1 John 2:27

2:27 Now as for you, the anointing ¹  that you received from him ²  resides ³  in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his ⁴  anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as ⁵  it ⁶  has taught you, you reside ⁷  in him.

1 John 3:11

God Is Love, So We Must Love One Another

3:11 For ⁸  this is the gospel ⁹  message ¹⁰  that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, ¹¹ 

1 John 3:13

3:13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, ¹²  if the world hates you. ¹³ 

1 John 4:11

4:11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then ¹⁴  we also ought to love one another. ¹⁵ 

1 John 4:19

4:19 We love ¹⁶  because he loved us first.

[2:27]  ¹ sn The anointing. The “anointing” (χρῖσμα, crisma) which believers have received refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit which has been given to them at their conversion.

[2:27]  ² sn The pronoun could refer to God or Jesus Christ, but a reference to Jesus Christ is more likely here.

[2:27]  ³ tn This use of μένω (menw) has been translated “reside” both times in 2:27 because it refers to the current status of believers.

[2:27]  ⁴ sn The pronoun could refer (1) to God or (2) to Jesus Christ, but a reference to Jesus Christ is more likely here.

[2:27]  ⁵ tn Grk “and is not a lie, and just as.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:27]  ⁶ tn Or “he.”

[2:27]  ⁷ tn The verb may be read as either (1) indicative or (2) imperative mood. The same verb is found in the following verse, 2:28, but the address to the readers there seems clearly to indicate an imperative. On analogy some have called for an imperative here, but others have seen this as suggesting an indicative here, so that the author is not repeating himself. An indicative is slightly more likely here. Up to this point the thrust of the author has been reassurance rather than exhortation, and an indicative here (“…you reside in him”) balances the indicative in the first part of 2:27 (“the anointing which you received from him resides in you…”). With the following verse the author switches from reassurance (the readers at the time he is writing still ‘remain’; they have not yet adopted the teaching of the opponents) to exhortation (he is writing so that they will ‘remain’ and not succumb to the deception of the opponents).

[3:11]  ⁸ 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.

[3:11]  ⁹ 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.

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “message” in 1 John 1:5, where this same phrase occurs.

[3:11]  ¹¹ 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.

[3:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Since the author is addressing his readers directly at this point, “brothers and sisters” (suggesting a degree of familial endearment) has been employed in the translation at this point, while elsewhere the less direct “fellow Christians” has been used (cf. v. 14).

[3:13]  ¹⁶ sn Cf. John 15:18, where this phrase also occurs.

[4:11]  ²² tn Grk “and.” The Greek conjunction καί (kai) introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[4:11]  ²³ 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.

[4:19]  ²⁹ sn No object is supplied for the verb love (the author with his propensity for obscurity has left it to the readers to supply the object). The obvious objects that could be supplied from the context are either God himself or other believers (the brethren). It may well be that the author has both in mind at this point; the statement is general enough to cover both alternatives, although the following verse puts more emphasis on love for the brethren.