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I agree with much of what Jon Ericson has said but I think we can get even closer to the meaning of the "sin that leads to death" from the context of 1st John.
John is dealing with a division that has occurred in his church (1 John 2:18-19). Some have left, denying that Jesus' had a physical body (1 John 4:1-3). The young men of the congregation (2:12-...
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While before the 20th century there was common agreement on common authorship between the Gospel and Epistles of John, there is, as you mention, no such agreement today. At the same time, we are quick to note, however, that John and 1 John share a vocabulary of words and thought forms to such an extent that no one has mounted a serious proposal that they are ...
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The context supports a causative understanding of the phrase "...we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is", and the context is crucial to the nuance of correct interpretation too.
3:1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is ...
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In the Introduction to 1 John in the NIV Study Bible, Donald W. Burdick writes:
Author:
Unlike most NT letters, 1 John does not tell us who the author is. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers: Irenaeus (A.D. 140-203), Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 155-215), Tertullian (A.D. 150-220) and Origen (A.D. 185-253) all designated the ...
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According to 2 John 7, there was the widespread belief that Jesus had only "appeared" and therefore did not come in the flesh -- so-called incipient Gnosticism.
2 John 1:7 (NASB)
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
So in the epistle ...
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Bibliographic Postscript
This is offered as a supplement to Soldarnal's fine answer.
Probably the most thorough (one is tempted to say "exhaustive") account of the internal evidence bearing on the question of the common authorship of gJohn and 1 John is found in A.E. Brooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles (Edinburgh, 1912), ...
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Forgive me for quoting extensively from The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament. It's the only book I've found in more than 15 years of studying the writings of John which so clearly gets the water and blood right.
The Standard View: Water and Blood as Baptism and Death
It is tempting to suppose that the reference to water in ...
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I don't think it's a mistake in the NASB. The identity of ὁ λόγος ("the word") in 1 John 1:1 is puzzling and may have been intentionally ambiguous. To make matters more complicated, the syntax of vv. 1-3 is complex and odd. The basic sequence is:
a string of relative clauses that form the compound object (of a verb not seen until v. 3) (v. 1a);
a ...
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I don't have a problem with the idea that Jesus existed in spiritual form pre-mortally--I in fact believe this is supported by other passages (a few examples here and here)--but I don't think that is the message this passage is intended to convey.
False teaching
The context of the preceding & succeeding verses is helpful in showing that John is ...
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The considerations here are much the same as those I discussed in a previous answer. I have attempted to develop those ideas and tailor it to the passage in question.
[I]s it incorrect to read this clause as "love is God"?
Yes, it is.
In Greek, the subject of a clause can generally be identified as the substantive in the nominative case. However, in ...
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Here is the Greek text of the two verses you ask about:
1 John 4.14
καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.
Luke 2.29-30
Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα, κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου
So the precise answer to your precise questions is:
(1) Yes. In 1 John 4.14 the ...
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I think if you look at the context of the verses in 1 John you will see that he was very much concerned with protecting believers from false teaching and false teachers. He starts out in verse 7 with:
"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray."
It seems to me, here he was trying to help them to identify false teachers, not necessarily to ...
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Discussion of the Neuter Gender
James L. Boyer wrote an article that is helpful here, "Relative Clauses in the Greek New Testament: A Statistical Study," Grace Theological Journal 9 (Fall 1988): 233-256. I will quote the relevant part of his conclusions on 1 John 1, but then challenge his ideas with an alternative using his own categories. Points in the ...
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A: To help us answer this question we need to examine both the Greek words from which are translated the terms “darkness”, “in the darkness” and “walk in the darkness”, and also the context in which the Apostle John uses these terms. Confining our focus to the Greek text of John's writings will help us avoid imposing our own preconceptions on what these ...
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The Idea in Brief
The present active indicative of the main verb points toward habitual sinning with specific emphasis on those unloving behaviors toward ones fellow believers and leaders. In other words, loving behaviors toward fellow believers and leaders are the actual "practice" of those born from God, not vice-versa.
Discussion
The verse in question ...
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I assume the question is about the use of the word 'antichrist', rather than the concept to which the word refers. A related term, pseudochristos, 'false Christ', is found in Matthew 24:24 and in Mark 13:22. The concept of an antichrist, without using this term, is also found in the Book of Revelation.
The earliest extra-biblical use of the term 'antichrist'...
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The authenticity of the Johannine comma, found in1 John 5:7, has been a subject of debate from the early sixteenth century. Wikipedia says the general consensus today is that that passage is a Latin corruption that entered the Greek manuscript tradition in subsequent copies. Manuscript evidence can be found here, in Wikipedia.
The text including the comma ...
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Interlinear text is a helpful thing, but also very limited - it translates each word individually and unfortunately don't help much with understanding a syntax, which is crucial thing.
John 4:14: καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου. Bold text is a construction called "double accusative" and can by simply ...
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[OP] Who is the "we" in 1 John 1:1?
A decent case can be made that the "we" of 1 John 1 is "editorial"; that is, it is a rhetorical device to refer to the author's self. This usage, related to the "royal 'we'", remains current, even if it now has a certain whiff of whimsy (or worse). In other words, the "we" refers not a group of apostles, nor the Twelve, ...
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I believe this verse has nothing to do with the security of the believer. It has been misunderstood and misapplied for too long. John was simply referring to the problem of false teachers that went out from the Jerusalem church that Luke had documented (see Acts 15:24). They were antichrists (2:18), had denied the Father and the Son (2:22), and were trying ...
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Since he is using the 'I' without further reference, he is the author. (No one else is being named explicitly who could be co-author.)
The 'we' in the beginning therefore can only be understood as standing for the group of witnessing disciples (apostles).
Regarding witness the commonness (plural) of the experience is important (as not being just an ...
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From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia's article on Gnosticism, comes the following, which I've highlighted and modified here and there:
In the First Epistle of John there is a distinct polemical purpose. There is no book of the New Testament which is more purposeful in its attack of error. There is "the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6), ...
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At first glance it does seem odd that John would leave this command dangling on the end of his letter. Why would he suddenly mention idols and not say anything more on the subject when he hasn't spoken about idols at all his letter. One explanation is that John had more to say about idol worship but his letter as it now stands is unfinished.
But this ...
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Short Answer: The shift is not only justified, but I believe it is virtually demanded by the context.
From a grammatical standpoint either "sins" or "keeps on sinning" could work. (Technical mumbo jumbo: This is because the verb is in the Koine Greek "present tense" which is used for both ongoing action, as well as punctiliar/...
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Short Answer: Possible? Yes. Probable? No.
The "advantages" of Synge's translation
First, let's put to rest Synge's claims about the advantages of his translation.
Regarding the consistently personal use of φανερόω, this verb does not have a consistently personal use (e.g. Mark 4:22) -- unless he means in this verse, which would be to commit the logical ...
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Tau's answer explains why the antichrist may be synonymous with the man of lawlessness and the beast described in Revelation 13. I would add to that as the question also asks:
Are there any reasons to believe they are not the same?
There are some reasons to believe they are not the same.
First, the term antichrist is not used anywhere other than 1 and 2 ...
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OP's interest in the Johannine "knowing all things" passages requires attention to the theme of "knowledge" more broadly in gJohn in particular, which also bears on the language of 1 John, although these related books remain distinct in some important aspects.
(OP) [1a] Do these scriptures suggest that the Lord Jesus Christ, Christians, and God the Father ...
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