.
1 John 3:13
[καὶ] Μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοί, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.
1 John 3:14
Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν, ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς. ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν μένει ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ.
1 John 3:15
πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστίν· καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος, οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ μένουσαν.
1 John 3:16
Ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι.
1 John 3:17
ὃς δ’ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχοντα, καὶ κλείσῃ τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, πῶς ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει ἐν αὐτῷ;
1 John 3:18
Τεκνία, μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ, μηδὲ τῇ γλώσσῃ, ἀλλὰ ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.
1 John 3:19
[καὶ] ἐν τούτῳ γνωσόμεθα ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐσμέν, καὶ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πείσομεν τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν,
1 John 3:20
ὅτι ἐὰν καταγινώσκῃ ἡμῶν ἡ καρδία, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν, καὶ γινώσκει πάντα.
1 John 3:21
Ἀγαπητοί, ἐὰν ἡ καρδία ‹ἡμῶν› «μὴ καταγινώσκῃ», παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν,
1 John 3:22
καὶ ὃ ἐὰν αἰτῶμεν, λαμβάνομεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηροῦμεν, καὶ τὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ποιοῦμεν.
1 John 3:23
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσωμεν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἔδωκεν ἐντολὴν ἡμῖν.
1 John 3:24
καὶ ὁ τηρῶν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν αὐτῷ. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι μένει ἐν ἡμῖν, ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος οὗ ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν.