Ohio Yearly Meeting's Podcast
Conservative Friends Bible Study of 1 John #04 Chapter 2 Verses 12-17
The notes from this podcast follow not so much a narrative as a more abbreviated (verse by verse) summation of selected, important comments from the podcast. The comments follow:
Verse 12:
“little children” in Greek is the plural form of the word “teknion". When addressing adults or a congregation, it is an endearing term of affection, and does not literally mean children who are young in age but rather the “spiritual children” of the writer.
Verse 13:
“. . . fathers . . . .” Greek: “pateres” (< patēr) is the grammatically masculine form translated “fathers”, but is inclusive, including fathers and mothers. An additional element of this word is that he is writing to those whose faith has become mature in Christ.
“. . . have known . . . “ Greek: “egnōkate” (< ginōskō). The meaning of “know” is extremely significant because it means they (the men and women in the congregation) are not just acquainted with Jesus, but He is deeply known and experienced at the deepest spiritual level within them. Thus, they are mature in Christ.
“. . . young men . . . .” Greek: “neaniskoi” (< neaniskos). Again, this grammatically masculine term in Greek is inclusive and speaks to both male and female young persons. An additional element in this word is that he is writing to those who even though they are young in their faith, they have remained true to God and have overcome the evil one, satan.
Verse 14:
“I write to you . . . .” is mistranslated twice in verse 14 because in the Greek it is clearly past tense: “I have written to you . . . .”
“. . . and the word of God lives in you . . . .” The usage of “word” is not referring to the Holy Scriptures living in them, but to “. . . the real Word of God, Christ Jesus, who is in you . . . .”
Verses 15-17
“ . . . world . . . .” in Greek is “kosmos” which has various meanings. The neutral meaning is the one (from which we get our English word, “cosmos”) which means the world/universe and everything in it. In some verses in John it has the sense of worldliness, a materialistic focus on the material and social world and ways of acting, rather than on God and his Christ.
Verse 16
“. . . [desire of the] flesh . . . .” Greek: “sarkos” (<sarx) among other meanings can have a sense of the desire for things of the flesh: sexual desires, desire for riches, desire for things of the world. We can let love for the “fleshly” desires push out of our hearts and spirits the love both for and of the Father.
The quote in our introduction is from Chapter IX of George Fox's Journal.
A complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website.
To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org.
Any who might be interested in joining any of the Ohio Yearly Meeting Zoom online studies should check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. All are welcome!
We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website, or email us at OYMConservative@gmail.com.
The notes from this podcast follow not so much a narrative as a more abbreviated (verse by verse) summation of selected, important comments from the podcast. The comments follow:
Verse 12:
“little children” in Greek is the plural form of the word “teknion". When addressing adults or a congregation, it is an endearing term of affection, and does not literally mean children who are young in age but rather the “spiritual children” of the writer.
Verse 13:
“. . . fathers . . . .” Greek: “pateres” (< patēr) is the grammatically masculine form translated “fathers”, but is inclusive, including fathers and mothers. An additional element of this word is that he is writing to those whose faith has become mature in Christ.
“. . . have known . . . “ Greek: “egnōkate” (< ginōskō). The meaning of “know” is extremely significant because it means they (the men and women in the congregation) are not just acquainted with Jesus, but He is deeply known and experienced at the deepest spiritual level within them. Thus, they are mature in Christ.
“. . . young men . . . .” Greek: “neaniskoi” (< neaniskos). Again, this grammatically masculine term in Greek is inclusive and speaks to both male and female young persons. An additional element in this word is that he is writing to those who even though they are young in their faith, they have remained true to God and have overcome the evil one, satan.
Verse 14:
“I write to you . . . .” is mistranslated twice in verse 14 because in the Greek it is clearly past tense: “I have written to you . . . .”
“. . . and the word of God lives in you . . . .” The usage of “word” is not referring to the Holy Scriptures living in them, but to “. . . the real Word of God, Christ Jesus, who is in you . . . .”
Verses 15-17
“ . . . world . . . .” in Greek is “kosmos” which has various meanings. The neutral meaning is the one (from which we get our English word, “cosmos”) which means the world/universe and everything in it. In some verses in John it has the sense of worldliness, a materialistic focus on the material and social world and ways of acting, rather than on God and his Christ.
Verse 16
“. . . [desire of the] flesh . . . .” Greek: “sarkos” (<sarx) among other meanings can have a sense of the desire for things of the flesh: sexual desires, desire for riches, desire for things of the world. We can let love for the “fleshly” desires push out of our hearts and spirits the love both for and of the Father.
The quote in our introduction is from Chapter IX of George Fox's Journal.
A complete list of our podcasts, organized into topics, is available on our website.
To learn more about Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), please visit ohioyearlymeeting.org.
Any who might be interested in joining any of the Ohio Yearly Meeting Zoom online studies should check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. All are welcome!
We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website, or email us at OYMConservative@gmail.com.