05_Biblica_Do_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:57 Pagina 422 422 TOAN DO scholars have mistakenly interpreted peri. o[lou tou/ ko,smou as im- plying the sins of the whole world 31. Since Westcott and Plummer this interpretation has been questioned. C.G. Kruse raises doubts about the prepositional phrase in 2d, arguing that the author’s mean- ing is unclear in the statement that Jesus Christ is the atoning sacri- fice “for the sins of the whole world” 32. However, Kruse still considers that 2d has to do with “the sins” of the world. More proper is the formulation by W. De Boor. If the death of Jesus Christ serves as the “sin-expiation” (i`lasmo,j) concerning not only our wrongdoing but also that of the whole world, then it is not “the sins” of the world as such that God’s sin-forgiveness through Jesus Christ brings to the fore 33. Rather, the focus is on God’s salvific plan accomplished through the effective work of Jesus (i`lasmo,j) that the world and those sinners living within it may receive forgiveness. Recently scholars tend to argue that the Johannine view of uni- versal expiation seems to dominate the Christian picture of Christ’s salvific and effective work implied in i`lasmo,j. To this end W. Thüs- ing notes that the image of Christ cannot be construed as the sin-ex- piation only for his own followers; rather the salvific work of Jesus is fundamentally universal. He is sent into the world to correct the dark- ness of falsehood, the falsehood of those opposed to God’s love 34. The fundamental and theological claim about universalism in 1 John is grounded in the effective work of Christ as the means of expiation (ilasmoj), both for the Johannine Christian(s) as well as the entire ` , world. The central theme of i`lasmo,j is not fixed on the sins, but on the expiation of sins. The focus on the effective work of Christ (ilasmoj) is perhaps the reason why the author deliberately left out ` , the article tw/n in 2d. For this reason G. Strecker argues that the sin- expiation is never restricted solely to the Johannine community, but avrch/j (1 John 2,13.14); mh. avgapa/te to.n ko,smon mhde. ta. evn tw/| ko,smw| (1 John 2,15); o[ti pa/n to. evn tw/| ko,smw| (1 John 2,16); tou/to, evstin to. tou/ avnticri,stou (1 John 4,3); o` evn u`mi/n h o` evn tw/| ko,smw| (1 John 4,4); oi` trei/j eivj to. e[n eivsin (1 John 5,8); see also n. 12 for cited examples in John 5,36; Heb 7,27; 9,7. See BROWN, Epistles of John, 224; D.L. AKIN, 1, 2, 3 John (NAC 38; 31 Nashville, TN 2001) 84. C.G. KRUSE, The Letters of John (PNTC; Grand Rapids, MI 2000) 74. 32 W. DE BOOR, Die Briefe des Johannes (WSB; Berlin 1978) 44. 33 W. THÜSING, Die Johannesbriefe (GS 22; Leipzig 1970) 52. 34 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati