5:13-21  13.These things I wrote to you in order that you might know that you possess eternal life, to those who are confident in the name of the son of God. 14. And this is the boldness that we have before him, that if we should ask anything in harmony with his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us, whatever we should ask, we know that we possess these requests which we have asked from him.
16. If some should see his brother involved in committing a sin that does not lead to death, he shall ask and he shall give him life. For those committing a sin that does not lead to death. A sin leading to death does exist. I am not speaking concerning that that you should ask. 17 Every injustice is sin and there exists a sing that does not lead to death.
18. We know that everyone who stands born from God does not commit sin, but the one who has been produced from guards himself and the evil one does not touch him. 19. We know that we are from God and the whole world system is lying in relationship to the evil one.  20. Now we know that the son of God has come and has given to us spiritual intelligence so that we might know the true one, and we exist in this true one, in his son Jesus Messiah. This is the true God and eternal life.  21. Little offspring, guard yourselves from idols.

5:13-21  13Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, ἵνα εἰδῆτε ὅτι ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνιον, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ. 14καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ παρρησία ἣν ἔχομεν πρὸς αὐτόν, ὅτι ἐάν τι αἰτώμεθα κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. 15καὶ ἐὰν οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀκούει ἡμῶν ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἔχομεν τὰ αἰτήματα ἃ ᾐτήκαμεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
16Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ. 17πᾶσα ἀδικία ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, καὶ ἔστιν ἁμαρτία οὐ πρὸς θάνατον.
18Οἴδαμεν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει, ἀλλ’ ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τηρεῖ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς οὐχ ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ. 19οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν καὶ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται. 20οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἥκει καὶ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν, ἵνα γινώσκωμεν τὸν ἀληθινόν, καὶ ἐσμὲν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ, ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς καὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος.
21Τεκνία, φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλω

Verse 13:  J moves to bring his composition to a conclusion. This may be signaled by the aorist main verb γράψα, preceded by the direct object (ταῦτα) and followed by an indirect object (ὑμῖν). ταῦτα would have an anaphoric reference to the contents of the composition. The subordinate clause of purpose marked by ἵνα explains why he wrote it. The aorist active subjunctive verb εἰδῆτε indicates that he wanted to communicate some knowledge to them for their benefit. The ὅτι clause of indirect discourse expresses the contents of this knowledge and the clause functions as the object of εἰδῆτε. J uses a present active indicative verb ἔχετε as the main verb in the ὅτι clause and places it between the object (ζωήν) and its adjectival modifier (αἰώνιον), an example of hyperbaton. This places a bit more emphasis upon both the noun and the adjective that defines the type of life J is discussing. The final construction is an adjectival participle that modifies ὑμῖν, characterizing these people as “those who are confident in the name of the son of God.” For the construction πιστεύω εἰς see 5:10. εἰς τὸ ὄνομα defines the object in which confidence is placed. ὅνομα probably refers to the essential nature of this person. τοῦ υἱοῦ is a genitive of description, identifying whose name is involved. τοῦ θεοῦ is a genitive of relationship.

Verse 14:  The conjunction καί links the contents of the preceding clause with this one in some kind of logical progression, even though J’s precise intention in this regard is difficult to reconstruct. The “boldness” to petition must be related to the new relationship that believers have with the deity, that is validated by their possession of eternal life. The independent declarative clause is formed as an equative clause, with ἡ παρρησία as the predicate and ἄυτη functioning as the subject (see 2:28). It is modified by a relative clause that explains the nature of this boldness. It is marked by ἥν that functions as the object of the verb ἔχομεν in this clause. J includes himself in the first person plural subject. The adverbial prepositional phrase πρὸς αὐτόν expresses some relational or locative idea (“with him”; see the use of the preposition in Jn 1:1-2). The clause initial αὕτη, the subject of the equative clause, anticipates the content of the ὅτι clause.

ὅτι marks an epexegetical subordinate clause that is the cataphoric reference for αὕτη. It contains a third class condition introduced by ἐάν + subjunctive. J places the object τι, indefinite pronoun, in first position, giving it prominence. αἰτώμεθα is a present middle subjunctive form (compare the use of the active form in 3:22). What might the use of the middle voice signify? Culy suggests it emphasizes benefit to the subject. The adverbial prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸ θέλημα modifies the verb and indicates the standard by which to measure a successful petition. αὐτοῦ probably is a subjective genitive and the antecedent is τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ in the previous verse. The apodosis contains the present active indicative verb ἀκούει and the genitive complement ἡμῶν suggests a responsive hearing. J continues to include himself among those who have a relationship with the son of God and who benefit because the deity responds to their petitions.

Verse 15:  J continues to build his arguement with an additional declaration linked by καί. He employs another third class condition (ἐάν), but this time he employs a present active indicative form (οἴδαμεν). Such a condition with the subjunctive mood expresses a hypothetical possibility. J has just said in v. 14 that the son of God does hear the petitions of his people. So perhaps the indicative mood here softens the hypothetical element. Note also that he uses the same form in the apodosis. The ὅτι conjunction marks indirect discourse and the content clause functions as object of οἴδαμεν. J repeats the statement ἀκούει ἡμῶν that he uses in v. 14. It is possible that J pulls the subject out of the relative clause and construes it as the genitive complement of ἀκούει. The relative clause incorporates the particle ἐάν and this makes it a general relative clause, expressing any appropriate petition that believers make (αἰτώμεθα). ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα may function as the direct object of an implied ἀκούει, explaining that petition the first person plural ἡμῶν might be.

The apodosis is introduced by οἴδαμεν. It is modified by a clause of indirect discourse marked by ὅτι, a content clause that functions as a direct object. J affirms that believers “will possess their petitions.” The object τὰ αἰτήματα. This lexeme is defined by a relative clause marked by the accusative pronoun ἅ. ᾐτήκαμεν is a perfect active indicative tense form that may express an intensification of the verb’s meaning. The adverbial prepositional phrase ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ defines the one who can grant the petition and the antecedent is the son of God.

Verse 16:  J employs another third class condition (ἐάν + subjunctive) that expresses a general, hypothetical situation.  He continues the theme of petition, but now specifies a certain kind of petition. The subject is an indefinite pronoun (τις). He employs an aorist active subjunctive verb (ἴδῃ). The object is τὸν ἀδελφόν and it is modified by a genitive of relationship αὐτοῦ. The present active participle ἁμαρτάνοντα syntactically modifies ἀδελφόν, but it lacks an article. This suggests that it is adverbial in function (“as he commits a sin”). It seems to have a temporal sense (a circumstantial participle). Culy (135) argues that it is an accusative complement in an object-complement double accusative construction. However, this presumes that the participle is substantival and the lack of an article in my opinion mitigates against this possibility. The function of μἠ in this context is unusual, but presumably reflects an implied, subjunctive verb form. πρὸς θάνατον, an adverbial prepositional phrase, may mean “not ending/resulting in death,” indicating the outcome of the sinful action. Whether this is physical or spiritual death can be debated.

The apodosis contains two future active indicative verb forms. The subject of the first continues to be the previous τις. Some argue that the subject of the second verb δώσει changes and is θεός. This is possible but J signals no change in subject, apart from the action described that may require a divine subject. δώσει is modified by the usual direct-indirect object construction. “Giving life to someone” usually is a divine activity. The singular indirect object αὐτῷ is modified by the appositional substantival present active participle τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν. Why the use of the plural form of the participle when the referent is singular? Its separation from αὐτῷ by ζωήν may allow for it to receive a bit of emphasis. J limits such a petition for sinful actions “that do not result in death.” What kind of sin if a “non-mortal” sin?

J immediately affirms that ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον does exist, using ἔστιν. ἀμαρτία is the subject of ἔστιν. Using οὐ…λέγω J indicates that petitions for this kind of mortal sin are not appropriate or effective. The adverbial prepositional phrase περὶ ἐκείνης identifies what J is referring to. It probably modifies λέγω and so is in the focal point of the clause. Less likely J has taken it from the ἵνα clause and given it prominence by this action. The antecedent of ἐκείνης is the previous ἁμαρτία. λέγω is modified by an indirect imperative marked by ἵνα. It functions as the object of the main verb. Whether J means any distinction in meaning between αἰτέω and ἐρατάω is hard to determine.

Verse 17:  In my opinion J concludes his discussion about the specific petition in v. 16 with this general statement in v. 17. The modification of ἀδικία by πᾶσα probably indicates that it is the intended subject in this equative clause (A=B). The predicate nominative is ἁμαρτία. J affirms that ἀδικία is always sin and presumably failing to help a brother in need is therefore ἀδικία. On the one hand J declares that sin, regardless of category shares this essential nature, namely ἀδικία. On the other hand, he continues to insist on this distinction between non-mortal and mortal sins in the second clause, connected by καί with the first. Note again the chiastic arrangement of the terms in the respective clauses.

Verse 18:  J concludes with three assertions all introduced by the present active indicative verb form οἴδαμεν. These are the critical ‘takeaways’ in this composition. The first thing “we know” (J includes himself) is expressed in the ὅτι content clause of indirect discourse, serving as object of οἴδαμεν. He employs a substantival perfect passive participle modified by πᾶς as the subject. It describes someone who is the state or condition of “being born” and is qualified by the adverbial prepositional phrase ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ who is designated as the ‘source’ of this conception and birth. The main verb in this subordinate clause is the negatived οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει, a present active indicative form. J seems to affirm that believers “are not practicing/committing sin.” Given his previous statement in 1:9-10, he means that believers do not habitually choose evil over good or constantly practice injustice.

The οὐχ…ἀλλ’ construction marks a contrast that is confirmed by the contents of the respective clauses. The action of the second replaces the action of the first. The subject remains the same (ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ), but this time J uses an aorist passive participle, that probably points to a past, completed action. However, many scholars interpret ὁ γεννηθεὶς as a reference to Christ and also regard αυτον as original, not the reflexive form ἑαυτόν. This results in the sense “but the one born from God (Christ) guards him (Christian).” One argument for this reading is that ὁ γεννηθείς is then contrasted with ὁ πονηρός. Other scholars regard the participle as reference to the Christian and read the reflexive form ἐαυτόν as original (NA28) (“but the one born from God (Christian) guards himself (Christian).”

J adds a second clause explaining the contrast more fully and it is marked by the conjunctive καί. The subject ὁ πονηρός refers to the diabolos, referred to earlier in the composition. J denies that the diabolos has any power or influence over the believer (or Christ). ἅπτεται is a present middle indicative form and the verb regularly takes a genitive complement (αὐτοῦ).

Verse 19:  J signals the second affirmation with οἴδαμεν. It is completed by a ὅτι content clause of indirect discourse functioning as the object. He makes two statements that contrast the spiritual reality defining a believer and the spiritual reality defining the world system. The first clause uses ἐσμεν (“we exist”) with a prepositional phrase to characterize believers as “from God.” The second says that ὁ κόσμος ὅλος (“the entire world system without exception”) “lies in the evil one.” The present middle indicative κεῖται places focus on the subject and its involvement in this action. ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ expresses a metaphorical locative sense that probably reflects the idea of relationship or sphere of influence. The reference probably is to the spiritual personality known as Satan, rather than to the impersonal influence of evil.

Verse 20:  This is J’s third affirmation introduced by οἴδαμεν. And this one he marks with δέ that perhaps signals a somewhat climactic status. The indirect discourse, signaled by ὅτι, is a compound content clause that functions as object of οἴδαμεν. The first clause in the indirect discourse employs two perfect active indicative verbs (ἥκει καὶ δέδωκεν) that describe two actions of the son of God whose implications continue. He “has come and has given” to believers (ἡμῖν) διάνοιαν (understanding/comprehension). We probably should read these two verbs in the light of the declarations in 1:1-3.

The subordinate conjunction ἵνα probably has a resultative nuance (“so that”). J uses the first person plural verb γινώσκωμεν to include himself in this new group of humans who share this important knowledge. Given the use of the adjective in the last clause of v. 20 to modify θεός, τὸν ἀληθινόν probably is a reference to God as “the true/genuine one.” He repeats this affirmation about God three times in v. 20, giving it prominence.

The second main clause in the ὅτι clause makes a declaration about believers and is introduced by a conjunctive καί that may have a resultative nuance (“and so”). The main verb ἐσμέν along with the predicate modifier ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ, describes their current state or condition, (“and we exist in/in the sphere of this true one”). The locative sense of ἐν is metaphorical and probably expresses the sense of intimate relationship (see the last clause in 2:5) or sphere of influence. J adds that believers also have the same intimate relationship ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ. Lest there be any doubt about who this is he adds the appositional dative phrase Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ. αὐτοῦ is a genitive of relationship. Alternatively, it is possible to interpret ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ as the way in which believers are intimately related with “the true one.”

In the last clause I think J affirms that οὗτος, whose antecedent probably is Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, is the true God and eternal life, using an equative clause. The single article governs both nominal phrases and links them together as the predicate nominative. This is one of the clearest expressions of Jesus’ deity in the NT.

Verse 21:  Since the believers know the true God who is Jesus Christ, any other figure who demands their devotion is an εἰδώλον, something that has the appearance of a god, but is not real. J is probably aware of the contrast between ὁ ἀληθινὸς θεός and τὸ εἴδωλον. The vocative τεκνία identifies the subject of the second person plural aorist imperative φυλάξατε. The reflexive pronoun ἑαυτά is neuter plural because the antecedent is τεκνία. In Hellenistic Greek third person reflexive pronouns function as the forms for the second person. ἀπό + genitive indicates separation. Perhaps idolatry is the ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον.