1 John 1:6

1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking ¹  in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing ²  the truth.

1 John 1:9

1:9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, ³  forgiving ⁴  us our sins and cleansing ⁵  us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:2

2:2 and he himself is the atoning sacrifice ⁶  for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world. ⁷ 

1 John 2:4

2:4 The one who says “I have come to know God” ⁸  and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.

1 John 2:17-18

2:17 And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains ⁹  forever.

Warning About False Teachers

2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists ¹⁰  have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:28

Children of God

2:28 And now, little children, remain ¹¹  in him, ¹²  so that when ¹³  he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back. ¹⁴ 

1 John 3:22

3:22 and ¹⁵  whatever we ask we receive from him, because ¹⁶  we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him.

1 John 4:21

4:21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that ¹⁷  the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian ¹⁸  too.

1 John 5:11

5:11 And this is the testimony: God ¹⁹  has given us eternal life, ²⁰  and this life is in his Son.

[1:6]  ¹ tn The context of this statement in 1:6 indicates clearly that the progressive (continuative or durative) aspect of the present tense must be in view here.

[1:6]  ² tn Or “living according to…”

[1:9]  ³ tn Or “just.”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) followed by the subjunctive is here equivalent to the infinitive of result, an “ecbatic” or consecutive use of ἵνα according to BDAG 477 s.v. 3 where 1 John 1:9 is listed as a specific example. The translation with participles (“forgiving, …cleansing”) conveys this idea of result.

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Or “purifying.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn A suitable English translation for this word (ἱλασμός, Jilasmos) is a difficult and even controversial problem. “Expiation,” “propitiation,” and “atonement” have all been suggested. L. Morris, in a study that has become central to discussions of this topic (The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 140), sees as an integral part of the meaning of the word (as in the other words in the ἱλάσκομαι [Jilaskomai] group) the idea of turning away the divine wrath, suggesting that “propitiation” is the closest English equivalent. It is certainly possible to see an averting of divine wrath in this context, where the sins of believers are in view and Jesus is said to be acting as Advocate on behalf of believers. R. E. Brown’s point (Epistles of John [AB], 220-21), that it is essentially cleansing from sin which is in view here and in the other use of the word in 4:10, is well taken, but the two connotations (averting wrath and cleansing) are not mutually exclusive and it is unlikely that the propitiatory aspect of Jesus’ work should be ruled out entirely in the usage in 2:2. Nevertheless, the English word “propitiation” is too technical to communicate to many modern readers, and a term like “atoning sacrifice” (given by Webster’s New International Dictionary as a definition of “propitiation”) is more appropriate here. Another term, “satisfaction,” might also convey the idea, but “satisfaction” in Roman Catholic theology is a technical term for the performance of the penance imposed by the priest on a penitent.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Many translations supply an understood repetition of the word “sins” here, thus: “but also for the sins of the whole world.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “know him.” See the note on the phrase “know God” in 1 John 2:3 for explanation.

[2:17]  ⁹ tn See note on the translation of the Greek verb μένω (menw) in 2:6. The translation “remain” is used for μένω (menw) here because the context contrasts the transience of the world and its desires with the permanence of the person who does God’s will.

[2:18]  ¹¹ sn Antichrists are John’s description for the opponents and their false teaching, which is at variance with the apostolic eyewitness testimony about who Jesus is (cf. 1:1-4). The identity of these opponents has been variously debated by scholars, with some contending (1) that these false teachers originally belonged to the group of apostolic leaders, but departed from it (“went out from us,” v. 19). It is much more likely (2) that they arose from within the Christian communities to which John is writing, however, and with which he identifies himself. This identification can be seen in the interchange of the pronouns “we” and “you” between 1:10 and 2:1, for example, where “we” does not refer only to John and the other apostles, but is inclusive, referring to both himself and the Christians he is writing to (2:1, “you”).

[2:28]  ¹³ tn Again, as at the end of 2:27, the verb μένετε (menete) may be read as either (1) indicative or (2) imperative mood. At the end of 2:27 the translation opted for an indicative because the author had been attempting to reassure his readers that they did indeed possess eternal life, and also because an indicative at the end of 2:27 balances the indicative reference to the “anointing” residing in the readers at the beginning of the verse. With the return in 2:28 to the eschatological note introduced in 2:18, however, it appears that the author switches from reassurance to exhortation. At the time he is writing them, the readers do still “remain” since they have not yet adopted the heretical teaching of the opponents. But now the author wants to forestall the possibility that they might do so at some point, and so he begins this section with an exhortation to the readers to “reside/remain” in Christ. This suggests that μένετε in the present verse should be read as imperative rather than indicative, a view made even more probable by the following ἵνα (Jina) clause which states the purpose for the exhortation: in order that at the parousia (second advent) when Jesus Christ is revealed, the readers may have confidence and not shrink back from him in shame when he appears.

[2:28]  ¹⁴ sn A reference to Jesus Christ is more likely here. Note the mention of the second coming (second advent) at the end of this verse.

[2:28]  ¹⁵ tn In this context ἐάν (ean) does not indicate uncertainty about whether or not Christ will return, but rather uncertainty about the exact time when the event will take place. In the Koine period ἐάν could mean “when” or “whenever” and was virtually the equivalent of ὅταν ({otan; see BDAG 268 s.v. ἐάν 2). It has this meaning in John 12:32 and 14:3.

[2:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “at his coming.”

[3:22]  ¹⁵ tn The conjunction καί (kai) which begins 3:22 is epexegetical (explanatory), relating a further implication of the “confidence” (παρρησίαν, parrhsian) which believers have before God when their heart (conscience) does not condemn them. They can ask things of God with the expectation of receiving their requests.

[3:22]  ¹⁶ tn The ὅτι (Joti) is clearly causal, giving the reason why believers receive what they ask.

[4:21]  ¹⁷ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause in 4:21 could be giving (1) the purpose or (2) the result of the commandment mentioned in the first half of the verse, but if it does, the author nowhere specifies what the commandment consists of. It makes better sense to understand this ἵνα clause as (3) epexegetical to the pronoun ταύτην (tauthn) at the beginning of 4:21 and thus explaining what the commandment consists of: “that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

[4:21]  ¹⁸ tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.

[5:11]  ¹⁹ tn The ὅτι (Joti) clause in 5:11 is epexegetical (explanatory) to the phrase καὶ αὕτη ἐστίν (kai Jauth estin) at the beginning of the verse and gives the content of the testimony for the first time: “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

[5:11]  ²⁰ sn In understanding how “God’s testimony” (added to the three witnesses of 5:8) can consist of eternal life it is important to remember the debate between the author and the opponents. It is not the reality of eternal life (whether it exists at all or not) that is being debated here, but rather which side in the debate (the author and his readers or the opponents) possesses it (this is a key point). The letter began with a testimony that “the eternal life” has been revealed (1:2), and it is consummated here with the reception or acknowledgment of that eternal life as the final testimony. This testimony (which is God’s testimony) consists in eternal life itself, which the author and the readers possess, but the opponents do not. This, for the author, constitutes the final apologetic in his case against the opponents.