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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
1 Yhn 4 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21
◄ ← 1 YHN (1 JHN) 4:12 ↓ → ► ║ ©
OET (OET-LV) No_one has_ ever _seen god, if we_may_be_loving one_another, the god is_remaining in us, and the love of_him is having_been_perfected in us.
OET (OET-RV) No one has ever seen God, but when we are loving each other then God is living in us, and his love is being perfected in us.
Read 4:7–5:12 carefully.
Section Theme: In this section John gives two reasons why we should love one another:
4:7–12 | God has shown us what true love is by sending his Son to die for us. |
4:13–21 | God has loved us so much that we have a duty to love others. |
At the end of the section, in 5:1–12, he shows how it is believing in Jesus that enables us to both love and obey God.
Read 4:11–12 in both BSB and GNT. Compare the two versions.
Paragraph Theme: Here John appeals to us to love one another so that God can truly live in us and cause his love to reach others through us.
The focus of this verse is on two things that will happen if we love one another: (a) God will live in us, and (b) his love will become perfect in us. The statement that no one has ever seen God is not in focus, it is just emphasizing how amazing it is that God lives in us. The verse could therefore be restructured as:
If we love one another, then even though nobody has ever seen God, he will actually be living in us, and….
No one has ever seen God;
No human being has ever seen God as he really is,
No one has ever seen God: (Meaning) John means that no one has seen God as he really is, in spirit. People have only ever seen God at times when he has appeared in human form, such as when Moses saw him (Exodus 33:22–23) and when people saw Jesus.
but if we love one another, God remains in us,
but even so, if/when we(incl) love one another, God is united with us,
if we love: (Multiple Senses) This means “whenever we love…”
God remains in us: (Collocation) See the notes on 2:5c “in Him,” and 3:24a “and God in him.”
and His love is perfected in us.
and his love is doing the work which he intends it to do in us.
and he is loving people through us just as he wishes.
His love is perfected: (Meaning) John means that when God lives in us and we love others, then God’s love is reaching people just as he wants it to. In other words, God’s love is having the effect he intends it to have.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
ἐὰν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει, καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Θεόν Οὐδείς πώποτε τεθέαται ἐάν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους ὁ Θεός ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καί ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστίν)
John is speaking of a real situation as if it were a hypothetical condition. If your language does not state something as a condition if it is already real, and if your readers might think that what John is saying is not real, then you could translate his words as an affirmative statement. Alternate translation: [But as we love each other, God remains in us, and his love is perfected in us] or [But we do love each other, so that means that God remains in us, and his love is perfected in us]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει
¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Θεόν Οὐδείς πώποτε τεθέαται ἐάν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους ὁ Θεός ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καί ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστίν)
See the discussion of the term “remain” in Part 3 of the Introduction to 1 John. In this instance, it seems to mean the same thing as in [2:6](../02/06.md). See how you translated it there. Alternate translation: [God continues to have a close relationship with us]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν
the love ˱of˲_him ˓having_been˒_perfected in us (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Θεόν Οὐδείς πώποτε τεθέαται ἐάν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους ὁ Θεός ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καί ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστίν)
See how you translated the similar expression in [2:5](../02/05.md). In this case, it is clear that John is referring to God’s love for us, rather than to our love for God. Alternate translation: [God’s love has achieved its purpose in our lives]
OET (OET-LV) No_one has_ ever _seen god, if we_may_be_loving one_another, the god is_remaining in us, and the love of_him is having_been_perfected in us.
OET (OET-RV) No one has ever seen God, but when we are loving each other then God is living in us, and his love is being perfected in us.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.