154
i Matt. vii. nace
oes . ag o 23; ο 4 : z ee ς νὰ ομία. x. 17 (Jer. Eva, πα er ee XXX1. 34).
k Jobn i. 4
11.
A , / a , ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ‘thy ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ: καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία Ν 3/, 5! > a 1 5 η 2 \ 5. καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος | ἐφανερώθη, ἵνα τὰς a , na A ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν 1 “don καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὖκ ἔστι. 6. πᾶς ,
1 Cor.xv.6 "éy αὐτῷ µένων, ' οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει: πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, οὐχ ἑώρακεν
250: 1Η. 28 reff. αὐτόν, οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.
m Johni. 29; Col. ii. 14.
n ii. 6 ref. ο Rom. vi. 14.
7. Texvia,” μηδεὶς πλανάτω 2 ἡμᾶς: pi. 8 reff.
Ἱαμαρτιας ημων SCKL, Syrvg, Vg., Sah.; om. ημων ABP, Syrph, Cop., Aeth.,
Arm., Tert. (de Pudic. το), Aug., edd.
* rexvia SYBKL, edd. ; παιδια ACP, WH (πιατρ.).
Vv. 4-12. The Obligation of our Dignity as Children of God. ‘‘ Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawless- ness; and sin is lawlessness. And ye know that He was manifested that He might take away the sins; and sin in Him there is not. Every one that abideth in Him doth not keep sinning; every one that keepeth sinning hath not seen Him nor got to know Him. Little children, let no one lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous; he that doeth sin is of the Devil, because from the beginning the Devil keepeth sinning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that He might undo the works of the Devil. Every one that hath been begotten of God doeth not sin, because His seed in him abideth; and he cannot keep sinning, because of God he hath been begotten. Herein are manifest the children of God and the children of the Devil: every one that doeth not righteousness is not of God, and he that loveth not his brother. Be- cause this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we love one another. Not as Cain was of the Evil One and slew his brother. And where- fore did heslayhim? Because his works were evil, but his brother’s righteous.”
Vv. 4-8. The Incompatibility of Son- ship with Continuance in Sin.
Ver. 4. 6 ποι. τὴν ap., the converse of 6 ποι. την δικ. (ii. 20). νόμος, the revelation of God’s will, the Father’s requirement of His children, an expres- sion of the true law of their nature. 4 Gp. ἐστ. ἡ Gv. : the article in both subject and predicate make “sin” and ‘‘ lawless- ness” convertible and co-extensive terms.
Ver. 5. The purpose of the Incarna- tion was to “ take away the sins ”—atone for the sins of the past and prevent sins in the future. αἴρειν, properly “ lift up and carry away” (cf. Mark vi. 29; John ii. 16), but the idea of expiation is in- volved since it is ‘the Lamb of God” that ‘‘ taketh away the sins”. ἐκεῖνος, see note on ii. 6. ἁμαρτία, ‘sin,” ἐ,ε. the sinful principle; see note oni. 8.
Ver. 6., This seems a stark contradic- tion of i, 8-ii. 2. (xz) St. Augustine first limits the statement: ‘‘In quantum in ipso manet, in tantum non peccat,” and then narrows the idea of ‘‘sin” by defin- ing it as “not loving one’s brother” (vers. το). (2) St. Bernard (De Nat. et Dign. Am. Div. vi.) compares Rom. vii. 17, 20: “secundum hoc quod natus est ex Deo, id est secundum interioris hominis rationem, in tantum non peccat, in quantum peccatum quod corpus mortis foris operatur, odit potius quam approbat, semine spiritualis nativitatis quo ex Deo natus est eum interius conservante ”. (3) Romanists limit ‘‘sin” to ‘“ mortal sin”. (4) Many commentators say that St. John is thinking only of the ideal. All these simply explain away the em- phatic declaration. There is really no contradiction, and the Apostle’s meaning appears when account is taken of the terms he employs with accurate preci- sion. In the earlier passage hesays that there is indwelling sin in the believer. The sinful principle (ἁμαρτία) remains, and it manifests its presence by lapses from holiness—occasional sins, definite, isolated acts of sin. This is the iorce ot the aorists, ἁμάρτητε, ἁμάρτῃ in ii. 1. Here he uses the present ἁμαρτάνειν (varied by ποιεῖν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν) with the implication of continuance in sin. The distinction between present and aorist is well exemplified by Matt. vi. 11: 885 σήμερον as contrasted with Luke xi. 3: δίδου τὸ Kad’ ἡμέραν, and Matt. xiv. 22: ἐμβῆναι .. . καὶ προάγει. The dis- tinction was obvious to St. John’s Greek. readers, and they would feel no difficulty when he said, on the one hand: ἐάν τις ἁμάρτῃ, Παράκλητον ἔχομεν, and, on the other: was 6 ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν. The believer may fall into sin but he will not walk in it. ‘‘ Hath not seen Him,” because he is ‘in the dark- ness” (cf. i. 5-7).