First John: 1 John 4:9b-The Means By which God’s Love Entered into the State of Being Revealed Lesson # 164

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)

“In this” is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), “in” (2) dative neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “this.”

The demonstrative pronoun houtos means “this” is referring to the assertion contained in the hoti clause which follows it: “that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

This word houtos is the object of the preposition en which is a marker of means indicating the means by which God the Father’s love for the apostle John and the recipients of First John was manifested because of them.

“That God sent his only Son into the world” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction hoti (ὅτι), “that” (2) articular accusative masculine singular form of the noun huios (υἱός), “Son” (3) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “His” (4) articular accusative masculine singular form of the adjective monogenēs (μονογενής), “only” (5) third person singular perfect active indicative form of the verb apostellō (ἀποστέλλω), “sent” (6) articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός), “God” (7) preposition eis (εἰς), “into” (6) articular accusative masculine singular form of the noun kosmos (κόσμος), “the world.”

The conjunction hoti is employed with the indicative mood of the verb apostellō, “sent” in order to form an appositional clause which means that it is defining for the reader the means by which God the Father’s love was revealed because of John and the recipients of First John and all His children.

The verb apostellō means “to dispatch someone, to send someone” with authority to a particular location implying for a particular purpose.

In other words, it means “to cause someone to depart for a particular purpose” and to do so with authority or by delegated them authority for a particular purpose.

Therefore, this verb indicates that God the Father dispatched or sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ and invested Him with His sovereign authority to planet earth for the benefit of John and each of the recipients of First John and all God’s children might live through Him in order that they might live through His Son.

The articular form of the noun kosmos means “the world” and refers to the world in its arrangement of the inhabitants of the earth in tribes and nations or peoples (Acts 17:26; John 3:16; 1 Cor. 4:9; 1 John 2:2; 2 Pet. 2:5).

Therefore, it speaks of the entire human race in 1 John 4:9.

The noun kosmos is the object of the preposition eis, which means “into” since the word is functioning as a marker of presence in a place, which means that this prepositional phrase marks the people of the world as the place in which God the Father sent His one and only Son with authority.

The noun huios is used in relation to Jesus Christ and is employed here as a title for His deity describing the relationship between the Father and Himself.

The articular construction of this word is employed with the intensive person pronoun autos which means “His” referring to the Father.

Together, they denote possession expressing the Father/Son relationship between Jesus Christ and God.

Thus, they emphasize that Jesus of Nazareth and the Father share the same divine nature.

The articular form of the adjective monogenēs means “one and only” since the word pertains to what is unique in the sense of being the only one of the same kind or class.

Here it is expressing the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in that He is the one and only Son of the Father.

“So that we might live through him” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction hina (ἵνα), “so that” (2) first person plural aorist active subjunctive form of the verb zaō (ζάω), “we might live” (3) preposition dia (διά), “through” (4) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “him.”

The conjunction hina is employed with the subjunctive form of the verb zaō, “we might live” in order to form a purpose-result clause that indicates both the intention and accomplishment of the action of the verb apostellō.

Therefore, this indicates that this conjunction is introducing a clause which presents both the purpose and the result of the Father dispatching into the human race with authority His one and only Son.

The first person plural aorist active subjunctive form of the verb zaō means, “to live, to conduct oneself in a particular manner” which is specified by the context.

The first person plural form of this verb means “each one of us” since it refers to John and the recipients of First John as a corporate unit in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

Therefore, this verb is used here of the apostle John and the recipients of First John conducting themselves in a godly manner on planet earth in the devil’s world through the Father’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

The genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos means “Him” referring of course to the Father’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

It is the object of the preposition dia, which means “through” since the word is functioning as a marker of intermediate agency indicating that the Father’s one and only Son is the intermediate agency through whom John and the recipients of First John were presently living their lives on planet earth.

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)

The prepositional phrase en toutō (ἐν τούτῳ), “by means of this” is connected to the hoti clause which follows it: “that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

It expresses the means by which God the Father’s love for the apostle John and the recipients of First John was manifested because of them.

Consequently, it indicates that God the Father sending His Son into the world in order that they might live through Him was the means by which His love for them was manifested because of them.

This hoti clause is appositional which means that it is defining for the reader the means by which God the Father’s love was revealed because of John and the recipients of First John and all His children.

It expresses the idea that He dispatched or sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ and invested Him with His sovereign authority to planet earth for the benefit of John and each of the recipients of First John and all God’s children might live through Him in order that they might live through His Son.

When John speaks of the Father sending His Son he means that the Father dispatched Him with His sovereign authority to planet earth in order that the human race might live through His Son.

He means that Jesus Christ was invested by the Father with His Father’s sovereign authority to perform the work He needed to at the cross in order that members of the human race might live through Him.

“In order that each one of us would conduct our lives through Him” is a purpose-result clause which presents both the purpose and the result of the Father dispatching into the human race with authority His one and only Son.

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.

It emphasizes that the Father’s eternal purpose for the incarnation and subsequent hypostatic union of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ has been accomplished and is being accomplished through John and the recipients of First John and all of God’s children.

It is accomplished because they were experiencing fellowship with Him through obedience to His Word.

Therefore, this purpose-result clause teaches that by experiencing fellowship with God and thus experiencing eternal life, John and the recipients of First John were accomplishing the Father’s eternal purpose for the incarnation and subsequent hypostatic union of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

They were experiencing eternal life because of their identification with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection and through obedience to His command to love one another as He loves them.

Consequently, it speaks of them experiencing fellowship with God since experiencing eternal life is synonymous with experiencing fellowship with God.

Therefore, they were fulfilling the Father’s eternal purpose for the incarnation and subsequent hypostatic union of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ by conducting themselves in a godly manner on planet earth in the devil’s world through the Father’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ.