3:11 For 1 this is the gospel 2 message 3 that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, 4
4:11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then 5 we also ought to love one another. 6
1 tn It could be argued (1) that the ὅτι (Joti) at the beginning of 3:11 is grammatically subordinate to the preceding statement at the end of 3:10. As BDF §456.1 points out, however, “Subordination with ὅτι and διότι is often very loose…and must be translated ‘for.’” Thus (2) ὅτι assumes an inferential sense, standing at the beginning of a new sentence and drawing an inference based upon all that has preceded. This is confirmed by the structural parallel between the present verse and 1:5.
2 tn The word “gospel” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to clarify the meaning. See the notes on the words “gospel” and “message” in 1 John 1:5.
3 tn See the note on the word “message” in 1 John 1:5, where this same phrase occurs.
4 sn For this is the gospel message…that we should love one another. The structure of this verse is parallel to 1:5, indicating the beginning of a second major section of the letter.
5 tn Grk “and.” The Greek conjunction καί (kai) introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
6 tn This is a first-class conditional sentence with εἰ (ei) + aorist indicative in the protasis. Reality is assumed for the sake of argument with a first-class condition.