Title:  “We are From God.  The One Knowing God Obeys Us.

The text is, “μεῖς 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”.

ἡμεῖς ->first person, personal, plural, nominative pronoun → we

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → form

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the **NRIEH

θεοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → God

ἐσμεν· -> first person, plrueal, present, indicative verb → are

ὁ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → the

γινώσκων -> present, active, participial, masculine, singular, nominative verb → one knowing

τὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative article → the NRIEH

θεὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative noun → God

ἀκούει -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → obeys

ἡμῶν· -> first person, personal, plural, genitive pronoun → us

ὃς -> masculine, singular, nominative, relative, definite pronoun → whoever

οὐκ -> negative particle → not

ἔστιν -> third person, singular, present, indicative verb → is

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the NRIEH

θεοῦ, -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → God

οὐκ -> negative particle → not

ἀκούει -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → does obey

ἡμῶν. -> first person, personal, plural, genitive pronoun → us

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τούτου -> neuter, singular, genitive, demonstrative pronoun → this

γινώσκομεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we know

τὸ -> neuter, singular, accusative article → the

πνεῦμα -> neuter, singular, accusative noun → spirit

τῆς -> feminine, singular, genitive article → the

ἀληθείας -> reminine, singular, genitive noun → of faithfulness

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

τὸ -> neuter, singular, accusative article → the

πνεῦμα -> neuter, singular, accusative noun → spirit

τῆς -> feminine, singular, genitive article → the NRIEH

πλάνης -> feminine, singular, genitive noun → of wandering

The meaning of this verse is,

We are from God; the one knowing God obeys us. Whoever is not from God does not obey us. From this we know the spirit of faithfulness and the spirit of wandering.”

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Another example is the use of “doubled negatives” or “negations” in Greek, which are not translated except in the correct English usage.  The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title:  They are from the World; Because they are Speaking From the World.

The text is, “αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει”.

αὐτοὶ -> third person, plural, masculine, nominative, personal pronoun → they

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the

κόσμου -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → world

εἰσίν, -> third person, plural, present, indicative verb → are

διὰ -> preposition taking the accusative for its object word → because

τοῦτο -> neuter, singular, accusative, demonstrative pronoun → they

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the

κόσμου -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → world

λαλοῦσιν -> third person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → are speaking

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

ὁ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → the

κόσμος -> masculine, singular, nominative noun → world

αὐτῶν -> third person, plural, masculine, genitive, personal pronoun → them

ἀκούει -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → obeys

The meaning of this verse is,

They are from the world, because they are speaking from the world, and the world obeys them.”

Title: You all are From God, Children, and Have Conquered Them

The text is, “ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ”.

ὑμεῖς -> second person, plural, nominative, personal pronoun → you all

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the **NRIEH

θεοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → God

ἐστε, -> third person, plural, indicative verb → are

τεκνία, -> neuter, plural, vocative noun → children

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

νενικήκατε -> second person, plural, perfect, active, indicative verb → have conquered

αὐτούς, -> third person, plural, masculine, accusative, personal pronoun → them

ὅτι -> subordinating causative conjunction → because

μείζων ->- masculine, singular, nominative, comparative adjective → greater

ἐστὶν -> third person, singular, present, indicative verb → who is

ὁ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → thee

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

ὑμῖν -> second person, plural, dative, personal pronoun → you

ἢ -> comparative particle → than

ὁ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → the one

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

τῷ -> masculine, singular, dative article → the

κόσμῳ → masculine, singular, dative noun → world

The meaning of this verse is,

You all are from God, children, and have conquered them because greater is the onet who is in you than the one in the world.”

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Another example is the use of “doubled negatives” or “negations” in Greek, which are not translated except in the correct English usage.  The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title: And Every Spirit who Does not Confess Jesus From God, this is the Very Antichrist

The text is, “ καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν   ἀντιχρίστου ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.”

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

πᾶν -> neuter, singular, nominative adjective → every

πνεῦμα -> neuter, singular, nominative noun → spirit

ὃ -> neuter, singular, nominative, relative, definite pronoun → who

μὴ -> negative particle ->does not

ὁμολογεῖ -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → confesses

τὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative article → the **NRIEH

Ἰησοῦν ->masculine, singular, accusative, proper noun → Jesus

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the NRIEH

θεοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → God

οὐκ -> negative particle → notἔστιν· -> third person, singular, present, indicative verb → is

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

τοῦτό -> neuter, singular, nominative, demonstrative pronoun → this

ἐστιν -> third person, singular, indicative verb → is

τὸ -> neuter, singular, nominative article → the

τοῦ -> neuter, singular, genitive article → the CER* very

ἀντιχρίστ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → antichrist

ὃ -> neuter, singular, accusative, relative, definite pronoun → which

ἀκηκόατε -> second person, plural, perfect, active, indicative verb → you all heard

ὅτι ->subordinating complementary conjunction → that

ἔρχεται, -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative very → he comes

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

νῦν -> temporal adverb → now

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

τῷ -> masculine, singular, dative article → the

κόσμῳ -> masculine, singular, dative noun → world

ἐστὶν -> third person, singular, indicative verb → is

ἤδη. -> temporal adverb → already

The meaning of this verse is,

And every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the very antichrist which you all heard that he comes, and is now already in the world.”

*CER:  indicates a non-literal, but good translation.  In the example here, the pair of articles “τὸ τοῦ” is a way to intensify the identification of the one to whom reference is made so that there is no mistaking that it is the spirit of the antichrist who denies that Christ is from God.  This is the translation in the English Standard Version, for example,; this translator chose to express the same thought slightly differently.  The  designation CER is equivalent to “Contextual English Rendering”.

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Another example is the use of “doubled negatives” or “negations” in Greek, which are not translated except in the correct English usage.  The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title: By This You Know the Spirit of God

The text is, “ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν”.

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → by

τούτῳ -> neuter, singular, dative, demonstrative pronoun → this

γινώσκετε -> second person, plural, present, active, imperative verb → you know

τὸ -> neuter, singular, accusative article → the

πνεῦμα -> neuter, singular, accusative noun → Spirit

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the **NRIEH

θεοῦ· -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → of God

πᾶν -> neuter, singular, nominative adjective → every

πνεῦμα -> neuter, singular, nominative noun → spirit

ὃ -> neuter, singular, nominative, relative, definite pronoun → who

ὁμολογεῖ -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → confesses

ησοῦν -> masculine, singular, accusative, proper noun → Jesus

Χριστὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative, proper noun → Christ

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

σαρκὶ -> feminine, singular, dative noun → flesh

ἐληλυθότα -> perfect, active, participial, masculine, singular, accusative verb → having come

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the **NRIEH

θεοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → God

ἐστιν → third person, singular, indicative verb → is

The meaning of this verse is,

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses Jesus Christ having come in the flesh is from God.

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Another example is the use of “doubled negatives” or “negations” in Greek, which are not translated except in the correct English usage.  The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title:  Beloved, Do Not Trust Every Spirit

The text is, “Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον”.

Ἀγαπητοί -> masculine, plural, vocative, verbal adjective → beloved

μὴ → negative particle → not

παντὶ -> neuter, singular, dative adjective → every

πνεύματι -> neuter, singular, dative noun → spirit

πιστεύετε -> second person, plural, present, active, imperative verb → do trust

ἀλλὰ -> coordinating adversative conjunction → but

δοκιμάζετε -> second person, plural, present, active, imperative verb → test

τὰ -> neuter, plural, accusative article → the

πνεύματα -> neuter, plural, accusative noun → spirits

εἰ -> subordinating complementary conjunction-> whether

ἐκ -> preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article → the **NRIEH

θεοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → GOD

ἐστιν -> third person, singular, present, indicative verb → it is CER* they are

ὅτ -> subordinating, causative conjunction → because

πολλοὶ -> masculine, plural, nominative adjective → many

ψευδοπροφῆται -> masculine, plural, nominative noun → false prophets

ἐξεληλύθασιν -> third person, plural, perfect, indicative verb → have come out

εἰς -> preposition taking the accusative for its object word → into

τὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative article → the

κόσμον -> masculine, singular, accusative noun → world

The meaning of this verse is,

Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God, because many false prophets have come out into the world.”

.*CER:  indicates a non-literal, but good translation.  In the  example here, the verb “ἐστιν”, which is singular in number, but the noun “πνεύματα” is in the accusative  case and therefore clearly the direct object of the verb and is plural in number.  Therefore the rendering of the verb “ἐστιν” in this case is in the plural number .  The designation CER is equivalent to “Contextual English Rendering”.

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. Another example is the use of “doubled negatives” or “negations” in Greek, which are not translated except in the correct English usage.  The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title: And the One Keeping His Commandments Abides in Him

The text is, “καὶ ὁ τηρῶν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι μένει ἐν ἡμῖν, ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος οὗ ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν”.

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

ὁ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → the

τηρῶν -> present, active, participial, masculine, singular, nominative verb → one keeping

τὰς -> feminine, plural, accusative article → the NRIEH**

ἐντολὰς -> feminine, plural, accusative noun → commandments

αὐτοῦ -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, genitive pronoun → his*

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

αὐτῷ -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, dative pronoun → him*

μένει -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → abides

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

αὐτὸς -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, nominative pronoun → he*

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

αὐτῷ· -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, dative pronoun → him*

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

τούτῳ -> neuter, singular, dative, demonstrative pronoun → this

γινώσκομεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we know

ὅτι -> subordinating complementary conjunction → that

μένει -> third person, singular, present, active, indicative verb → he abides

ἐν -> preposition taking the dative for its object word → in

ἡμῖν, -> first person, personal, plural, dative pronoun → us

ἐκ → preposition taking the genitive for its object word → by

τοῦ -> neuter, singular, genitive article → the

πνεύματος -> neuter, singular, genitive noun → Spirit

οὗ -> neuter, singular, genitive, definite, relative pronoun → whom

ἡμῖν -> first person, personal, plural, dative pronoun → to us

ἔδωκεν → third person, singular, aorist, active, indicative verb → he has given

The meaning of this verse is,

And the one keeping his commandments abides in him, and he in him; in this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given to us.”

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

*There might be some confusion here due to the various usages of “he, “his”, and “him” in this context.  The first “his” clearly refers to God, since “his” modifies the commandments of God in the phrase “his commandments”.  Likewise, the first “him” also refers to God for the context is that the one keeping those commandments abides in someone; since he cannot abide “in himself, he must be “in God”.  The second “him” refers to the one keeping the commandments, for it is “he” in whom “he”, that is God, abides.  (Another way of explaining might be to point out that “he” is a subject, in the nominative case, while “his” and “him” are possessive and objective, or first  in the genitive and then in the dative case.  Keeping these facts in mind will aid the reader in comprehending the passage properly.)

Title: And This is His Commandment

The text is, “Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ ἵνα πιστεύσωμεν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἔδωκεν ἐντολὴν ἡμῖν”.

Καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

αὕτη -> feminine, singular, nominative, demonstrative pronoun → this

ἐστὶν -> third person, singular, present, indicative verb → is

ἡ -> feminine, singular, nominative article → the NRIEH

ἐντολὴ -> feminine, singular, nominative noun → commandment

αὐτου, -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, genitive pronoun → his

ἵνα -> subordinating complementary conjunction → that

πιστεύσωμεν -> first person, plural, aorist, active, subjunctive verb → we might believe

τῷ -> neuter, singular, dative article → in the

ὀνόματι -> neuter, singular, dative noun → name

τοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive article-> of the

υἱοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → Son

αὐτοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive noun → of God

Ἰησοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive,proper noun → Jesus

Χριστοῦ -> masculine, singular, genitive, proper noun → Christ

καὶ → coordinating additive conjunction → and

ἀγαπῶμεν -> first person, plural, present, active, subjunctive verb → we might love

ἀλλήλους, -> masculine, plural, accusative, reciprocal pronoun → each other

καθὼς -> subordinating comparative conjunction → just as

ἔδωκεν -> thirdperson, singular, aorist, active, indicative verb → he gave

ἐντολὴν -> feminine, singular, accusative noun → commandment

ἡμῖν -> first person, personal, plural, dative pronoun → to us

The meaning of this verse is,

And this is his commandment, that we might believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,and we might love each other, just as he gave commandment to us.

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title: And Whatever We Might Ask We Receive from Him

The text is, “καὶ ὃ ἐὰν αἰτῶμεν λαμβάνομεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ὅτι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηροῦμεν καὶ τὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ποιοῦμεν”.

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

ὃ -> masculine, singular, nominative article → the NRIEH**

ἐὰν -> particle → whatever

αἰτῶμεν -> first person, plural, present, active, subjunctive verb → we might ask

λαμβάνομεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we receive

ἀπ’ ->preposition taking the genitive for its object word → from

αὐτοῦ -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, genitive pronoun → him

ὅτι -> subordinating causative conjunction → because

τὰς -> feminine, plural, accusative article → the NRIEH

ἐντολὰς -> feminine, plural, accusative noun → commandments

αὐτοῦ -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, genitive pronoun → his

τηροῦμεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we keep

καὶ -> coordinating additive conjunction → and

τὰ -> neuter, plural, accusative article → whatever

ἀρεστὰ -> neuter, plural, accusative adjective, verbal → is pleasing

ἐνώπιον -> improper preposition taking the genitive for its object word → before

αὐτοῦ -> third person, personal, masculine, singular, genitive pronoun → him

ποιοῦμεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we do

The meaning of this verse is,

And whatever we might ask we receive from him because we keep his commandments and we do whatever is pleasing before him.

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.

Title: Beloved, if our Heart Should Not Condemn Us,

The text is, “Ἀγαπητο ἐὰν ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν μὴ καταγινώσκῃ παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν”.

Ἀγαπητοί -> masculine, plural, vocative adjective → beloved

ἐὰν -> subordinating conditional conjunction → if

ἡ -> feminine, singular, nominative article → the NRIEH**

καρδία -> feminine, singular, nominative noun → heart

ἡμῶν -> first person, personal, plural genitive pronoun → our

μὴ -> negative particle → not

καταγινώσκῃ -> third person, singular, present, active, subjunctive verb → should condemn

παρρησίαν -> feminine, singular, accusative noun → confidence

ἔχομεν -> first person, plural, present, active, indicative verb → we have

πρὸς -> preposition taking the accusative for its object word → toward

τὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative article → the NRIEH

θεὸν -> masculine, singular, accusative noun → God

The meaning of this verse is,

Beloved, if our heart should not condemn us we have confidence toward God.”

**NRIEH:  For the sake of clarity the word is translated into English, but to avoid such odd constructions as applying a definite article (“the”) to a substantive sufficiently determined by its being a proper noun, or by the use of a qualifier other than the definite article. An example would be the basic translation “Peter said to the Jesus”; the word “the” is completely unnecessary. There are many examples of this in the New Testament. The designation NRIEH is equivalent to “Not Rendered Into English Here”.