The issue really is not so much the translation as the understanding.
- well, it's both, ie., they're inter-related.
I agree here, ie., in this thread, that
really the only word at issue is "in" or "into".
What he's saying is NOT that people who claim that Jesus Christ "came to earth himself in the flesh" are from God. What he is saying is that people who say that Christ is in them, in their flesh, are from God.
- it's worth noting we're discussing a Johannine epistle and you've presented Pauline epistles in support of your interpretation: the intention through them may have been the same as the author/s of 1 John; and vice versa; +/- your interpretation of them all
Beloved, believe not every spirit. Test the spirits: whether they are of God. Because many false prophets - ψευδοπροφῆται - have gone out into the cosmos.
I think the main subjects in verses 1,2 and 3 of 1 John 4 are the spirits: (1) the spirits that confess 2b "Jesus Christ having come in flesh" (ie., the spirits which are "from God"), and (2) 3a those that don't confess that, so are "not from God."
Then, in verse 4, the text patronizes and baits the reader/s [hearers, if being read to] to be like the good spirits with
4 You are from* (ἐκ) God, children, and have overcome them (ie., overcome the bad spirits in v.3), because the greater One is in (ἐν)^ you
^ or, maybe, "[now] among [you]"; or maybe, "[now] on [you]"
And, damn, I just realised I misread vv 2b and 3a which also have ἐκ
So my 2b should be
every spirit which confesses 'Jesus-Christ-has-come in-flesh' is from* God
ie., a still conditional clause
And my 3a should be
every-spirit-that-does-not-confess-'Jesus-has-come in-flesh' is not from* God, so is of the antichrist
* or, perhaps, "out of," or "sourced from"
Statistics: Posted by MrMacSon — Mon Nov 04, 2024 2:05 pm