From: Harold R. Holmyard III (hholmyard@ont.com)
Date: Wed Apr 19 2000 - 19:22:38 EDT
Dear Brian,
Notice that the central distinction that John makes between the saved
and the lost in 1 John 2:9-11 is love for the brother. This suits an
interpretation of the new command in 2:8 as the command to love.
The switch from present indicative to aorist in GRAFW /EGRAPSA
(2:12-14) seems stylistic. The epistolary aorist was a writing convention
which pictured the letter as having arrived and being read by the
recipient, so that the act of writing was a past act.
The rhetorical function of 2:12-14 seems especially to bring
assurance. John has couched much of the letter in conditional terms or
general statements of truth up until 2:12-14: he wrote that they might have
fellowship; if they said they did not have sin, they would be lying; if a
person does not keep His commandments, he is a liar; he writes with a new
command; people who hate are in darkness, while those who love are in the
light. The affectionate address of 2:12-14, with its special structure,
emphasizes John's conviction that his addressees are children of God and
are saved. Thus John can proceed to more plainly instructional and
exhortatory materials grounded in their position as God's children.
Yours,
Harold Holmyard
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