By Pastor Dave Farmer

Exegesis in support of Expanded Translation

Numbers in brackets [ ] refer to Strong's numbering system whereby Greek words are assigned a number for easy lookup. Those who study the Scripture from the original languages are familiar with this type of lexicon.

The Third False Claim begins with the assertion, “If we claim that we have not sinned.” Secondly, the Admonishing Censure, “[then] we make Him a liar, and His Word is not residing in us.” In a future topic, The Amazing Cure, which is in 1 John 2:1,2.

1 John 1:10

If we claim that we have not sinned [and remain in a state of sinless perfection], [then] we keep on making Him a liar and His Word [Bible Doctrine] does not reside in us.

THE ALLEGED CLAIM

10a] ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι οὐχ ἡμαρτήκαμεν “If we claim that we have not sinned [and remain in a state of sinless perfection].”

The third false claim begins with the same opening phrase as in verse six and eight of this chapter, ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, “If we claim.” Since we have fully explained this construction in prior studies, we will only footnote where you can find this information.¹ The protasis begins with the conditional conjunction EAN [ἐὰν - #1437], meaning IF. It introduces a third-class conditional sentence when a verb follows in the subjunctive mood. The verb is the aorist active subjunctive first-person plural of EIPON [εἴπωμεν #2036] meaning TO SAY, TO CLAIM.

The aorist tense is a gnomic aorist. This false claim is timeless. The false assertion that is made in John’s time will be made in every generation of the Church Age. In the active voice, the believer walking in darkness is asserting sinless perfection. The subjunctive mood emphasizes the potentiality of this being fulfilled in the future.

Next is the declarative use of the conjunction HOTI [ὅτι - #3754], meaning THAT. The declarative HOTI introduces indirect discourse ². This statement is not an exact quote about what the false teachers were saying, but rather John is summarizing what he had heard.

Then we have the perfect active indicative first-person plural of HAMARTANO [ἡμαρτήκαμεν - #264] plus the negative OUK meaning WE HAVE NOT SINNED. In the second denial, the sin nature was rejected; now, we no longer commit any sin. The perfect tense looks at an action in the past, coming to the point of completion, and the results continue in the present. Dr. Wuest explains:

The denial here is of any acts of sin committed in past time with the implication that none are able to be committed at present. This is sinless perfection with a vengeance. ³

The extensive perfect tense implies that we have stop sinning sometime in the past and since then have not sinned. We have reached perfection, and that condition remains. It is translated into English as a present perfect, “we have not sinned.” In the active voice, the subject produces the action by living under the allusion of sinlessness. There is only One who could make such a claim, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. The indicative mood is the fact that false teachers and their deceived followers were making statements of sinless perfection. This is a full-throated rejection of Bible doctrine (the teaching of Scripture).

THE ADMONISHING CENSURE

10b] ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν “[then] we make Him a liar.”

With this sentence, we begin the apodosis, and we identify this part of the conditional sentence by adding the word THEN. We now get a conclusion. What is the ramification for holding this false view of yourself? When you reject the truth of Bible Doctrine (the teaching of Scripture), you make God a liar. This principle extends to any truth, not just this one.

A Great Blasphemy

Following the English word order, we start with the verb, the present active indicative first-person plural of POIEO [ποιοῦμεν - #4160] meaning TO DO, TO PRACTICE, TO MAKE. The perfective present emphasizes that the result of past actions is still continuing. In the past, the believer made the claim of sinless perfection, and this resulted in making God a liar, and that is still true. Their blasphemy of the past continues as of the moment of the writing of this epistle. The indicative mood is a statement of fact. This is a real blasphemy.

Next, we have a construction called a double accusative. In this construction, the first accusative is the direct object of the verb, and the second accusative completes the thought of the object, building upon it. The second accusative is called the object compliment. ⁴ The first accusative is a third-person personal pronoun AUTOS [αὐτὸν #846], the direct object of the sentence translated HIM. This is a reference to God. A second accusative follows this, the complement of the direct object, PSEUSTES [ ψεύστην -#5583] meaning, LIAR, “WE KEEP ON MAKING HIM A LIAR.” Jesus used this word in describing a characteristic of Satan in John 8:44, “for he is a liar and the Father of lies.” It is also the characteristic of believers walking in darkness, under the control of Satan, 1 John 2:22. They are said to be like the Antichrist.

A Great Tragedy

10c] καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν “and His Word [Bible Doctrine] does not reside in us.”

The second consequence of this false view of yourself now follows. We start this segment with the connective use of KAI, which continues the Admonishing Censure, AND. Next is the subject of the sentence, the articular nominative singular of LOGOS [λόγος - #3056], which can mean WORD, THOUGHT, DOCTRINE. Then the possessive genitive of the third-person personal pronoun AUTOS [αὐτοῦ - #846], OF HIM. The possessive genitive stresses the fact that we are talking about God’s Word, the Word that belongs to Him. The phrase is shortened in English and translated HIS WORD. There are four ways possession is formed in Koine Greek, and this is the second way. In this construction, a personal pronoun in the genitive case connotes possession. This is very common, and so far, we have seen it seven times:

The first-person pronoun is used in verse 1, our eyes, our hands; verse 4 our joy; and verse 9 our sins.

The third-person pronoun is used in verse 3 His Son; verse 7 His Son; and verse 10 His Word.

In this arrangement, the article is treated as a function marker and is not translated. For more on possessive genitive constructions, see Exegesis of 1 John 1:3, footnote #1. Following this is the word that expresses the great heartbreak found here, the negative OUK [οὐκ -#3756], meaning NOT. It proceeds the verb it modifies to highlight the fact that we have a negative concept. John writes, “οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν – literally “is not in us,” but the idiom is “does not reside in us.” The negative accentuates the positive. God’s Word is to reside IN US. David said it this way:

Psalm 119:11

I have hidden [stored up] your word IN my heart [mentality of the soul] that I might not sin against you.

The verb EIMI [ἔστιν - #2076] is a descriptive present describing vividly and appallingly a negative condition. In the active voice, the subject is producing the action; they are rejecting the Word of God as taught by John. The indicative mood declares this as a statement of fact, a sad reality the many churches experience from time to time.

1 John 2:19

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

This is a picture of negative volition toward the Word of God. This concept is frequent in Scripture and so much so that a doctrine has been formed. ⁵ The teaching of the truth has caused antagonism between believers who love the teaching of the Word and those who have gone negative toward the Word of God. In this passage, we have negative volition due to the content of the teaching of the Word. There are other reasons, but this split was due to the false view of spirituality that some believers in the church embraced. Negative volition toward the Word is a real problem for it hinders spiritual growth, produces the human viewpoint of life, and places the believer under divine discipline. Just a few of the repercussions.

ENDNOTES

¹ A study of the third-class condition can be found in Topic #21 footnote #1.

² See Exegesis of 1 John 1:8 footnote #3 for an explanation of indirect discourse.

³ Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 13, p. 106). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

⁴ The proper label for the direct object in such a construction is “object in object-complement construction,” for the compliment, “complement in object-complement construction,” or simply “the object complement.” Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (p. 183). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

⁵ Definition: The Arrogance of Negative volition occurs when the believer or an unbeliever becomes apathetic, indifferent, or rejects the Word of God, in part or the whole.