1 John 1:8

See John 1:12; 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:10; John 1:13; John 3:3, John 3:7; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 5:1, 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:18. Paul often regards the Christian relation from a legal point of view as υἱοθεσία adoption, a word used only by him. See Romans 8:14, Romans 8:17, we have both υἱοὶ and τέκνα, and both in the ethical sense. In Romans 9:8; Ephesians 5:1, the ethical sense. 3. In Christ Jesus. Const. with faith. The article before πίστεως faith may point back to the faith previously mentioned, or may have, as so often, a possessive force, your faith.

The repetition of the preposition marks the separate Personality of Christ; whose Divine Sonship is emphasized with an unusual fulness of expression, perhaps in anticipation of the errors condemned in 2 John 1:7; 2 John 1:10 . in truth and love ] These two words, so characteristic of S. John (see on 1 John 1:8 ; 1 John 2:8 ; 1 John 3:1 ), are key-notes of this short Epistle, in which ‘truth’ occurs five times, and ‘love’ twice as a substantive and twice as a verb. ‘Commandment’ is a third such word.

1 John 1:10 . Ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν , we make Him a liar ) God says, Thou hast sinned; to deny this is impious. Comp. ch. 1 John 5:10 .— ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ , His word ) which is true: 1 John 1:8 . The word accuses us with truth; and by contradiction it is driven from the heart.— ἐν ἡμῖν , in us ) and therefore we are liars : ch. 1 John 2:4 .

1 John 4:8 . Οὐκ ἔγνω , knoweth not ) Is not born of God, and knoweth not God.— ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστὶν , God is love ) ἀγάπη , without the article, as in 1 John 4:16 . This brief sentence imparted to John, even during the mere time which he took in writing it, more delight than the whole world can impart.

Little children See on 1 John 2:1. Deceive (πλανάτω) Rev., better, lead astray. See on 1 John 1:8. Doeth righteousness See on 1 John 3:4, and compare 1 John 2:29. Note the article τὴν, the righteousness, in its completeness and unity. Not merely doing righteous acts. "In his relation to other men he will do what is just; and in his relation to the gods he will do what is holy; and he who does what is just and holy cannot be other than just and holy" (Plato, "Gorgias," 507).

18. So clearly does St. James explain himself, and fix the meaning of his own words. Yet, lest any one should still remain in doubt, St. John, writing many years after St. James, puts the matter entirely out of dispute, by the express declarations above recited. But here a fresh difficulty may arise: How shall we reconcile St. John with himself? In one place he declares, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin;" [1 John 3:9] and again, — "We know that he which is born of God sinneth not:" [1 John 5:18] And yet in another he saith, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us;" [1 John 1:8] and again, — "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." [1 John 1:10] 19. As great a difficulty as this may at first appear, it vanishes away, if we observe, First, that the tenth verse fixes the sense of the eighth: "If we say we have no sin," in the former, being explained by, "If we say we have not sinned," in the latter verse. [1 John 1:10, 8] Secondly, that the point under present consideration is not whether we have or have not sinned heretofore; and neither of these verses asserts that we do sin, or commit sin now. Thirdly, that the ninth verse explains both the eighth and tenth. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness:" As if he had said, "I have before affirmed, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin; but let no man say, I need it not; I have no sin to be cleansed from. If we say that we have no sin, that we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves, and make God a liar: But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just,' not only to forgive our sins,' but also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness:' [1 John 1:8-10] that we may go and sin no more.'" [John 8:11]