GOD'S GREAT LOVE FOR US CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD

HOW GREAT A LOVE GOD THE FATHER HAS BESTOWED ON US...                                                                                 ......................................................................................CALLED THE SONS OF GOD

1 JOHN 3:1 Behold, what manner of love (o. agape) the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.

i~dete potaph;n ajgavphn devdwken hJmi'n oJ path;r i&na tevkna qeou' klhqw'men: kai; ejsmevn. dia; tou'to oJ kovsmoß ouj ginwvskei hJma'ß o&ti oujk e~gnw aujtovn.

 Verse 1 What manner of love                                                                                                                    .  ................. potaph;n ajgavphn

(potaphn agaphn). Qualitative interrogative as in 2 Peter 3:11; Matthew 8:27. Only here in John's writings. Originally of what country or race.

Verse 1b ...the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.                                                            ......................devdwken hJmi'n oJ path;r........ i&na tevkna qeou' klhqw'men:

 Hath bestowed (dedwken). Perfect active indicative of didwmi, state of completion, "the endowment of the receiver" (Vincent). That we should be called (ina klhqwmen). Sub-final use of ina with the first aorist passive subjunctive of kalew, to call or name, as in Matthew 2:23. Children (tekna).

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,                                      .....o&soi de; e~labon aujtovn,           e~dwken aujtoi'ß     ejxousivan tevkna qeou' genevsqai,

    even to them that believe on his name:                                                                                                                                                                   ... toi'ß pisteuvousin    eijß to; o~noma aujtou',

12 As many as received him

(osoi elabon auton). Effective aorist active indicative of lambanw "as many as did receive him," in contrast with oi idioi just before, exceptional action on the part of the disciples and other believers. To them (autoiß). Dative case explanatory of the relative clause preceding, an anacoluthon common in John 27 times as against 21 in the Synoptists.

The right (exousian). In Luke 5:27 edwken (first aorist active indicative of didwmi) exousian means authority but includes power (dunamiß). Here it is more the notion of privilege or right. To become (genesqai). Second aorist middle of ginomai, to become what they were not before. Children of God (tekna qeou). In the full spiritual sense, not as mere offspring of God true of all men (Acts 17:28). Paul's phrase uioi qeou (Galatians 3:26) for believers, used also by Jesus of the pure in heart (Matthew 5:9), does not occur in John's Gospel (but in Revelation 21:7). It is possible that John prefers ta tekna tou qeou for the spiritual children of God whether Jew or Gentile (John 11:52) because of the community of nature (teknon from root tek-, to beget). But one cannot follow Westcott in insisting on "adoption" as Paul's reason for the use of uioi since Jesus uses uioi qeou in Matthew 5:9.

Clearly the idea of regeneration is involved here as in John 3:3. Even to them that believe (toiß pisteuousin). No "even" in the Greek, merely explanatory apposition with autoiß, dative case of the articular present active participle of pisteuw. On his name (eiß to onoma). Bernard notes pisteuw eiß 35 times in John, to put trust in or on. See also John 2:23; 3:38 for pisteuw eiß to onoma autou. This common use of onoma for the person is an Aramaism, but it occurs also in the vernacular papyri and eiß to onoma is particularly common in the payment of debts (Moulton and Milligan's Vocabulary). See Acts 1:15 for onomata for persons.

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.                                                                                                                                                             oiJ; oujk ejx aiJmavtwn oujde; ejk qelhvmatoß sarko;ß oujde; ejk qelhvmatoß ajndro;ß ajll# ejk qeou' ejgennhvqhsan.

Verse 13 Which were born (oi egennhqhsan). First aorist passive indicative of gennaw, to beget, "who were begotten." By spiritual generation (of God, ek qeou), not by physical (ex aimatwn, plural as common in classics and O.T., though why it is not clear unless blood of both father and mother; ek qelhmatoß sarkoß, from sexual desire; ek qelhmatoß androß, from the will of the male). But b of the old Latin reads qui natus est and makes it refer to Christ and so expressly teach the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Likewise Irenaeus reads qui natus est as does Tertullian who argues that qui nati sunt (oi egennhqhsan) is an invention of the Valentinian Gnostics. Blass (Philology of the Gospels, p. 234) opposes this reading, but all the old Greek uncials read oi egennhqhsan and it must be accepted. The Virgin Birth is doubtless implied in verse Acts 14, but it is not stated in verse Acts 13.