First John: 1 John 4:9a-God’s Love Entered into the State of Being Revealed Because of the Human Race Lesson # 163

1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (ESV)

“The love of God was made manifest among us” is composed of the following: (1) third person singular aorist passive indicative form of the phaneroō (φανερόω), “was made manifest” (2) articular nominative feminine singular form of the noun agapē (ἀγάπη), “love” (3) articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός), “of God” (4) preposition en (ἐν), “among” (5) dative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “us.”

The noun theos refers to the Father which is indicated by the word’s articular construction which in the New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context.

Furthermore, the articular construction of the word is anaphoric which indicates that the word is retaining the same meaning and referent here in 1 John 4:9 as it had in 1 John 4:8 where the word’s referent was the Father.

The noun agapē means “divine-love” and is referring to the exercise of the Father’s attribute of love toward John and the recipients of First John since the noun theos is functioning as a subjective genitive, which is indicated by the hoti clause.

The definite article preceding the noun agapē is also monadic which is indicated by the genitive adjunct τοῦ θεοῦ which is emphasizing that this love is “one of a kind,” or “unique” or “in a class by itself” since it is one of the attributes of the Father as well as the Son and the Spirit.

The verb phaneroō means “to be revealed, to be manifested” and is used of the Father’s love for John and the recipients of First John as well as every believer and non-believer.

The aorist tense of the verb phaneroō is an ingressive aorist which emphasizes the Father’s love for every human being entering into the state of being revealed through the incarnation, subsequent hypostatic union and death and resurrection of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

The passive voice of the verb phaneroō is a “divine-passive,” which expresses the idea of the Father’s love for everyone who trusts in His Son as their Savior is receiving the action of being revealed to human beings by the incarnation, subsequent hypostatic union, death and resurrection of His one and only Son.

The dative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego means “each one of us” since the word not only refers to John and the recipients of First John and all God’s children as a corporate unit but also is used of them in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

The latter of which is expressing God’s concern for each of them without exception.

It is the object of the preposition en which is a marker of cause, which would indicate that John and the recipients of First John and all those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior were the reason why God revealed His love through the incarnation, subsequent hypostatic and death of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

This interpretation is indicated by the hina purpose-result clause (ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ) “so that we might live through him,” which appears in the hoti clause which immediately follows this prepositional phrase.

This hina purpose-result clause asserts that the Father sent His one and only Son into the world in order that John and the recipients of First John and every child of God might live through His Son.

1 John 4:9 By means of this, God (the Father’s) love entered into the state of being revealed because of each one of us: namely that, God (the Father) dispatched into the world with authority His one and only Son in order that each one of us would conduct our lives through Him. (Author’s translation)

This verse is composed of an assertion followed by an appositional clause, which also contains a purpose-result clause.

The assertion is that God the Father’s attribute of love entered into the state of being revealed because of John and each one of the recipients of First John.

The appositional clause identifies the means by which this took place by asserting that the Father dispatched into the human race with authority His one and only Son.

The purpose-result clause identifies not only the intention of the Father doing this but also this was accomplished in history and was being accomplished at the time John penned First John.

It emphasizes that John and the recipients of First John living their lives on planet earth through His one and only Son accomplished the Father’s eternal purpose for dispatching Him into the world with authority.

This is the third time that the expression hē agapē tou theou (ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ), “God’s love” has appeared in First John.

The first occurrence was in 1 John 2:5 and the second was in 1 John 3:17.

In the former, the expression referred to the believer’s love for God the Father and in the latter, it pertained to the Father’s attribute of love.

Here in 1 John 4:9, the expression refers to the exercise of the Father’s attribute of love toward John and the recipients of First John which is indicated by the fact that the noun theos, “God” is functioning as a subjective genitive and the hoti clause which immediately follows it.

A “subjective” genitive is where the genitive substantive would function semantically as the “subject” of the verbal idea implicit in the head noun and thus, John would be speaking of God’s love for the believer.

Therefore, the noun theos is functioning as a subjective genitive since this hoti clause speaks of the Father manifesting His love for John and the recipients of First John by sending His one and only Son into the world in order that they might live through His Son.

In other words, it is a subjective genitive because this hoti clause asserts that the Father acted on behalf of John and the recipients of First John by sending His one and only Son in order that they might live through His Son.

When John asserts that God the Father’s attribute of love entered into the state of being revealed through the incarnation, hypostatic union, earthly life and finished work on the cross of His one and only Son Jesus Christ, it implies that this love was previously hidden, concealed or secret.

This is why the Greek word musterion is used of the incarnation of the Son of God in 1 Timothy 3:16 since it denotes the concept of revealing something that was previously secret or unknown before an act took place.

This is also why John asserts in John 1:18 that Jesus Christ explained the Father.

Thus, the incarnation and subsequent hypostatic union of the Son of God was a “mystery” because it revealed God who was previously hidden, concealed and secret before the incarnation, namely, the Father’s love for every human being.

Now, in 1 John 4:9, the prepositional phrase en hēmin (ἐν ἡμῖν) “because of each one of us” at the end of this first assertion teaches that John and the recipients of First John were the reason why God revealed His love through the incarnation, subsequent hypostatic and death of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

This prepositional phrase is translated “in us” by the LEB, NASB95 and NET Bibles and the ESV, NIV, TNIV, NRSV, HCSB and CSB translate it “among us.”

These translations are the direct result of interpreting the preposition en as a marker of sphere or location.

However, as the NET Bible states, “this description does not specify where the love of God is revealed with regard to believers: ‘in our midst’ (i.e., among us) or ‘within us’ (i.e., internally within believers).

They assert that “the latter is probable, because in the context the concept of God’s indwelling of the believer is mentioned in 4:12: ‘God resides (μένει, menei) in us.’”[1]

The KJV and NKJV translate it “toward us” which would indicate that the translators of both these bibles interpreted this preposition as a marker of direction, which means that they view this prepositional phrase as marking the believer as the direction in which God’s love was manifested.

Lastly, the TEV or the Good News Bible renders it “for us” which indicates the translators interpret the preposition en as a marker of benefaction or advantage which means that God’s love was revealed “for the benefit” of John and the recipients of First John and all believers.

However, the preposition en can also be interpreted as a marker of cause, which would indicate that John and the recipients of First John and all those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior were the reason why God revealed His love through the incarnation, subsequent hypostatic and death of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

This interpretation is indicated by the hina purpose-result clause (ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ) “so that we might live through him,” which appears in the hoti clause which immediately follows this prepositional phrase.

This hina purpose-result clause asserts that the Father sent His one and only Son into the world in order that John and the recipients of First John and every child of God might live through His Son.

Thus, John is teaching the recipients of First John and all God’s children that they were the reason why the Father sent His one and only Son into the world in that they might live through His Son.

In other words, they were the reason why the Father sent His Son into the world because He wanted them to live through His Son.

[1] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.