57 - 1Jn 4:4-6

1Jn 4:4-6

Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτοὺς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσὶ, διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσι, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει. ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐσμεν· ὁ γινώσκων τὸν Θεὸν, ἀκούει ἡμῶν· ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. Ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης. The opposite principles which animate Christians and the antichrists have their reflection also in the relation of both to the world: the antichrists are in full friendship with it; ὁκόσμοςαὐτῶνἀκούει [“the world listens to them”];Christians are at enmity with it, and that a victorious enmity. From the principle the apostle passes to the effects of it; and thus connects and combines his discussion of theπνεῦμα[“Spirit”]as operating in the Christian with that upon his practical life as given in the 1Jn 3:1-24. For,νικᾶντόνκόσμον[“victory over the world”] andποιεῖν τὴνδικαιοσύνην [“to practice righteousness”] are interchangeable ideas. Already in 1Jn 2:1-20 theἀγαπᾶντόνκόσμον [“to love the world”] is placed in opposition to theπεριπατεῖνἐντῷφωτί [“walk in the light”];in the third it was exhibited as the work of Christ, as Hisποιεῖν τὴνδικαιοσύνην [“to practice righteousness”],that He vanquished the devil: then the deeds of His members will consist in this, that, as their Head overcame the head, so they, the members, shall overcome the members of the kingdom of darkness; that is to say, vanquish the κόσμος [“world”]. There is here below no mere positive construction, no mere negative destruction: all doing of good is at once building up and pulling down. For this correlative arrangement of theνικᾶντόνκόσμον[“victory over the world”]andποιεῖν τὴνδικαιοσύνην [“to practice righteousness”],we may compare, in particular,1Jn 5:3-4, where the ἐντολὰςΘεοῦτηρεῖν [“to keep God’s commandments”]and τόνκόσμοννικᾶν [“victory over the world”]are equivalent terms and ideas.

What our section contains as to the trying of the spirits, and the relation between the Christian and the anti-Christian spirit, is accordingly only the means used by the apostle to bring out his subject, not the absolute end he has in view: his sole end is the sign that the Holy Ghost is the energy and spring of all holy action. That the testing the spirits is only the means in his exposition appears at once from the beginning of the fourth verse. For there it is declared as a fact, the reality of which is simply presupposed, that the readers have the Holy Ghost and are therefore of God: this is the main proposition of the apostle, to which all the rest leads up. But this, of course, implies at the same time that the victory over the antichrists is achieved. That victory is accomplished (perfect); for, in that the church has turned away from all error, and witnessed the good confession laid down in the preceding words, it has already been successful in the conflict and overcome theanti-Christianity: yet not indeed in its own power, but through the power of the Holy Ghost ruling init. Thecarrying back of all human activity for good to a divine and spring of all holy action. That the testing the spirits influence is quite characteristic of this section. Ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν[“the one in you”] is the God who hath given us His Spirit, and thereby begotten us of Himself.Ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ[“the one in the world”] is he who elsewhere is called theἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου [“the ruler of this world”] (John 12:31). The prince of the world has his work in the false prophets, for—thus it is in1Jn 4:5—these belong to the world, to the kingdom of darkness pervaded and governed by sinful powers; and therefore the world acknowledges them as flesh of its flesh, and hears them. Ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσι [“they speakasfrom the world”]:that is, all their words are moulded and ordered by the spirit ruling in the world, and therefore have a well-known and familiar sound to the children of the world. Compare John 15:19 : εἰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἦτε, ὁ κόσμος ἂν τὸ ἴδιον ἐφίλει [“if you were of the world, the world would love its own”]. It is obvious that the converse must also be true (1Jn 4:6): we who are of God must be understood by him who himself knows the divine. The pronouns refer, according to the connection, not to the apostles alone, but the whole Christian fellowship; for they cannot possibly have another subject than the γινώσκομεν [“we know”] (in the second half of the verse, and that this refers to all Christians is perfectly obvious. The ὁμολογεῖν [“to confess”] of 1Jn 4:2 indeed referred not to any individual, but to all who would belong to the Christian community: they all witness the l same confession, and they all understand that confession when it is borne by others. Each is at once the speakerand hearer of the confession. The second period brings in the end of the discussion. By this we may know the Spirit of the truth and the spiritof error. But what is meant by the ἐκτούτου [“by this”]? Is it the substance of the entire six verses; or only the last, the ἀκούειν [“to hear”] on the part of the world or of the children of God? Certainly the former, and pre-eminently the confession of the incarnate Son; for the last three verses have, in fact, only laid down the effect which such a confession produces: enmity of the world, friendship of the children of God, in other words, incorporation into the whole organismof the divine kingdom.