1 John 4:10

4:10 In this ¹  is love: not that ²  we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice ³  for our sins.

John 3:34

3:34 For the one whom God has sent ⁴  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ⁵ 

John 5:36-37

5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds ⁶  that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds ⁷  I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people ⁸  have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, ⁹ 

John 10:36

10:36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apart ¹⁰  and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

¹ tn Once again there is the (by now familiar) problem of determining whether the referent of this phrase (1) precedes or (2) follows. Here there are two ὅτι (Joti) clauses which follow, both of which are epexegetical to the phrase ἐν τούτῳ (en toutw) and explain what the love of God consists of: first, stated negatively, “not that we have loved God,” and then positively, “but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

² tn The two ὅτι (Joti) clauses are epexegetical to the phrase ἐν τούτῳ (en toutw) which begins the verse.

³ sn As explained at 2:2, inherent in the meaning of the word translated atoning sacrifice (ἱλασμός, Jilasmos) is the idea of turning away the divine wrath, so that “propitiation” is the closest English equivalent. God’s love for us is expressed in his sending his Son to be the propitiation (the propitiatory sacrifice) for our sins on the cross. This is an indirect way for the author to allude to one of the main points of his controversy with the opponents: the significance for believers’ salvation of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, including especially his sacrificial death on the cross. The contemporary English “atoning sacrifice” communicates this idea more effectively.

⁴ tn That is, Christ.

⁵ tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

⁶ tn Or “works.”

⁷ tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.

⁸ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.

⁹ sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century a.d. the giving of the law at Sinai was being celebrated.

¹⁰ tn Or “dedicated.”