Double negatives in Greek!

I John 1:5

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. NKJV

Kai e;stin au[th h` avggeli,a h[n avkhko,amen avp v auvtou/ kai. avnagge,llomen u`mi/n( o[ti o` qeo.j fw/j evstin kai. skoti,a evn auvtw/ ouvk e;stin ouvdemi,a)

If we were to translate the bold original Greek phrase to English in a literalistic manner, what would it be?

It would be : "And darkness in him not is there none at all".

This sounds weird to our ears but it reveals the emphatic character of the two negatives ouvk

and ouvdemi,a

In English, if we say: " It is not untrue", it means that "it is true". the two negatives cancel out each other. In Math also, when you say 5 - - 3, it becomes 5 + 3 which is = 8. But, in Greek, this is not the case. When we have a double negative, ouvk and ouvdemi, a, they do not cancel out each other. On the contrary, they reinforce each other making the NO even more emphatic and definite or categorical and absolute. It shows the very strong conviction of Apostle John that in Our God, there is no darkness at all, absolutely none. In this verse, Apostle John is emphasizing most strongly that God is Light in such a way that NO DARKNESS can He admit in His presence.

So, brothers and sisters, we must abhor and avoid sin (which is darkness) in all its forms so that we can stay in God's presence and enjoy His blessings. If we sin continually, that is, if we live in darkness, Our God would not admit us in His Fellowship. He is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. Amen.