Chapter 5

Outline: There are two paragraphs. The first paragraph deals with the motivating virtue of personal love for God—social life with God or love for God as the motivating virtue, 1 John 5:1-12. Then there is a second motivating virtue in verses 13-21, the virtue of confidence toward God. All motivating virtues are invisible. So, in effect, what we have in 1 John 5 is the invisible impact of Christianity on history.

The believer has a testimony which is divided into two parts: invisible and visible. The invisible part of the testimony is the believer’s attitude toward God, and when his attitude toward God is expressed in virtue, not only is he in for great blessing but his country has a chance. When you have worship of God then people can see the other side of the picture: functioning virtue—morality, confidence in God, courage, personal love for God, impersonal love for man.

Verse 1 – the beginning of virtue in the believer. The first word in the Greek is the nominative singular subject from the adjective paj. It emphasises the individual members of a category, therefore it is translated “Everyone,” those who are born again, believers in Jesus Christ. Then the present active participle of the verb pisteuw, which means to believe. The definite article is used as a relative pronoun in order to set up a relative clause, to make the relative clause out of the participle. The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. In other words, information which has come to be in the past which I now believe in contrast to Gnosticism. The active voice: mankind produces the action of the verb through salvation adjustment to the justice of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The subject paj plus the participle also emphasises the doctrine of unlimited atonement. The participle has simultaneous action with the main verb. “Everyone who believes.” Then the conjunction o(ti, used to denote the content of that faith; it refers to phase one of the plan of God. The nominative subject I)hsouj—“Jesus,” refers to our Lord Jesus Christ in hypostatic union, emphasising His humanity sustained by the prototype divine dynasphere. The main verb is the present active indicative of e)imi, the verb to be. The static present represents the hypostatic union as perpetually existing. The active voice: Jesus Christ produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the hypostatic union. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is.” Then we have the predicate nominative from the noun Xristoj. It means “anointed one” or “Messiah.” It is not only used for our Lord Jesus Christ in the first advent but it is used for Satan before history began in eternity past. Satan was called “the anointed cherub.” The concept of anointing has to do with rulership, priesthood, and from that comes the fact of teaching a system. As far as our Lord is concerned it is teaching the whole realm of doctrine in the Word of God, as illustrated by 1 Corinthians 2:16, the Bible is the mind of Christ. But for Satan is means that before human beings existed on planet earth, throughout the universe Satan was the chief preacher and teacher of angels. And it was arrogance that destroyed the greatest teaching angel in all of history. The ruler of the Church, the God of Israel, the God-Man, the unique person of the universe, is Jesus Christ the anointed one, the Messiah.

The verb is the perfect passive indicative of gennaw, which means to be born. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born.” Anyone can start over, with all of their mistakes, for salvation is the only thing you can enter where all of your past mistakes are washed out by God, and where you have the opportunity of having a meaningful and purposeful life. Salvation is the new start, and since it is you have to learn a lot of doctrine in a hurry and establish new standards so that you can make decisions with regard to what is important and what is not important in life.

This is in the perfect tense. The intensive perfect emphasises the result of the completed action. It is also called the perfect of existing state in which the past completed action of salvation has tremendous continuous results—to do with momentum in the divine dynasphere. It has to begin somewhere: the point of faith in Christ. Just like physical birth it means a brand new start in life. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb at the point of salvation. He receives 36 things. One of those is actually related to the verb gennaw—regeneration, to be born again. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit is the means by which we are born again.

And to show that this is not physical birth we have the preposition e)k plus the ablative of source from qeoj—“from God.” There is a difference between physical birth and spiritual birth. In physical birth the umbilical cord is cut; in spiritual birth the spiritual cord is one half of divine holiness—divine justice—establishing a life-line to the imputed righteousness of God to every believer. And down that grace pipe-line comes logistical grace support—the air you breathe, the food you eat, the clothes you possess, the transportation that takes you from point A to point B. So the spiritual birth has advantages that could never exist in the physical birth. If you have believed in Christ you have had a spiritual birth. Because it is spiritual there is no experience, no emotional experience. It is not something you can approach empirically; you cannot feel it.

“and” is the conjunction kai, then the nominative subject from the adjective paj—“and everyone,” followed by the articular present active participle of the verb a)gapaw—“who loves.” The definite article is used as a relative pronoun in order to introduce a relative clause out of one participle. The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality, the function of gate five [personal love for God] in the past now emphasised as a present reality. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb through momentum at gate four. The participle has simultaneous action with the main verb.

Next is the articular aorist active participle from gennaw. This is the adjective use of the participle, it is used as a noun, for the word “Father.” The initial function of gate five of the divine dynasphere is love of God the Father as the author of the divine plan. This love for the Father is personal love, it is the motivating virtue that sets all the functional virtues in operation. Personal love for God is the first virtue to result from doctrinal momentum of gate four of the divine dynasphere. As such, it is classified as gate five of the divine dynasphere.

Next is the present active indicative of a)gapaw. The word occurs twice, first as a participle and then as the indicative. We translate this, “everyone who loves the Father loves everyone who has been born from him.” The present tense is a progressive present, used for a state of persistence in the divine dynasphere, resulting in the manufacture of virtue. The active voice: the believer who resides in the divine dynasphere produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the function of personal love for God as a motivating virtue for impersonal love directed toward man. This means that the indicative mood is a sign also of the main verb, and there is simultaneous action with the aorist participle. The object of the verb is all believers. In other words, if you have the motivating virtue you will possess the functioning virtue.

Then the articular perfect passive participle from the verb gennaw, which means to be born. With it is the definite article of the articular participle, it is in the accusative singular—ton. It is the definite article used as the indefinite pronoun to delineate a category of believers. The category is basically those who reside and function in the divine dynasphere, develop motivating virtue to result in functioning virtues. The perfect tense refers to past completed action with emphasis on continuing and existing results. This is called the intensive perfect tense in the Greek, it emphasises the existing results—the function of virtue toward all mankind. The passive voice: the believer receiving the action of the verb at salvation, both eternal security and entrance into the divine dynasphere. The participle is circumstantial for the fact of the royal family of God in the Church Age, formed at the moment of salvation. With this is a prepositional phrase, e)k plus the ablative of a)utoj—“from him.” The intensive pronoun is used as the third person personal pronoun.

Translation: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah, anointed one] has been born from God: furthermore, everyone who loves the Father loves everyone who has been born from him.”

Verse 2 – the relationship between motivation and function in virtue. We have first of all the functional virtue, impersonal love directed toward mankind. The Greeks starts out with the prepositional phrase, e)n plus the instrumental of the near demonstrative o(utoj, and it is correctly translated “By this.” It means understanding the direction and the motivation of virtue. Next is the present active indicative of the verb ginwskw, which means to come to know—gate four, perception of doctrine. The present tense is a perfective present, it denotes perception of doctrine producing virtue in the past but emphasises present reality in sorting out both direction and categories of virtue. It means perception of doctrine in the past resulting in motivating virtues so that now you have functional virtues when you come into contact with the human race. The active voice: the believer who resides and functions consistently in the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb, both in the manufacture of virtue and its obvious function. But the function occurs only when you come into contact with people. You don’t always come into contact with people but there is always virtue that must be resident. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the manufacture of virtue, only inside the divine dynasphere.

The conjunction o(ti follows. After ginwskw it always gives the content of what is learned; contact with knowledge. Translation: “By this we have come to know that.” Then the present active indicative of the verb a)gapaw—“keep loving.” The present tense is a progressive present for the manufacture and function of the virtue of impersonal love toward man inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer who resides and functions inside the divine dynasphere produces the action. The indicatve mood is declarative for the reality of virtue manufactured only inside the divine dynasphere.

The accusative plural direct object of teknon follows. It means they should be learning. This is where we get our word “technical.” It means “children” all right, but children under authority learning from their parents. When it is talking about loving all kinds of believers (impersonal love), that takes in the obnoxious and the attractive. It takes in all kinds of personalities, and to be able to have impersonal love which is toleration for all believers is important because by loving someone who may be very obnoxious to you, you are giving them a chance to use their privacy and their positive volition to also develop virtue. All believers are supposed to be learning doctrine, but that is not our problem. The problem is to give them a chance, and impersonal love is the only way that you can bring together a congregation of believers in various stages of spiritual life and give them all the same chance of taking in doctrine. Impersonal love provides the environment of privacy, so that no matter how you have failed, no matter who you are, no matter what you do for a living, you can come and listen to doctrine, and learn doctrine without being the subject of maligning or gossip, or something that would make it impossible for you to feel comfortable in Bible class listening to doctrine.

Then we have the genitive of relationship, qeoj—“of God.” The royal family. Impersonal love is always directed toward all mankind, in contrast to personal love which is directed toward a few. Impersonal love functions consistently when faced with hostility, animosity and antagonism on the one hand, or admiration, love and attraction on the other hand. The object of impersonal love can be worthy or unworthy, known or unknown, enemy or friend, since impersonal love emphasises the virtue, integrity and honour of the subject. The object doesn’t have to have virtue, have wisdom, be attractive; but the subject must have this virtue.

Moving on to the motivating virtue: personal love toward God. It begins with o(tan, a temporal particle used for action which is conditional, which is possible, and an action which can be repeated under the right circumstances defined in context. It is correctly translated “whenever.” This introduces the indefinite temporal clause in which the present subjunctive will be simultaneous with the main clause. We have a conditional concept depending on resident and function in the divine dynasphere. We have a possible concept: the manufacture of virtue inside the divine dynasphere. We have a repeated or perpetual concept which is the momentum at gate four, resulting in the operation of the invisible motivating virtue directed toward God. The virtue is invisible even as God is invisible. Motivating virtue directed toward God results in functional virtue directed toward man. So we have our present active subjunctive of the verb a)gapaw. Everything in your life depends upon this verb, that is why it is in the subjunctive. It is used for the motivating virtue of personal love toward God—“whenever we love,” plus the accusative singular direct object of qeoj, “God. Everything that is worthwhile in life depends upon the direct object. The present tense is a customary present for what may reasonably be expected to occur when the believer lives inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer living in the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood is potential, it introduces the element of contingency. The contingency for the manufacture of the motivating virtue of personal love toward God includes the function of the first four gates, the momentum part of the divine dynasphere. Qeoj emphasises the direction of motivating virtues, the establishment of the category, the invisible category that leads to the visible part of your personality which is not only glorifying to God but is the part that guarantees happiness and blessing in this life, regardless of circumstances. All is contingent on your residence in the divine dynasphere.

With love for God and confidence toward God you have the basis for every true and honourable motivation principle and every virtue in life. There are three motivating virtues: worship toward God, confidence toward God, personal love toward God. Worship is your perception of doctrine, resulting in confidence and personal love. So without your perception of doctrine you will not have these two important virtues in your life.

“and keep” – the conjunction kai plus the present active subjunctive of poiew which means here to execute: “and we execute.” Then the present active subjunctive of the verb. The retroactive present denotes what has begun in the past—residence inside the divine dynasphere, function inside the divine dynasphere, the manufacture of virtue inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb through obedience to divine mandates. The principle: Knowledge of God’s will must precede the execution of God’s will. It is impossible to do the will of God unless you know exactly what it is. The potential subjunctive establishes contingency for the manufacture and function of virtue inside the divine dynasphere.

With this is the accusative plural direct object from the noun e)ntolh, referring to the mandates of God. These mandates not only include residence in the divine dynasphere but function as well. Then the possessive genitive of a)utoj, the intensive pronoun used as the personal pronoun, referring to God the Father—“and we execute his mandates.”

Translation: “By this [cognisance of both direction and motivation of virtue] we have come to know that we keep loving the children of God [functional virtue of impersonal love], whenever we love God, and we execute his mandates.”

Verse 3 begins with the explanatory use of the postpositive conjunction gar, correctly translated “For.” With it is the subject, nominative feminine singular near demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, emphasising personal love for God as the motivating virtue for impersonal love directed toward man. Your personal relationships with people and your relationship with those to whom you have no friendship are all related to the impersonal love factor. The present active indicative of e)imi follows—“For this is.” The present tense is a static present for something taken for granted as a fact. Personal love for God is motivation for impersonal love toward man. The active voice: the near demonstrative which refers to personal love for God as the motivating virtue produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of fact. Then comes the predicate nominative from a)gaph, and with it the objective genitive of qeoj—“for God.”

Next comes the manufacturing principle. It begins with the conjunction i(na which introduces a final clause. The final clause denotes a purpose, aim, objective. Then the present active subjunctive of the verb terew, which means to keep, to guard, to observe, to execute—“that we might continue observing [or executing].” This is a progressive present for a state of persistence, linear aktionsart. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb only by residing in the divine dynasphere and functioning at the various gates. The subjunctive mood with the conjunction i(na is for the construction of the purpose clause. It is also contingency. The contingency in the subjunctive relates to your relationship with God and His plan. In other words, residence and function inside of the divine dynasphere. The direct object in the accusative plural of e)ntolh is “mandates” or “commands,” plus the possessive genitive of a)utoj—“his mandates.”

The degree of difficulty is the final statement in this verse. The connective conjunction is kai, used to denote the degree of difficulty in executing the mandates of God, God’s game plan for this dispensation. With it is the present active indicative of e)imi, this time with the negative, and it is translated “and his mandates are not.” The progressive present: they never are difficult. The active voice: divine mandates for the royal family of God produce the action. The indicative mood is declarative, representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Plus the predicate nominative baruj, which means burdensome, heavy, difficult to fulfil—“and his mandates are not difficult to fulfil.” The reason why His mandates are not difficult to fulfil, or burdensome, is because God has provided both a salvation and a logistical grace plan, everything that is necessary to sustain everyone from the moment they believe in Jesus Christ, all of the way to death or the Rapture, whichever occurs first. He gave us at salvation 36 things, plus the divine dynasphere. He gave us in time, logistical grace, so that we can advance from gate four to gate eight of the divine dynasphere.

Verse 4 – the initial victory over the cosmic system. It sets a precedent for experiential victory. It begins with the causal use of the conjunction o(ti, correctly translated “because.” The subject is the nominative neuter singular from the adjective, used as a noun, paj—“every,” meaning every category of humanity. Then the articular perfect passive participle from the verb gennaw, which means to be born—“because every category of humanity which has been born.” Every category of humanity means the good, the bad, the moral, the religious, the irreligious. All have to be born from God to have salvation, there is no salvation apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The definite article is used as a relative pronoun to form a relative clause out of the participle. The perfect tense of existing state is used for what happens in the past to all believers. At some time in the past they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So what happened in the past—salvation, with results that continue in time. The existing state of having the divine dynasphere is emphasised in this perfect tense. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb. The participle is circumstantial for having the means of overcoming Satan’s system of ruling the world—the cosmic dynaspheres. With this is a prepositional phrase, e)k plus the ablative of qeoj—“from God.”

Next is the present active indicative of the verb nikaw, which means to be a victor, to prevail, to conquer, to overcome. It means to be a winner. God has designed the plan, the Christian way of life, so that the believer can be a winner. The present tense is a customary present denoting what habitually occurs when the believer resides and functions inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer who lives in the divine dynasphere produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of victory over the cosmic system. The accusative singular direct object of kosmoj is used for the cosmic system. The word means “organisation,” not “world.”

Principle

1. The initial victory over the cosmic system occurs at the moment of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. At that moment the believer in Christ enters the divine dynasphere, the place of victory.

2. It was our Lord Jesus Christ who defeated the cosmic system through His residence in the prototype divine dynasphere—John 16:33.

3. Just as our Lord overcame the cosmic system through residence and function inside the prototype divine dynasphere, so we as believers overcome the cosmic system through residence and function in the divine dynasphere for the Church Age.

4. Our initial residence in the divine dynasphere occurs at the moment of salvation through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Next is the connective use of the conjunction kai, plus the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj—“and this.” The demonstrative pronoun is used as the subject. Plus the present active indicative of the verb e)imi—“and this is.” The present tense is a static present, it represents a condition which perpetually exists during the Church Age. The initial victory over the cosmic system occurs at the moment you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. At that moment, as a believer, you are filled with the Spirit for the first time, and simultaneously are in the divine dynasphere. The active voice: when any category of the human race believes in Christ he produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic point of doctrine. With this is the predicate nominative, h( nikh—“the victory.” This refers to the initial entrance into the divine dynasphere which occurs automatically at the moment of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

With this is an articular aorist active participle from the verb nikaw—“which has overcome.” The definite article is used as a relative pronoun to form a relative clause out of the participle. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. Here it is a reference to that moment when we believed in Jesus Christ. The active voice: the victory of residence inside the divine dynasphere at salvation produces the action of the verb. The participle is circumstantial for our initial residence inside the divine dynasphere.

Then we have, again, that same accusative object from kosmoj, referring to Satan’s system, the cosmos system. Now the description of the initial victory in two words: the possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun e)gw—“our,” and with it the noun pistij in the nominative of apposition and is correctly translated “our faith.”

Translation: “Because every category of humanity which has been born from God overcomes the cosmic system: and this is the initial victory which has overcome the cosmic system, our faith.”

It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which causes us to initially enter the divine dynasphere. Only inside the divine dynasphere is there freedom from the cosmic system.

Principle

1. The environment of virtue is the divine dynasphere.

2. The divine dynasphere is also God’s game plan for the royal family of God during the Church Age.

3. Living in the divine dynasphere is God’s will for every category of believer.

4. Without the divine dynasphere there is nothing but failure to fulfil God’s plan and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. The power system of the divine dynasphere is God the Holy Spirit. The moment we enter the divine dynasphere at salvation through faith in Christ we are both indwelt by the Spirit and filled with the Spirit.

6. The moment of salvation is the first time the believer is indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit.

7. The believer can never lose the indwelling of the Spirit no matter what his status quo, but the believer loses the filling of the Spirit every time he makes a decision to sin.

Verses 5,6 – the basis for victory over the cosmic system.

Verse 5 – begins with the inetrrogative pronoun tij which introduces a rhetorical question. It is translated “who.” With it is the present active indicative of the verb e)imi—“is,” plus the articular present active participle of the verb nikaw, which means to win, to defeat the opposition, to overcome—“Who is overcoming [defeating].” The indicative mood of e)imi is an interrogative indicative which assumes that there is an actual fact which may be stated in answer to the question. This is a rhetorical question and it assumes that you have now understood all that has preceeded. The definite article, o(, which goes with the present participle is used as a demonstrative pronoun designating the few in phase one of God’s plan. These verses are talking about believing in Christ and how it makes one a winner at that point. Whether you remain a winner, whether you perpetuate that victory, depends upon your attitude toward doctrine. The present tense of the participle is an aoristic present, punctiliar action in present time. The active voice: the believer in Christ produces the action of the verb at the moment of salvation, which is initial entrance into the divine dynasphere. The participle is circumstantial plus simultaeous action with the main verb. It is translated, “Who is this one [person] overcoming.” Then the accusative singular direct object from the noun kosmoj, for the cosmic system of Satan.

Next comes two words, e)i mh—“if not.” This is an idiom which means “except.” Sometimes it means “no one else but,” and after a rhetorical question that is the way we translate it. This is followed by the articular present active participle from the verb pisteuw—“no one else but he who has come to believe.” The perfective present tense refers to what has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. When did we become winners? Not from physical birth, not from anything after physical birth, not from our environment, not from anything that people associate with success. We became winners at the moment we believed in Christ. Whether we perpetuate that again experientially depends on our attitude toward doctrine, which means residence in the divine dynasphere. The definite article is used as a personal pronoun as well as a relative pronoun to convert the participle into a relative clause. The active voice: the believer produces the action at the moment of salvation. The participle is circumstantial, and the perfective present tense is translated like a perfect tense.

Then comes the conjunction o(ti, after pisteuw, and it gives the content of what we believe in salvation—“that,” plus the nominative subject I)hsouj—“Jesus,” referring to the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union, and it becomes the quivalent to the Hebrew Joshua which means saviour. The verb is the present active indicative of e)imi—“is.” The present tense is a static present representing the hypostatic union as perpetually existing. The active voice: Christ produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic assertion of the deity of Christ. Jesus is His humanity; the words that follow refer to His deity—“Son of God,” the predicate nominative of u(ioj—“Son,” and the genitive of relationship of qeoj—“of God.”

Translation” “Who is this person overcoming the cosmic system? No one else but he who comes to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Principle

1. The initial victory over the cosmic system occurs at the moment of salvation. That initial victory of residing for the first time in the divine dynasphere demands perpetuation.

2. The only way to perpetuate the victory over the cosmic system is to continue to reside and function inside of the divine dynasphere.

3. To do this the believer must overcome the various momentum tests. There must be frequent use of the rebound technique to re-enter the divine dynasphere after failure and cosmic involvement.

4. The rebound technique is that fine thread that keeps and maintains the spirituality of the believer in the devil’s world. In other words, without rebound there is no recovery and no re-entry into the divine dynasphere to perpetuate our momentum as winners.

5. Furthermore there is no virtue in life apart from living inside the divine dynasphere. The love complex is the environment for virtue as well as the execution of the Christian way of life.

6. Divine mandates reveal that God’s game plan for the Church Age is residence and function inside the divine dynasphere. The believer only has tactical advantage over the cosmic system when he is inside that divine dynasphere.

Verse 6 – it begins with the nominative singular subject from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, emphasising the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only the uniqueness of His person in the hypostatic union but the uniqueness of His death on the cross. We translate it “This one.” It is followed by the present active indicative of the verb e)imi, the verb to be—“is.” The historical present tense views the past incarnation and first advent with the vividness of a present occurrence. The active voice: our Lord Jesus Christ produced the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. “This one is,” and then the definite article which means “he who.” The definite article is used as a personal pronoun referring to the Lord Jesus. The constative aorist contemplates the first advent in its entirety but emphasises the person and the work of Christ on the cross. The active voice: Jesus Christ produces the action. This is a circumstantial participle. With this is the aorist active participle from the verb e)rxomai, which means to come. “This one [Jesus Christ] is he who came.” This is a reference to the first advent.

In the next phrase we have the preposition dia plus the ablative, translated by the word “by.” Then the objects of the preposition, the noun u(dor and a(ima—“by water and by blood.” Then at the end of this sentence, I)hsouj Xristoj, a nominative of apposition, therefore in English it follows the demonstrative pronoun—“This one [Jesus Christ] is he who came by water and by blood.” The ablative of means with the preposition dia is always the expression of means. Whenever the means is accompanied by the implication of its origin or source we have dia plus the ablative instead of the usual e)n plus the instrumental. Hence it is concluded that this phrase is a literal reference to the cross, while the 1 John 5:8 passage is figurative. This is the literal phrase referring to the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross—water and blood, literal and physical.

The great issue which John faced historically at the close of the first century was the fact that the Gnostics denied the true humanity of Christ. Therefore they said that the cross was an optical illusion, and they substituted for salvation through faith in Christ a system of philosophical speculations based upon neo-Platonism. John was writing polemically in that connection. Docetic gnosticism, then, denied the true humanity of Christ and contended that the humanity of Christ was a phantom, the cross an optical illusion, and therefore the rejection of the entire orthodox system of salvation as presented in the Word of God. “By water and by blood” are literal and they refer in verse 6 to the fact of the first advent of Christ with emphasis on the cross. John emphasises the fact that Jesus Christ, eternal Son of God, possessed a true body during the incarnation. Cf. John 19:34, where the issue is somatic death. This was the absolute proof that our Lord had died physically. John was pointing out that our Lord had a human body, that He was true humanity. He is refuting the great attack on Christianity which was Docetic gnosticism rejecting the humanity of Christ. “not” is the objective negative o)uk, it implies use of the indicative mood whenever there is a verb present. Then the prepositional phrase, e)n plus the instrumental singular of u(dor—“not by water.” Then the adverb monon—“only” or “alone,” “not by water [serum] alone.” In other words, water alone or serum alone is not the issue. Water or serum was not by itself. Wherever you have in somatic death and the blood is still in the body you do not have just serum, there must be blood clots as well. Water is not to be taken figuratively here, that comes up in verse 8. So water does not stand alone but goes with blood. Therefore the meaning of water or serum cannot be determined apart from a(ima or blood. Both of these phrases are technical. One is a literal blood clot and the other is a literal serum. Both phrases are related to the cross where Christ died twice; that is the issue. When the blood is referred to alone in a figurative sense it refers to the spiritual death of Christ bearing our sins, but when blood is used with water or serum it refers to His physical death as proof of His true humanity, a proof of somatic death.

“but by water and the blood” – there are two prepositional phrases here, after the adversative conjunction a)lla, “but,” which sets up a contrast; “blood and water” refers to the physical death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, for the humanity of Christ is the issue all of the way through 1 John. This is to refute gnosticism. We have e)n plus the instrumental of u(dor, followed by the connective kai, and then e)n plus the instrumental of a(ima—“but by serum and by blood clots.”

Verse 7 – this verse is erroneously translated in the King James version.

The principle of the textual problem: the verse is false.

1. The words, as seen in the KJV, are not found in the original Greek manuscript, but they are words added by Mark Fortianus (Sp?) of Dublin, a monk who copied from the modern Latin Vulgate.

2. These words were not even found in the oldest Vulgate manuscripts.

3. These words are actually copied from a manuscript from Naples, Contemplusion Polygot. In the margin someone put this down as the intepretation. It was in the handwriting of Otto Bonial (Sp?) of the 15^th century. But there is nothing like this in the Greek.

4. The Vulgate is the Latin version of the Bible, translated from the Greek by Jerome at the end of the fourth century. We have no quarrel with Jerome who was a brilliant scholar. The one who has the quarrel with him is the Pope who was ruling the Roman Catholic church at the time. He didn’t like Jerome’s translation at all, and therefore he had to issue a number of papal bulls in order to modify and correct it, and make it comply with Catholic doctrine. Therefore the corruption of the Vulgate.

5. Jerome was a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a Dalmatian, born about 340 A.D. His Latin name, the name that he assumed when he entered into the priesthood, is Eusebius Heronimus.

6. Because Jerome was a great Greek scholar (he was a great Hebrew scholar also) and was faithful to the Greek and the Hebrew, he was accused by the Pope of presumption, unlawful innovation, sacrilege, disturbing the peace of the Roman Catholic church, and shaking the foundations of her faith.

7. Jerome was not only, then, a great scholar but he was also very hot tempered. He called his critics, even implying the Pope, two-legged donkeys and ignorant priests.

8. Jerome died about A.D 420 without realising that while the criticisms would abate (he was rejected totally while he was alive because he was too scholarly) and eventually the Roman Catholic church would tamper with his translation. The Vulgate, however, became the Bible of Western Europe and North Africa down to the time of the Reformation, A.D. 1517.

The problem of Vulgate deception

1. First of all, the Vulgate was corrupted by hand copying, plus the intermingling of old Latin. Old Latin had died out in the 7^th century. Hand copying of Jerome’s beautiful Vulgate was a tragedy because everyone who copied it had his own ideas, including 1 John 5:7.

2. Errors crept in with the revisions of the Vulgate, such as Cassedorus (Sp?) of Italy, a priest who revised the entire Vulgate around 540 A.D. He revised it to suit the Pope, not for accuracy.

3. Many revisions added to the deception and destruction of the text, plus the great demand for copies which were carelessly hand written.

4. Some revisions were better than others. One man, Stephen Harding of France, 1109, did a great job of revising the text of Jerome. Stephen Langdon of England in 1228, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, also helped by dividing the Bible into chapters.

5. All in all there are over 8000 extant manuscripts of the Vulgate, all slightly different from the original work of Jerome because of copyist errors or personal prejudice.

6. The first critical text was issued in 1528 by Robert Stephanus of Paris. In 1555 he issued the first Latin Bible to contain verse divisions.

7. Pope Sixtus V, who was Pope was 1585-90, with the help of the college of cardinals and some Catholic scholars, issued the official Vulgate called “the Sixtine edition.” It was published by the Vatican press and accompanied by a Papal bull declaring it the only legitimate text. This was to avoid some of the corruption that had occurred in textual criticism in the Roman church.

8. Furthermore, the bull was very explicit: “No future edition could be published without the express permission of the Pope.”

9. Clement VII became Pope in 1592, and the first thing he did was to set aside the Sixtine edition. He was unpopular with the clergy. The reason is that it was too close to Jerome and they couldn’t explain a lot of things to their parishioners from it.

10. The new edition was called the Clementine edition, and it differs from Sixtus in over 3000 passages—in order to line it up with Roman Catholic doctrine at that time. As a matter of fact Textus Receptus was the basis for the King James translation, but why the words of monk Fortianus of Dublin were taken from the margin of his corrupted copy of the Vulgate rather than Textus Receptus has never been discovered. Needless to say, these words of 1 John 5:7 are not a part of the original Greek and will not even be considered. What is said in this marginal comment may be true but it is not a part of the Greek manuscript.

The true Greek text of verse 7 is that part which says in the KJV, “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” So verse 7 is the power

of perception in the divine dynasphere. The power system for perception in the divine dynasphere is God the Holy Spirit. It begins with the connective use of the conjunction kai—“Furthermore,” and with it the present active indicative of the verb e)imi, the verb to be. The perfective present tense is for a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. Present reality: God the Holy Spirit is the power of the divine dynasphere. The active voice: God the Holy Spirit produces the action of the verb. He indwells every believer; He is the power system for the divine dynasphere. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of fact. Next comes the predicate nominative pneuma, referring here to God the Holy Spirit—“Furthermore it is the Spirit.” Then comes the articular present active participle from the verb marturew, which means to testify, the bear witness, to be a witness or to confirm—“who testifies [about the doctrine].” The verb marturew is used in the New Testament for a declaration or confirmation based on first hand knowledge of the facts. In the Johannine epistles marturew refers to testifying about the person and work of Christ in the first advent. And this is not a witness or a confirmation of an historical fact of the incarnation but the unique person of Christ in hypostatic union.

Then the causal use of the conjunction o(ti—“because.” And again we have pneuma, the nominative subject—“because the Spirit.” Next is the present active indicative of e)imi—“is.” The static present is for a condition which perpetually exists. The active voice: the Holy Spirit produces the action. With this is the participle of marturew and there is simultaneous action with the present indicative. Then comes the predicate nominative, a)lhqeia—“truth” or “doctrine.” The definite article is used here in the generic sense. This is a reference to the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit, cf. John 14:26; 16:12-14; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16; 1 John 2:27.

Verses 8 & 9, a dissertation on the three witnesses. The King James version adds words which are not found in the original Greek.

Verse 8 – “And” is the explanatory use of the conjunction o(ti, and should be translated “Because”; “there are” – the present active indicative of e)imi. We have the present tense of duration which denotes what is begun in the past and continues into the present time, also called the present of the unity of time. The active voice: three witnesses here produce the action. The indicative mood is declarative for a simple statement of fact.

Next is the predicate nominative, and the first part of it is the humeral treij—“three,” and then the articular present active participle of the verb marturew, which means to testify, to give legitimate and true testimony. The definite article is used as a relative pronoun to convert the participle into a relative clause. The progressive present tense signifies action in progress or a state of persistence, hence present linear aktionsart. The active voice: three witnesses produce the action of the verb to us. We have three legitimate testimonies given to us. The participle is circumstantial plus simultaneous action with the main verb, the main verb is e)imi. This means that in our lifetime each one of us must make a judgment. We must decide the validity or the non-validity of these three witnesses. To reject the true testimony of these three witnesses is eternal condemnation; to accept the true testimony of these three witnesses is to have eternal life. We accept it by faith in Jesus Christ; we reject it by rejecting Jesus Christ as our saviour.

Now we have the three names: the nominative of apposition, to pneuma—“the Spirit.” The definite article is generic and indicates the fact that we have just noted the witness of the Spirit in verse 7, a reference to the power system of the divine dynasphere—gate one, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the power system in the Christian way of life. The nominative of apposition, to u(dor, and with the definite article we now have a figurative use of water—kai to u(dor, “and the water.” This does not refer to baptism in any way, it is a reference to Bible doctrine which is represented figuratively by water, both here and in Ephesians 5:26. Hence, a reference to the function of gate four of the divine dynasphere. The perception of Bible doctrine can only be accomplished by the first two witnesses, the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine.

Then kai once more, and this time with to a(ima, indicating that the blood is used in a figurative way here—“and the blood,” a specific reference to the spiritual death of Christ on the cross, bearing our sins, and proving to all believers that our so great salvation depicted in Old Testament times by ritual animal blood is fulfilled. All Levitical sacrifices are fulfilled by the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. This is a reference, then, as to how the believer enters the divine dynasphere initially—through salvation adjustment to the justice of God by means of faith in Jesus Christ.

Verses 8 & 9, a dissertation on the three witnesses. The King James version adds words which are not found in the original Greek.

“and” – the intensive kai should be translated “furthermore.” Now being brought into focus is the fact that all these who testify have the same purpose: to lift the believer out of the ordinary realm of human viewpoint thinking, to free him from envy and jealousy and bitterness, and other mental attitude sins, the motivating evils of the cosmic system.

Next is the nominative plural definite article used as the demonstrative pronoun—o(i, “these,” to place special emphasis on the three witnesses: the Holy Spirit, the water of the Word, and the figurative use of blood. Then the nominative subject of the numeral treij—“three,” the present active indicative of e)imi, the perfective present. The active voice: the three witnesses produce the action. The declarative indicative is for a statement of fact.

Then a prepositional phrase, e)ij, the preposition meaning “for,” plus the accusative of e(ij, the numeral meaning “one”—literally, “for the one.” But you cannot translate from one language to another until you know its idiom: “for the purpose of the one,” but the idiom in English means “for the one thing” or “for the same purpose.” This is an idiom with two meanings. It means “in agreement” or “for the same purpose.” Here it means “for the same purpose.” There are three witnesses and they are in agreement, that’s true, but the context goes with the principle, “furthermore these three witnesses have the same purpose.” The same purpose is to bring the believer’s life into perspective, into focus; to free him from the usual insecurities, worries, anxieties, fears, disturbances, self-pity, loneliness syndrome, etc.

“furthermore these three witnesses have the same purpose.”

Interpretation

1. The purpose of the three witnesses in anticipation of the cross.

a. The prophetic witness—the water of the Word. This means here the Old Testament scriptures anticipating the incarnation of Christ and His saving work on the cross. Illustration: Isaiah 53.

b. The historical witness—the blood of Christ which links the Old Testament ritual of the Levitical offerings with their historical fulfilment on the cross.

c. The retrospective witness—the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in recalling accurately everything pertinent to the incarnation and first advent in the writing of the New Testament.

2. The purpose of the three witnesses in the modus operandi of the Church Age, or the residence and function of the believer in the divine dynasphere.

a. The blood of Christ—the initial entrance into the divine dynasphere, 1 John 3:9. The blood of Christ refers to His saving work on the cross. It is figurative blood referring to His spiritual death. The blood witnesses to the cross.

b. God the Holy Spirit—the power provided at gate one of the divine dynasphere for residence and function. Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16.

c. The Word of God—the momentum of gate four. All momentum in the Christian way of life comes from perception of doctrine. The water of the Word is the means of advance, progress in the Christian way of life.

3. The result is the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ by the attainment of the objective at gate eight—maturity adjustment to the justice of God.

Verse 9 – the superiority of the three witnesses. The protasis of the first class condition is introduced by the conditional conjunction e)i—“If.” It introduces a

supposition or a premise formed from reality. The premise is taken from reality, therefore the conclusion will be taken from reality. The present active indicative of lambanw is the verb, it means to receive or accept—“If we accept.” The progressive present tense is for a state of persistence, also a descriptive present for what is now occurring somewhere in the world: people are accepting the testimony of men. The active voice: the human race produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for reality. Then the accusative singular direct object from the noun marturia, which means “testimony,” plus the possessive genitive plural from the noun a)nqrwpoj—“of men.” Supposition from reality: historically this is true, the testimony of men is received all the time. Because we are associated with certain people we believe that they say. The protasis establishes the premise that people are constantly accepting the testimony of other people and believing what other people say. There is nothing wrong with that. “If we accept the testimony of men [and we do].” The premise simply recognises a true and normal function in life. We accept it as truth when certain things are said.

Then we have a nominative singular subject, marturia—“testimony,” and the possessive genitive of qeoj—“of God,” and the present active indicative of e)imi—“is,” a static present for a truth which is taken for granted as a fact and perpetually exists as truth. The active voice: God’s testimony [the communication of truth] produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the truth of the conclusion stated from the apodasis. Next is the comparative meizwn—“greater.” This conclusion emphasises the essence of God which is infinitely greater than the essence of man. God is truth; God cannot lie. The testimony of God can only be received or accepted inside the divine dynasphere.

Next we have two causal clauses. The first begins with the causal conjunction o(ti—“because,” followed by the nominative singular subject from the near demonstrative pronoun o(utoj—“this,” and the present active indicative of the verb e)imi—“is.” The static present is for a condition which perpetually exists. The active voice: the testimony of these three witnesses form the witness of God. They produce the action of the verb. Just as the Word of God abides forever, so does the ministry of the Spirit in relationship to the Word, the Old Testament related to the blood, and the New Testament as related to the water of the Word. They are all tied in together. The indicative mood is declarative for reality. Then we have the predicate nominative marturia—“testimony,” and with it the ablative of of source from qeoj, meaning “testimony from God.”

The second causal clause begins again with the conjunction o(ti—“because,” but this time we have the perfect active indicative of the verb marturew—“he has testified.” The dramatic perfect is for completed action of the three witnesses but emphasises the results of that action in a dramatic way. The dramatic way is the deposition regarding eternal salvation and temporal function inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: God the Father produces the action of the verb, making a permanent deposition regarding the Son through the three wtinesses. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of God’s testimony through these three witnesses. Then we have the source of the subject of the witnesses, the preposition peri plus u(ioj, plus the possessive genitive of a)utoj—“concerning his Son.” Translation” “because he has testified concerning his Son.”

Translation: “If we accept the testimony of men [and we do], the testimony of God is greater: because this testimony [of the three witnesses] is from God because he has testified concerning his Son.”

There is a fourth witness: Bible doctrine residing in the believer from his residence and function inside of the divine dynasphere.

Verse 10 – the fourth witness: the believer with ⁺V toward the deposition of God—when you believe the teaching of the Word of God and transfer it from your left to your right lobe. The verse begins with an articular present active participle from the verb pisteuw. The definite article is used for an indefinite pronoun to represent a category of the human race: those believers who believe the doctrine they have learned. The present tense is a pictorial present which presents to the mind a picture of faith in Christ in the process of occurrence. Faith in Christ is used as the illustration. The active voice: the person who believes in Christ, which is tantamount to accepting the deposition of God regarding salvation, produces the action of the verb. The participle is a temporal participle designating the moment when a person believes in Christ. This is simultaneous action with the main verb in the present participial form. “When anyone believes” is the correct translation.

Then the prepositional phrase used as the direct object, e)ij plus the accusative of u(ioj, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ because we have the genitive of relationship from qeoj, and that means “When anyone believes in the Son of God”—at the moment of salvation. The main verb goes with the present participle. This is simultaneous action: simultaneously when you believe you have something, the present active indicative of the verb e)xw—“he has.” The action of the present participle is simultaneous with the action of the main verb. The indicative mood is used to indicate the main verb. The perfective present denotes the continuation of existing results. It takes a fact which has come to be in the past—salvation through faith in Christ—and emphasises it as a present reality. Long after we are saved we finally begin to learn some things about salvation. So it takes the fact of salvation which happened to us in the past and emphasises it as a present reality: we are now learning something about what happened when we believed in Christ. The active voice: the person who believes in Christ produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative, representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality and identifies the main verb for the simultaneous action. Then the object of the main verb, the accusative singular direct object from marturia—“testimony.” With this is a definite article—“this testimony.”

The testimony in the believer combines the function of the three wtinesses to change common grace into efficacious grace. Each one of the witnesses has something to say. The blood talks about the work of Christ on the cross—spiritual death. The blood of Christ is redemption, reconciliation, propitiation. God the Holy Spirit makes that very real. Then, of course, we are talking about the water of the Word. You hear gospel passages. So the water of the Word, the saving work of Christ as presented by God the Holy Spirit in the story of common grace becomes efficacious grace. The Holy Spirit reveals the gospel, the content of which is the blood of Christ, so that pertinent doctrine in the right lobe becomes the reality of possessing eternal salvation. The fourth witness for the new believer, or the believer, is gospel truth resident in the soul of the believer, confirming the fact that he possesses eternal salvation, that God will provide for him in time, and that he has perfect security for time, eternal security forever. Therefore the fourth witness is ⁺V toward the testimony or deposition of God regarding His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We note a second factor, then, coming up in this verse: the blasphemy of rejecting God’s testimony. We have an articular present active participle of pisteuw, this time with the negative mh which goes with the participlial form. The definite article is used for an indefinite pronoun to represent another category of the human race: those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, those who reject the deposition of God. The present tense is a pictorial present, plus the negative, which presents to the mind a picture of people rejecting the gospel, or going negative at the point of God-consciousness. The active voice: those who reject Chtrist as saviour produce the action of the verb. All unbelievers of the human race have rejected the deposition or testimony of God offered through the three witnesses. But those who have accepted it have fourth witness in themselves, that doctrine they have learned about soteriology. Again, this is a present participle so it has simultanous action with the main verb. Next is a dative indirect object qeoj. This also refers to the fact that God has given them every opportunity to be saved. There is no such thing as a person arriving in eternity who has an excuse. Everyone has the opportunity for salvation. Translation: “ … when anyone does not believe the God.”

The main verb is the perfect active indicative of the verb poiew—“he has made.” The intensive perfect tense is one in which the action of rejecting Christ as saviour is regarded as a completed action, with emphasis on the results of that action. When God’s deposition is rejected, that’s blasphemy. The blasphemy implies that God is a liar. Emphasis on the existing results are intensified in the perfect tense. The active voice: the unbeliever produces the action of the verb by rejecting God’s testimony or the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The indicative mood is declarative for a simple statement of fact. The rejection of Christ is tantamount to calling God a liar, which is blasphemy.

With this is the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, translated as the third person personal pronoun—“he has made him.” This is followed by the accusative singular used as a predicate object, yeusthj, “a liar.” Direct object: “him”: predicate object: “a liar”. Everyone who rejects the gospel calls God a liar, he has rejected His deposition through the three witnesses.

Next is another causal conjunction, o(ti—“because,” and then the perfect active indicative of pisteuw, and this time the negative with it is o)u because the verb carries the indicative [mh goes with the participle and the subjunctive]—“because he has not believed.” The intensive perfect denotes past completed action, emphasising the results of that action, and when special attention is directed to the existing results emphasis on the fact is intensified. This is the Greek method of presenting a fact or a condition, or of saying a thing is. The active voice: the unbeliever produces the action which is tantamount to rejecting God’s testimony ot God’s deposition concerning His Son. The indicative mood is declarative for a statement of historical fact: people do reject Christ as saviour.

Then the prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of marturia—“in the deposition.” This is followed by the relative pronoun o(j, and the antecedent is deposition—“which.”

“God” – the subject is the nominative singular, o( qeoj; then the perfect active indicative of marturew—“testified.” The dramatic perfect is the rhetorical use of the intensive perfect. The active voice: God produces the action of the verb. He presents a deposition through three witnesses. The indicative mood is declarative.

Another prepositional phrase rounds out the verse, the preposition peri plus the genitive of u(ioj plus the possessive genitive of a)utoj, the intensive pronoun used as a personal pronoun—“concerning his Son.”

Translation: “When anyone believes in the Son of God he has this testimony in himself. When anyone does not believe the God he has made him a liar because he has not believed in the deposition which God has testified concerning his Son.”

Verse 11 – one word here is incorrectly translated: “record.” It is not a record, it is a “deposition” in which three witnesses are used to bring together the written testimony from God. It begins with the intensive use of the conjunction kai, followed by the nominative singular subject from the immediate demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. It is translated “In fact this.” It emphasises the divine deposition gathered up in the testimony of the three witnesses. Then comes the present active indicative of the verb e)imi, the verb to be—“is.” It is a static present representing a condition which perpetually exists. The active voice: God’s deposition, the testimony of the three witnesses, produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Then the predicate nominative from the verb marturia which cannot under any circumstances mean “record.” It means deposition, a written testimony. As recorded in this passage we have a divine affidavit, God’s sworn statement in writing the affirmation of the incarnation and the cross, which is the basis of our eternal and temporal security and what gives meaning and purpose to our lives.

Next is the conjunction o(ti which summarises the content of the deposition by which we enter the plan of God. Here it is translated “that.” It introduces the clause that summarises the deposition. Then we have the subject of the clause referring to the one who made the deposition in writing—o( qeoj, “the God.” We do not translate the definite article because it merely designates a unique person, the unique person of the universe, and therefore it is omitted from translation. Then the aorist active indicative of the verb didomi—“God has given.” The culminative aorist views the incarnation or the first advent of Christ in its entirety, but it emphasises the existing results: eternal life through faith in Christ. From this eternal life comes the whole realm of human security. If God gave you eternal life at the point of salvation He is going to take care of you during that interim before you reach eternity. He is deliberately keeping you alive on this earth for a purpose related to His own perfect plan. Therefore you have the basis, the groundwork, for you security in time. It is based on the divine deposition of what you received at the point of eternal salvation. The active voice: God the Father produces the action of the verb. He has provided a deposition. That deposition begins with salvation and continues throughout the water of the Word. That deposition brings together everything that is necessary for residence and function inside the divine dynasphere. Then is the dative plural indirect object from e)gw—“that God has given to us.” The dative of indirect object indicates the ones in whose interest the incarnation occurred. It therefore also becomes a dative of advantage. Next is the accusative singular direct object from the adjective a)wnioj, and with it zwh—“eternal life.” Notice that a gift is something that you cannot earn, merit, or deserve.

Then comes a connective use of the conjunction kai—“and,” and with it the near demonstrative nominative subject o(utoj—“this,” and the nominative singular subject zwh and the present active indicative of e)imi—“is life.” The static present of e)imi is for a circumstance which will always exist, and therefore the word “eternal” can be included. The active voice: eternal life is the subject that produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of doctrine. And then the preposition e)n plus the locative of u(ioj, and with it the possessive genitive of a)utoj for “his”—“in his Son.”

Translation: “In fact this is the deposition, that God has given to us eternal life, and this [eternal] life is in his Son.”

Verse 12 – the options of the deposition. This provides the basis for going back to the subject of security. You have a choice in this life. You can use your freedom and choose for God, and let God provide the security; or you can use your freedom and reject Christ [the unbeliever], or after you believe in Christ you can reject Bible doctrine, and therefore switch to security consciousness and destroy your freedom which is the basis for resolving the angelic conflict. When people sell their freedom for that mess of pottage called human security they destroy themselves.

The verse begins with the articular present active participle from the verb e)xw, with the definite article use as a personal pronoun, and also used for a relative pronoun in order to turn the participle into a short relative clause. The present tense of duration denotes what has begun in the past and continues into the present time. The person who believes in Christ produces the action of the participle. The participle is circumstantial plus simultaneous action with the main verb. The accusative singular direct object u(ioj follows, “Son”—“He who has the Son.” This is the basis for all security concepts: having the Son. It is our union with Christ that provides eternal security as well as temporal security. The moment we believed in Christ we walked into the only security package that life has to offer.

Next comes the present active indicative of the same verb, e)xw, the verb to have. It is a static present, representing a condition which perpetually exists: security. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of doctrine, plus the main verb for simultaneous action. With this is the accusative singular direct object from the noun zwh, referring here to eternal life. The definite article is used as a demonstrative pronoun—“this life,” referring to eternal life. All true security begins with eternal life and not with temporal life.

Then the negative side: the articular present active participle of e)xw, this time with the negative mh [the negative used with a participle]—“he who does not have.” This is the present tense of duration denoting what has happened in the past and continues into the present. The active voice: the person who does not believe in Christ produces the action: no eternal security. This is a circumstantial participle with simultaneous action. Again, we have the accusative singular direct object u(ioj, and this time with it is the genitive of relationship from qeoj—“Son of God,” the full title of our Lord Jesus Christ in relationship to His eternal royalty patent. Jesus Christ is God. Then e)xw, used as the main verb, “does not have this eternal life.” This is a static present for a condition perpetually existing. The person who does not believe in Christ cannot have eternal life, therefore cannot have either temporal or eternal security. The indicative mood is declarative, it is also used for the main verb, the accusative singular direct object of zwh.

With the final phrase in verse 12 we now move into the concept of security. By noting the principle of security here we have a new motivating virtue coming up. Instead of personal love for God the motivating virtue is now going to be confidence in God. Once you start with eternal security you have confidence toward God and the functional virtue then becomes temporal security which gives you courage directed toward man. This is going to be the subject of the rest of 1 John 5. Confidence begins with the realisation of eternal security. Courage before man is simply the functional virtue of courage or your temporal security, for God who provides eternal security also provides temporal security so that all factors of security are in the hands of God for the believer who resides and functions inside the divine dynasphere. For the believer who resides in the cosmic system there is eternal security but there is no temporal security at all.

Principle

1. To exchange freedom for security is to sell your soul for a mess of pottage. There is only security in freedom; there is no security apart from freedom.

2. Socialism, welfare state, and the redistribution of wealth is popular because it offers security instead of freedom. People don’t want freedom to work, freedom to succeed, freedom to fail; all they want is security instead of freedom.

3. Freedom is necessary to glorify the Lord; security, as we understand it humanly speaking, is not.

4. Nevertheless, God in His matchless grace has provided in that same grace eternal and temporal security.

5. Eternal security is settled in those few seconds it takes to believe in Christ.

6. Temporal security is settled in those same few seconds it takes to believe in Christ.

7. The believer cannot work for, earn or deserve eternal security; nor can he maintain it by works; nor does he lose it if he sins.

8. The believer cannot work for, earn or deserve temporal security. As a matter of fact if the believer fails, sins, gets into the cosmic system, becomes degenerate, he still doesn’t lose his temporal security.

Verses 14-16, a paragraph on the function of prayer as the manifestation of virtue confidence toward God.

Verse 14 – it begins with the emphatic use of the conjunction kai, followed by the nominative singular subject from the near demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, translated “In fact this.” Then the verb, the present active indicative of e)imi—“is.” The retroactive progressive present denotes what has occurred in the past through the realisation of eternal security and continues into the present time through the function of prayer. The active voice: confidence as a virtue directed toward God produces the action of the verb. This confidence is manufactured inside the divine dynasphere. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Then we have the predicate nominative from the noun parrhsia, the word for “confidence,” the motivating virtue.

Next is a relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun o(j, translated “which.” Since confidence is a motivating virtue directed toward God we have the present active indicative of the verb e)xw—“we have.” The progressive present is for action in the state of persistence in the function of gate four of the divine dynasphere. The active voice: positive volition, living inside the divine dynasphere, produces the action. The action manufactures the motivating virtue of confidence directed toward God. The indicative mood is declarative for a simple statement of fact. Then the prepositional phrase proj plus the accusative of the intensive pronoun a)utoj used as a personal pronoun, the third masculine singular pronoun—“toward him.” “In fact this is the confidence which we have toward him.”

This brings us to the concept of lack of fear in life. Confidence directed toward God is the only basis for true courage directed toward man. There is no true courage as a virtue directed toward man and circumstances apart from confidence in God.

The conjunction o(ti introduces the subject of prayer as an illustration of confidence as a motivating virtue toward God, manufactured inside the divine dynasphere—“that.” Then comes the protasis of a 3^rd class condition. The protasis is always introduced with the conditional conjunction e)an. The protasis introduces a conditional premise, a potential premise of prayer. It is translated “if.” It is followed by the present middle subjunctive of the verb a)itew. It means to ask and it has to do with the function of prayer. The customary present tense denotes what may be reasonably expected to occur. The middle voice is used here, and while the active voice emphasises the action the middle voice in the Greek emphasises the agent, the one who offers the prayer. The action is therefore related more intimately to the subject in the middle voice. In the middle voice the subject acts with a view toward participating in the outcome and therefore it is a perfect use of the indirect middle in prayer. In other words, when you offer a prayer you intend to participate in the answer to that prayer. This emphasises the agent as producing the action.

The accusative singular direct object which follows is from tij, used to indicate a category. Tij is called an indefinite pronoun, and an indefinite pronoun simply means a general category without naming people in the category. It is translated “anything.” The subjunctive mood plus e)an is for the 3^rd class condition. This is a potential situation. Then there is something that is absolutely necessary for effectiveness in prayer. You must know the will of God before you enter into a serious prayer life. You can only know the will of God through perception of Bible doctrine. The preposition kata plus the accusative of the noun qelhma, plus a)utoj in the possessive genitive is translated “according to his will.”

The next two words are the apodasis—the present active indicative of the verb a)kouw, and with it an objective genitive plural from the personal pronoun e)gw—h(mwn. God hears prayer that follows the pattern of His game plan. We aren’t even in the game plan unless we know Bible doctrine. Knowing Bible doctrine means knowing the will of God, and knowing what is legitimate for prayer and what is not. The perfective present tense denotes the contuinuation of existing results. It refers to a fact which has come to be in the past—God hears our prayers in eternity past—but is emphasised as a present reality. The active voice: God the Father produces the action as the one who answers prayer. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality, meaning that there are prayers answered every day because believers ask according to the will of God.

Translation: “In fact this is the confidence which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Verse 15 – the virtue dependence of prayer is emphasised. “And” is the intensive use of the conjunction kai and should be translated “In fact.” Then e)an is used again to state exceptions; it is used to introduce the 3^rd class condition, but here there is no subjunctive mood, and this is what is called the use of e)an as an exceptional pronoun. In other words, a pronoun that states an exception, or an exceptional conjunction. “In fact when,” rather than “if.” E)an is used here to be a temporal pronoun to state an exception. The exception is when He actually hears us. The perfect o)ida is used as a present tense for knowledge in the frontal lobe—“we know.” The customary present tense denotes what habitually occurs when believers reside and function in the divine dynasphere, learn Bible doctrine, and therefore have an effective prayer life. The active voice: the believer produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of confidence toward God as the virtue for the function of prayer.

Next is the conjunction o(ti, used after verbs of knowledge in order to indicate the content of that cognisance. It is correctly translated by the English word “that.” Then the present active indicative of the verb a)kouw again, this time it is the pictorial present tense bringing to mind a picture of virtue dependent prayer; motivated by God to offer prayer. The active voice: God produces the action when He hears us. It is actually the omniscience of God producing the action in eternity past and answering it in time when the prayer is offered. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of virtue dependence in the function of prayer. Again, the objective genitive plural from e)gw is translated “us”—“he hears us.” The second exceptional use of e)an follows with the accusative neuter singular from the relative pronoun o(j, this time translated “whatever.” Then the present middle subjunctive of the verb a)itew—“we might have asked.” Since this is a present tense, why translate it like a perfect tense? This is the present of duration and it denotes what has begun in the past and continues into the present time. So it is rendered accurately from the present tense in the Greek to the English perfect tense. The middle voice is the dynamic middle, it emphasises the part taken by the subject in the action of the verb. The subject not only offers the prayer but the offered prayer is inside the divine dynasphere, it is therefore virtue dependent and it is answered. The subjunctive mood is a potential subjunctive because prayer offered inside the divine dynasphere after cognisance of Bible doctrine is rare.

“we know” – o)ida plus o(ti is “we know that.” Then “we have obtained”—the present active indicative of the verb e)xw. The static present represents a perpetual pattern for effective prayer. The active voice: the believer who is effective in prayer is residing inside the divine dynasphere. Next is the accusative plural direct object from the noun a)ithma, used here for prayer requests. This is the virtue of confidence in prayer directed toward God. There is no virtue in prayer except for the believer who is cognisant of doctrine, which requires his residence and function inside the divine dynasphere.

Finally is one relative clause beginning with the accusative neuter plural of o(j—“which.” Then the perfect active indicative of a)itew—“we have asked.” The perfect tense denotes completed action with emphasis on the results of that action. The intensive perfect emphasises the finished result, which is the Greek method for presenting a fact, a strong way of saying a thing is. The active voice: believers residing and functioning in the divine dynasphere produce the action. The declarative indicative mood is for the reality of the effectiveness of virtue dependent prayer. The final two words: the preposition a)po plus the ablative of source from the intensive pronoun a)utoj—“from him.”

Translation: “In fact when we know that he hears us, whatever we ourselves may have asked, we know that we have obtained the request which we have asked from him.”

Verse 16 – the virtue limitation of prayer.

The first problem is going to be the fact of observation of a fellow believer. Observation of a fellow believer is a very dangerous thing because we have no right to intrude upon the privacy of someone else’s priesthood. We will find that where observation does occur, where it is possible, there is no command, no mandate, to gossip, to malign or to judge. The best we can do for someone else in respecting their privacy is pray for them. But if you make a mistake and do not know the facts, and you offer the wrong prayer your chances of dying the sin unto death are greatly enhanced. In other words, keep your nose out of other people’s business.

There is a protasis which begins this verse, and the first word in the protasis is the conditional conjunction e)an, plus the subjunctive, and it introduces the protasis of a 3^rd class condition—a more probable future condition. So we have the word “If.” The 3^rd class condition anticipates that such a situation does not occur every day but when it does this is the pertinent doctrine which must be applied to the virtue limitation of prayer. “If” is the introduction to the premise.

The subject is the nominative singular of the indefinite pronoun tij, used to express a category, and it is a general reference to that category so it is translated “anyone.” Then the aorist active subjunctive of the verb o(raw, translated “has seen.” The culminative aorist views the event in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of its existing results, the modus operandi of prayer. It is one things to see someone fail, to sin, and it is something else to do the right thing about it. The right thing is not to gossip, malign or even rebuke them; that interferes with their volition. The right thing is prayer, except in one case. The active voice: the believer who has observed someone in failure and is therefore going to keep his mouth shut, recognise the privacy of his priesthood, but wants to be helpful. So a believer who is in the process of making intercession for another believer produces the action. The subjunctive mood is potential and is qualified by the element of contingency—by the fact that you may or may not ever see someone commit a sin.

Next is the accusative singular direct object from the noun a)delfoj, referring to a fellow believer. (The only issue in the case of an unbeliever is the gospel. So this is not dealing with an unbeliever) With this is the genitive of relationship from the intensive pronoun a)utoj—“his.” This is followed by the present active participle of a(martanw, which means to sin, and with it the cognate, the accusative singular direct object of a(martia. So it is literally, “If anyone sees his fellow believer sin a sin,” but we translate this, “If anyone has seen his fellow believer comitting a sin.” The present tense is a perfective present for a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. The active voice: the object of the potential intercession produces the action. He has seen someone commit a sin. The participle is circumstantial but the present participle always has coterminous action with the main verb, and so the participle’s main verb is the word “see” or “observe,” and that means that you saw it and might be tempted to gossip or malign or stick your nose in to interfere, and all of those things are wrong; but you do have an option: prayer. But the option only exists under certain circumstances: provided it is not a sin unto death. You have to know what is a believer’s sin unto death. The unbeliever doesn’t have a sin unto death, this is for believers only and it has nothing to do with loss of salvation.

Then we have the category of sin. The idiom is mh proj qanaton: The negative mh plus the preposition proj and the noun qanaton, and it means “not face to face with death.” Qanatoj is in the accusative.

The apodasis begins with the future active indicative of the verb a)itew, and it means to ask—“he shall ask.” This is a future tense, aznd as the aorist narrates and event in past time—seeing a fellow believer sin, not terminating in death—so the future expresses anticipation of an event in the future—making intercession for that believer. This is therefore a progressive present which denotes the idea of future activity: praying for a fellow believer has not terminated in death as maximum punishment. The active voice: the believer who offers the intercession produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative, representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality.

Then the connective kai—“and,” and the future active indicative of didomi, which means to give—“and he [God] will give.” The predictive future tense anticipates an answer to prayer expected to occur future to the time of intercession. The active voice: God the Father produces the action of the verb in delivering the sinful believer from maximum discipline of the sin unto death. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of an answered prayer.

The accusative singular direct object follows, referring to temporal life, zwh. That is, temporal security. Then the dative indirect object of a)utoj used as the third person personal pronoun—“he shall give life to him.” The dative of indirect object indicates that the one in whose interest the action occurs is the beneficiary of the intercession.

The qualification: an articular present active participle from a(martanw plus the negative mh—“to those who have not sinned.” The definite article and the dative plural is used as a demonstrative pronoun emphasising the category: sinning believers. The perfective present tense denotes the continuation of existing results. It refers to a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality—sinning, and sinning a sin not unto death. The active voice: the believer who has not sinned a sin unto death produces the action. The participle is circumstantial and used for a relative clause. Note that the perfective present is translated like a perfect tense, but it is not the same as a perfect tense. The perfective present emphasises the continuation of results through present time while the perfect tense emphasises the existence of results but not their continuation.

The principle: Prayer is virtue dependent, but even an intercessory prayer possessing virtue has certain limitations. If you pray for something which is not in the plan of God, or not God’s will, even if you are in fellowship and filled with virtue it will not be answered. You cannot pray for something which is contrary to the will of God.

“If anyone has seen his fellow believer committing a sin not terminating in death, he shall ask, and [God the Father] will give life to him.”

Principle

1. The sin unto death is prolonged residence in the cosmic system. Once a believer is under the sin unto death prayer cannot reverse the adminstration of the sin unto death, because it involves the sovereignty of God.

2. Illustration: For example, incest. Born again believers can commit incest, there is an illustration in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. Some believers in Corinth were praying for him but their prayers could not be answered because he was in the cosmic system. But when Paul pronounced the sin unto death on him then this person woke up. He was frightened. God finally had to deal with him through fear. Paul had to tell the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 to lay off of him, that this believer had rebounded and that the sin unto death discipline had been removed—2 Corinthians 7:8-11. So there are certain things which even effective and virtuous prayer cannot accomplish. Hence the principle of virtue limitation in prayer.

3. Virtue limitation does not lie with the one offering the prayer, but with the object of intercession who resides in the cosmic system.

4. When you see a believer sin a sin/commit a sin which will not terminate in maximum discipline there is the possibility of praying for him. But no prayer can be offered that will in any way coerce his volition or the volition of God the Father. Prayer, therefore, must be of such a nature as to pray for his awareness of his problem. You can’t solve a problem until you know you have a problem. The problem of the believer in Corinth was not incest; that was the result of the problem. His problem was that he was in the cosmic system.

5. This implies that you understand what constitutes the sin unto death.

6. Please not what is not mandated. There is no mandate for gossip, maligning, spreading tales about the sinning believer.

7. The only option in intercessory prayer is to understand the difference between the sin unto death and sin. Your option to pray can only relate to a person who has not sinned the sin unto death. This therefore calls for mature application which calls for knowledge, understanding.

The second sentence begins with a present active indicative of the verb e)imi. It is translated “there is.” This is a static present tense representing a situation taken for granted as a fact. It is a fact that there is a maximum punishment situation in which the believer can find himself only through his own decision. In fluence of others is no excuse; influence of self-distraction is no excuse. The active voice emphasises the reality of maximum discipline from the justice of God to the believer who continues to reside and function in the cosmic system. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the sin unto death.

“a sin” – the predicate nominative from a(martia, which does not refer to a personal sin or even a category of sin, it refers to a status rather than a specific action. It refers actually to a status which produces not only a number of different kinds of sins but produces motivating and functional evil. Then comes proj plus the accusative from qanatoj which means death—“face to face with death,” but it is an idiom meaning “toward death” or “terminating in death.” The noun qanatoj is used here for a painful experience in dying, the painful experience that comes when the options have all been closed down. There is always for the believer who lives in the cosmic system and prolongs his stay one final open door. That one final open door is rebound. If he rebounds, walks through that door, then he will have temporary relief, and maybe even permanent relief, of the sin unto death.[1]

Next is a prepositional phrase: the present active indicative of the verb legw plus the negative o)u, translated “I do not recommend.” The verb is used in a specific sense, meaning order, command, direct, enjoin, or recommend. Here it means “I do not recommend.” The perfective present tense is for a policy regarding prayer which has been made in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. The active voice: the apostle states a policy which becomes a divine mandate regarding prayer for those believers who through pertinent and continuous cosmic involvement are under maximum discipline from the justice of God, known as the sin unto death. You cannot pray for believers in the cosmic system. There is nothing you can do for believers who persist in living in the cosmic system, it is out of your hands. It is strictly in the hands of the justice of God, and He is going to take them out in a horrible fashion. You do not have the facts and prayer cannot be effective without facts. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea as a mandate from God. Then the prepositional phrase, peri plus the genitive singular from the remote demonstrative e)keinoj—“concerning that” or “about that.” It is referring here to the sin unto death—“I do not recommend about that.” Something is missing here: the conjunction o(ti which introduces a semi-final purpose clause denoting the direction of the action in the main verb towarda given result, which result is sought or anticipated. It is translated “that.” Then the aorist active subjunctive of the verb e)rwtaw, meaning to ask, translated here “pray.” There is a subject here is the suffix—the third masculine singular suffix of the verb is ordinarily transalted “he,” but here it is used as the indefinite pronoun to translate the verbal suffix, it cannot be “he,” but “anyone.” In other words, it is a category rather than a specific individual. The aorist tense is a constative aorist referring to a momentary action of prayer, or a prayer request extended over a period of time. The active voice: the believer inside the divine dynasphere who ordinarily would use prayer effectively, in this case is simply keeping out of it.

Translation: “If anyone has seen his fellow believer committing a sin not terminating in death, he shall ask and he [God the Father] will give life to him; that is, to those who have not sinned a sin terminating in death. There is a sin terminating in death: I do not recommend that anyone should pray about that [category].”

Verses 17 & 18 – the importance of rebound and residence in the divine dynasphere.

Verse 17 – the necessity for rebound. The subject is composed of two words: the nominative feminine singular from the adjective paj—“All,” and the nominative feminine singular from the noun a)dikia which means wrongdoing, wickedness. In abstract it connotes unrighteous action. It also means an unjust act or transgression. It is often a synonym of lawlessness—a)nomia. However, because of the phrase found in 1 John 1:9, “and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” it is concluded that the subject here includes unknown sin, known sin, and all function of human good and evil in the cosmic system—“All wrongdoing,” the believer in the cosmic system. The verb is the present active indicative of e)imi—“is.” Next is “sin”— a(martia refers to the function of the believer in the cosmic system. This is a predicate nominative referring to modus operandi inside the cosmic system. (You do not confess human good and evil)

The continuation is the intensive use of the conjunction kai, translated here “and yet.” This is a continuation emphasising a fact which is surprising and noteworthy. Then the present active indicative of the verb e)imi—“and yet there is.” The customary present denotes what habitually occurs or may be reasonably expected to occur when the believer rebounds and continues inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the subject produces the action of the verb. Sin terminates in death when the believer repudiates the rebound technique and continues to live in the cosmic system. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that sin does not mean physical death in itself. Sin does mean divine discipline, and the continuation of divine discipline after rebound is converted into suffering for blessing. The predicate nominative, again, is a(martia. The objective negative adverb is o)uk, denying the reality of an alleged fact, or here making an exception to the sin terminating in death. With that is proj plus the accusative of qanatoj—“not face to face with death” or “not terminating in death.”

Translation: “All wrongdoing [modus operandi inside the cosmic system] is sin: and yet, there is a sin not terminating in death.”

Principle

1. The reason why one believer cannot pray for another believer who is under the sin unto death is because the entire issue of the angelic conflict rests with individual volition which is encompassed by the divine provision of freedom.

2. Once the believer living in the cosmic system comes under the administration of the sin unto death only that person alone can make the decisions which would reverse maximum punishment.

3. The precedent for this doctrine is found in the life of David, Hezekiah, and the incestuous Corinthian.

4. The principle as far as prayer is concerned is this: No prayer can be answered which violates the locked-in volition of another believer.

5. The purpose of prayer is not to coerce the volition of others or to use prayer as an instrument for crusading.

6. Prayer is not to be used to get your own way with others, or to superimpose your opinion or your lifestyle on another believer.

Verse 18 – the necessity for residence in the divine dynasphere. The outline of this verse falls into three parts: the principle, the precedent, and the protection.

The principle: The first word is the verb o)ida. It is used in the present tense for doctrine which has been perceived; the present active indicative for doctrine in the believer’s right lobe as a result of residence and function in the divine dynasphere. The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past [perception of pertinent doctrine] but is emphasised as a present reality. Translation: “We have learned.” The active voice: the positive believer residing and functioning inside of the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of understanding a point of doctrine regarding the divine dynasphere. Usually if any content of what has been learned is going to be discussed it is followed by the conjunction o(ti, translated “that” to indicate what the content is that is pertinent to this passage.

The subject is the nominative singular from the adjective paj. It is used as a substantive to indicate a category, therefore it has the force of an indefinite pronoun. It is therefore translated “anyone”; it is speaking about a category of the human race: anyone who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The articular perfect passive participle of the verb gennaw follows, and it means to be born—“anyone who has been born.” The definite article is used as a relative pronoun to convert the participle into a relative clause. The perfect tense is the tense of completed action with emphasis on existing results. This is a dramatic perfect tense, it is the rhetorical application of the intensive perfect used to describe existing results in a very vivid and realistic way. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb at the moment of salvation. This means every believer receives the action. The participle is circumstantial, it also has a temporal connotation. The action of the aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb, but this is a present participle and it is simultaneous with the main verb—“does not sin.” Next is a prepositional phrase, e)k plus the ablative of qeoj—“from God.”

Then the main verb, and the action is simultaneous. In other words, the moment the believer believes in the Lord Jesus Christ there is one thing he cannot do. He can’t be sinning at the same time because his sins have all been blotted out. The present tense “does not sin” is an aoristic present, it is a punctiliar action indicating the fact that at the moment the believer believes in the Lord Jesus Christ he cannot sin. He is in the divine dynasphere and he cannot sin. To sin he has to get out of the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb at the moment of salvation. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the doctrine that the believer cannot sin when he is residing in the divine dynasphere. Furthermore the indicative mood is the sign of the main verb. Ordinarily simultaneous action with the main verb is expressed by the present participle, but because of the permanence of salvation we have the perfect participle used for simultaneous action with the main verb, and at the moment of salvation the believer does not and cannot sin.

Principle

1. At the moment of salvation through faith in Christ the believer’s past sins are blotted out and he enters gate one of the divine dynasphere.

2. Inside the divine dynasphere the believer cannot sin. The moment he believes in Christ is a moment when he cannot sin, that is the point of this passage.

3. Immediately after salvation the believer may be tempted and he may sin, but the moment after salvation the believer enters the divine dynasphere and for that moment he cannot sin.

4. In order to sin after salvation the believer must leave the divine dynasphere to make a decision to pass temptation into the soul where it becomes sin. Temptation from the old sin nature is not sin. It does not become sin until it becomes involved with his volition and his volition passes it through the gate.

5. When the believer sins after salvation he immediately enters the cosmic system where his only hope for recovery is the rebound technique.

6. The believer cannot sin inside the divine dynasphere, he must step outside to make the decision. The decision to sin is the ejection from the divine dynasphere, it places the believer in the cosmic system.

Precedent: the adversative conjunction a)lla used after a negative to introduce a contrast—“but.” It is used here before an independent clause to indicate the perceiving is regarded as a settled matter. The principle is settled. All principles of doctrine are settled. It is the basis for divine modus operandi as far as the royal family of God is concerned. The conjunction forms a transition. With that is the articular aorist passive participle of gennaw, which means to be born—“but he who was born.” The definite article is used as a personal pronoun plus the relative pronoun, converting the participle into a relative clause. It is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ in His incarnation. The culminative aorist views the incarnation, the hypostatic union, in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results—the precedent of Christ living inside the divine dynasphere. That is the precedent for us as members of the royal family of God. The passive voice: our Lord Jesus Christ received the action of the verb though the virgin birth, residence in the divine dynasphere, and He lived out His life in impeccability. There is the precedent. Inside the divine dynasphere it is impossible to sin. Our Lord in His impeccability did not sin there, and neither does the believer. The action of the aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb, the main verb is the guarding of the believer in the Church Age. The comes e)k plus qeoj—“from God,” a reference to our Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His incarnation and hypostatic union.

Protection: Here, again, is the concept of security—temporal security. “keepeth” – present active indicative of the verb terew. It means “protect.” We have protection or security. It can be translated “guards” or “protects.” The descriptive present tense is for what is now going on for the believer who resides inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: Jesus Christ the God-Man produces the action of the verb in two ways: through positional truth and the provision of the divine dynasphere for us. The declarative indicative mood represents the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. It also sets up a main verb. With this is the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, used for personal pronoun the third masculine singular and refers to all believers who are inside of the divine dynasphere—“guards him.”

The conjunction kai continues the principle of our protection. The nominative subject o( ponhroj refers to Satan as “the evil one,” the ruler of this world, the inventor of the cosmic system. As a substantive it is translated “the evil one.” Ordinarily it is used as an adjective.

The verb is the present middle indicative of a(ptw plus the negative o)uk. The customary present denotes what habitually occurs when the believer resides and functions inside the divine dynasphere. The middle voice is a dynamic middle, it emphasises the part taken by the subject in the action of the verb. Satan as the agent produces the action, and he is hindered from that influence through the cosmic system when the believer is inside the divine dynasphere. There is no protection for the believer in the cosmic system, he has become the slave and the servant of Satan. And Satan is far smarter than any member of the human race. Again we have the objective genitive of relationship from a)utoj, which means that only the believer living in the divine dynasphere is the recipient of full protection from God.

Translation: “We have learned that anyone who has been born from God does not sin: but he [Jesus Christ] who was born from God [incarnation, virgin birth] protects him [the believer residing in the DD], and the evil one [Satan] does not touch him [the believer in the DD].”

Verse 19 – the divine interpretation of history. This passage is the basis for the correct interpretation of history. There is one word here which is very important, the perfect o)ida used as a present tense. It means to know, and it is translated correctly, “We have learned.” It is used for doctrine resident in the right lobe through perception at gate four of the divine dynasphere. The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past—reception of pertinent doctrine—but is emphasised as a present reality. The active voice: the positive believer residing in the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of understanding a point of doctrine. Note that the perfective present tense is translated like the perfect tense in English. This is the correct way to translate it most of the time. Then comes the conjunction o(ti, after verbs of perception, to indicate the concept of perception—“that,” or it can even be translated “quote”; followed by the present active indicative of the verb e)imi—“that we are.” The static present tense represents a condition or status quo of the believer which perpetually exists. The active voice: the believer produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of doctrine related to the trends of history and the believer’s ability to interpret history at any time in the geographical area and periphery of his life, as well as the area of life in general. With this is the prepositional phrase e)k plus the ablative of qeoj—“from God.” Translation so far: “We have learned that we [believers in the divine dynasphere] are from God.”

All believers are from God; only those who reside and function inside the divine dynasphere are aware of it. This awareness becomes the basis for true thanksgiving, true interpretation of history, correct analysis of any situation, the ability to handle one’s own life before the Lord, and inevitably the reason why we are still alive is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers living in the cosmic system lose all awareness or consciousness of God for this is a part of spiritual malnutrition.

Next is a connective kai, translated “and,” and then a subject composed of two words: the adjective o(loj and the noun kosmoj—“and the entire cosmic system.” This is followed by the present middle indicative of the verb keimai which means to lie, to recline, but with the preposition e)n which follows it means to be under the control of. The static present tense represents a condition perpetually existing as long as Satan is the ruler of this world. This will be true of the entire Church Age and therefore all historical trends must be interpreted in terms of the one who is the ruler of this world. Satan is the ruler of this world and his administrative system is the cosmic system. The middle voice is the indirect middle, emphasising the agent as producing the action, but it leans a little more toward what is known as a permissive middle which represents the agent, the cosmic system, as voluntarily yielding to the results of the action, and in its own interest. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that the cosmic system is under the control of Satan. Then comes the prepositional phrase e)n plus the dative of possession from the adjective ponhroj. The adjective is used as a substantive for Satan, calling it therefore “the evil one.”

Translation: “We have learned that we [believers living inside the divine dynasphere] are from God, and the entire cosmic system is under the control of the evil one [Satan].”

Verse 20 – the object precedent for the source of virtue is objective reality. The verse begins with the perfect tense of the verb o)ida. It is used as a perfect active indicative and it is correctly translated, “We have learned.” The manner in which the Bible is learned, the manner in which the believer gains momentum is a pastor-teacher communicating Bible doctrine to him. Learning is achieved under the principle of strict academic discipline. The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past—perception of pertinent doctrine at gate four—but is emphasised as present reality for the application to the subject of the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the positive believer residing and functioning inside of the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of understanding Christology, especially the first advent, the incarnation, the virgin birth, the hypostatic union, the impeccability of the humanity of Christ inside the prototype divine dynasphere, and all of these things in application to Christian living or what will be called objective reality.

“that” – the conjunction o(ti, which follows a verb of perception in order to give the content. The subject is composed of two words: the nominative singular from u(ioj plus the genitive of qeoj—“Son of God.” The verb is the present active indicative of h(kw which means to come, and it is used for the first advent of Christ. It actually means to arrive or to be present, and it is quite different from the usual word which we have for the first and second advents of Christ which is e)rxomai. E)rxomai denotes a state and therefore has the force of a perfect tense, but h(kw is simply historical arrival. “We have learned that the Son of God has come [has arrived].” The perfective present refers to the incarnation of Christ, His first advent, a point of doctrine, a fact of doctrine on which historical objectivity as well as objective reality are assigned. Therefore it becomes important to appreciate the fact that everything that is involved in the Christian way of life, God’s game plan for the Church Age, is based on the first advent, not the second. This is a declaration, then, for the reality of the incarnation. And this phrase emphasises the importance of understanding the first advent of Christ and its relationship to the Church Age.

The second phrase is introduced by the connective conjunction kai, which is translated “and.” The verb is the perfect active indicative of didomi, which means to give—“and he has given.” The dramatic perfect tense contemplates the action and the progress of that state of action as it is exists and continues to exist. The action is contemplated from the viewpoint of present time, that is, the action of salvation through faith in Christ and our initial entrance into the divine dynasphere. The results of the action are emphasised in perception of Bible doctrine at gate four of the divine dynasphere and momentum carrying to gate eight. Therefore the existing state of momentum is emphasised; furthermore, momentum through understanding Bible doctrine. Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb, He has provided a royal family of God with the same divine dynasphere He used while on earth; and the basis for the Christian way of life is residence and function in that divine dynasphere. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of perception of doctrine at gate four and the momentum which results in objective reality in life.

Then the dative plural indirect object from the personal pronoun e)gw—“to us.” It indicates believers as those in whose interest God has given the divine dynasphere. It is also a dative of advantage for the possession of the divine dynasphere is believer’s greatest asset in glorifying God and finding the meaning and purpose and definition of his life on this earth.

The accusative singular direct object is dianoia, the faculty of perception. It means plan or purpose as well as faculty of perception, since they are related. In the Attic Greek it meant the ability to perceive, the function or activity of thinking, a way of thought, will, purpose and intention. All of these are related to the same concept. Therefore Paul uses dianoia for moral understanding in Ephesians 4:18, but John uses it in a slightly different way though still in keeping with its original connotation. He uses it for the faculty of perception, which is the plan and purpose of God in the use of the divine dynasphere.

Principle

1. Virtue and happiness are manufactured inside the divine dynasphere, and they are manufactured through perception and application of doctrine.

2. The faculty for perception is the divine dynasphere which is the environment for virtue. That means also the environment for happiness, capacity for happiness for happiness, love, life, blessing.

3. There cannot be happiness in life apart from virtue, they stand or fall together.

4. There cannot be virtue apart from residence and function inside the divine dynasphere, the faculty for perception of doctrine.

5. There are degrees of happiness inside the divine dynasphere, depending on perception and function of the various gates. The peak is reached when you arrive at gate eight.

6. The ultimate in happiness occurs when the believer’s momentum carries him to gate eight where the ECS is completed and God shares His happiness with that mature believer.

7. Knowing that the Son of God has come in the first advent, and recognition of His gift to use of the gift of the divine dynasphere, does not imply that we will function in the divine dynasphere. We still have our free will.

Next is a purpose clause. The conjunction i(na is used as a substitute for the infinitive of result. This is a very rare use of i(na for a result clause, and it is

translated “that” or “so that.” Then comes the present active indicative of the verb ginwskw—“so that we may understand.” The present tense is a customary present denoting what habitually occurs when the believer resides and functions inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer produces the action. The indicative is a potential indicative of obligation. It is a potential indicative because while the opportunity is there the issue in the angelic conflict is your free will, your priesthood. You cannot function and operate and honour the Lord on the basis of someone else’s priesthood, you are your own priest and must make your own decisions. So the customary present recognises what habitually occurs when the believer resides and functions inside that divine dynasphere. The potential indicative: the believer has an obligation to live in the divine dynasphere, learn doctrine, advance to maturity, manufacture virtue and as a result have great happiness in life; but the obligation is potential depending upon individual self-motivation and personal, private, daily decisions before the Lord.

This is followed by the accusative singular direct object from the adjective a)lhqinoj, and with it the generic use of the definite article, ton, and its meaning is true, real, genuine, dependable. In the Attic Greek usage it means true and correct. It was used for a judicial verdict which was true and correct. Following the technical use in Hellenistic philosophical speculation its correct translation has been buried by centuries of stupidity. It really means “objective reality”—“so that we might understand objective reality” [the true, the correct, the genuine in life, in history].

Objective reality is the function of the believer inside the divine dynasphere in contrast to subjective reality which is the believer residing and functioning in the cosmic system. Objective reality, then, is permanently associated with God’s game plan for the Church Age—residence and function inside the divine dynasphere. Categorical doctrine is objective reality, while Satanic systems of thought, human viewpoint found in the cosmic system are categorised as subjective reality.

Virtue versus Ethics

1. In the Church Age God has provided a standard for virtue—Bible doctrine, the content of the Word of God plus the environment for the development of virtue which is the divine dynasphere.

2. The divine dynasphere accomplished what ethics can never achieve: both an environment and manufacturing machine for true virtue.

3. Relative standards applied to interaction result in human conflict, a conflict between two people or two organisations in which one category calls it right and the other calls it wrong.

4. Obviously the validity of ethics depends upon the establishment of an absolute norm or standard from an infinite and eternal God—the Supreme Court of heaven.

5. In ethics individual norms and standards function in the human conscience to approve or disapprove and assume that such individual function is objective reality. But objective reality is related to virtue, which is the monopoly of God. Therefore ethics becomes subjective reality.

6. Divergence of ethical opinion in the human race implies variation in human standards/norms. Ethics, therefore, is a system of relativity in standards. The inevitable result: it represents subjective reality.

7. Subjective reality is the hypocrisy of the cosmic system—pseudo morality is one of its manifestations. So subjective reality is the hypocrisy of the cosmic system establishing under the title of ethics its own false virtues in the field of altruism and human good, resulting in the justification of human good, sinfulness and evil. Ethics justifies evil.

8. The conflict of virtue vs. ethics is the conflict of the dynaspheres. The divine dynasphere, then, represents objective reality, whereas subjective reality is related by thinking from the cosmic system.

The verse continues with the conjunction kai plus the present active indicative of e)imi, showing where believers are supposed to stand on the issue—“and we are.” The progressive present tense is for action in a state of persistence inside the divine dynasphere. The active voice: the believer in the divine dynasphere produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of objective reality.

The objective reality is stated in the prepositional phrase that follows the verb, e)n plus the locative from the adjective a)lhqinoj—“in the sphere of objective reality.” Then one more prepositional phrase to show where this sphere of objective reality came for the Church Age believer: e)n plus the instrumental of u(ioj, and the genitive of relationship a)utoj—“by means of his Son, Jesus Christ.”

The second sentence begins with the nominative singular subject of the near demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. It means “This one,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Next comes the present active indicative of e)imi—“is.” The static present represents a condition of perpetual existence. The active voice: our Lord Jesus Christ produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of doctrine. The dogmatic statement of doctrine is found in the predicate nominative composed of two words: the adjective a)lhqinoj, translated “true,” and the noun qeoj—“the true God.” “This one [Jesus Christ] is the true God.”

“and eternal life” – the adjective a)iwnioj, plus zwh.

Translation: “We have known that the Son of God has come [first advent], and has given to us [believers] the faculty for perception, so that we may understand objective reality [the true, the correct, the genuine], and we are in the sphere of objective reality [the divine dynasphere] by means of his Son, Jesus Christ. This one [Jesus Christ] is the true God, and eternal life.”

Verse 21 – “Little children.” The vocative plural from teknion does not mean “little children” here. It really means “positive students.” You start out “little” in the sense that you have no knowledge of God’s plan after salvation. Knowledge of God’s plan comes through perception of doctrine, residence and function in the divine dynasphere, emphasis on gate four.

Then comes the aorist active imperative of the verb fulassw—“guard.” This is an order, a mandate, and the very fact that we are given such mandates means that free will, human volition, is still the issue in the angelic conflict. Then the accusative plural from e(autouj—“yourselves,” a reflexive pronoun which refers the action of the verb back to self. This says that you are responsible for your own decisions in life. The culminative aorist tense views your alertness, the function of your volition regarding momentum tests in its entirety, but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results. The active voice: the believer with his volition produces the action of the verb. If he makes right decisions he opens the doors for greater decisions—great happiness and prosperity, and that virtue that glorifies God in time as well as in eternity. In time through the dynamics of the spiritual life; in eternity through the rewards and decorations which go with the resurrection body. The imperative mood is a command, it is the divine command to the believer to use his own volition.

Then the prepositional phrase refers to something specific, something that everything in every generation. Here it is called “idols,” a)po plus the ablative plural of e)idwlwn—“from idols.” Idolatry is associated with demonism and was rampant at the time that John wrote in the Roman empire, but it was also the basis for the destruction of every client nation in history. There are many forms of idolatry and there are many ways to be destroyed by idolatry, and this is referring to the actual demon cult which existed at that time in the ancient world.

To guard one’s self as a believer he must use his volition to reside and function inside the divine dynasphere.