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NASB | 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] |
Subject: Is sinless perfection possible on earth? |
Bible Note: Hi Tim, You say: The first example is a little different. It is an Aorist Active Indicative verb, which is rather unusual. A. T. Robertson calls it a 'timeless aorist', while others refer to it as a gnomic aorist. The gist of it is that the Aorist here indicates something that is 'timeless' in nature. In other words, the Father has always been, and always will be, pleased with His Son. My reply: The verse in question is, 'This is (or 'you are') My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' I cannot agree that in this case we have a timeless aoriat. It is of course true that the Father was always well pleased with His Son. But Jesus hardly needed to be told that. What Jesus in His manhood needed to know was that up to this point He had pleased the Father. Was the Father well pleased with His progress up to that point in time? That is why the translators put it into the present tense. Indeed the coming of the Holy Spirit was evidence of that fact. It was even more necessary for John to be told that. God was assuring him that His Son was at this point in time pleasing to Him, because all is life had been pleasing to Him. It was what he needed to know. Thus while we may certainly see in the background a kind of timelessness, the assurance was for that point in time. It is a clear use of the aorist indicating a present situation, ven though an unusual present situation. It was not a lesson in theology. It was a present assurance. |