notes
Main point summary
John instructs us to test the spirits because there are many false prophets. He gives us two tests. 1) Test what is said about Jesus and 2) See who is listened to. He also encourages us that we have overcome the false prophets.
Arc
editing
NT
1 John 4:1-6
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nasb
schl
Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε
a Beloved, do not believe every b spirit,
Geliebte, glaubet nicht jedem Geist,
ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα
but test the spirits
sondern prüfet die Geister,
εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
to see whether they are from God,
ob sie von Gott sind!
actionpurpose
negativepositive
ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
because c many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Denn es sind viele falsche Propheten hinausgegangen in die Welt.
ground
ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ•
By this you know the Spirit of God:
Daran erkennet ihr den Geist Gottes:
πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
a every spirit that b confesses that c Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
Jeder Geist, der bekennt: «Jesus ist der im Fleisch gekommene Christus», der ist von Gott;
καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν•
and every spirit that a does not confess Jesus is not from God;
und jeder Geist, der Jesus nicht bekennt, der ist nicht von Gott.
καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου,
this is the spirit of the b antichrist,
Und das ist der Geist des Antichrists,
ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται,
of which you have heard that it is coming,
von welchem ihr gehört habt, daß er kommt;
καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.
and c now it is already in the world.
und jetzt schon ist er in der Welt.
progression
ideaexplanation
series
Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία,
You are from God, a little children,
Kindlein, ihr seid aus Gott
καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς,
and b have overcome them;
und habt jene überwunden,
ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
because c greater is He who is in you than d he who is in the world.
weil der in euch größer ist als der in der Welt.
αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν,
a They are from the world;
Sie sind von der Welt;
διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν
therefore they speak as from the world,
darum reden sie von der Welt,
καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει.
and the world listens to them.
und die Welt hört auf sie.
inference
ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν,
a We are from God;
Wir sind aus Gott.
ὁ γινώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν,
b he who knows God listens to us;
Wer Gott kennt, hört auf uns;
ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν.
c he who is not from God does not listen to us.
wer nicht aus Gott ist, hört nicht auf uns.
alternative
ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης.
By this we know d the spirit of truth and e the spirit of error.
Daran erkennen wir den Geist der Wahrheit und den Geist des Irrtums.
Test the spirits by listening to what they say about Christ.
Test the spirits by seeing if they listen to us.
We have overcome the false prophets because Christ is greater than the devil.
We need to test the spirits since there are many false prophets.
na28
discourse
Phrase
1 John 4:1-6
Introduction: Test the Spirits
Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
A. 1st Test: Who is Jesus
By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God;
this is the spirit of the antichrist,
of which you have heard that it is coming,
and now it is already in the world.
B. We Have Overcome
You are from God, little children,
and have overcome them;
because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
A'. 2nd Test: Who Is Listened To
They are from the world;
therefore they speak as from the world,
and the world listens to them.
We are from God;
he who knows God listens to us;
he who is not from God does not listen to us.
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
phrasing
Phrase Greek
1 John 4:1-6
na28
Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Geliebte, glaubet nicht jedem Geist, sondern prüfet die Geister, ob sie von Gott sind! Denn es sind viele falsche Propheten hinausgegangen in die Welt.
ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα
εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ•
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
Daran erkennet ihr den Geist Gottes: Jeder Geist, der bekennt: «Jesus ist der im Fleisch gekommene Christus», der ist von Gott;
πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν•
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
und jeder Geist, der Jesus nicht bekennt, der ist nicht von Gott. Und das ist der Geist des Antichrists, von welchem ihr gehört habt, daß er kommt; und jetzt schon ist er in der Welt.
καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου,
ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται,
καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.
Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία,
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Kindlein, ihr seid aus Gott und habt jene überwunden, weil der in euch größer ist als der in der Welt.
καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς,
ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν,
They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
Sie sind von der Welt; darum reden sie von der Welt, und die Welt hört auf sie.
διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν
καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει.
ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν,
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Wir sind aus Gott. Wer Gott kennt, hört auf uns; wer nicht aus Gott ist, hört nicht auf uns. Daran erkennen wir den Geist der Wahrheit und den Geist des Irrtums.
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.
Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ• πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν• καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.
Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει.
ἡμεῖς 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.
Diagram
studyinfo
components
1 John 4:1-6
na28
table
Ἀγαπητοί
solid
drop
revrocket
equal
line
rocketship
pred
cword
vertical
subjectverb
πιστεύετε
μὴ
directobject
πνεύματι
παντὶ
δοκιμάζετε
τὰ
πνεύματα
obtuse
pstack
εἰ
ἐστιν
prepphrase
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ψευδοπροφῆται
πολλοὶ
ἐξεληλύθασιν
εἰς
τὸν
κόσμον
ὅτι
ἀλλὰ
text
v1a
v1b
v1c
v1d
γινώσκετε
ἐν
τούτῳ
τὸ
πνεῦμα
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ὃ
ὁμολογεῖ
Ἰησοῦν
Χριστὸν
participle
ἐληλυθότα
ἐν
σαρκὶ
smartline
dashed
free
ttext
line2
bracket
v2a
v2b
πνεῦμα
πᾶν
ἐστιν
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
πνεῦμα
πᾶν
ἔστιν
οὐκ
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
καὶ
ὃ
ὁμολογεῖ
μὴ
τὸν
Ἰησοῦν
v3a
τοῦτό
ἐστιν
predicate
τὸ
τοῦ
ἀντιχρίστου
ἀκηκόατε
shelf
ὃ
ἔρχεται
ὅτι
ἐστὶν
νῦν
ἤδη
ἐν
τῷ
κόσμῳ
καὶ
linemid
καὶ
v3b
v3c
v3d
τεκνία
Ὑμεῖς
ἐστε
νενικήκατε
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
αὐτούς
ὁ
ἐστὶν
ἐν
ὑμῖν
μείζων
ὁ
ἐν
τῷ
κόσμῳ
ἢ
ὅτι
καὶ
v4a
v4b
v4c
αὐτοὶ
εἰσίν
ἐκ
τοῦ
κόσμου
διὰ
τοῦτο
λαλοῦσιν
ἐκ
τοῦ
κόσμου
ὁ
κόσμος
ἀκούει
αὐτῶν
καὶ
v5a
v5b
v5c
ἡμεῖς
ἐσμεν
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
ὁ
ἀκούει
γινώσκων
τὸν
θεὸν
ἡμῶν
ὃς
ἔστιν
οὐκ
ἐκ
τοῦ
θεοῦ
quoteshelf
ἀκούει
οὐκ
ἡμῶν
γινώσκομεν
ἐκ
τούτου
τὸ
πνεῦμα
τὸ
πνεῦμα
τῆς
ἀληθείας
τῆς
πλάνης
καὶ
v6a
v6b
v6c
v6d
According to Bill Mounce, πιστεύω can take a direct object in either the dative or accusative.
Is this correctly diagrammed?
Taking a genitive object meaning "to listen to". This occurs also two times in v6.
asyndeton
diagram