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ορ GOOLE

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BS-
LICH
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THE EPISTLES OF ST JOHN.

.
PRE
«νο

Belle. ΝΤ, g thie . ά xeehy. |δοίο

Vie A
KO LEN
noncig
AT oy,
LM. GE WO

THE EPISTLES OF ST JOHN:

THE GREEK TEXT

WITH NOTES AND ESSAYS

BY

BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, D.D., D.C.L.,

CANON OF WESTMINSTER, REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY
AND FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,

SECOND EDITION.

Cambridge and Bondon:
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1886

(The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved.)

καὶ τὸ Πνεῖνα καὶ η ΝΥΜΦΗ A€roycin “Epyoy.
kal ὁ ἀκοίων εἰπάτω “Epyoy.
καὶ ὁ aidan ἐρχέεθω,
ὁ θέλων λδδέζω fawp Ζωβο Δωρεάν.
βοο, xxii. 17.

CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY ο J. CLAY, M.A. AND 8ON, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESA

D s-RB—4¥ IK GY

ολ όωκωι-ν Chasse
43-47

In the present Commentary I have endeavoured to follow
the plan which I sketched in the notes on the Gospel of St
John in The Speaker's Commentary. It formed no part of
my design to collect and discuss the conflicting opinions which
have been held on the structure of the writings or on the
interpretation of separate passages. Such a labour is indeed
of the deepest interest and utility; but it appeared to me
that I might help the student more by giving the results at
which I have arrived, and by indicating the lines of inquiry
by which they have been reached. In pursuing this end it
has been my main desire to call attention to the minutest
points of language, construction, order, as serving to illustrate
the meaning of St John. I do not venture to pronounce that
any variation is trivial or unimportant. The exact words are
for us the decisive expression of the Apostle’s thought. I
have therefore, if I may borrow, words which have been applied
in a somewhat different sense, begun by interpreting the
Epistles as I should ‘interpret any other book’, neglecting
nothing which might contribute to a right apprehension of
its full meaning. I do not feel at liberty to set aside the
letter of a document till it has been found to be untenable.
Many writings, it is true, will not bear the consistent
application of such a method of interpretation; but each

vi
day’s study brings home to me more forcibly the conviction
that in no other way can we hope to gain the living truth
of apostolic teaching. The verification of the method lies in
the result. If it discloses to patient investigation unsuspected
harmonies and correspondences of thought: if it suggests
good reasons for holding that views of faith which seem to be
conflicting are really complementary: if it inspires with a vital
power dogmatic statements which grow rigid by the necessi-
ties of controversy: if it opens on this side and that subjects
of study which await fuller investigation: if it enables us
to feel that the difficulties of our own time were not unnoticed
by those who, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, saw the
Eternal: if it brings a sense of rest and confidence which grows
firmer with increasing knowledge: then it seems to me that
it needs no further justification.

It cannot but be that I have often erred in the applica-
tion of the principles which I hold; but no one, I trust, will
condemn the method till he has tested it by personal labour.
A few hours spent in tracing out the use of a word or a
form, in comparing phrases often held to be synonymous, in
estimating the force of different tenses of the same verb in
regard to the contexts in which they are found, will bring
assurance which no acceptance of another’s work can give.
Several notes in which I have sought to bring together materials
serviceable for such inquiries will at least, I hope, encourage
some to make the trial for themselves,

The study of Scripture is, I believe, for us the way by
which God will enable us to understand His present revelation
through history and nature. When once we can feel the
divine power of human words, which gather in themselves
the results of cycles of intellectual discipline, we shall be pre-
pared to pass from the study of one book to the study of
‘the Divine Library’, And the inquiries which thus come

vii

before us are not mere literary speculations. The fulness of
the Bible, apprehended in its historical development, answers
to the fulness of life. If we can come to see in it the variety,
the breadth, the patience of the past dealings of God with
humanity, we shall gain that courageous faith from a view
of the whole world which is commonly sought by confining
our attention to a little fragment of it.

The Bible is indeed the symbol and the pledge of the
Catholicity of our Faith; and the real understanding of the
Bible rests upon the acknowledgment of its Catholicity, of the
universal range in which it includes in its records typical
examples of the dealings of God with men under every variety
of circumstance and being, social and personal. Wee are all so
familiar with certain lessons which the Bible contains that we
come to regard them, perhaps unconsciously, as the complete
sum of its teaching. Special words, phrases, incidents, inspire
our own souls and mould our own faith, and we forget that
we are not the measure of the wants and powers of man. So
it is that we pass over large sections of Scripture unstudied,
or force them into unison with what we hear most easily.
We neglect to take account of periods of silence in revelation
scarcely less eloquent with instruction than the messages of
prophets. We lose just those helps to knowing how God
disciplines races, classes, individuals, who are most unlike
ourselves, which we need sorest when we look on the sad
spectacle of a disordered and divided world.

This Catholicity of the Bible is made more impressive by the
fact that the Bible is in a large degree historical It has pleased
God to reveal Himself in and through life; and the record of
the revelation is literary and not dogmatic. From first to last
God is seen in the Bible conversing with man. He speaks to
man as man can hear, and man replies as he can use the gift of
the Spirit. But word and answer alike are according to the

viii

truth of life. All that has been written for us has been part of
real human experience, and therefore it has an unending value.
Thus in the main the Bible is the continuous unfolding in
many parts and many ways of the spiritual progress of mankind.
It may be a law, a narrative, a prophecy, a psalm, a proverb,
but in each case it comes from life and enters into life; it
belongs to a distinct epoch ; it is only in its vital context, so
to speak, that it can be perfectly understood.

In this long series of spiritual records the first Epistle of St
John probably holds the last place. It is probably the final
interpretation of the whole series of the divine revelations ; and
under this aspect it proclaims and satisfies the highest hope of
man. It declares that in the Presence of Christ there has been
given and there will be given that knowledge of God for which
man was made, issuing in fellowship which is realised here in
the Christian Society, and which reaches to the Source of all
life. In this consummation the past finds accomplishment, and
the sufferings and riddles of the present are shewn to be part of
@ sovereign counsel which passes beyond our sight. As we look
back and look forward in the light thus thrown over the world
we can work and wait.

The Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is
true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also,
that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship
ts with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Though I am quite unable to acknowledge or even to distin-
guish in detail my obligations to earlier writers in the course of
a work which has been spread over more than thirty years, I
cannot refrain from expressing my gratitude to three com-

ix

mentators who have helped me greatly in different ways.
Bengel’s notes always serve as a kind of standard of spiritual
insight; and there is no one from whom I differ on a serious
question of interpretation with more regret or more misgiving.
Huther (4th edition, 1880) has given a most careful review of
the opinions of previous editors to which I have been much
indebted in revising my own notes. And Haupt has drawn
at length a connected view of the Epistle which brings out into
a clear light its theological significance. On many points of
importance I am unable to accept his conclusions, but no one, I
think, has shewn more impressively the true spirit of an inter-
preter of the New Testament.

There is a feeling of sadness in looking at that which must
stand with all its imperfections as the accomplishment of a
dream of early youth. The work might have answered better
to the opportunity. But however greatly I have failed in other
respects, I trust that at least I may have been allowed to en-
courage some students to linger with more devout patience, with
more frank questionings than before, over words of St Joan.

NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

THE truest gratitude which a writer can shew to his critics is,
I think, to consider their criticisms silently and without the
semblance of controversy or excuse to remove the faults which
he is led to feel. On one criticism however which has been made
on this volume I wish to offer a few words of explanation, lest
I should seem to accept the assumption on which it rests.
Several reviewers who have appreciated the work most gener-
ously have spoken of the Essays, ‘as only loosely connected,’ with
the Commentary. I can only say that in my conception they
are an essential part of it, and that as far as they appear to be
merely accidental additions I have failed to make my purpose
clear. If indeed I had regarded the Apostolic writings as
addressed simply to the first age, it might have been enough to
ascertain their literal meaning without touching on the problems
of our own time as they are affected by them. But I believe
that they still have a living voice for ourselves; and I have
endeavoured to indicate how we may interpret it. From the
earliest time when I read the first Epistle of St John as a
divine instruction for today I could not but ask What then is
the world? and What scope is left for Art? The questions
appeared to me to be of the highest practical importance. I
could not have written a Commentary on the Epistle without
striving to answer them, without having gained answers which

xi

were at least satisfactory to myself. And yet again: the charac-
teristic revelation of the Epistle is ‘God is love’. How, untold
thousands have sadly inquired, can such a revelation be main-
tained in face of the facts of life? ‘The Gospel of Creation’
points, I think, to the solution of this last enigma of our being.

I cannot suppose that my own experience in reading St
John is in any way singular. I hope then that I have said
enough to shew that the Essays are indeed most closely united
with a living interpretation of his Epistles. We can each speak
only as we feel. For others the same words may have other
lessons,

In revising the notes I have made some transpositions
which will, I trust, give greater coherence and clearness to
them. For the same reason I have added a continuous trans-
lation to each section. In the interpretation of the Epistles I
have not made any changes.

1 have to thank many friends, old and new, for corrections of
references. It is only by such generous help that approximate
correctness can be gained.

B. Ε. W.

Caenipox,
Oct. 10, 1886.

b2

ορ GOOLE

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION το THE FIRST EPISTLE. PAGE

FIRST EPISTLE: TEXT AND NOTES.
The Fatherhood of God
The idea of Christ's Blood in the New Testament
The idea of Sin in St John....

On the reading of ii. 20. 93

xiv Contents,

PAGE

The use of the term povoyeris

{ος aie ils ; tm

443

L THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE

249
285
331

I ΤΗΣ GOSPEL OF CREATION
IIL THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART

INTRODUCTION
TO THE FIRST EPISTLE.

ορ GOOLE

1. TEXT.

ΤΗΕ text of the Epistle is contained in the following authorities : Aathori-
1. Greek MSS. which the
. Epistle is
() Primary wnciale: contained.
κ Cod. Sin. swe, rv.
A, Cod. Alex. ssc. v.
B, Cod. Vatic. sec. rv.
O, Cod. Ephr. sec. v. from i, —iv. 2 ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
Secondary uncials :
K, Cod. Mosq. sec, rx.
L, Cod. Angel. sec, 1x.
P, Cod. Porphyr. swe, 1x.
(8) Cursives. More than two hundred in number, including
13 (Cod. Colbert. sec. x1.=33 Gosp.), and 31 (Cod.
Leicestr. ssc. x1v. = 69 Gosp.).
D, Codex Bezce, smc. vi., has lost 67 leaves after Mark xvi. 15
(Gk.), in which there can be no doubt that the Epistle was con-
tained, for after this gap follows the Latin translation of 3 John
11—15. The Book of the Acts comes immediately afterwards,
2. VERSIONS,
(a) Latin. Old Latin.
A large and important fragment, iii, 8—end, has
been published by L. Ziegler (1876) from a
Munich MS. (cent. vir.), which gives an African
text closely akin to that of Fulgentius (quoted as
F or Fris.).

xviii TEXT.

A nearly complete text of a different (Italic?)
type has been preserved by Augustine in his
Expository discourses on the Epistle (i. τ---π. 12).
Many other fragments are- preserved in quota-
tions.
Vulgate Latin (V. lat. vg and vg).
(B) Syria.
Peshito (syr. vg).
Harclean (syr. hi).
() Egyptian.
Memphitic (Coptic) (me).
Thebaic (Sahidic) (the).
To these may be added the Armenian and the Athiopic’.

Charactor The text does not present many difficult problems (ii. 20; iv. 3;
v. 1ο). It was exposed to far fewer disturbing influences than that
of the Gospels. There were no parallel texts or parallel traditions
at hand (unless probably in iv. 3) to supply additions to the
original words, or modifications of their form. The utmost amount
of variation likely to find favour with critics of the most opposite
schools is practically of very small extent, and, though no variation
is without real significance, of comparatively small moment.

Collation In the following table I have set down all the changes from the

Btephens, text of Stephens (1550) which I have adopted generally in acoord-

1550. ance with the clear balance of the most ancient authority. The
reader will be able to judge of their importance.

i 3 add καὶ’ ὑμῖν, also to you (ABC).
4 γρ. ἡμεῖς, write we (RA*B), for γρ. ὑμῖν, we write to you.
ἡ χ. ἡμῶν, our joy (ΝΕ), for ἡ x. ὑμῶν (AC), your joy (doubtful).
5 ἔστιν αὕτη (NBC), for αὕτη ἐστίν (A).
ἀγγελία, message (RAB), for ἐπαγγελία (Ο), promise.
ὰ 1 have given below the text a mary, though it shews clearly the
fairly complete view of the readings of sources of the later texts, cannot su-

the primary uncials and of the most persed the study of a full apparatus
ancient versions, bus this limited sum- criticus.

ii.

TEXT. xix

οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ (B), for ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ torw (RAC).
7 Ἰησοῦ, Jesus (RBC), omit Χριστοῦ, Christ.
4 add ὅτι΄ ἔγνωκα (ΚΑΕ).
6 om. οὕτω΄ περια. (AB) to walk, for ao to walk.
7 ἀγαπητού Beloved (RABC), for ἀδελφοί, Brethren.
om. am’ ἀρχῆς (2°) (ΚΑΒΟ), ye heard, for ye heard from the
beginning.
13 ἔγραψα, I wrote (RABC), for γράφω, I write.
18 om. 0’ ἀντίχριστος (X*BC).
19 ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν (BO), for ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν.
20 οἴδατε πάντες (B), ye all know, for καὶ οἴδατε πάντα, and ye
know all things (doubtful).
23 add 6 ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει (RABO), he that
confesseth the Son hath the Father also.
24 om. οὖν (RABO), therefore.
27 péve ἐν ἡμῖν (Ν(Α)ΒΟ), for ἐν ὑμῖν μένει.
τὸ αὐτοῦ χρίσμα ((4)ΒΟ), his unction, for τὸ αὐτὸ xp. the same
unction.
pévere ((8)ABO), abide, for μενεῖτε, ye shall abide.
28 ἐάν (ΚΑΒΟ), if he shall, for ὅταν, when he shall.
σχώμεν (ΝΑ ΒΟ), for ἔχωμεν.
1 add καὶ ἐσμέν (ΚΑ ΒΟ), and such we are,
2 om. δέ (ΝΑΒΟ), but.
5 om. ἡμῶν (AB), sins, for owr sins,
13 om. µου (NABC), brethren, for my brethren.
14 om. τὸν ἀδελφόν (RAB), he that loveth not, for he that loveth
not his brother.
16 θεῖναι (RABC) for τιθέναι.
18 om. µου (ΚΑ ΒΟ), little children, for my little children.
add τῇ΄ yAdooy (ABC).
add ἐν' ἔργῳ (ΝΑΒΟ).
19 ἐν τούτῳ γνωσόμεθα (om. καὶ AB, γνωσόµεθα ΚΑΒΟ), in this
we shall perceive, for and in this we perceive.
τὴν καρδίαν (A*B), our heart, for τὰς κ. our hearts,

iv.

TEXT.

21 om. ἡμῷν (twice) (1. AB, 2. BC).

22 da’ αὐτοῦ (RABC) for wap’ αὐτοῦ.

3 om. Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα (AB), Christ come in flesh.

10 ἠγαπήκαμεν (B), have loved, for ἠγαπήσαμεν, love (doubtful).

12 ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστίν (8B) for ἐστὶν ἐν ἡμῖν.

15 add Χριστὸς (B), Christ (doubtful).

16 add μένει (XB), God abideth (doubtful).

19 om. αὐτόν (AB), we love, for we love him.

20 οὐ (NB) for πῶς, cannot love, for how can he love?

1 om. καί (B), also.

2 ποιῶμεν (B), do, for τηρῶμεν, observe.

5 tis ἐστιν δέ (B), but who is? for who ist (doubtful).

6 om. ὁ (NAB), Jesus Christ, for Jesus the Christ.
add é’ τῷ αἵμ. and in the blood, for and the blood.

6, 7 om. ἐν τῷ σὐρανῷ...ἓν τῇ γῇ (RAB), in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And
there are three that bear witness in earth.

9 ὅτι (NAB), that, for ἣν, which.

10 αὐτῷ or αὐτῷ for ἑαυτῷ.

11 6 θεὸς ἡμῖν (B), for ἡμῖν ὁ Beds.

13 ἵνα...αἰώνιον, τοῖς πιστ....θεοῦ (N*B) for τοῖς πιστ....θεοῦ, ἵνα
αἰώνιον, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, for unto
you...God, that ye may...life.

om. καὶ iva πιστ. εἲς τὸ dv. τοῦ viod τοῦ θεοῦ (RAB), and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

15 ὃ ἐάν for ὃ ἄν.

dx’ αὐτοῦ (NB) for παρ αὐτοῦ.

18 τηρεῖ αὐτόν (A*B), keepeth him, for τηρεῖ ἑαυτὸν, keepeth
himself.

20 γινώσκομεν (RAB) for ywuioxwpev.

om. ἡ (RAB).

21 ἑαυτά (Ν"Β) for éavrovs,

om, ᾽Αμήν (SAB).

TEXT. xxi

To these may be added a few variations which are more or less
probable :

ii 3 µόνων (B) for µόνον.

10 οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ (order) (NAC).

25 ὑμῖν (B) for ἡμῖν.

29 add καὶ mds (RAC).

18, 7 παιδία (AC) τεκνία.

23 πιστεύωµεν (RAC) for πιστεύσωµεν.

iv. 2 ἐληλυθέναι (B) for ἐληλνθότα,
3 Ava for μὴ ὁμολογεῖ,
vy. 6 µόνῳ (B) for µόνον.

In v. το it may be questioned whether ὁ μὴ πιστεύων should not
stand absolutely, τῷ θεῷ and τῷ vig being two attempts to define the
sense,

It will be seen that there is in the majority of cases a clear Superior-
preponderance if not a complete agreement of the most ancient 17,0! the
Greek MSS. for the reading adopted. The mass of later Greek “lent text
MSS. give in most cases the reading which is rejected, but not
unfrequently they are fairly divided between the rival readings
(eg. ii 4, 7, 13, 23, 245 iii 1, 13, 16, ὧο'). The reading of the
most ancient Greek MSS. is generally supported by important
representatives of the early versions and by some later MSS. But
in a very few cases a reading is taken on small ancient authority
alone which would be inadequate if the reading were considered
by itself (iv. το, 15; v. 5).

But not to enter now into the details of evidence it will be
obvious upon # consideration of the contexts that the most ancient
reading gives in very many cases that shade of colouring to the
passage which at once approves itself to be original (6.9. i 7; ii. 7,
19, 27; iii. 1, 2, 5, 14; iv. 3, 19; v. 6, 18). In other cases the
most ancient reading easily explains the origin of the recent reading
while the converse change is unintelligible (e.g. ii 23; v. 13; see
alo i 4, 5; ii 4, 13, 18, 20, 24, 27, 28; iii, 13, 18; v. 2, 9). In

xxii TEXT.

one place only (iv. 20) does the reading of the more recent type of
Greek MSS. appear at first sight to be intrinsically more likely.

The variants offer good examples of conflate readings (ii. 15 τοῦ
θεοῦ καὶ πατρός; comp. 3 John 12 ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῆς
ἀληθείας) ; of omissions by homeoteleuton (ii. 27 Ε. ; iv. 6, 21; v. 28
and especially ii. 23); of the addition and omission of the final n,
represented by a line over the vowel (ii 13, 14) ; of itacism (iv. 2).

Thetextof The text of B is, as elsewhere, of paramount excellence. It
§°% 7" appears to be in error in very few cases :
i 2 δ΄ ἑωράκαμεν.
ii, 14 τὸ da’ ἀρχῆς.
25 ὑμῖν, comp. ii. 1.
27 χάρισμα.

18, ar ἔχει.

Some of the readings which it gives are more or less doubtful :

ii, 2 µόνων. Comp. v. 6.

14 om. τοῦ θεοῦ.
24 om. ἐν before τῷ warpi.
3] ἀλλά for ἀλλ’ ὧς.
39 om, καί.
iii, 15 ἑαυτοῦ for αὐτοῦ.
33 πιστεύσωμεν.
iv. 2 ἐληλυθέναι.
10 ἠγαπήκαμεν.
15 add Χριστός.

v. 5 τίς ἐστιν δέ.

6 µόνῳ. Comp. ii. 2.

It is not, as far as I can judge, ever in error (unless in iii. 7)
when it is supported by some other primary uncial or version :

i 5 οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ B 13 31 syr. vg me the.

ii 6 om. οὕτως AB syr. vg latt the.

20 om. καί (2°) B the.
πάντες XB the.

TEXT. xxiii

iii, 5 om. ἡμῶν AB 13 lat. vg syr. hl me.
19 om. καί (1°) AB lat. vg syr. hl me.
τὴν καρδίαν ΑΒ syr. vg the.
21 om. ἡμῶν (1°) AB 13.
om. ἡμῶν (2°) BC.
iv. 3 om. Χρ. ἐν σ. ἑλ. AB lat. vg me.
12 & ἡμῖν ἐστίν BB.
19 om, αὐτόν AB (the).
20 οὐ δύναται NB syr. hl the.
v. 1 om, καί (2°) B 13 (lat. vg) the.
ποιῶμεν B lat. vg ayr me the.
18 αὐτόν ΑΒ.

5

(iv. 21 is not a case in point.)
The text of & contains many errors, some of which remain un- Thetext of
corrected, and not a few peculiar false readings : eae
3 8 ἀκηκ. καὶ dup. καὶ ἀπαγγέλλ.
5 η απαγγελιας corrected to ἡ ἀγάπη τῆς ἐπαγγελίας.
iL 3 φυλαξωμεν (13 m.).
4 om. ἐν τούτῳ.
aA. τοῦ θεοῦ.
aA. καὶ ἐν.
9 μισῶν, ψευστής ἐστιν καὶ ἐν τ, σκ.
13 τὸ πονηρόν. Comp. ο, 8 τὸν ἆλ.; ν. 1.

0ο

24 ἀκηκόατε (twice).
ἐν τῷ π. καὶ ἐκ τῷ vig.
26 ταῦτα δέ.

28 om. καὶ νῦν...αὐτῶ.
ἐν τῇ παρ. a. da’ αὐτοῦ.
iii 5 οἴδαμεν.
οὐκ ἕ ἐν αὐτῷ,
14 µεταβέβηκεν.

xxiv TEXT.
21 ἀδελφοί.
22 αἰτώμεθα.
iv. 3 γινώσκοµεν.
3 ὅτι dye. ὅτι,
op. Ἰησοῦν κύριον. Comp. 1 Cor. xii. 3.
8 om. ὁ μὴ ἀγ....θεόν (13 m.): om. τὸν 6. (83).
9 ζῶμεν.
17 μεθ' ἡμῶν ἐν ἡμῖν.
τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῆς Kp.
ὀσόμεθα.
20 om. ὅτι,
v.73 γεγενηµένον. Comp. ν. 205 ii. 13.
7 of τρεῖς.
9 τὴν µαρτ. τοῦ θεοῦ (1* m.).
10 ἐμαρτύρηκεν.
οὐκ ἐπίστευκεν.
20 τὸ ἀληθινόν (13 m.).
Tn several cases it has false readings in common with A and
with C respectively :
ΝΑ.
iii, 21 add ἡμῶν after καταγινώσκῃ.
v. 6 add καὶ πνεύματος after αἵματος.
κο
ig add ἡμῶν after ἁμαρτίας (2°).
ii, 6 add οὕτως.
Π 5 add ἡμῶν after ἁμαρτίας.
11 ἐπαγγελία,
13 add καί.
το add καί.
21 add ἡμῶν after καρδία.
Thetextof The text of A, which represents a far more ancient type in this
$0 4: oistle than in the Gospels, contains many peculiar readings, in
which it has often the support of the Vulgate :

TEXT. η παν
i 6 ἐὰν 4 γάρ.
7 μετ) αὐτοῦ (some lat).
ii 2 dor. 1 lat. vg.
8 σκιά,
ἐν αὖτ. ἁλ.
37 om. καί before καθώς,
iii. 20 om. ὅτι 2°, lat. vg me the,
23 τῷ ὀν. αὐτοῦ Ἰ. Χ.
iv. 6 ἐν τούτῳ lat. vg me the.
7 add τὸν θεόν.
8 ob γινώσκει.
10 ἐκεῖνος for αὐτός.
15 ὁμολογῇ.
16 πιστεύοµεν (lat. vg) me.
19 add οὖν lat. vg.
6 θεός for αὐτός lat. vg.
31 ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ lat. vg.
τ.. 6 πνεύµατι for αἵματι.
10 add τοῦ θεοῦ lat. vg me.
τῷ vig lat. vg.
οὐκ ἐπίστευσεν.
11 αὕτη ἐστὺ ἡ ζ.
14 ὄνομα for θέλημα.
16 μὴ ἁμαρτ. ἁμ. μὴ πρ. θ.
20 ἀληθινὸν θεόν lat. vg me.
om, Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ lat. vg.
‘The peculiar readings of C have no appearance of genuineness : ολ of
i,q add in fin. ἐν ἡμῖν. ©.
9 om. ἡμᾶς.
ii 21 om. way,
iii. 20 κύριος (for θεός).
iv. 2 Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
w. ο

xxvi TEXT. .
In several places it gives a correction which was adopted widely :
i 30m. δέ,
5 ἐπαγγελία.
iL 40m. ὅτι,
48, 14 add τὸν ἀδελφόν.
The Latin The Vulgate Latin Version is for the most part very close to
Pulgate. the early Greek text. It represents however in some cases readings
which are not now noted from Greek MSS, :
ii, 1 aed eb'st: καὶ ἐὰν δέ (Did).
12 remittuntur (1 ἀφίονται).
iii. 17 qué habuerit: om. δέ,
iv. 3 qui solvit (Ava) Jeswm Christum.
hic est antichristus, quod.
4.eum: αὐτόν.
16 caritati + Dei.
y. 6 Christus for τὸ πνεῦμα.
7 unum sunt for εἰς τὸ & εἶσιν.
ϱ test. Dei+quod majus est.
15 οἱ scimus (ΝΑ. omit καὶ ἑάν).
Other readings are preserved in some later copies :
ii. το in nobis non est.
27 maneat: µενέτω.
iii, 6 εί omnis,
16 + Dei.
iv. 3 cognoscitur : γνώσκεται.
γ. τό scit: εἰδῇ.
ut roget quis: ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ τις
17 om, od.
It agrees with Ν alone in ii. 8 (+f in ipso), and with B 3r* in
1, 25 (vobis).
Some peculiarities of order may perhaps represent real variations :
1, 9 fidelis et iustus est.
ii 5 verbum ius.

TEXT.

iv. 3 mune iam in mundo est.
12 vidit umquam.
17 nobiscum caritas.

In three places ‘ sicut est’ represents us, καθώς, i. 7; iii. 3, 7.

Variations in other passages may be simply due to interpretation:
i 4 scripsimus, ii. 18 nunc autem, id. 20 sed vos, iii. 19 suademus,
iv. 20 videt (2).

The peculiarities of interpretation in the following places are
worthy of remark. Many of them are touched upon afterwards :

i 3 ut...sit.
ii, 2 pro totius mundi [peccatis].
16 cone. carnis est...quca non est.
iii, 1 ut nominemur et simus.
10 gui non est wustus.
14 translati sumus.
v. 4 que vincit.
15 quas postulamus.
16 petit.
18 generatio dei (1 ἡ γέννησις τοῦ θεοῦ).
20 ut cognoscamus...ut simus.

But caution is necessary in constructing the Greek text which
the version represents. The same words are not always rendered
in the same way in like contexts. Thus παράγεται is rendered
transierunt in ii, 8 and transibit (transit) (though both forms may
possibly represent ¢ransiit) in ii. 17; τηρεῖν is rendered in three
consecutive verses by observare, custodire, servare (ii. 3, 4,5); das
is rendered by lua (i. 5, 7; ii. 9), and by lwmen (ii. 7, 10); γινώσκο-
be in the same connexion is translated scimus (ii. 3, 5, 18; iii. 24),
cognoscimus (iii. το; iv. 6; v. 2), and intellegimus (iv. 13).

ο2

xxviii

Titles in
MSS.

TITLE.

IL TITLE.

In Cod. Vat. B and Cod. Alex. A the title is simply Ἰωάνου
(dévvov) a, Of John x. In Cod. Sin. & this is further defined
Ἰ. ἐπιστολή ᾱ, The first Epistle of John; and in Cod. Angelious L

~ (sme, 1x.) it becomes ἐπιστολὴ καθολικὴ τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλον Ἰ., The

The title
Catholic,

Catholic Epistle of the holy Apostle John; while Cod. Porphyr. P
(sec. 1x.) gives "I. τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ καὶ ἀποσ[τόλου ἐπιστολή] a, The
Sirst Epistle of John the Evangelist and Apostle. :

One heading from a later MS. (f**) is worth quoting: βροντῆς
vids Ἰ. τάδε χριστιανοῖσιν, John, a son of thunder [saith] these things to
Christians.

The Epistle is commonly spoken of as ἐπιστολὴ xaboduxy, ‘a
catholic, general, epistle.’ The meaning of the epithet is well given
by CEcumenius (smc. x.). Καθολικαὶ λέγονται αὗται olovel ἐγκύκλιοι.
Οὐ γὰρ ἀφωρισμένως ἔθνει ἑνὶ ἢ πόλει ὡς ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος, οἷσν Ῥωμαί-
os ἢ Κοριθίοις, προσφωνεῖ ταύτας τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ὁ τῶν τοιούτων τοῦ
κυρίου μαθητῶν θίασος, ἀλλὰ καθόλου τοῖς πιστοῖς, Fre Ἰουδαίοις τοῖς
ἐν τῇ διασπορῷ, ὡς καὶ ὁ Πέτρος, ἢ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτὴν πίστιν
Χριστιανοῖς τελοῦσιν (Pray. ad Comm. in Ep. Jac.).

The word occurs in this connexion from the close of the second
century onwards, Thus Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 1v. ο. 15,
§ 99, Ρ. 606 P.) speaks of the letter contained in Acts xv. 23 ff. as
a ἐπιστολὴ ἡ καθολικὴ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἁπάντων...διακομισθεῖσα «ls
τοὺς πιστούς... Origen uses the epithet of the First Epistle of St Peter
(cf. Euseb. H. ΑΕ. νι. 25), 1 John, Jude (in the Latin translation),
and of the (apocryphal) letter of Barnabas (ο. Cels. 1. 63). So also
the word is used of letters with a general application (though spe-
cially addressed) which made no claim to canonical authority (Euseb.
AH. E. τν. 233; comp. v. 18).

In this sense the word was appropriately applied to the letters
of James, 1 Peter, 1 John, which formed the centre of the collection
of non-Pauline Epistles, It was then extended to 2 Peter and Jude,

TITLE. xxix

which are perfectly general in their address ; and so (less accurately)
to 2, 3 John, which were taken in close connexion with 1 John.

By a singular error the group of letters was called in the later The title

Western Church ‘canonical’ (canonice) in place of ‘catholic “mea
Junilius (ο. a.D. 550) had spoken of the letters of James, 2 Peter,
Jude, 2, 3 John as added by very many to the collection of Canonical
books (que apostolorum Canonic# nuncupantur). Cassiodorus fol-
lowing shortly afterwards adopted the epithet apparently as a pecu-
liar title of the whole group (de inst. div. Litt. 8), though he extends
it also to the whole collection of apostolic epistles. From him it
passed into common usé in this limited sense (comp. Decr. Gelas.
§ 6 wv. U. Hist. of N. Τ. Canon, p. 572).

1Π. FORM.

In catalogues of the Books of the New Testament the writing The
is always called a ‘letter,’ but the question arises In what sense can (iting
it be s0 called? It has no address, no subscription ; no name is con. *Pecific |
tained in it of person or place: there is no direct trace of the 4 letter;
author, no indication of any special destination. In these respects
it is distinguished from the Epistle of St James and from the
Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Hebrews, which come nearest
to it. The Epistle of St James ends abruptly, but it has a formal
salutation. The Epistle to the Ephesians has a salutation, though
it is probable that in different copies the names of different
churches were inserted, and it has a formal close: the Epistle
to the Hebrews has a formal close with several personal details.

The writing of St John is destitute of all that is local or special,

But while this is so, the writing is at the same time instinct but is full
from first to last with intense personal feeling, The author is not “parent!
dealing with abstractions but with life and living men. He is ‘HP:
bound to them and they to him: the crown of his joy and their
joy is the fulness of their faith (i. 4). He appeals to them as

A Pas-
τοσα].

separa
ble from
that of the
Gospel.

FORM.

one who is acquainted both with their position and with their
history (ii. 12 ff.).

He speaks in teaching and in counsel with the directness of
personal experience (i 1 f£). He has a clear view of the dangers
and of the strength of those whom he addresses (ii. 12 ££; 7, 22, 273
iii, 2, 13 £3; iv. 1, 4 8; v. 13,18 ff). But all individual relation-
ship and sympathy is seen in the light of a fellowship spiritual and
eternal to which it is contributory.

Thus perhaps we can best look at the writing not as a Letter
called out by any particular circumstances, but as a Pastoral
addressed to those who had been carefully trained and had lived
long in the Faith; and, more particularly, to those who were
familiar either with the teaching contained in the Fourth Gospel
or with the record itself. The substance of the Gospel is a com-
mentary on the Epistle: the Epistle is (so to speak) the condensed
moral and practical application of the Gospel.

IV. AUTHORSHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING.

The question of the authorship of the Epistle cannot be dis-
cussed as an isolated question. The writing is so closely connected
with the Fourth Gospel in vocabulary, style, thought, scope, that
these two books cannot but be regarded as works of the same author
(see § viii)’. The proofs which are given elsewhere to establish
the fact that the Fourth Gospel was written by the Apostle
St John extend to the Epistle also. Every paragraph of the
Epistle reveals to the student its underlying dependence upon the
record preserved in the Gospel. The teaching which it conveys
is in every part the outcome of the life which is quickened by the
Evangelist’s witness to Christ. It is not that the author of the

1 The arguments which have been the books were not detached from life
alleged to support the opinion that the and criticised without regard to their
Books were by different authors, do main characteristics. Huther has ex-
not seem to me to need serious exami- amined them in detail. Einl § 3.
nation, They could not be urged if

AUTHORSHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING. xxxi

Epistle directly uses the materials contained in the Gospel: he
has found in them his starting-point and his inspiration, but at
‘once he goes on to deal independently with problems which are
before him.

A single illustration will suffice to shew the general relations The con-
of the two Books. Let any one compare the Introduction to the beryenn
Gospel (John i. τ---18) with the Introduction to the Epistle (1 John the two te
i, 1—4), and it will be seen how the same mind deals with the not of ex:
same ideas in different connexions. No theory of conscious imita- pendence.
tion can reasonably explain the subtle coincidences and differences
in these two short crucial passages. And here a close comparison
can be fairly made, because the Evangelist writes in this case not
as 8 narrator of the Lord’s words, but in his own person '.

It may be added that the writer of the Epistle speaks through-
out with the authority of an apostle. He claims naturally and
simply an immediate knowledge of the fundamental facts of the
Gospel (i. 1; iv. 14), and that special knowledge which was pos-
sessed only by the most intimate disciples of the Lord (i. 1 ἑψηλαφή-

caper).

But while the two writings are thus closely connected, there is The rela-
no sufficient evidence to determine the relative dates of the Epistle {raue",
and of the Gospel as written. The difference in the treatment of Books un-
common topics and in the use of common language leads to no
certain conclusion. Such variations are sufficiently accounted for
by the different nature of the two writings; and there is every
reason to believe that the Fourth Gospel was shaped by the Apostle
in oral teaching long before it was published or committed to
writing. It can only be said with confidence that the Epistle pre-
supposes in those for whom it was composed a familiar acquaintance
with the characteristic truths which are preserved for us in the
Gospel.

The conclusion as to the authorship of the Epistle which is External
obtained from internal evidence is supported by external evidence τοσο

1 Compare also i. 3 {., τ. 13 with John xx. 41. Seo § ix.

xxxii AUTHORSHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING.

Probably

as strong as the circumstances allow us to expect. It was used by
Papias (Euseb. H. FE. πι. 39), by Polycarp (ad Phil. ο. 7), and by
Ireneus, the disciple of Polycarp (ur. 16, 18). It is mentioned in
the Muratorian fragment ‘as received in the Catholic Church,’ ac-
cording to the more probable rendering, or as ‘reckoned among
the Catholic Epistles’.’ It was included in the oldest Versions of
the East (Syriac) and West (Latin). It was quoted by the earliest
fathers of Africa and Alexandria, whose writings have been Ῥτο-
served, Tertullian and Clement; and till recent times was ‘univer-
sally acknowledged’ (Euseb. H. Β. 111. 25 ; Hieron. de virr. di. 9).
There is no direct evidence to shew, when and where it was

Tota at Written, The circumstances of the Christian Society point clearly

Ephesus.

to a late date, and this may be fixed with reasonable likelihood in
the last decade of the first century. The later years of St John
were spent at Ephesus ; and, in the absence of any other indication,
it is natural to suppose that it was written there.

The specific form of false teaching which is directly condemned
in the Epistle (iv. 3) suggests the same conclusion. Cerinthus,
who is known to have maintained it, taught in Asia Minor at the
end of the first century, and is placed by tradition in immediate
connexion with St John (comp. § vi).

V. DESTINATION.

‘Addressed This being s0, it seems to follow that the writing was addressed
Adare
ot Asiatic primarily to the circle of Asiatic Churches, of which Ephesus was

" the centre. Universal tradition and such direct evidence as there is
from Asiatic writings alike confirm this view. Nor is there any
evidence against it, for the strange statement which gained currency
through Augustine (Quest. Evang. 11. 39) that the Epistle was ad-
dressed ‘to the Parthians’ (epistola ad Parthos) is obviously a
blunder, and is wholly unsupported by any independent authority’.

1 Superscripti Johannis duas in 3 Τη one Latin MB., referred to by
catholica (all. catholicis) habentur. Sabatier, the Epistle is said to bear
Comp. Hist. of N. Τ. Canon, p. 537. _the title, Epistola ad Sparthos, This

CHARACTER. xxxili

VI. CHARACTER.

The exact destination of the Letter is however of no real The Book
moment. The colouring is not local but moral; and it offers ac new ago.
vivid picture of Christian Society which is without parallel in the με,
New Testament. The storm which St Paul foretold in his Pastoral
Epistles (2 Tim. iii 1; iv. 3), and in his address to the Ephesian
elders (Acts xx. 29f.), had broken over the Church. Jerusalem
had been destroyed. The visible centre of the Theocracy had been
removed. The Church stood out alone as the Body through which the
Holy Spirit worked among men. And in correspondence with this
change the typical form of trial was altered. Outward dangers were
overcome. The world was indeed perilous; but it was rather by
its seductions than by its hostility. There is no trace of any recent
or impending persecution. Now the main temptations are from
within. Perhaps a period of tranquillity gave occasion for internal
dissensions as well as for internal development.

‘Two general characteristics of the Epistle are due to this change
in the position of the Church.‘ On the one side the missionary work
of the Society no longer occupies a first place in the Apostle’s
thoughts ; and on the other, the topics of debate are changed.

At firet sight there is something almost unintelligible in the filled
tone in which St John speaks of ‘the world.’ He regards it with-
out wonder and without sorrow. For him ‘love’ is identical with
“love of the brethren.’ The difficulty however disappears when his

has led to the conjecture that it was
originally epistola ad Sparsos (comp.
1Pet. i, 1). It is however more pro-
beble that the title is a corruption of
pix παρθένουτ. In a fragment of the
Latin translation of the Outlines of
Clement of Alexandria, it is said:
seeunda Johannis epistola que ad
virgines scripta simplicissima est (p.
1010 P.); and a late cursive MS. (62)
has for the subscription of the second
Epistle, "I. β xpér Πάρθον. This title
may easily have been extended to the

first Epistle, and then misinterpreted.
So Cassiodorus extends the title ad
Parthos to the Epistles of St John
generally: Epistole Petri ad gentes
...Johannis ad Parthos (de instit. div.
litt. x1v.). Bede's statement that
‘Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria,’
was ‘among the many ecclesiastical
writers who affirm that it was written
to the Parthians’ (Prol. super
Canon. Epp.), cannot be accepted with-
out corroborative evidence.

xxxiv CHARACTER.

point of sight is realised. According to his view, which answers
to the eternal order of things, the world exists indeed, but more as
a semblance than asa reality. It is overcome finally and for ever.
It is on the point of vanishing. This outward consummation is in
God’s hands. And over against ‘the world’ there is the Church,
the organised Christian society, the depository of the Truth and
the witness for the Truth. By this therefore all that need be done
to proclaim the Gospel to those without is done naturally and
effectively in virtue of its very existence. It must overcome the
darkness by shining. There is therefore no need for eager exhorta-
tion to spread the word. St Paul wrote while the conflict was
undecided. St John has seen its close.
The Jew- This paramount office of the Church to witness to and to embody
wee the Truth, concentrated attention upon the central idea of its mes-
sage in itself and not in its relation to other systems. The first
controversies which fill the history of the Acts and St Paul’s
Epistles are over. There is no trace of any conflict between ad-
vocates of the Law and of the Gospel, between champions of works
and faith. The difference of Jew and Gentile, and the question of
circumcision, have uo place in the composition. The names them-
selves do not occur (yet see 3 John 7). There is nothing even to
shew to which body the readers originally belonged, for v. 21 cannot
.. main be contined to a literal interpretation, The main questions of
that of the debate are gathered round the Person and Work of the Lord. On
Zerson of the one side He was represented as a mere man (Ebionism): on
the other side He was represented as a mere phantom (Docetism):
a third party endeavoured to combine these two opinions, and sup-
posed that the divine element, Christ, was united with the man
Jesus at His Baptisia and left Him before the Passion (Cerinth-
ianism).
The Epistle gives πο evidence that St John had to contend with
Ebionistic error. The false teaching with which he deals is Docetic
Docetism, and specifically Cerinthian. In respect of the Docetic heresy gene-
rally Jerome’s words are striking: apostolis adhuc in seculo super-
stitibus, adhuc apud Judwam Christi sanguine recenti, phantasma

CHARACTER.

Domini corpus asserebatur (Dial. adv. Lucifer. § 23).
writes against it in urgent language :

Ad Τναϊ, 9, 10, Κωφώθητε οὖν ὅταν ὑμῖν χωρὶς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
λαλῇ τις, τοῦ ἐκ γένους Δανίδ, τοῦ ἐκ Μαρία, ὃς ἀληθῶς ἐγεννήθη,
ἐφαγέν τε καὶ bruv, ἀληθῶς ἐδιώχθη ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, ἀληθῶς
ἀσταυρώθη καὶ ἀπέθανεν...ὃς καὶ ἀληθῶς ἠγέρθη ἀπὸ νεκρῶν...Εἰ δέ,
ὥσπερ runs ἅθεοι ὄντερ...λέγουσιν τὸ δοκεῖν πεπονθέναι αὐτὸν αὐτοὶ
τὸ δοκεῖν ὄντες, ἐγὼ τί δέδεµαι;

Ad Smyrn. 2, ἀληθῶς ἔταθεν ὡς καὶ ἀληθῶς ἀνέστησεν ἑαντόν"
οὐχ ὥσπερ ἄπιστοί rwes λέγουσιν τὸ δοκεῖν αὐτὸν πεπονθέναι, αὐτοὶ
τὸ δοκεῖν ὄντες, Comp. 06. 1, 5, 12.

Ignatius

Ad Ephes. 7, ds ἰατρός ἐστιν, σαρκικός τε καὶ πνευματικός, γεννη-
τὸς καὶ ἀγέννητος, ἐν σαρκὶ γενόμενος θεός, ἐν θανάτῳ ζωὴ ἀληθινή, καὶ
ἐκ Μαρίας καὶ ἐκ θεοῦ πρῶτον παθητὸς καὶ τότε ἀπαθής. Comp. ο. 18.

So also Polycarp :

Ad Phil. ο. 7, πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ
ἐληλυθέναι ἀντίχριστός ἐστι" καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ
σταυροῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστί'.

Trenseus characterises in particular the opinions of Oerinthus

XxXxVv

Cerin-

very clearly: [Cerinthus] Jesum subjicit non ex Virgine natum, “

impossibile enim hoc ei visum est; fuisse autem eum Joseph et
Marie filium...et plus potuisse justitia et prudentia et sapientia pre
omnibus, et post baptismam descendisse in eum Christum ab ea
-principalitate que est super omnia...in fine autem revolasse iterum
Christum de Jesu, et Jesum passum esse et resurrexiase: Christum
autem impassibilem perseverasse existentem spiritalem’.

In the presence of these false views St John unfolds the Truth,

Bt Jobn or Cerinthus should have
visited the baths et Ephesus. This

1 The so-called ‘Gospel scoording
to Peter’ is said to have favoured their

views (Serapion, ap. Euseb, H. E.
σι 12).

3 Tren. adv. her. 1. 26. 1. Comp.
Epiph. Her. xvi. 1, For the story
‘of St John’s refusal to be under the
same roof with Cerinthus, see Iren.
ap. Euseb. H. Ε. rv. 14 (Iren. adv.
her. τα. 3. 4, on the authority of
Polyearp). It is strange that cither

difficulty however was not felt by
Ireneus. The Christology of Nes-
torianism pressed to its logical con-
sequences is not distinguishable, as it
appears, from that of Cerinthus. The
more extreme Docete regarded the
manifestation of the Lord as being in
appearance only (φαντασίᾳ), like the
‘Theophanies in the Old Testament.

xxxvi

teaching
St John
proclaims
again the
Gospel

as the old
Truth,

CHARACTER.

not in the form of argument but of announcement. He declares
that Jesus Christ has come (iv. 2), and is coming (2 Ep. 7) in the
flesh (comp. v. 6). He shews that the denial of the Incarnate Son
is practically the denial of the Father, the denial of God (ii. 22;
v.20). It is the rejection of that power by which alone true life
is possible through a divine fellowship (i. 2 f.).

But in insisting on these truths St John disclaims all appear-
ance of bringing forward new points. His readers know implicitly
all that he can tell them. He simply pleads that they should yield
themselves to the guidance of the Spirit which they had received.
So they would realise what in fact they already possessed (ii. 7, 24;
iii, 11). Perhaps it may be inferred from the stress which St John
lays on the identity of the original word with the teaching which
he represented, that some had ventured to charge him also with
innovation. Such an accusation would have superficial plausibility ;
and the Epistle deals with it conclusively either by anticipation or
in view of actual opponents.

Thus this latest of the Epistles is a voice from the midst of the
Christian Church revealed at last in its independence. Many who
read it had, in all probability, grown up as Christians. A Christianity
of habit was now possible. The spiritual circumstances of those to
whom it was first sent are like our own. The words need no accom-
modation to make them bear directly upon ourselves.

And while the Christological errors which St John meets exist

"more or less at all times, they seem to have gained a dangerous

prevalence now. Modern realism, which has found an ally in art,
by striving to give distinctness to the actual outward features of
the Lord’s Life, seems to tend more and more to an Ebionitic Christ-
ology. Modern idealism, on the other hand, which aims at securing
the pure spiritual conception free from all associations of time and
place, is a new Docetism. Nor would it be hard to shew that
popular Christology is largely though unconsciously affected by
Cerinthian tendencies, The separation of Jesus, the Son of Man,
from Christ, the Son of God, is constantly made to the destruction
of the One, indivisible Person of our Lord and Saviour. We have

CHARACTER. xXxVii

indeed no power to follow such revelations of Scripture into sup-
posed consequences, but our strength is to hold with absolute firm-
neas the apostolic words as St Jobn has delivered them to us,

The teaching of St John in his Epistle thus turns upon the The facts
Person of Christ. Under this aspect it is important to obsorve that Clorpel the
it in intensely practical. St John everywhere presents moral ideas basis and
resting upon facts and realised in life. The foundation on which action.
conviction is based is historical experience (i. 1 ff; iv. 14). This,
as furnishing the materials for that knowledge which St Jobn’s
readers had ‘heard from the beginning,’ is set over against mere
speculation (ii 24). Truth is never stated in a speculative form, but
as a motive anda help for action. The writer does not set before
his readers propositions about Christ, but the Living Christ Him-
self for present fellowship. And yet while this is so, the Epistle
contains scarcely anything in detail of Christ’s Life. He came in
the flesh, ‘by water and blood;’ the Life was manifested; He
walked as we are bound to walk. He laid down His Life for us;

He is to be manifested yet again ; this is all. There is no mention
of the Cross or of the Resurrection. But Christ having died lives
as our Advocate. (Compare Addit. Note on v. 6.)

The apprehension of the historical manifestation of the Life of Intalleo. ‘
Christ is thus pressed as the prevailing and sufficient motive for in itself
godlike conduct ; and at the same time mere right opinion, apart ficient.
from conduct, is exposed in its nothingness. Simply to say, ‘we
have fellowship with God,’ ‘we are in the light,’ we ‘know God,’
is shewn to be delusion if the corresponding action is wanting
«i 6, ii. 9, 4).

The Epistle, as has been already said, comes from the midst of wide
the Christian Church to the members of the Church, It is the [p04 of
voice of an unquestioned teacher to disciples who are assumed to be 539.
anxious to fulfil their calling. In virtue of the circumstances of
ite composition it takes the widest range in the survey of the Gospel,
and completes and harmonises the earlier forms of apostolic teaching.

St John’s doctrine of ‘love’ reconciles the complementary doctrines
of ‘faith’ and ‘works.’ His view of the primal revelation ‘that

xxxviii CHARACTER.

which was from the beginning...concerning the word of life,’ places
Judaism in its true position as part of the discipline of the world,
and vindicates for Christianity ite claim to universality. His doc-
trine of ‘Jesus Christ come in flesh’ affirms at once the historical
and the transcendental aspects of His Person. His exhibition of
present divine fellowship for man, issuing in a future transfigura-
tion of man to the divine likeness, offers a view of life able to meet
human weakness and human aspiration. :
Bilence as Two other peculiarities of the Epistle seem to be due to the
Ἰπαμαισω same causes which determined this catholicity of teaching, Alone
andcosle- of all the writings of the New Testament except the two shorter
organisa letters and the Epistle to Philemon, it contains no quotations or
clear reminiacences of the language of the Old Testament (yet sce
iii 12). And again, while the Christian Society is everywhere
contemplated in its definite spiritual completeness, nothing is said
on any detail of ritual or organisation.

VIL OBJECT.

The object The object of the Epistle corresponds with its character. It is

of the

Epic (ox provented under a twofold form:

of the ο. 5 η yen

Gospel) (i) £3, £ 8 ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα

Positive, καὶ ἡμεῖ κοινωνίαν ἔχητε µεθ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ
τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ" καὶ ταῦτα γράφομεν
sets ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν (v. ὑμῶν) j πεπληρωµένη.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also,
that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship
ts with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ: and these
things we write, that our joy may be fulfilled.

(8) ν. 13 ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἵνα εἴδητε ὅτι ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνων, τοῖς
πιστεύουσιν els τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.

These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God.

OBJECT. xxxix

‘With these must be compared the account given of the object of
the Gospel :

(iii) John xx. 31 ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύσητε ὅτι Ἰησοῦς
ἐστὶν 6 Χριστὸς ὁ vids τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ
ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.

But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.

There is 8 complete harmony between the three. The acceptance
of the revelation of Jesus—tho Son of man—as the Christ, the Son
of God (iii), brings the power of life (ii), and this life is fellowship
with man and with God in Christ (i). Life, in other words, life
eternal, is in Christ Jesus, and is realised in all its extent in union
with Him: it is death to be apart from Him.

The pursuit of such a theme necessarily involves the condem-
nation and refutation of corresponding errors, But St John’s
method is to confute the error by the exposition of the truth realised
in life. His object is polemical only so far as the clear unfolding
of the essence of right teaching necessarily shews all error in its
real character. In other words St John writes to call out a welcome
for what he knows to be the Gospel and not to overthrow this or
that false opinion.

VIL STYLE AND LANGUAGE.

The style of the Epistle bears a close resemblance to that of the General
Gospel both in vocabulary and structure. There is in both the same Blanes to
emphatic repetition of fundamental words and phrases,‘ truth,’ μὴ OO
‘love,’ ‘light,’ ‘in the light,’ ‘ being born of God,’ ‘ being’ or ‘abiding
in . Αα απὰ the same monotonous simplicity of construction.

The particles are singularly few. For example ydp occurs only a=
three times: ii. 19; iv. 20; v. 3 (2 John 11; 3 John 3, 7); δέ cles.
nine times (about one-third of ite average frequency); µέν τε and οὖν

(3 John 8) do not occur at all (the last is twice wrongly in common

‘St John

xl

dereloPe characteristic principle of composition: he explains and develops

rallel- so Β .
parallel. " his ideas by parallelism or (which answers to the same tone of

STYLE AND LANGUAGE.

text). The absence of οὖν is the more remarkable because it is
the characteristic particle of the narrative of the Gospel, where
St John seems to dwell on the connexion of facts which might be
overlooked ; ὅτι, ‘that’ and ‘because, is very frequent; and it is
constantly found where ydp might have been expected.

The common particle of connexion is κα. This conjunction
takes its peculiar colour from the sentences which are thus added
one to the other: ε.φ. i. 5; ii 3; and it is used not uncommonly
when a particle of logical sequence might have been expected: e.g.
iii, 3, 16.

Very frequently the sentences and clauses follow one another
without any particles: αφ. ii, 22—24; iv. 4—6; 7—10; 11—13.
See also ii. 5, 6; 9, 10; iii. 25 4, 5 9, 10.

Sometimes they are brought into an impressive parallelism by
the repetition of a clause:

i. 6, 8, το (ἐὰν εἴπωμεν).
vy. 18—20 (οἴδαμεν).
These different usages are different adaptations of St John’s

thought) by antagonism.

It is not of cgurse maintained that this method of writing is the
result of studied choice. It is, as far as we may presume to judge,
the spontaneous expression of the Apostle’s vision of the Truth,
opening out in its fulness before the eye of the believer, complete in
its own majesty, requiring to be described and not to be drawn out
by processes of reasoning.

In this respect and generally it will be felt that the writing is
thoroughly Hebraistic in tone, and yet it does not contain one quo-
tation or verbal reminiscence from the Old Testament.

Of significant verbal coincidences of language between the
Epistles and Gospel the following may be noticed. The words are
either exceptionally frequent in these writings or peculiar to them ;

κόσμος (moral) (John i, 10 note).

STYLE AND LANGUAGE. xli

φῶς (1 John i. 5 note). {

σκοτία (σκότος) (i 6 note).

φανεροῦν (i. 2 note).

Φφαίνειν (ii, 8 note).

ἑωρακέναι (i. 1 note).

θεᾶσθαι (θεωρεῖν only once in the Epistles: 1 John iii, 17 (John
i 14 note).

θάνατος (spiritual) (iii. 14 note).

ζωὴ αἰώνιος (ἡ αἰώνιος £., ἡ £. ἡ al) (Add. note on v. 20).

ἡ ἀλήθεια (i. 6 note).

6 ἀληθινὸς θεός (ν. 20 note).

τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας (iv. 6 note).

μαρτυρεῖν, μαρτυρία (i. 2 note).

τεκνία (ii, τ note).

παιδία (ii, 14 note).

6 povoyenjs vids (Add. note on iv. 9).

ἀγαπῷν ἀλλήλους, τὸν ἀδελφόν, τοὺς dé, (iii, 11 note).

νικᾷν (ii, 13 note).

pévay, εἶναι, & τινι (ii. 5 note).

τὴν ψυχὴν τιθέναι (iii. 16 note).

The frequent use of iva when the idea of purpose is not directly
obvious; and the elliptical use of ἀλλ᾽ iva, are both characteristic of
these books (iii 11; ii το notes).

In addition to these verbal coincidences there are also larger Verbal co-
coincidences of expression. Of these the most important are the η iad
following :

1 Έρις or St Jonny. GosreL or Sr Joun.

Lo 2, 3 ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη καὶ iii, 11 ὃ ἑωράκαμεν µαρτν-
ἑωράκαμεν καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν...ὃ ροῦμεν.
ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν dray-
γέλλοµεν καὶ ὑμῖν.

id. 4 ταῦτα γράφοµεν ἡμεῖς xvi. 24 αἰτεῖτε καὶ λήμψεσθε
ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν ᾖ πεπλη- ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν ᾗ πεπληρω-
ρωμένη. μένη.

Ww. ἆ

xlii

STYLE AND

1 Errstiz or St Jonn.

i, 11 6 μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
wadv τῇ σκοτίᾳ περιπατεῖ καὶ
οὐκ οἶδεν πο ὑπάγει.

id. 14.5 λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν
μένει.

id. 17 6 ποιῶν τὸ θέληµα τοῦ
θεοῦ µένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

iii, 5 ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστω.

id, 8 da’ ἀρχῆς ὁ δώβολος ἁμαρ-
πάνε,

id. 13 μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοί,

εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.

id. 14 οἴδαμεν ὅτι µεταβεβή-

καµεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου els τὴν

ζωὴν ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς.
id. 16 ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν

τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν.

id. 22 ὃ ἂν αἰτῶμεν λαμβάνοµεν
αιδτιωτὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιον αὖ-

τοῦ ποιοῦµεν.

id. 23 αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ
ἵνα...ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους κα-
θὼς ἔδωκεν ἐντολὴν ἡμῖν. Comp.
iv, 11.

iv. 6 ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμέν"
ὁ γυώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἁκούει ἡμῶν,
(4)
()

ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ

οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν.

LANGUAGE.

Gosret or Sr Jonny.

xii, 35...

ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ οὐκ
οἶδεν mod ὑπάγει.

γ. 38 τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε
µένοντα ἐν ὑμῖν.

viii. 35 ὁ νἱὸς
μένει εἰς τὸν aldva,

viii, 46 τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐλέγχει µε
περὶ ἁμαρτίας;

viii 44 ἐκεῖνος [6 διάβολος]
ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ax’ ἀρχῆς.

xv. 18
«ἰ ὁ κόσµος ὑμᾶς μισεῖ γινώ-
σκετε ὅτι ἐμὲ πρῶτον ὑμῶν µεμί-
σηκο.

τ. 34 ὁ τὸν λόγον µου ἀκούων...
µεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου
als τὴν ζωήν.

x15
τὴν ψυχήν µου τίθηµι ὑπὲρ
τῶν προβάτων.

viii, 29 οὐκ ἀφῆκέν µε µόνον
ὅτι ἐγὼ τὰ ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ ποιῶ
πάντοτε.

xiii, 34 ἐντολὴν καωἠν δίδωµε
ἡμῖν
ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους καθὼς
ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα...

viii. 47 ὁ ὧν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ
ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ ἁκούει"
ὑμες οὐκ ἀκούετε

ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἐστέ

@)
(9

STYLE AND

1 Errstiz or St Joux.

iv. ας ὃς ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃ ὅτι
ησοῦς [Χριστός] ἐστιν ὁ vids τοῦ
θεοῦ,

ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν
τῷ θεῷ. Comp. ο. 16; iii. 24.
id. 16 ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπισ-

τεύκαµεν.

id. 16
ὁ µένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ
pire.

ety £ αὕτῃ ἐστὶν κἡ νίκη
ἡὶ νικήσασα τὸν κόσµον,ἡ πίστες
ἡμῶν.
τές ἐστιν ὁ νικῶν τὸν κόσμον...

id. 9 ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ μείζων
ἐστίν, ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν κἡ μαρτυρία
τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅτι µεµαρτύρηκεν περὶ
τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.

id. 20 δέδωκεν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν.
ἵνα γιγνώσκοµεν τὸν ἀληθινόν'
καὶ loner ἐν τῷ ἀληθωφ, ἐν τῷ vis
αὐτοῦ [Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ]. οὗτός ἐσ-
τιν ὁ ἀληθωὸς θεὸς, καὶ ζωὴ αἰώ-

νιος.

LANGUAGE.

«οβρει, or St Joun.
vi. 56 6 τρώγων µου τὴν σάρκα
καὶ πίνων µου τὸ αἷμα

ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ. Comp.
xiv. 17.

vi. 69 πεπιστεύκαµεν καὶ
ἐγνώκαμεν. ~

XV. 10 ἐὰν τὰς ἐντολάς µου τηρή-
σητε
μενεῖτε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ pov. Comp.
0. 9 µείνατε ἐν τῇ ἆ. τῇ ἐμῇ.

Xvi. 33 θαρσεῖτε

ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον.

γ. 32 ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ μαρτυρῶν
περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἀληθής tor
ἡ µαρτυρία ἦν μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ.
xvii. 3 αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αἰώνιος
ζωὴ
ἵνα γινώσκωσι σὲ τὸν µόνον
ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας
Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.

IX. THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL.

The last two passages (r John v. 20; John xvii. 3), Ἱἑ.
have been quoted, illustrate vividly the relation between the rine
Epistles and the Gospel. Both passages contain the same funda- Epistles
mental ideas: Eternal life is the progressive recognition (ἵνα γινώ- Gospel
σκωσι) of God; and the power of this growing knowledge is given
in His Son Jesus Christ. But the ideas are presented differently

d2

xliv

The two
comple.
mentary.

The differ-

ences an-
swer to
differences

THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL.

in the two places, The Gospel gives the historic revelation; the
Epistle shews the revelation as it has been apprehended in the life
of the Society and of the believer.

This fundamental difference can be presented in another form.
In the Epistle the aim of St John is to lay open what is the
significance of the spiritual truths of the Faith for present human
life. In the Gospel his aim is to make clear that the true human
life of the Lord is a manifestation of divine love, that ‘Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God.’ Or, to put the contrast in an epigram-
matic form, the theme of the Epistle is, ‘the Christ is Jesus’; the
theme of the Gospel is, ‘Jesus is the Christ.’ In the former the
writer starts from certain acknowledged spiritual conceptions and
points out that they have their foundation in history and their
necessary embodiment in conduct. In the latter he shews how the
works and words of Jesus of Nazareth establish that in Him the
hope of Israel and the hope of humanity was fulfilled. So it is
that the Gospel is a continuous record of the unfolding of the
‘glory’ of Christ. In the Epistles alone of all the books of the
New Testament (except the Epistle to Philemon), the word ‘glory’
does not occur. Perhaps too it is significant that the word ‘heaven’
also is absent from them.

Several differences in detail in the topics or form of teaching
in the books have been already noticed. These belong to the
differences in the positions occupied by a historian and a preacher.
The teaching of the Lord which St John has preserved was given, as

|. He Himself said, ‘in proverbs’; through the experience of Christian

life, the Spirit, ‘sent in His Name,’ enabled the Apostle to speak
‘plainly’ (John xvi. 25).

Some other differences still require to be noticed: These also
spring from the historical circumstances of the writing. The first
regards the doctrine of ‘the Coming,’ ‘the Presence’ (ἡ παρουσία)
of Christ. In the Gospel St John does not record the eschato-
logical discourses of the Lord—they had found their first fulfilment
when he wrote—and he preserves simply the general promise of a
‘Coming’ (xiv. 3; xxi. 22). By the side of these he records the

references to the ‘judgment’ (ν. 28 £.), and to ‘the last day’ (vi.
4°, 44). In the Epistle he uses the term ‘the Presence’ (ii. 28),
which is found in all the groups of New Testament writings, and
speaks of a future ‘manifestation’ of the Ascended Christ (J.¢. :
iii, 2). As He ‘came in flesh’ (iv. 2), so He is still ‘coming in
flesh’ (2 John 7). And the importance of this fact is pressed in
its spiritual bearing. By denying it ‘Antichrists’ displayed their
real nature. They sought to substitute a doctrine for a living
Saviour.

St John’s treatment of the present work of Christ stands baka
close connexion with this view of His future work. As the Holy Cun
Spirit is sent to believers as their Advocate on earth, s0 He is
their Advocate with the Father in heaven (c ii 2). The two
thoughts are complementary ; and the heavenly advocacy of Christ
rests upon His own promise in the Gospel (John xiv. 13 f.), though
it must not be interpreted as excluding the Father's spontaneous
love (John xvi. 26 £.).

The exposition of the doctrine of ‘ propitiation’ and ‘cleansing’ The doo-

which is found in the Bpistle (ο, ii 2; iv. 19 ἱλασμός; i 7, 9 καθα- Bropitin
ρίζειν) is an application of the discourse at Capernaum (see especially tion.
John vi. 51, 56 Ε); and it is specially remarkable that while the
thoughts of the discourse are used, nothing is taken from the lan-
guage. So again the peculiar description of the spiritual endowment
of believers as an ‘unction’ (χρίσμα, ο. ii. 20) perfectly embodies
the words in John xx. 21 ff.; the disciples are in a true sense
‘Christe’ in virtue of the Life of ‘the Christ’ (John xiv. 19 ; comp.
Apoc. i, 6). Once more, the cardinal phrase ‘born of God’ (ο. ii.
29, &e.), which occurs in the introduction to the Gospel (i. 13), but
not in the record of the Lord’s words, shews in another example
how the original language of the Lord was shaped under the guidance
of the Spirit to fullest use.

It seems scarcely necessary to remark that such differences be. These
tween the Epistles and the Gospel are not only not indicative of any ολο. ‘tho
difference of authorship, but on the contrary furnish a strong proof jifo, Tarking of
that they are the products of one mind, The Epistles give later

THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL. xlv

xlvi THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL.

growths of common and characteristic ideas. No imitator of the
Gospel could have combined elements of likeness and unlikeness in
such a manner ; and on the other hand, the substance of the Gospel
adequately explains the more defined teaching of the first Epistle.
The one writing stands to the other in an intelligible connexion of
life.

Χ. PLAN.

No plan It is extremely difficult to determine with certainty the structure
complete. of the Epistle. No single arrangement is able to take account of
the complex development of thought which it offers, and of the
many connexions which exist between its different parts, The
following arrangement, which is followed out into detail in the
notes, seems to me to give on the whole the truest and clearest view
of the sequence of the exposition.
Outline IntRopuction.
followed.
The facts of the Gospel isswing in fellowship and joy (i. :—4).
A. THE PROBLEM OF LIFE AND THOSE TO WHOM IT 18 PRO-
POBED (i. 5—ii. 17).
1. The Nature of God and the consequent relation of
man to God (i. 5—ro).
IL The remedy for Sin and the sign that it is effectual
(ii. 1—6).
III. Obedience in love and light in actual life (ii
7-11).
IV. Things temporal and eternal (ii. 12—17).
B. ΤΗΕ CONFLICT OF TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD WITHOUT AND
WITHIN (ii, 18—iv. 6).
1. The revelation of Falsehood and Truth (ii. 18—29).
IL The children of God and the children of the Devil
(iii, r—12).
III. Brotherhood in Christ and the hatred of the world
(iii. 1324).
IV. The rival spirits of Truth and Error (iv. 16).

PLAN. xlvii

C. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: THE VICTORY OF FAITH (iv. 7—v. 21).

L The spirit of the Christian life: God and Love (iv.
7-21).

1. The power of the Christian life: the Victory and
Witness of Faith (v. 1—12).

ΤΠ. The activity and confidence of the Christian life;
Epilogue (v. 13—21).

The thought of a fellowship between God and man, made posible The main
and in part realised in the Christian Church, rans through the whole ο ο
Epistle. From this it begins: Our fellowship is with the Father,
and with His Son, Jesus Christ (i. 3). In this it closes: We are in
Him that is True, in His Son Jesus Christ (v. 20).

In the additional Notes I have endeavoured to illustrate the Bystema-
main points in the development of this thought, These notes when ση m of
taken in proper order will serve as an introduction to the study of ie Gere
the doctrine of St John. For this purpose they are most con-
veniently grouped in the following manner :

1. ΤΠΕ ΡΟσΤΗΙΝΕ or Gop.

The idea of God: note on iv. 8; comp. iv. 13.
The Divine Name: 3 John 7.
The Holy Trinity : v. 20.
The Divine Fatherhood : i 2.
TL ΤΗΕ pocreme or Finite Brine.

Creation : note on ii, 17.
God and man: ii. 9.
The nature of man: iii. 19.
The Devil: ii. 13.
Sin: i. 9; comp. v. 16.
The world (note on Gospel of St John i. το).
Antichrist: ii, 18.

IIL Tue pocraine or REDEMPTION AND CONSUMMATION.
The Incarnation : note on iii. 5.
The titles of Christ: 11, 23; comp. iv. 9; v. 1.
Propitiation : ii, 2.

xviii

PLAN.

The virtue of Christ’s Blood : i. 7.
Divine Sonship: iii. τ.

Divine Fellowship ας.

The titles of believers: iii. 14.
Eternal Life: v. 20.

For St John’s view of the Bases of Belief I may be allowed to
refer to what I have said in regard to his teaching on ‘the Truth,’
‘the Light,’ ‘the Witness’ in the Introduction to the Gospel, pp.
xliv. £

INTRODUCTION

πο

THE SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES.

ορ GOOLE

1. TEXT.

Tue suthorities for the text of the Epistles are enumerated in Author
the Introduction to the first Epistle, § 1 (including the MSS.
XAB(C)KLP). The text of Cod. Ephr. (C) is preserved for the

third Epistle from ο, 3—end,

Tho variations from the text of Stephens (1950) which I have Variations
αι

adopted are set down in the following table: Stephens,

1550.
Tue Szconp Ἐσιετιξ. 2 Jou.

3 om. Κυρίου, ‘Jesus Christ’ (AB), for ‘the Lord Jesus Christ.’
5 γράφων for γράφω (apparently an error).
6 αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή ἐστιν (AB), for αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολή.
Ἰ ἐξῆλθαν, are gone forth (RAB), for εἰσῆλθον, are entered.
8 ἀπολέσητε, ye lose (Ν.Α Έ), for ἀπολέσωμεν, we lose.
ἀπολάβητε, ye receive (NAB), for ἀπολάβωμεν, we receive,
9 αροάγων, goeth onward (RAB), for παραβαίνων, transgresseth.
om. τοῦ χριστοῦ (2°), ‘the teaching’ (AB), for ‘the teaching of
the Christ.’
11 ὁ λέγων γάρ (RAB) for ὁ γὰρ λέγων.
12 γενέσθαι (RAB) for ἐλθάῖν.
ἡμῶν (probably) (AB) for ἡμῶν.
πεπληρωμένη ᾗ (XB) for ᾗ πεπληρωµένη.
13 om. ᾽Αμήν (RAB).
Tae Tarp Erste
4 xdpw (probably), favour (B), for χαράν, joy.
ἐν +79 ἀληθείᾳ (ABC*), ‘in the truth,’ for ‘in truth.’
5 τοῦτο, this (RABO), for els τούς, to the.
7 ἐθνικῶν (ΚΑΒΟ) for ἐθνῶν.

3 Joux.

li

The text
οί.
4 29ΗΝ.

4 Joun.

ΤΕΣΤ.

8 ὑπολαμβάνευ (ΚΑΒΟ3), to welcome, for ἀπολαμβάνειν, to receive.
9 ἔγραψά +r’ (ΚΧΑΒΟ), ‘I wrote somewhat,’ for ‘I wrote.’
αχ om, δέ, bué (RABC).
12 οἶδας, thou knowest (RABC), for οἴδατε, ye know.
13 γράψαι σοι for γράφειν (RABC).
γράφειν for γράψαι (ΝΑ ΒΟ).
14 σὲ ἰδεῖν for ἰδεῖν σε (ABC).

The text of B maintains the first place as before. It has only
one error in 2 John, the omission of τοῦ before πατρός in v. 4; and
one error in 3 John, ἔγραψας for ἔγραψα in v. 9, in addition to two
faults of writing, µαρτυρουν for μαρτυρούντων, v. 3 (at the end of a
line), and ov for οὖς, v. 6.

The text of & has numerous errors and false readings :

Tue Szconp Epistiz.
3 ἀπὸ θεοῦ ..καὶ Ἰ. Χ. X*.

Φαὐτοῦ΄ τοῦ πατρός, ΝΑ corr. 8°,

4 ἔλαβον.
5 GAN + ἐντολὴν΄ ἦν.
6 ἡ ἐντολὴ + αὐτοῦ”.
περιπατήσητε.
7 om. ὁ΄ ἀντίχριστος.
8 ἀπόλησθε ΝΑ corr. 5,
12 ἔχω Ν ΑΝ.
στόµα «-τι΄ ΝΑ.
Της Tarep Ἐρετις.
8 ἐκκλησίᾳ for ἀληθείᾳ &* (80 A).
χο om. ἐκ,
ας ἄσπασαι.
There are, as in the first Epistle, many peculiar readings in A,
some found also in the Latin Vulgate :
Tas Seconp Epistiz.
1 οὐκ ἐγὼ δέ.
2 ἐνοικοῦσαν for µένουσαν.
3 om. ἔσται μεθ ὑμῶν.

TEXT.

4 ἀπό for παρα.

9 τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα vg.
12 γράψαι.

ἐλπίζω γάρ vg.
Tae Tarp Epistiz.

3 om. ov.

5 ἐργάζη.

8 ἐκκλησίᾳ (9ο κ’).

1ο ἄν.
13 οὐκ ἐβουλήθην.
(45 οἱ ἀδλφοῦ.

τη

3 Jouy.

There is also an unusual number of peculiar readings in the The text
of 0.

part of the third Epistle preserved in Ο:

4 τούτων χαρὰν οὐκ ἔχω,
6 ποιῄσας προπέµψεις.
7. ἐθνικῶν om, τῶν.
το φλυαρῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς.
(πιδεχομένονν).

12 ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας.

3 JouN.

The readings of the Latin Vulgate do not offer anything of The text
of

special interest :
Tue Seconp ΕΡΙΒΤΙΕ.
3 Sit nobiscum (vobiscum) gratia.
Christo Jesu.
Tus Tarp Epistiz.
4 majorem horum non habeo gratiam.
5 et hoc in.
9 scripsissem forsitan.

Some Latin copies have a singular addition after 2 John 11:
ecee prodixi vobis ne in diem domini condemnemini.

II, AUTHORSHIP.

Latin γα].
gate.
a Jom.

3 Joux,

The second and third Epistles of St John are reckoned by These

Epistles

Eusebius among ‘the controverted books’ in the same rank as the reckoned

liv

amo!
“the οσα.
troverted

Books.’

External
evidence.

The title
“the El-
der’ likely
to create
confusion.

AUTHORSHIP.

Epistles of St James, St Jude and 2 Peter’, ‘as well known and
recognised by most.’ He does not give the authority or the exact
ground of the doubt, but states the question generally as being
“whether they belong to the Evangelist, or possibly to another of
the same name*.’

The Epistles are not contained in the Peshito Syriac Version,
nor are they accepted by the Syrian Church. Origen was aware
that ‘all did not allow them to be genuine*’ There is however no
other ante-Nicene evidence against their authenticity. They are
noticed as ‘received in the Catholic Church’ in the Muratorian
Canon. This at least appears to be the most probable explanation of
the clause. Oomp. Hist. of ΔΑ. Τ. Canon, p. 537. They were included
in the Old Latin Version. Clement of Alexandria wrote short notes
upon them‘, Irensus quotes the second Epistle as St John’s, and
once quotes a phrase from it as from the first Epistle’. There are
no quotations from either of the Epistles in Origen, Tertullian, or
Cyprian, but Dionysius of Alexandria clearly recognises them as the
works of St John; and Aurelius, an African Bishop, quoted the
second Epistle as ‘St John’s Epistle’ at a Council where Cyprian
was present,

It is not difficult to explain the doubt as to their authorship,
which was felt by some. They probably had a very limited circula-
tion from their personal (or narrow) destination, When they were
carried abroad under the name of John, the title of ‘the elder’ was
not unlikely to mislead the readers. Papias had spoken of ‘an
elder John’; and so it was natural to suppose that the John who
so styled himself in the Epistles was the one to whom Papias
referred, and not the Apostle. Eusebius may refer to this con-
jecture, though it does not appear distinctly before the time of

1 HE. 1. 15 τῶν δὲ ἀντιλεγομένων τι. 33.
γνωρίµων δ' οὔν ὅμων τοῖς πολλοῖν. ο διωο. HE. π. 14. Οἱ. Strom.
2 Lc, etre τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ τυγχάνου- α. 15.
σαι εἶτε καὶ érépov ὁμωνύμου ἐκείνῳ. © Adv. her. m. 16. 8, in predicta
‘Ho argued from them himself as being — Epistola, having quoted in § 6, α John
written by Bt John: Demonstr. Ev. ii. 18 ff. Comp. 1. 16. 3 Ἰωώνηε ὁ τοῦ
OL 5. κυρίου μαθητή».
3 In Joh. Tom. ν. ap. Euseb. H. E.

AUTHORSHIP. lv

Jerome’. But this view of the authorship of the Epistles is purely
conjectural. There is not the least direct evidence external or
internal in its favour; and it is most unlikely that ‘the elder John’
would be in such a position as to be described by the simple title
‘the elder,’ which denotes a unique preéminence,

On the other hand, there is nothing in the use of the title Not i imap.
6 πρεσβύτερος, ‘the elder,’ by the writer of the Epistles inconsistent Bt John.
with the belief that he was the Apostle St John, For too little is
known of the condition of the Churches of Asia Minor at the close
of the apostolic age to allow any certain conclusion to be formed as
to the sense in which he may have so styled himself. The term
was used by Ireneus of those who held the highest office in the
Church, perhaps through Asiatic usage, as of Polycarp, and of
the early Bishops of Rome*; and the absolute use of it in the
two Epistles cannot but mark a position wholly exceptional. One
who could claim for himself the title ‘the elder’ must have occupied
3 place which would not necessarily be suggested by the title of
‘an apostle’; and it is perfectly intelligible that St John should
have used the title in virtue of which he wrote, rather than that
which would have had no bearing upon his communication. As
an illustration of the superintendence exercised in the Asiatic
Churches by St John, see Euseb. Σ. 2. 11. 23.

Internal evidence amply confirms the general tenor of external Internal
authority. The second Epistle bears the closest resemblance in lan- 7
guage and thought to the first. The third Epistle has the closest
affinity to the second, though from its subject it is leas like the firat
in general form. Nevertheless it offers many striking parallels to
constructions and language of St John: ο. 3 ἐν ἀληθείᾳ; 4 µειζοτέραν
τούτων...ἶνα... 6, 12 μαρτυρεῖν ti, 11 ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν...οὐχ ἑώρακεν
τὸν θεόν, 12 οἶδας ὅτι ἡ µαρτ. ἡ. ἀληθής ἐστιν.

The use of the Pauline words προπέµπειν, εὐοδοῦσθαι and ὑγιαί-
vey, and of the peculiar words φλναρεν, φιλοπρωτεύεω, ὑπολαμ-

Bavay (in the sense of ‘ welcome’), has no weight on the other side.

1 Jerome however speaks of the 18).
opinion as widely held in his time: ο Iren. ap. Euseb. Ε.Ε. v. 20. 24.
opinio » plerisque tradita (de virr. ill.

Vi

AUTHORSHIP,

The complexion of the third Epistle is not Pauline; and the ex-
ceptional language belongs to the occasion on which it was
written.

1Π. CHARACTER.

The letters contain no direct indication of the time or place
at which they were written. They seem to belong to the same
period of the Apostle’s life as the first Epistle; and they were
therefore probably written from Ephesus.

The destination of the second Letter is enigmatic. No solution
of the problem offered by Ἐκλεκτῇ Κυρίᾳ is satisfactory. Nor does
the Letter itself offer any marked individuality of address.

The third Letter, on the other hand, reveals a striking and

inin some respects unique picture of the condition of the early

Church. There is a dramatic vigour in the outlines of character
which it indicates. Gaius and Diotrephes have distinct indi-
vidualities ; and the reference to Demetrius comes in with natural
force. Each personal trait speaks of a fulness of knowledge behind,
and belongs to a living man. Another point which deserves
notice is the view which is given of the independence of Christian
societies, Diotrephes, in no remote corner, is able for a time to
withstand an Apostle in the administration of his particular Church.
On the other side, the calm confidence of St John seems to rest on
himself more than on his official power. His presence will vindi-
cate his authority. Once more, the growth of the Churches is as
plainly marked as their independence. The first place in them
has become an object of unworthy ambition. They are able and,
as it appears, for the most part willing to maintain missionary
teachers.

Altogether this last glimpse of Christian life in the apostolic
age is one on which the student may well linger. The state of
things which is disclosed does not come near an ideal, but it wit-
nesses to the freedom and vigour of a growing faith.

IQANOY A

ορ GOOLE

IQANOY A

Ο HN AIT APXHC, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, 0 ἑωράκαμεν
τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα καὶ ai χεῖρες ἡμῶν

1. Tertullian twice quotes the verse (omitting 8 ἦν dx’ dpyfs) as if he read
8 ἑωράκαµεν, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, rols ὀφθαλμοῖε ἡμῖν ἐθεασάμεθα καὶ αἱ χᾶρει......(αἄο. Pras.
16, quod vidimus, quod audivimus, oculis nostris vidimus et manus......; de An. 17).
Probably the transposition came from ο. 3. This being adopted, the omission of
6 before ἐθεασάμεθα became necessary. The same transposition occurs in the free
quotation contained in the Muratorian Fragment, qua vidimus oculis nostris et
auribus audivimus et manus nostra palpaverunt hac scripsimus vobis (N. Τ. Canon,

P. 535)- Inv. 3 8 harl transpose conversely and read ὁ ἁκηκ. καὶ ἑωρ.

Lrropvoriox. THE PACTS OF THE
GosPEL Is8UING IN FELLOWSHIP AND
σοτ. (1. 1—4.)

This preface to the Epistle corre-
sponds in a remarkable manner with
the preface to the Gospel (John i
1—18); but the two passages
complementary and not parallel. The
introduction to the Gospel treats of
the personal Word (ὁ λόγος), and so

naturally leads up to the record of

‘His work on earth: the introduction

to the Epistle treats of the revela-

tion of life (ὁ λόγος τῆς (wis) which
culminated in the Incarnation, and
leads up to a view of the position and
privileges and daties of the Christian.

In the former the Apostle sets forth

the Being of the Word in relation to

God and to the world (John i. 1, 2—

5), the historic manifestation of the

‘Word generally (6—13), the Incarna-

tion as apprehended by personal ex-

perience (14—18). In the latter he
states first the various parts which
are united in the fulness of the
apostolic testimony (1 Juhni. 1); then
he dwells lly on the historic
manifestation of the Life (1. 2); and

lastly, he points out the personal
results of this manifestation (i 3, 4).

sponden: :

regulated by the primary difference
of subject. In each the main subject
is described first (John i. 1, 2—5:
1 John i. 1): then the historical mani-
festation of it (John i, 6—13: 1 John
1, 2): then its personal apprehension
(John i 14—18: 1 Jobn i 3 f).
Comp. Introd. § 7.

* That which was from the begin-
ning, that which we have heard,
that which we have seen with our
eyes, that which we beheld and our
hands handled, concerning the word
of lifeo—* and the life was mani-
JSested, and we have seen, and bear
witness, and declare unto you the
life, even the life eternal, which was
with the Father and was manifested
to us—3 that which we have seen and
heard (I say) declare we unto you
also, that you also may have fallow-
ship with us; yea and our fellowship
ts with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ ; sand these things write
a iat our (your) joy may be ful-

α1---2

4 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

St John throughout this section
uses the plural (contrast ii. 1, 7, &.)
ae speaking in the name of the apo-
stolic body of which he was the last
surviving representative.

1-3. That which was...that which
we have seen and heard declare we...
The construction of the passage is
broken by the parenthesis of ο. 2,
which may for the moment be dis-
missed from consideration. The be-
ginning of 0.3 (ὁ ἑωράκ. καὶ ἀκηκ.) thas
stands out clearly as a resumption of
the construction and (in part) of the
words of ο. 1. The relatives in the
two verses (ὁ denx., ὃ ἑωράκ.) must
therefore be identical in meaning;
and the simple resumptive clause gives
the clue to the interpretation of the
original more complex clause. Now
in ® 3 there can be no doubt
that the relative ὅ is strictly neuter,
‘that which’: it can have no direct
personal reference. The sense is per-
fectly simple: ‘that which we have...
heard, we declare...’ If to such a
sentence the phrase, ‘concerning the
word of life’ (περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῇς)
be added, there can still be no doubt
as to the meaning. ‘The word’ of
life? is the subject as to which the
Apostle has gained the knowledge
which he desires to communicate to
others: ‘that which we...ave heard
concerning the word of life we de-
clare... 8ο far the general interpre-
tation of the passage appears to be
quite clear; nor can the addition. of
other clauses in ». 1 alter it, What-
ever view be adopted as to the mean-
ing of the phrase, ‘the word of life,
it can only be taken, according to the
natural structure of the sentence, as
the object of the various modes of
regard successively enumerated. The
apparent harshness of combining the
clause ‘concerning the word of life’
with ‘that which was from the begin-
ning, and ‘that which...our hands
handled, is removed by the inter-
vening phrases; and the preposition
(περί) ‘concerning, ‘in regard to,’ is

Π.ι

comprehensive in its application. The
ordinary construction by which the
clause is treated as co-ordinate with
the clauses which precede: ‘that
which was from the beginning, that
which we have heard...even concern-
ing the word of life...we declare to
you, seems to be made impossible (1)
by the resumptive words in v. 3, (2) by
the break after ο. 1, (3) by the ex-
treme abraptness of the change in the
form of the object of we declare.

1. The contents of this verse cor-
respond closely with John i. 1,9, 14
In the beginning was the Word...
There was the Light, the trus Light,
which lighteth every man, coming
into the world... And the Word
became flesh... But, as has been
already noticed, here the thought
is of the revelation and not of the
Person.

© ἦ»...ὃ ἀκηκ., ὃ ἑωρ., ὃ ἐθ....ἐψηλά-
φησαν] That which was...that which
«++ that which...that which., handled,
These four clauses, separated by the
repeated relative, which follow one
another in a perfect sequence from
the most abstract (ὁ ἦν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς) to
the most material aspect of divine
revelation (ὁ ¢6....al χ. ἐψηλάφησαν),
bring into distinct prominence the
different elements of the apostolic
message, Of this, part extended to
the utmost limits of time, being abso-
lutely when time began: part was
gradually unfolded in the course of
human history. The succession of
tenses marks clearly three parts of
the message: that which was (jr)...
that which we have heard (ἀκηκόαμεν).

ry that which we beheld...(édcacd-

). That which we understand
tri eternal purpose of God (Eph.
i, 4), the relation of the Father to
the Son (John xvii. 5), the accept-
ance of man in the Beloved (Eph. i.
6), tas already, and entered as a
factor into the development of finite
being, when the succession of life
began (jv dx’ ἀρχῆς, was from the be-
ginning). But these truths were gra-

1. 1]

dually realised in the course of ages,
through the teaching of patriarchs,
lawgivers, and prophets, and lastly of
the Son Himself, Whose words are still
pregnant with instruction (8 ἀκηκόαμεν,
which we have heard); and above
all, through the Presence of Christ,
the lessons of Whose Life abide un-
changeable with the Church and are
realised in its life (6 ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς
ἀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, which we have seen
with our eyes). And this Presence
of Christ itself, as a historic fact, was
the presence of One truly man, The
perfection of His manhood was attest-
ed by the direct witness of those who
were sensibly convinced of it (8 ἐθεασά-
µεθα, κ.τ.λ», which we beheld and our
hands handled). All the elements
which may be described as the eter-
nal, the historical, the personal, belong
to the one subject, to the fulness of
which they contribute, even ‘the word
of life’

As there is a succession of time in
the sequence of the clauses, s0 there
is also a climax of personal experi-
ence, from that which was remotest in
apprehension to that which was most
immediate (that which was from the
beginning...that which our hands
handled).

ἂπ' ἀρχῆς] from the beginning.
Comp. ο. ii. 7 note. ‘From the
beginning’ is contrasted with in the
beginning (John i. 1). The latter
marks what tcas already at the initial
point, looking to that which is eternal,
supra-temporal ; the former looks to
that which starting at the initial point
bas been tive in time. The
latter deals with absolute being (6

«λόγος Fy πρὸς τὸν θεών); the former
with temporal development. Com-
pare ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμον (Apoo. xiii.
8, xvii. 8; Heb, iv. 3, ix, 26) as. con-
trasted with πρὸ κατ. κ. (John xvii,
24; 1 Pet. i, 20).

‘The absence of the definite article
both here and in John i. 1 is to be
traced back finally to Gen. i. 1 (uxx.),
The beginning is not regarded as a

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 5

definite concrete fact, but in its cha-
racter, according to man’s apprehen-
sion, ‘that to which we look as begin-
ning” The use of ἐσχάτη dpa in 0.
i, 18, ἔσχαται ἡμέραι 2 Tim. iii, 1 is
similar. Compare iii. 10 ποιεῖν dix.
note.

The Greek commentators justly
dwell on the grandeur of the claim
which St John makes for the Chris-
tian Revelation as coeval in some
sense with creation: θεολογῶν ἐξηγεῖ-
παι μὴ νεώτερον εἶναι τὸ Kab ἡμᾶς µν-
στήριον, ἀλλ’ «ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὲν καὶ det
τυγχάνειν αὐτὸ νῦν δὲ πεφανερῶσθαι
ἐν τῷ κνρίφ, ὃς ἔστι ζωὴ αἰώνιος καὶ
θεὺς ἀληθινός (Theophlet, Argum.).
‘And again in α note upon the verse:
ποῦτο καὶ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους καὶ πρὸς “ER-
ληνας οἳ ὡς νεώτερον διαβάλλουσι τὸ
rad’ ἡμᾶς µυστήριον (id. ad loc.).

The ‘hearing’ ‘concerning the word
of life’ is not to be limited to the
actual preaching of the Lord dur-
ing His visible presence, though it
includes this. It embraces the whole
divine preparation for the Advent
provided by the teaching of Lawgiver
and Prophets (comp. Heb. i. 1) fal-
filled at last by Christ. This tho
‘Apostles had ‘heard’ faithfully when
the Jewish people had not heard
(John v. 37; Luke xvi. 29). So also
the ‘seeing,’ as it appears, reaches be-
yond the personal vision of the Lord.
The condition of Jew .and Gentile,
the civil and religious. institutions by
which St John was surrounded'(Acts
xvii, 28), the effects which the Gospel
wrought, revealed to the eye of the
Apostle something of ‘the Life’
‘Hearing’ and ‘seeing’ are combined
in the work of the seer: Apoc. xxii. 8,

The clear reference to the Risen
Christ in the word ‘handled, makes
it probable that the special manifest-
ation indicated by the two aorists
(ἐθεασάμεθα, ἐψηλάφησα») is that given
to the Apostles by the Lord after the
Resurrection, which is in fact the
revelation of Himself as He remains
with His Church by the Spirit, The

6 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. fr

two words are united with one rela-
tive, and they express in ascending
order the ground of the Apostle’s
personal belief in the reality of the
true humanity of Christ as Ho is (we
beheld...and handled).

Thus there is a survey of the
whole course of revelation in the
four clauses, more complete than has
been already indicated. The personal
experience of the Presence of Christ
is crowned by the witness to the
Risen Christ, This witness of what
he had actually experienced is part
of the message which the Apostle had
to give (comp. Acts i 23) The Re-
surrection was the final revelation
of life. At the same time the four
clauses bind together inseparably the
divine and human. There is, as wo
have seen, but one subject whether
this is revealed as eternal (that which
was from the beginning), or through
the experience of sense (that which

3; John iv. 42, v. 37, xviii. 21. The
perfect in every case preserves its full
force.

ἑωράκ. τ. ὀφθ.] have seen with our
eyes. The addition with our eyes,
like our hands below, emphasises the
idea of direct personal outward ox-
perience in a matter marvellous in it-
self. The vision was not of the soul
within, but in life, Comp. Dent. 1Η.
21, iv, 3, xi. 7, xxi. 7; Zech. ix. 8;
Keclus. xvi. 5. See also John xx, 27.

On sight and hearing, see Philo,
de Sacer. 4. et O. § 22, i. 178.

ὃ ἑωράκαμεν...ὁ ἐθεασάμεθα...] quod
vidimus...quod perspeximus V.,
tohich we have seen...wchich we be-
held. The general relation of these
clauses has been touched upon al-
ready. They offer also contrasts in
detail. The change of tense marks
the difference between that which was
permanent in the lessons of the mani-
festation of the Lord, and that which
‘was once shewn to special witnesses,
‘The change of the verbs also is sig-

nificant. Θεᾶσθαι, like θεωρεῖν, ex-
presses the calm, intent, continuous
contemplation of an object which re-
mains before the spectator. Comp.
John i. 14n. On the other hand the
emphatic addition of τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς
ἡμῶν to depdeayer emphasises the
personal nature of the witness as
ἐθεασάμεθα emphasises its exactness.
Generally the first two verbs (heard,
seen) express the fact, and the second.
two (beheld, handled) the definite in-
vestigation by the observer.

Bede (ad loc.) brings out the
moral element in ἀθεασάμεθα: Non
solum quippe bus oculis
sicut ceteri Dominum viderunt sed et
perspexerunt, cujus divinam quoque
virtatem spiritualibus oculis cerne-
bant.

ἐφηλάφησαν] contrectaverunt V.
(all. tractaverunt, palpaverunt, per-
scrutata sunt), handled. There can
be no doubt that the exact word is
used with a distinct reference to the
invitation of the Lord after His Re-
surrection: Handle me... (Lake xxiv.
39 ψηλαφήσατέ pe) The tacit re-
ference is the more worthy of notice
becanse St John does not mention
the fact of the Resurrection in his
Epistle; nor does he use the word in
his own narrative of the Resurrec-
tion, From early times it has been
observed that St John used the term
to mark the solid ground of the
Apostolic conviction: οὐ γὰρ ὧς ὄτυχε
συγκατεθέµεθα τῷ ὀφθέντι (Theophlet.
ad loc.).

περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς Cie] de verbo
vita V. (de sermons vita, Tert.),
μήν, one word of life, that is
the message of life, or, according *
to the more modern idiom, the
revelation of life. The word (6
λόγος) conveys the notion of a con-
nected whole (sermo), and is not
merely an isolated utterance (ῥῆμα:
comp. John vi. 68 ῥήμαα (wis
αἰωνίον). Hence the word of life is
the whole message from God to man,
which tells of life, or, perhaps, out of

Ei

which life springs, which beginning to
be spoken by the prophets, was at
last fully ed by one who was
His Son (Hebr. i, 1, 2). Christ is, in-
deed, Himself ras Worp, but in the
Present passage the obvious reference
is to the whole Gospel, of which He
is the centre and sum, and not to
Himself - This follows both
from the context and from the ap-
pended genitive (τῆς ζωῇς). It is the
Uife and not the ecord which is said
to have been manifested; and again
in the four passages where ἆ λόγου is
used ly (John i. 1 tor, 14) the
term is abeolate. On the other hand
πο bave ὁ λόγος τῆς βασιλείας (Matt,
αἲ 19), ὁ λόγος τῇο σωτηρίας ταύτης
(Acts xiii. 26), ὁ λόγος τῇε χάριτος
αὐτοῦ (Acta αχ. 32), ὁ λόγος ὁ τοῦ
σταυροῦ (2 Cor. i 18), ὁ λόγος ris
καταλλαγῆς (α Cor. v¥. 19), ὁ λόγος τῇ. ie
ἀληθείας τοῦ ebayyedlov (Col. i Sha
λόγον rie ἀληθείας (2 Tim. ii. 155
comp. λόγ. ἀληθείας James i. 18), in
all of which the genitive describes
the subject of the tidings or record.
There then be no reason for de-
parting from the general analogy of
this universal usage here, since it
gives an admirable sense, and the
personal in interpretation of ‘the word
Of life’ is not supported by any pa-
allel. Moreover, a modification of the
phrase iteelf ocours in St Paul, λόγο»
ζωῆς ἐπέχειν (Phil. ii, 16: compare
also Titus i 2, 3 éx’ ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αἰω-
Ρίου hy ἐπηγγεῖλατο...ἐφανέρωσεν δὲ.

τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ...: John vi, 68; Acts
. 20). The personal interpretation
could not fail to present ο to later

readers, in hice ολοι
Word’ far larger piace
than it ceenpies in the writings of Bt

most true sense Christ is the gospel;
and the name of the triumphant con-
queror in Apoo. xix. 13 (6 δα
Θεοῦ” comp. Acta vi. 7, xv. 6 &0.) shows

the natural transition in ‘from
‘the Word of God’ to Him who is ‘the
Word of God.’ Comp. John x. 35.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 7

The Peshito Syriac (uot Ἠάτο].) ap-
pears to support the interpretation
which has been given: that which is
the word of life,

The sense of the genitive τῆς ζωῆς,
ο life, is doubtful. According to
general usage noticed above, it would
specify the contents of the message :
‘the revelation which

ever be noticed that in other con-
nexions St John uses the words (τῆς
(wis) to describe the character of
that to which they are applied, as
life-giving, or life-sustaining: τὸ Εύλον
τῆς ζωῆς (Apoc. ii 7. &e,), ὁ στέφανος
τῆς ζωῆς (Apoc. ii, 10), ζωῆς πηγα)
ἡἐδάτων (Apoc. vii. 17), τὸ ὕδωρ rhs ζωῆς
(Apoc, xxi. 6 &c,), ἡ βίβλοε ris ζωῆς
(Apoo, iii. 5 &e.), and more particu-
larly 6 ἄρτος ris ζωῆς (John vi. 35),
τὸ φῶς τῆς Coie (John viii. 12), which
suggest such a sense as ‘tho life-
containing, life-eommunicating word.’
The context here, which speaks of the
manifestation of the life, appears at
firat sight to require the former inter-
pretation; for it is easy to pass from
the idea of the life us the subject of
the divine revelation to the life made
manifest, while the conception of life
as characteristic of the word doce
not prepare the way for the transition
80 directly. On the other side the
usage of the Gospel is of great weight;
and it is not difficult to see how the
thought of the revelation, which from
first, to last was inspired by and dif-
fased life, leads to the thought that
the life iteelf was personally mani-
feated.

It is most probable that the two
interpretations are not to be abarply
separated. The revelation proclaims
that which it includes; it has, an-
nounces, gives life. In Christ life
as the subject and life as the cha-
racter of the Revelation were abso-
Intely united. See Additional Note
The proportion (np?) in used i

mn (epi) is ina
wide sense, ‘in regard to, ‘in the

8 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

ἐψηλάφησαν, περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῇς,--- καὶ ἡ

matter of’ Comp. John xvi. δ. The

subject κα not simply a message,

but all that had been made clear

through manifold experience ‘con-
"it.

If wo now look back over the verse
it is not difficult to see why St Joho
chose the neuter form (that which
was and not Him that-was),:and why
he limited the record of his experience
by the addition concerning the word
ϱ/ life. He does not announce Christ
or the revelation of life, but he an-
nounces something relating to both.
Christ is indeed the one subject of
his letter, yet net the Person of
Christ absolutely but what he had
himself come directly to know of
Him. Nor yet again does the apostle
write all that he had come to know of
Christ by manifold intercourse, but
just 0 much as illustrated the whole
revelation of life (comp. John xx.
30f). His pastoral is not a Gospel
nor a dogmatic exposition of truth,
but an application of the Truth to
life.

2. The whole verse is parenthetical.
Elsewhere St John interrupts the
construction by the introduction of a
reflective comment (v. 3b; ο. ii. 27,
John i, 14, 16, 18, 1, 168, 31 ££, xix.
35, 2 John 2), and pauses after some
critical statement to consider and
realise its significance. And so here
the mention of the whole ‘revelation
of life” which extends throughouttime,
leads him to rest for a moment upon
the one supreme fact up to which or
from which all revelation comes. ‘Con-
cerning the word of life,’ he seems to
say, ‘Yes, concerning that revelation
which deals with life and which brings
life in all its manifold relations; and
yet while our thoughts embrace this
vast range which it includes, we may
never forget that the life itself was
shown to us in a personal form, What
we have to declare is not a word
(λόγος) only: it is a fact,

Π.2

\
ζωὴ

‘The simple statement is given first
(the life wae manifested), and then
subject and predicate are more fully
explained (‘the life eternal which
was with the Father) ‘was mani-
JSested to we’). The phrase, the life
twas manifested, recals thecorrespond-

latter regards the single fact of the
Incarnation of the Word Who ‘was
God’; this regards the exhibition in its
purity and fulness of the divine move-
ment. And yet farther, in the Gospel
St John speaks directly of a Person:
here he is speaking of the revelation
which he had received of the energy
of a Person. The full difference is felt
if for a moment the in are
transferred. The reality of the In-
carnation would be undeclared if it
were said: ‘the Word was mani-
fested’; the manifoldness of the ope-
rations of life would be circumscribed
if it were said: ‘the life became fiesh.’
‘The manifestation of the life was a
consequence of the Incarnation of the
vos but it is not co-extensive with

al ἡ ζωή] and the ly This
use of the simplest conjunction (καθ)
is characteristic of St John. It seems
to mark the succession of contempla-
tion as distinguished from the se-
quence of reasoning. Thought is
added to thought as in the interpre-
tation of a vast scene open all at once
before the eyes, of which the parts
are realised one after the other.

ἡ ζωή] the tise, John xiv. 6n., xi.
351. The usage of the word in John
i. 4 is somewhat different. Here life
is regarded as final and absolute:
there life is the particular revelation
of life given in finite creation. Christ
ts the life which He brings, and
which is realised by believers in Him.
In Him ‘the life’ became visible.
Comp. ο. v. 11, 12, 20; Col. iii, 4;
Rom. v. 10, vi. 23; 2 Cor. iv. 10;

Ea]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 9

ἐφανερώθη, kai ἑωράκαμεν καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν καὶ dray-

2. καὶ ὃ ἑωράκαμεν, B (ἐορ.); καὶ ὃ up. µαρτ. Dion Alex. (Migne, P. Gr. x. 1248).
The insertion or omission of 0 before ΕΟΡΑΚΔΛΛΕΝ (80 Β) was equally easy; but
ἀφανερώθη sooms to require the direct connexion of ἑωράκαμον with τὴν {.-7. al.

2 Tim, i.1. But the term ‘the life’
is not to be regarded as simply 4 per-
sonal name equivalent to the Word:
it expresses one aspect of His Being
and Working. Looking to Him we
see under the conditions ef present
human being the embodied ideal of
life, which is fellowship with God and
with man in God.

ἐφανερώθη]. manifestata est V. (be-
low apparuit), was manifested. The
word is used of the revelation of the
Lord at His first coming (ο, iii. 5, 8;
John i. 31; comp. ¢. iv. 9; John vii.
4; 1 Pet. i 20; 1 Tim. iii, 16; Heb,
ix. 26); of His revelation after the
Resurrection (John xxi. 14, 1; [Mark]
xvi. 12, 14); and of the future revela-
tion (ο. ii 28 ; comp. 1 Pet. v. 4; Col.
iii. 4). In all these ways the Word
Incarnate and glorified is made known

sequence the ideas of personal expe-
rience, responsible affirmation, autho-
titative announcement, which are
combined in the apostolic message.
The first two verbs are probably used
absolutely, though the object of the
third (the life eternal) is potentially
included in them, Comp. John i. 34,
xix. 35. So Augustine, ef vidimus ot
testes sumus.

ἑωράκαμο] John xix. 35, i. 34, xiv.
7,9. Itis worthy of notice that this
is the only part of the verb which is
used by St Jobn in the Gospel and
Epistles (ὅρα µή, Apoc. xix. 10; xxii
9: not «τή, 18; nor John vi. 2);
and in these books it is singularly
frequent.

Severus (Cramer Cat, ad loc.), com-
paring these words with iv, 12 θεὸν

οὐδεὶς πώποτε τεθέαται, no man hath
deheld God at any time, remarks: τῷ
σεσαρκῶσθαι καὶ ἐπηνθρωπηκέναι Θεα-
τὸς-καὶ ψηλαφητὸς γενέσθαι εὐδόκησεν
[ὁ λόγος], οὐχ ὁ ἦν θεαθεὶς καὶ ψηλα-
Φηθεὶς ἀλλ’ ὃ γέγονεν' ele γὰρ ὑπάρχων
καὶ ἁδιαίρετος ὁ αὐτὸς ἣν καὶ θεατὸς καὶ
ἀθέατος καὶ ἀφῆ μὴ ὑποπίπτων καὶ ψη-
λαφώμενος...

μαρτυροῦμεν] Comp. iv. 14; John
xxi 24. For the characteristic use of
the idea of witness in St John sec
Introd, to Gospel of St John, pp.
liv, ff.

Augustine dwells on the associa-
tions of the Greek péprupes which
were lost in the Latin testes: Ergo
hoc dixit Vidimus et testes sumus:
Vidimus et martyres sumus; testimo-
uium enim dicendo...cam displiceret
ipsum testimoniam hominibus adver-
sus quos dicebatur, passi sunt omnia
quae passi sunt martyres (ad loc.).

ἀπαγγέλλομεν] adnunciamus V., το
declare, The word occurs again in
St John’s writings in John xvi. 25
(it is falsely read iv. 51, xx. 18). In
the Synoptists and Acts it is not un-
common in the sense of ‘bearing back
a message from one to another.’ This
fundamental idea underlies the use
here and in John xvi. 25. The mes-
sage comes from a Divine Presence

and expresses a Divine purpose.
Comp. 1 Cor. xiv. 25; Heb. ii. 12
(Uxx.); ο. 5 note,

The application of the words must
not be confined to the Epistle, which
is in fact distinguished from the gene-
ral proclamation of the Gospel (2. 4,
καὶ ταῦτα γράφομεν), but rather under-
stood of the whole apostolic ministry.
More particularly perhaps we may see
a description of that teaching which
‘St John embodied in his Gospel.

1ο THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Π.ᾳ

γέλλομεν ὑμῖν τὴν Conv τὴν αἰώνιον ἥτις ἦν πρὸς τὸν

τὴν ¢. τὴν al.) the eternal life, more
exactly, the life, even the life eternal.
The phrase used in the beginning of
the verse is first taken up and then
more fully developed. This form of
expression in which the two elements
of the idea are regarded separately is
found in the N.T. only here and in
ii, 25, The simpler form ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή
is also very rare (John xvii. 3; Acts
xiii. 46; 1 Tim, vi. 12), and in each
case where it occurs describes the
special Messianic gift brought by
Christ (the eternal life) as distin.
guished from the general
(a) αἰώνιος, life eternal).

‘This ‘eternal life’ is seen in this
passage to be the divine life, the life
that is and which was visibly shown
in Christ, and not merely an unending
continuance (Heb. vii. 16, {. ἀκατάλυ-
ros). Comp. Jobn xvii. 3, ‘The equiva-
lent phrase appears to occur first in
Dan, xii, 2 (OMY "Πρ. Comp. 2
Mace. vii. 9 εἰς αἰώνιον ἀναβίωσιν ζωῆς
ἡμᾶς ἀναστήσει.

For the use of the article (ἡ ζ. ἡ
al.) see ο. ii. 7 (ἡ dvr. ἡ π.) note; and
for the idea of ‘eternal life’ the Ad-
ditional Note on v. 20.

ἥτις fy... which was.... This clanse
not only defines but in part confirms
the former statement. The relative
is not the simple relative (7), but the
‘qualitative’ relative (ἤτις. Comp.
Jobn vil 53 (ὅστις ἀπέθανεν)ι Apoc.
i 7; ii. 24; xi 8; xm 4. ‘We ἆθ-
clare with authority’—such is the
apostle’s meaning—‘the life which is
traly eternal, seeing that the life of
which we speak was with the Father,
and so is independent of the condi-
tions of time ; and it was manifested
to us apostles, and so has been brought
within the sphere of our knowledge.”

dy πρὸς τ. π.] erat apud patrem
V., was with the Father, Comp.
John i. 1, 2, The life was not ‘in the
Father, nor in fellowship (uerd) or in

combination (ovv) with Him, but real-
ised with Him for its object and law
(ᾖν πρός). That which is true of the
‘Word as a Person, is true necessarily
of the Word in action, and 80 of the
Life which finds expression in action.
The verb (ήν) describes continuous
and not past existence ; or rather, it
suggests under the forms of human
thought an existence which is beyond
time (Apoe. iv. 11 ἦσαν; John i. 35).

τὸν πατέρα] The Father, the title
of God when regarded relatively, as
the ‘One God, of whom (ἐξ οὗ) are
all things’ (1 Cor. viii. 6). The rela-
tion iteelf is defined more exactly
either in reference to the material
world : James i. 17 ὁπατὴρ τῶν φώτων;
or to men: Matt. v. 16 6 πατὴρ ὑμῶν,
&c.; or, more commonly and pecu-
liarly, to our Lord, ‘the Son’: Matt,
vii. 21 ὁ πατήρ µου, &c. The difference
of the paternal relation of the One
Father to Christ and to Christians is
indicated in a very remarkable man-
ner in John xx. 17 (ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν
πατέρα µου καὶ mar. ὑμῶν) where the
unity of the Person is shewn by the
one article common to the two clauses,
and the distinctness of the relations
by the repetition of the title with the
proper personal pronoun. The simple
title ὁ πατήρ uccurs rarely in the Syn-
optic Gospels, and always with refer-
ence to ‘the Son’: Matt. xi 27h Luke
x. 22; Matt. xxiv. 36Mark xiii. 32;
Luke ix. 26; Matt, xxiii. 19. (But
comp. Luke αι 13 ὁ π. ὁ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ;
the usage in Matt xi. 26)Luke x.
21; Mark xiv, 36 is different.) In the
‘Acts it is found only in the opening
chapters; i. 4,7; ii. 33. In St Paul
only Rom. vi. 4 (ἠγέρθη...διὰ τῆς δόξης
τοῦ m.); 1 Cor. viii. 6 (els θεὸς ὁ πατήρ);
Eph. ii. 18 (ϱὴν κροσαγωγὴν...πρὸς τὸν
πατέρα); and not at all in the Epistles
of St Peter, St James or St Jude, or
in the Apocalypse. In St John’s Gos-
pel, on the contrary, and in his Epi-
stles (i. ii.) the term is very frequent.

1.3]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. Ir

πατέρα καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν,--3ὃ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ dxn-
κόαµεν ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν

8 ὃ dene. καὶ dup. R harl: see ο. 1.
ὑμῖν, & vg me. = 85 ο».
(tra...boqre καὶ ᾗ ἡ κουωνία ἡ ἡμετέρα...)

Comp. John iv. 21 add. note; and the
additional note on this passage.

In this place the idea of Father-
hood comes into i in con-
nexion with life (the life was with the
Father). In the Gospel the absolute
idea of Godhead is placed in con-
nexion with the Word (John i. 162. ἦν
πρὸς τὸν θεόν, the Word was with
God), In both passages a glimpse
is given of the essential relations of
the Divine Persons, and we learn that
the idea of Father lies in the Deity
itself and finds fulfilment in the
Deity. The simplest conception which
we can form of God in Himself as
absolutely perfect and solf-sufficing
includes Tripersonality.

ἐφαν. ἡμῖν] apparuit nobis V. (πια-
nifestata est in nobis Απρ, palam
Sacta est, διο. all.) was manifested to
us, The general statement given be-
fore (was manifested) is mado per-
sonal. Actual experience is the found-
ation of St John’s testimony.

3-_ Inthe parenthesis (ο, 2) St John

the subject of his mes-
sage as ‘the life eternal’: he now
describes it as ‘that which we have
seen and heard. The fulness of apo-
stolic experience, the far-reaching
Iknowlodge of the Son of God, is in-
deed identical with the life. By ap-
propriating that knowledge of the
Bon the life is appropriated.

Life is manifested in fellowship;
and in regarding the end of his mes-
sage St John looks at once to a two-
fold fellowship, human and divine, a
fellowahip with the Church and with
God. He contemplates first the fel-
lowship which existe in the Christian
body itself, and then rises from this
to the thought of the wider privileges

nal’ drayy. 8 am, = ral!

σου Aug. Ambr, vg et societas nostra sit

of such fellowship as resting on a
divine basis, Manifeste ostendit B.
Johannes quia quicunque societatem
cum Deo habere desiderant primo
ecelesise societati debent adunuri....
(Bede).

ὃ dup. καὶ ἀκηκ] that which we
have seen and heard... The transpo-
sition of the verbs in this resumptive
clause (ο. 1 heard...seon...) is natural
and significant. Before the Apostle
was advancing up to the I i
now he is starting from it, At the
same time the two elements of ex-
perience are brought together and
not (as before) separated by the re-
peated relative (ο. 1 that which...that
which...).

καὶ ὑμῖν] unto you also, The reve-
lation was not for those only to whom
it was first given; but for them also
who ‘had not seen’ The message
was for ‘them also’ that ‘they aleo’
might enjoy the fruits of it. There is
πο redundance in the καί.

This thought is well brought out
by Augustine, who asks the question :
Minus ergo sumus felices quam illi
qui viderunt et audierunt? and an-
swers it by recalling the history of St
Thomas (John xx. 26 ff.) who rose by
Faith above touch: Tetigit hominem,
confeesus est Deum. Et Dominus
consolans nos qui ipsam jam in cslo
sedentem manu contrectare non pos-
sumus sed fide contingere, ait illi
Quia vidisti credidisti, beati qui non
viderunt et credunt. Nos descripti
sumus, nos designati sumus. Fiat
ergo in nobis beatitudo quam Domi-

ut corda sanaret (Aug, ad loc.).

12

2 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(4

μ en ve an Sas πα.
ἔχητε μεθ ἡμών' καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ

πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ

ἵνα...μεθ ἡμῶν] ut οἱ vos societatem
habeatis nobiscum V., that ye also
may have fellowship with us, i.e.
‘may be united with us, the apostolic
body, in the bonds of Christian com-
munion’ (comp. ov. 6, 7; iv..6) by the
apprehension of thefulnessof thetruth ;
that you may enjoy to the uttermost
by spiritual power what we gained in
the outward experience of life (John
xx. 29). The last of the apostles
points to the unbroken succession of
the heritage of Faith, It will be
observed that St John always assumes
that ‘knowledge’ carries with it the
corresponding action (ερ. ii. 3). The
words cannot without violence be
made to give the sense: ‘that ye may
have the same fellowship [with God
and Christ] as we have.’

9 phrase κοινωνίαν ἔχειν, as dis-
tinguatod from the simple verb κοι-
voveiy (2 John 1; 4 Pet. iv. 13; Phil
iv. 15), expresses not only the mere
fact, but also the enjoyment, the con-
scious realisation, of fellowship. Comp.
ο, 8 (ἁμαρτίαν ἔχειν) note.

κου. μεθ ἡμῶν] fellowship with.
The preposition (µετά) emphasises the
mutual action of these who are united.
Κοινωνία is aleo used with a genitive
of the person (1 Cor. i 9), as in the
case of things (1 Cor. x. 16; Phil iti.
10), when the thought is of a blessing
imparted by fellowship in the person,
or of α fellowship springing from the
person (2 Cor. xiii. 13). The word is
also used absolutely Acts ii. 42.

καὶ ἡ κοιν. δέ...] of societas nostra sit
V., Aug. yea and our fellowship...
The connecting particles (καί...δέ) and
the possessive pronoun (ἡ κ. ἡ ἡμετέ-
ρα) are both emphatic, The particles
lay stress on the characteristics of the
fellowship which are to be brought
forward: the possessive in Place of of
the personal pronoun marks
which peculiarly distinguishes σα.

αὐποῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ «Χριστοῦ. “καὶ

tians rather than simply that which
they enjoy. ‘And the fellowship iteelf
in fact to which we call you, the fel-
lowship which is truly Christian fel-
lowship, ὧα)

For xal...3é..-compare Fohn vi. δα;
viii. 16,17; xv. 27; 3 John 12. The
combination occurs sparingly through-
out the N. T. The δέ serves as the
conjunction, while καί emphasises the
words to which it is attached.

For ἡ κοιν, ἡ ἡμετέρα compare John
χτ. 9 η. (ἡ dy. ἡ ἐμή), 11, 125 xvii, 13,
243 xviii. 36, &e.; ο. ii.’7 note.

The insertion of the δέ makes the
false construction (Zatt.) ‘and that
our fellowship may be...’ impossible.
The whole clause is like ο. 2 (see
note), @ development of the preced-
ing idea over which the apostle lin-
gers as it were in personal reflection.
For the foundation of the thought see
John xvii. 20-6.

μετὰτοῦ π...Ἐ. X.] with the Father...
his Son Jesus Christ... The thought
prepared in οὐ. 1, 3 now finds full ex-
pression. The revelation of ‘the life”
had brought men into connexion with
‘the Father” ‘The life’ was appre-
honded in a true human personality
in virtue of the Incarnation, and 20
men eould have fellowship with the
life and with the source of life.
Through the Son God was revealed
and apprehended as Father. It must
alzo be observed that ‘fellowship
with the Father’ and ‘fellowship
with His Son’ are directly co-ordi-
nated (with...and with...). Such co-
ordination implies sameness of es-
sence. And yet further: the fellow-
ship with the Father is not only said
to be established through the Son:
the fellowship with the Father is in-
volved in fellowship with the Son
(comp. ii. 23). The consummation of
this fellowship is the ‘being in God’
(ο. ¥. 20) ‘a quo fontaliter omnia pro.

La]
ταῦτα γράφοµεν ἡμεῖς ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾗ πεπληρωµένη.

4- ets ΚΑ" Β the: ὑμῖν S A**C vg syrr πιο.
verss, is of little weight.

(4 x.) ἡμῶν NB the; ὑμῶν SAC me. The later MSS. and the Latin and
Syriao verse. are divided. ‘The confusion of ἡμ. and ὑμ. in the best authorities is
80 constant that α positive decision on the reading here is impossible. It may be
noticed that C*, reading ὑμῶν,. adds ἐν ἡμῖν and some verss, reading ἡμῶν add

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 13

In such @ case the evidence of

ἐν ὑμῖν at the end of the clause,

Comp. ii. 8, 25; iii. 13 v. 4.

Some copies of Valg, read ut+gaudeatis ef gaudium vestram (nostrum) sit

plenum,

cedunt, in quo finaliter omnes sancti
fruibiliter requiescunt’ (Th, Kemp.
iL 15. 2).

rov νἱοῦ av. Ἰ. Χ.] Hts- Son Jesus
Christ. By the use of this full title
St John brings out now both aspects
of the Lord’s Person (‘His Son,’ ‘Feat jesus
Christ’) which he had indicated before
(twhich was with the Father, ‘our
hands handled’). The full title is
found again in iii. 23; v. 20 (7); 2
Jobn 3; 1 Cor. i. 2 Cor. i. 19.
Compare also i. 7 (iv. 15; v. 5); 1
Thess. i 10; Heb. iv. 14. In each
case it will be seen to be significant
in all its elements,

4 καὶ ταῦτα] and these things.
The apostolic message which had
been regarded before in its unity (3
that which) is now regarded in some
special aspects of its manifold power.
St John embraces in ‘tho vision of
his heart? (Eph. i 18) all that his
letter contains, though it was then
unwritten.

The phrase, these things, is not how-
ever co-extensive with that which.
8t John has present to his mind both
the general revelation of the Gospel
(we declare) of which the end was to
create spiritual fellowship between
God and man and men; and the par-
ticular view of it which he purposes
to lay before his readers (we write)
with a view to establishing the ful-
ness of joy in the Church.

γράφομεν ἡμεῖς] write we, Both
the pronoun and the verb are em-

phatic. The proclamation (σο. 2, 3)

was presented in an abiding form:
not spoken only but written, so far
as there was need, that it might work
its full effect. And it was written by
those who had full authority to write.
Nor is it fanciful to suppose that by
the streas laid on the word trite,
which is emphasised by the absence
of a personal object (tho {ο you of the
common text is to be omitted), St
John looks forward to his apostolic
service to later ages.

‘The plural Ὀράβομο) which bolongs
to the form of the apostolic message
stands in contrast with the personal
address (ypd άφω) which immediately
follows inc. ii, 1. Elsewhere in the
epistle the vorb occurs only in the
singular (ii 7 £, 12 f, 21, 26; τ.
13.

ἵνα ἡ χ. ἡμῶν (ο. ὑμῶν) FP πεπληρ.]
that our (or your) joy may be fulfilled.
The fulfilment of Christian joy de-
pends upon the realisation of fellow-
ship. The same thought underlies
the othor passages where the phrase
occurs (see next note). Fellowship
with Christ, and fellowship with the
brethren, fellowship with Christ in
the brethren, and with the brethren
in Christ, is the measure of the ful-
ness of joy. Both readings (ἡμῶν and
ἡμῶν) are well supported and both
give good sense. The object of the
apostle may be regarded either as to
the fulfilment of his-work relatively to
himself, or as to the fulfilment of his
work relatively to his disciples. The
joy of the apostle as well as the joy

14 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(Ls

Καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ
5. καὶ ἔστω abry ΚΒΟ; καὶ airy ἐστίν © A vg.

ἡ ἀγγελία NAB vg: ἡ ἐκαγγελία © C me the.
Ν hed originally » arayyeXas, which the soribe himself altered by letters

__ written above to ἡ ἀγάπη ris érayyeAas.

of the disciples is secured by the same
result.

ἡμῶν γὰρ ὑμῖν (cum. ὑμῶν. . ἡμῖν)
κοινιωνσύντων πλείστην ἔχομεν τὴν χάριν
(L χαρὰν) ἡμῶν, ἣν τοῖς θερισταῖς ὁ
Χαίρων σπορεὺς ἐν τῇ τοῦ μισθοῦ ἀπο-
λήψει βραβεύσει χαιρόντων καὶ τούτων
ὅτι τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν (1. αὐτοῦ) ἀπο-
λαύουσι (Theophlet.).

πεπληρωμένη] plonum(V., Aug.) ful-
filled, The phrase is characteristic,
Comp. 2 John 12; John iii, 29, xv. 11,
xvi. 24; xvii. 13. For the use of the
resolved form see iv. 12 n, Gaudium
doctorum fit plenum cum multos pree-
dicando ad sanctse ecclesis societa-
tem...perdacunt (Bede). Comp. Phil
ii 2,

A. Tum Prosiem or Lire axp
‘THOSE TO WHOM IT 18 PROPOSED (i 5—
ii. 17).

1. 5—10. Tas Naruse or Gop
AND THE OONSEQUENT RELATION OF
MAN TO Gop.

The section contains 1 the descrip-
tion of the Being of God (ο, 5); and
then 2 the description of man’s rela-
tion to God as thus made known (6—
19), in answer to the three typical
false pleas (i) of the indifference of
moral action in regard to spiritual
fellowship (6, 7); (ii) of the unreality
of sinfulness as a permanent conse-
quence of wrong action (8, 9) ; and (iii)
of actual personal freedom from sin-
ful deeds(10), These pleas are shewn
to depend (1) on immediate denial of
what is distinctly known (6); (2) on
self-deception (8); and (3) on disre-
gard of divine revelation (10).

1, The Nature of God (1. ο).

5. "And this is the message which
we have heard from him and

Comp. iii. 113 ii. 25.

announce to you, that God is light,
and in him ts no darkness at all.
The connexion of this verse with
what precedes is not at once obvious.
‘The declaration which it contains as
to the nature of God is not, as
far as we know, direct repetition
of any words of the Lard; nor is
it clear at first sight how it gathers
up what has been already said of
“the revelation of life’ as apprehended
in apostolic experience. Fuller con-
sideration appears to shew that the
idea of spiritual fellowship furnishes
the clue to the course of St John’s

thought. Fellowship must _ repose ]
fellowship with we must know
truly what He is and what we aro,
and the latter knowledge flows from /
the former. The revelation of life
from first to last is the progressive
manifestation of God and the pro-
gressive assimilation to God. The
revelation through the Incarnation
completes all that was revealed be-
fore: Christ came ‘not to destroy but
to fulfil’: and this revelation is briefly
comprehended in the words ‘God is
light, absolutely pure, glorious, self-
communicating from His very nature.
He imparts Himself, and man was
made to receive Him; and, in spite of
sin, man can receive Him. Thus the
fundamental ideas of Christianity lie
in this announcement: ‘God is light’;
and man turns to the Light as
being himself created in the image οἱ.
God (Gen. i 27; 1 Cor. xi. 7) and re-
created in Christ (Eph. ii. 10; Col.
iit, 1ο) This message is really ‘the

Hac sententia B. Johannes...divinso
puritatis excellentiam monstrat quam
nos quoque imitari jubemur dicente

1.5]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

15

καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι 6 θεὸς φώς ἐστὶν καὶ σκοτία

ipso: Sancti estote guoniam ego sanc-
tus Dominus Deus vester Lev. xix. 2

(Bede).

rai...) And... The declaration is the
simple development of the statement
in». 3: ‘We declare unto you what
we have seen and heard, in order to
establish your fellowship with us, and
to fulfil our joy. And this is the
message which has such divine power.’

ἔστιν αὕτη] this is the message.
The original order (lost in V. et hac
est) in which the substantive verb
stands first with unusual emphasis (καὶ
fon» avr), marks the absolutencss,
the permanence, of the message. The
‘is’ is not merely a copula, but predi-
cates existence in itself. Comp. c. v.
16, 17; ii. 15 note; John v. 45, viii.
50, 54. The exact form of expression
is unique. On the other hand see ο
fi. 25; iii. 11, 23; ¥. 4,9, 11, 14 and
2 John 6.

ἀγγελία] adnuntiatio V., message.
‘The word occurs only here and iii. 11
in the Ν. T., and it is rare in the Lxx.
‘The corresponding verb occurs in the
N. Τ. only in Jobn xx. 18, The simplest
word appears to be chosen to describe
the divine communication. The an-
nouncement as to the natare of God
is @ personal revelation and not a
discovery. God gives tidings of Him-
self and so only can man know Him,

Gx’ avroi) from him, that ig, the Son
of the Father, Jesus Christ, in whom
the life was manifested, and who has
been the main subject .of the pre-
ceding versea.

The ‘from’ (ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ) marks the
ultimate and not necessarily the im-
mediate source (παρ αὐτοῦ. The

ἀκούειν ἀπό is not found else-
where in St John (but see Acts ix. 13)
while ἀκούευ παρά is frequent: Johu
i, 40; vi 45; vil. 51 5 vill 26, 38, 40;
xv. 15. The ‘message’ which the
Apostle announces had been heard
not only from the lips of Christ but
im fact also from all those in whom

He had spoken in earlier times (1 Pet.
i. 11), He was the source even where
He was not the speaker. Comp. 1
Cor. xi. 23 παρέλαβον ἀπό, and ο. ii, 27
note,

ἀναγγέλλομεν] adnuntiamus, V., we
announce, The simple verb and its
derivatives convey shades of meaning
which cannot be preserved in 9 ver-
sion. ᾽Αγγέλλει simply ‘to bring
tidings’ occurs only John xx. 18. "Avay-
γέλλευ to report, with the additional
idea of bringing the tidings up (ο or
back to the person receiving them.
᾽Απαγγέλλειν to announce with a dis-
tinct reference to the source or place
JSrom which the message comes, Ka-
ταγγέλλεω to proclaim with authority,
as commissioned to spread the tidings
throughout those who hear them.
In ἀναγγέλλευ the recipient, in ἁπαγ-
γέλλειν the origin, in έλλειν the
relation of the bearer and hearer of
the are respectively most
prominent. (1) Thus ἀναγγ. has in
nine cases @ personal pronoun (ὑμῖν,
ἡμῖν) after it, and in the two remain-
ing places where it occurs (Acts xv.
4; xix. 18) the persons to whom
the announcement is made are placed
in clear prominence. The word is not
found in the Synoptic Goapels (Mark
y. 14 19 false readings). For its
meaning compare 1 Pet. i. 12 ἃ νῦν
ἀνηγγέλη ὑμῖν, tidings which were lately
brought as far as up to you. Acts xx.
20, 27 τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑμῖν, not to
extend my declaration of the Gospel
even to you; John xvi. 13, 14, 15;
Acts xv. 4; 2 Cor. vii. 7; Acts xiv.
27. (2) The proper sense of ἀπαγγ.,
again, is seen clearly Matt, ii. 8 ἀπαγγ.
ot, from the place where you find the
Christ, Mark xvi. 13 ἀπηγγ. τοῖς λοιποῖς,
from Emmaus where the revelation
was made; [John iv. 51 ἀπηγγ. λέ-
γοντες, from his house where the sick
child lay ;] 1 Cor. xiv. 25 ἀπαγγ., from
the assembly at which he was moved.
The word is frequent in the Synoptic

16 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Gospels and in the Acta;. elsewhere,
in addition to the places quoted, it
occurs only 1 Thess. i. 9; 1 John i.
2, 3. (Heb. ii. 12 txm) Comp. e. 2
note. (3)

In connexion with these words it
may be noticed that St John never
uses in his Gospel or Epistles εὐαγ-
γέλιον (or cognates). ΟΕ Apoc. xiv.
6; x7

στι...ἐστὶν καὶ.. οὐκ form...) The
combination of the positive and nega-
tive statements brings out (1) the
ideaof God’s nature,and(2) the perfect
realisation of the idea: He is light
essentially, and in fact Ho is perfect,
unmixed, light. The form of the
negative statement is remarkable:
“Darkness there is not in Him, no,
not in any way.’ Οὐδείς is added si-
milarly to a sentence already com-
plete in John xix. 11 (vi. 63; xii. 19).
The double negative is lost in the
Latin: tenebra@ in 60 non sunt ulle.

Positive and negative statements
are combined σο. 6, 27; v. 12,
John i. 3, 5, 20; ii. 25; iti 16 (29).

6 θεὸς φῶς Cory] Deus luz est, V.,
God is light, The statement is made
absolutely as to the nature of God,
and not directly as to His action: as
to what He ts, and not as to what Ho

foes. It is not said that He is ‘a
light, as one out of many, through
Whom or from Whom illumination
comes; nor again, that He is ‘the
light,’ in relation to created beings.

But it is said simply ‘Ho is light?

The words are designed to give us
some conception of His Being. Comp.
Philo de Somn. i. p. 632 πρῶτος μὲν 6
θιὸς φῶς ἐστί...καὶ οὐ µόνον φῶς ἀλλὰ
καὶ παντὸς ἑτέρυ φωτὰς ἀρχέτυπον,
μᾶλλον δὲ ἀρχετύπου πρεσβύτερον καὶ
ἀνώτερον....

Thus the phrase is at once distin-
guished from the cognate phrases
which are defined by somo addition; as

Πις

when. creation, so far as it is a mani-
festation of the life of the Word, that
is, as Life, is spoken of as being ‘the
light of men’ (John i, 4 f.): or when
‘the light, the true light, which light-
eth every man’ is spoken of as ‘com-
tng into the world’ (John i. 9; comp.
c.ii, 8); orwhen Christ-—the Incarnate
Word—declares Himself to be ‘the
light of the world’ (Sohn viii. 12; ix.
5; comp. xii, 46); or ‘the light’
(John iii. 19 Ε, xii, 35 £); or when
Christians, as representing Christ, are
also called: by Him ‘the light of the
world’ (Matt. v. 14).

On the other hand it is closdly
parallel with two other phrases in St
John’s writings with which it must
be compared and combined: God is

To a certain degree this phrase
unites the two others. It includes /
the thought of immateriality, which:
finds its most complete expression in‘
the idea of ‘spirit,’ and that of ‘ diffa-
siveness,’ which finds its most com,
plete expression in the idea of ‘love.
But to these thoughts it adds those of
purity and glory, which find thei
most complete expreesion in relatior
to man. as he is in the idea of ‘fire
(Heb, xii. 29).

In order to enter into the meaning
of the revelation given in the words,
it is necessary to take account both of
the biblical application of the term
‘light’ and of the thoughts which are
naturally suggested by a consideration
of the-natare of light.

In each region of being ‘light’ re-
presents the noblest manifestation of
that energy to which it is applied.
Physically ‘light’ embodies the idea
of splendour, glory: intellectually of
truth: morally of holiness.

Again: in virtue of light, life and
action become possible. Light may
exist close beside us and yet we our-
selves be in darkness, wholly uncon-
scious of its presence, unless some
object intervene and itself become

Ls]

visible by reflecting into our eyes that
which we had not before seen. Comp.
Philo de prosm. et pon. ii, 415 ὁ θεὺς
ἑαντοῦ φέγγος dv δὲ αὐτοῦ μόνου θεω-
ρεῖται See also Ps, αχχτἰ 10, As
Tight it cannot but propagate itaelf ;
and, as far as its own nature is con-
cerned, propagate itself without bound.
All that limits is darkness.

It mast not however be supposed
that in speaking of God as ‘light’ St
John is speaking metaphorically, as if
earthly ‘light’ were the reality to
which God is likened. On the con-
trary according to his thought the
earthly light, with all its associations,
is but a reflection in the finite and
sensible world of the heavenly light.
Through the reflection we rise, accord-
ing to our power, to the reality.

This being so, the description of
God as ‘light’ is fitted to bring before
us the conception that He is in Him-

Ἡΐο, of safety, of the transfiguration
of all things,

And yet more than this the phrase
has a direct bearing upon the eco-
nomy of Redemption. It implies that
God in Himself is absolutely holy ;
and at the same time that it is His
nature to impart Himself without
limit.

‘The first fact carries with it the
condition of man’s fellowship with
Him. The second fact suggests that
He will make some provision for the
redemption and atonement of man
fallen, in accordance with the pur-
‘pose of creation.

The revelation of the Word, the
Life, of ‘Jesus, the Son of God,’ ful-
fils the condition and the hope. By
this we apprehend
at God at ἕνα κάνα κάνα,
making the darkness felt to be what
it is, conquering the darkness, while
He claims from man complete self-
surrender to His influence.

Here then as in every other place the
Terelation of the nature of God is not

Ww.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 17

a satisfaction of speculative question-
ings : it is the groundwork of practical
resulta,

God is light: therefore men must
walk in the light.

God is spirit: therefore men must
worship in spirit (John iv. 24).

God is love: therefore the mani-
festation of love is the sign of divine
childship (iv, 7, 8, 16).

Comp. Heb. xii. 29.

See Additional Note on iv. &

The general opposition of light and
σα, which occurs throughout

all Scriptare, as throughout all litera-
ture, in ita manifold partial apptica-
tions, gives additional meaning to the
phrase,

Category of

Compare Matt. iv. 16; Luke i. 79;
xi. 35 f.; John iii, 19, 20; 1 Pet. ii. 9;
2 Cor. iv. 6; vi 143 Pa xxvii. 1 (and

is, is infinite, “unbounded by any out-
line, and abvolutely pure. It follows
that all that is in darkness, all that is
darkness, is excluded from fellowship
with God by His very natare, There
is in Him nothing which has affinity
to it.

In speaking of ‘light’ and ‘dark-
ness’ it is probable that St John had
before him the Zoroastrian specula-
tions on the two opposing spiritual
powers which influenced Christian
thought at a very early date, Comp.
Baasilides, / Quidam enim [bar-
barorum) dixerunt initia omnium duo
ease quibus bona et malsassociaverunt,
ipsa dicentes initia sine initio ease et
ingenita:: id est, in principiis lucem
faisse ac tenebras, quse ex semetipsis
eesent non que esse dicebantur (ap.
Tren. Stieren, i. p. gor).

2

18 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ οὐδεμία.

πο

Edy εἴπωμεν ὅτι

οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ B me the: ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστω S RAC ΤΕ. 6. ἐὰν γάρΔ.

2. The relation of men to God (i.
6—10).

The revelation of what God is de-
termines man’s relation to Him ; for
it is assumed that man knows (or can
know) what he himself is in himself.
‘The declaration of the majesty of
God therefore raises the question of
the possibility of man's fellowship
with Him ; of the possibility, that is,
of the fulfilment of the Apostle’s pur-
Pose (ο, 3). How can the message

ts Light’ issue in our com-
monion with the Father and with
His Son Jesus Christ? The answer
lies, as we have seen, in the fact that
it is of the essence of light-nature to
communicate itself The true sense
of what God is takes us out of our-
selves. He gives Himself: we must
welcome Him ; and so reflecting His
glory we become like Him (2 Cor. iii.
18; 1 John iii. 2).

But this ‘assimilation to God’
(ὁμοίωσις τῷ θιῷ κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν) το-
quires a frank recognition of what
weare. St John therefore considers
the three false views which man is
tempted to take of his position, He
may deny the reality of sin (6, 7), or
his responsibility for sin (8, 9), or
the fact of sin in his own case (10).
By doing this he makes fellowship
with God, as He has been made
known, impossible for himself. On
the other hand, God has made pro-
vision for the realisation of fellowship
between Himself and man in spite of
sin,

The contrasts and consequences
involved in this view of man’s relation
to God can be placed clearly in a
symmetrical form (vv. 6, 8, 10):
If we say We have fellowship with

Him, and walk in the darkness,

we lie, and

lie,
«00 do not the truth,

*If we say We have no sin,
te deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us.
If we say We have not sinned,
we make Him a liar and
His word is not in us.
On the other hand (ου. 7, 9):
But if we walk in the light, as He is
in the light,
we have fellowship one
with another, and
the blood of Jesus His
Son cleanseth us from
all sin.
9 Tf we confess our sins,

‘He is faithful and right-
cous to forgive us our
sins, and

to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.

The third contrast passes into 9
different form (ii. 1 Ε).

The whole description refers to the

general character and tendency of
iif, and not to the absolute fulfilment
of the character in detail.

The progress in the development
of the thought is obvious from the
parallelisms. ‘We lie’ ‘we deceive
ourselves, ‘we make Him a liar’: we
are false, that is, to our own know-
ledge; we persuade ourselves that
falsehood is truth ; we dare to set our-
selves above God. And again: ‘ee
do not the truth, ‘the truth is not
in us)‘ His word is not in us’: we
do not carry into act that which we
have recognised as our ruling prin-
ciple; the Truth, to which conscience
bears witness, is not the spring and
law of our life; we have broken off
our vital connexion with the Truth
when it comes to us as ‘the Word of
God’ with a present, personal force.

Corresponding to this growth of
falsehood we have a view of the
general character of the Christian

1.6]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 19

Κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν pet’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περι-
πατώμεν, ψευδόµεθα καὶ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν.

life, a life of spiritual fellowship and
sanctification; and then of its detailed
realisation in ‘ite of partial failures,

6. day εἴπωμεν] St John con-
siders only the case of professing
Christians. In doing this he unites
himself with those whom he ad-
dresses ; and recognises the fact that
he no less than his fellow-Christians
has to guard against the temptations
to which the three types of false doo-
rine correspond.

The exact form of expression (ἐὰν
εἴπωμεν) is found only in this passage
(ου. 6, 8, 10; comp. iv. 20 ἐάν τις εἴπῃ).
It contemplates a direct assertion of
the several statements, and not simply
the mental conception of them.

ὅτι] The particle here and in vv.
8, 10 seems to be recitative. Comp.
ii 4; iv. 20; John i. 20, 32; iv. 17,
25; vi 14; Vii 12; ix. 9, 23, 41.

κοιν, ἔχομεν per? αὐτοῦ] with Him,
ie with God (the Father), the sub-
ject which immediately precedes,

The statement is the simple asser-
tion of the enjoyment of the privileges
of the Christian faith, ο. 3, note: “If
we claim to have reached the end of
Obristian effort...”

καὶ ἐν τῷ ox. περ] The compati-
bility of indifference to moral action
With the possession of true faith has
been maintained by enthusiasts in all
times of religious excitement. Comp.
eit 4; fi 6; 3 Jobn 11.

For early forms of the false teach-
ing see Iren. i 6, 2; Clem. Alex.
Strom. iii. 4§§ 31 { 5 § 40. Comp.
Jude ο 4.

do rg ox. περ.] walk in the dark-
ness, choose and we the darkness

To choose this as our sphere of move-
ment is necessarily to shun fellowship
with God. Part of the thought in-
cluded in ‘walking in darkness’ may
be expressed by saying that we sock
to hide part of our lives from our-
selves, from our neighbour, from God.
Comp. John iii. 20,

For the phrase see Is, ix. 2; John
viii. 12 (ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ). Comp, Matt, iv.
16; Luke 1. 79; Rom, ii. 19, Σκότος
occurs in St John only here and John
1Η. 19 note.

The image of ‘walking,’ resting on
the Old Testamenf 72), Lxx. περιπα-
τεῖν, is not found applied to conduct
in classical writers, but is common in
St John and St Paul The word is
not found in this sense in St James
or St Peter, and in the Synoptic
group of writings only in Mark vii. 5;
Acts xxi. αι. St John, it may be
added, does not use ἁναστροφή, dra-
στρέφεσθαι, which are common in St
Peter and occur in St Paul and 8t
James; nor πορεύεσθαι, which is found
in St Luke (Gosp. Acts), St Peter ἄν
a), and St Jude. Such ‘walking’ is
not to be limited to mere ontward
conduct, but covers the whole activity
of life.

Ψευδόμεθα...οὐ ποιοῦμεν...] The com-
bination of the positive and negative
expressions here again (α 5) presents
the two sides of the thought. Men
who profees to combine fellowship
with God with the choice of darkness
as their sphere of life, actively affirm
what they know to be false; and on
the other hand, they neglect to carry
out in deed what they claim to hold.
The two clauses ({49...ἆο) correspond
with the two which precede (say...
walk).

ψευδόµεθα] The assertion is not
only false in fact, but known to be
false: it is at variance with man’s
nature, Comp. James iii. 14.

2—2

20

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

7

lédv δὲ ἐν τῷ φωτὲ περιπατῶμεν ὡς αὐτὸς ἔστιν ἐν τῷ

οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν] non faci-
Φος veritatem V., we do not the truth
(syr vg gives do not advance in...).
“Trath is not only in and
word, but also in action. ‘The Trath’
(j ἀλήθεια) which reaches to every
πρατί of haman natare—the sum of all
‘that ‘is’—must find expression in a
form answering to the whole man.
‘I act, in the words of Whichcote,
‘and therefore I am’ Comp. John
iii, 21 note; Neh. ix. 33 (αχ).

In the Old Testament the phrase
‘to do-mercy and truth’ (Lxx.) occurs
not unfrequently: Gen. αἰνή. 29;
Josh. ii. 44; 2 Sam ii 6; xv. 20, he,

fatal to fellowship with God, but such
fellowship is still possible, The Obris-
tian oan in his measure imitate God
(Eph. v. 1); and ss he does so, he
realises fellowship with the brethren,
which is the visible sign of fellow-
ship with God. At the same time
Christ's Blood cleanseth him con-
stantly, and little by little, from all
sin, The chosen rule of life—the
‘walking in light'—is more and more
perfectly embrdied in deed. The
failure which is revealed in the pre-
sence of God is removed.

God is in the light abeolately and
unalterably: man moves in the light
from stage to stage as he advances to
the fulness of his growth; and under
action of the light he is himself

and opened our eyes ἂν Sook ο
of Christ who is the image of God (2
Cor, yA) νο made ws meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the

saints in the light (Col i. 12). By
believing on the light we become sons
of light (Sohn xii. 36: comp. Lake xvi.
8; 1 Thess. v. 5); and finally are our-
selves Light in the Lord (Eph. τ. 8).
‘Walking in the light’ brings two
main results in regard to our relation
to men and to God. We realise fel-
lowship one with another, and in the
vision of God's holiness we become
conscious of our own sin, That fel-
lowship is the pledge of a divine fel-
lowship: that consciousness calls out
the application of the virtue of Christ's
life given for us and to us.

day δὲ...] but if we walk... There

af η godlike
action. But, setting aside mere words,
$f we walk in the light...

ὃν τῷ φ. sep] The one absolute
light is opposed to the darkness. To
choose the light as the sphere of life
is to live and move as in the revealed
presence of God. Comp. Is. ii. 5; li 4.

‘he thonghhé of walking in ight and
in darkness soon found
the allegory of ‘The two ways.’ ‘con
Ep. xviii. ff. Doctrine of the Apostles,
6

ds αὐτόν...] sicut ot pes Latt., as
He Himself is in the light. God is
light, and He is in the light. Being
light He radiates (as it were) His
glory and dwells in this light unap-
proachable (1 Tim. vi. 16). The realm
of perfect truth and purity in which
He is completely corresponds to His
own nature. Under auother aspect
light is His garment (Pa. civ. 2),
which at once veils and reveals His
Majesty.

Bede expresses well the contrast of
περιπατεῖν and εἶνι: Notanda dis-
tinctio verboram... Ambulant...justi
in luce cum virtutam operibus servi-
entes ad meliora proficiunt... Deus
autem sine aliquo profecta semper
bonus, justus, verusque existit.

L7

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 21

φωτί, κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν per’ ἀλλήλων καὶ τὸ αἷμα
᾿Ιησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἆμαρ-

1 pet ἀλλήλων: AY (oppy) tol CLAL ‘Trt (followed by J. C. domint ποείτ)
reed je αὐτοῦ; harl has cum deo, ‘The readings are evidently interpretative

Ἴησοῦ RBC syrz the: + χριστοῦ © A vg me,
καθαρίζει: some suths., inelnding A, read the fature (καθαρίσει or καθαριεζ].

αὐτόε] He Himself, our Lord and
King. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 39; Is,
xi, 4 (Cheyne); xliii. 10; Jer. v. 123
Pa, οἳἳ. 28 (047).

κοιν. ἔχ. per’ ddd.) socistatem ha-
bomus ad invicem V., we have fellow-
ship one with another, that is brother
with brother: wé enjoy the fulness of
Christian communion, The transcen-
dental fellowship with God which the
fale Christian claimed becomes for us
& practical fellowship in actual life.
True fellowship with God comes
through men. Love of the brethren is
the proof of the love of God: fellow-
ship with the brethren is the proof of
fellowship with God.

St John does not repeat the phrase
which he has quoted from the μας
professors of Christianity (we
JSdlowship with Him, ο. 6), but gives
that which is its true equivalent ac-

Body brings about that real sinlessness
which is essential to union with God.
‘The case taken is that of those who
are in Obrist’s Body. The question .
is not of ‘justification,’ bat of ‘sancti-
fication’ ‘Walking in the light’ is
presupposed, as the condition for this
application of the virtue of Christ's
Life and Death. See Additional Note.
Ἰησοῦ τοῦ νοῦ αὐτοῦ] Jesus His
Son, The union of the two natures
in the one Person is clearly marked
by the contrast ‘Jesus’ (not Jers
Christ), ‘ His Sun.’ Compare (iv. 15);
v. 5; Heb. iv. 14; (Gal iv. 4ff);
and for the full title ο, 3 note. Here
the human name (Jesus) brings out the
possibility of the communication of
Christ’s Blood; and the divine name
brings out its all-sufficing efficacy.
Mire...ait θέ sanguis Jeu fl
eiue: Filius quippe Dei in divinitatis
natura sanguinem habere non potuit;
sed quia idem Filius Dei etiam Filius
hominis factus est recte propter uni-
tatem persons eius Filii Dei sangui-
nem sppellat ut verum eum corpus
assumpeisse, veram pro nobis san-
fudisse demonstraret (Bede).

παθήματα
αὐτοῦ, and the Additional Note in the

Appendix, pp. 400 6.
For the title see Additional Note

The thought is not of the forgivenees
of sin only, but of the removal of sin.
‘The sin is done away; and the puri-
fying action is exerted continuously.

22

τίας.

The idea of ‘cleansing’ is specially
connected with the fitting preparation
for divine service and divine fellow-
ship. Ritual ‘cleanness’ was the
condition for the participation in the
privileges of approach to God, under
the Old Covenant. So ‘the blood of
Christ’ cleanses the conscience for
service to Him Who is a Living God
(Heb. ix. 131, 22°). He gave Him-
self for us, to cleanse for Himself
3 peculiar people (Tit. ii. 14). He
cleansed the Church to present it to
Himself in glory (Eph. v. 26 £).

The fulness of the thought is ex-
pressed in Matt. v. 8, were the bless-
ing of ‘the clean (καθαροΏ) in heart’
is that they shall see God (comp. 1
John iii. 2).

4. πάσης dp.) from all sin, so that
men are made like to God, in Whom
is no darkness (ο, 5). The thought
here is of ‘sin’ and not of ‘sins’:
of the spring, the principle, and not
of the separate manifestations. For
the singular compare ο, iii. 8 f.; John
i. 29: for the plural ο. 9; ii 2, 12;
iv. 10; Apoc, i. 5.

The sing. and plur. are used in sig-
nificant connexion, John viii. 21, 24.

For the use of πᾶς with abstract
nouns (r. du. ‘sin in all its many
forms’) see James i, 2 πᾶσα χαρά, 2
Cor. xii. 12 πᾶσα ὑπομονή, Eph. i 8
ica σοφία, 2 Pet.i. 5 πᾶσα σπουδή.
Contrast 1 Pet. v.7 πᾶσα ἡ μέριμνα,
John γ. 22 (τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν), xvi. 13
(τὴν ἀλήθειαν πᾶσαν).

8. The mention of sin at the end
of σ. 7 leads on to a new thought and
anew plea. ‘How,’ it may be asked,
“bas the Christian anything more to
do with sin? How does it still con-
tinue?’ The question has real diffi-

culty.

Some who do not venture to affirm
the practical indifference of action,
may yet maintain that sin docs not
cleave to him who has committed it,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(Ls

, . μμ.
Edy εἴπωμεν ὅτι ᾽Αμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἑαυτοὺς

that man is not truly responsible for
the final consequences of his conduct.
This is the second false plea: We have
no sin; sin isa transient phenomenon
which leaves behind no abiding issues:
it is an accident and not a principle
within us.

The issue of this second false plea
is also presented in a positive and
negative form. By affirming our prac-
tical irresponsibility ‘we lead our-
selves astray’ positively, and nega-
tively we show that ‘the truth is not
in us’ a8 an informing, inspiring
power.

du. οὐκ ἔχομεν] we have no sin.
The phrase ἁμαρτίαν ἔχειν is peculiar
to St John in the N. T. Like corre-
sponding phrases ἔχειν (Matt.
xvii. 20; xxi. 21, &e.), ζωὴν ἔχειν (John
¥. 26, 40, &.), λύπην ἔχει (John. xvi.
at Ε), ἄο., it marks the presence of
something which is not isolated but a
continnous source of influence (comp.
κοινωνίαν ἔχειν 0. 3. in dlatinguish

Thus ‘to have sin ed
from ‘to sin’ as the sinful principle is
distinguished from the sinful act in
iteelf. ‘To have sin’ includes the
idea of personal guilt: it describes a
state both as a consequence and as a
cause,

Comp. John ix. 41; xv. 22, note,
24; xix. 11,

The word ‘sin’ is to be taken quite
generally and not confined to original
sin, or to sin of any particular type.
A tempting form of this kind of error
finds expression in a fragment of
Clement of Alexandria (Kel. Proph.
§ 15, p. 993 Ρ.) ὁ μὲν πιστεύσας ἄφεσιν
ἁμαρτημάτων ἔλαβεν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου,
ὁ 8 ἐν γνώσει γενόμενος ἅτε µηκέτι
ἁμαρτάνων παρ ἑαντοῦ τὴν ἄφεσω τῶν
λοιπῶν κοµίζεται.

ἑαυτοὺς πλαν.] tpsi nos seducimus
Υ., «06 deceive ourselves, or rather,
we lead ourselves astray. Our fatal
error is not only a fact (πλανώµεθα

1. ο]

πλανώμεν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 23

δἐὰν όμο-

λογώμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος

8. οὐκ ἔστυν ἐν ἡμῖν MB me the: ἐν ἡμῖν οὐκ ἔστω S AC vg. Comp. ». 1ο.

Matt. xxii. 29; John vii 47), but it is
3 fact of which we are the responsible
authors, The result is due to our
own efforts. We know that the asser-
tion which we make is false (ψευδό-
µεθα): and, more than this, we per-
suade ourselves that it is true.

The phrase does not occur again in
N. T. For the use of ἑαντούς with
the first person see Acts 145
Rom. viii. 23; xv. 1; 1 Cor. xi. 31;
2Cor.i9,&. St John uses it with
the second person ¢, v. 21; 2 John 8;
John v. 42; vi. 53; xii 8

The idea of πλάνη (ο. iv. 6) is in all
cases that of straying from the one
way (James ν. 19 f.): not of miscon-
ception in itself, but of miscondact.
Such going astray is essentially ruin-
ous,

The cognate terms are used of
the false christs and prophets (Matt.
xxiv, 4 ff; Άροο, ii 20; xiii, 14; xix.
20; comp. ο. iv. 6; 2 Ep. 7); of
Satan (Apoc. xii 9; xx. 3 ff), of
Babylon (Apoc. xviii. 23), of Balaam
(Jude 11),

᾽Απατάω, ἁπάτη (ῥρσαπατάν, φρενα-
πάτης) are ποὺ found in the writings
of 8t John. In this group of words
the primary idea is that of ‘decep-
tion,’ the conveying to another a false

belief.

καὶ ἡ Ad. οὐκ 2. ἐν ἡμ.]απᾶ the truth
ts notin us. According to the true
reading the pronoun is unemphatic
(s0 ο. 10). The thought of ‘the Truth?
prevails over that of the persons. In
St John ‘the Truth’ is the whole
Gospel as that which meets the re-
quirements of man’s nature, Comp.
John viii. 32 f£; xviii 37. Introd.
to Gospel of St John, p. xliv.

The same conception is found in
the other apostolic writings ; 2 Thess.
iL 12; Rom, if 8; 2 Cor. xiii 8;

(Gal. v. 7); 1 Tim. iii. 15; iv. 3; vis;
2 Tim. ii 15, 18; (Pit. i 1); Heb. x.
26; 1 Pet. i. 22; James iii. 14; Τ. 19.

The Truth may therefore in this
mostcomprehensive sense be regarded
without us or within us: as some-
thing outwardly realised (ο. 6 do the
truth), ος a8 something inwardly effi-
cacious (the truth is in us). Comp. v.
1o note. With this specific statement
ἡ GX. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν (comp. ii. 4) con-
trast the general statement οὐκ ἔστων
Gd, ἐν αὐτῷ John viii, 44 (‘there is no
trath in him’).

9. How then, it may be asked, can
consequences be done away? If sin
is something which clings to us in this
way, how can it be ‘effaced’? The
answor is that the same attributes of
God which lead to the punishment of
the unrepentant lead to the forgive-
ness and cleansing of the penitent. He
meets frank confession with free bless-
ing. And the divine blessing con-
nected with the confession of sins is
twofold. It includes (1) the remission
of sins, the remission of the con-
sequences which they entail, and (2)
the cleansing of the sinner from the
moral imperfection which separates
him from God: 1 Cor. vi. 9; Luke
xiii, 27.

ἐὰν ὁμολ.] There is no sharp oppo-
sition in form between this verse and
5, 8, a8 there is between 7 and 6 (if
108 say—but if (ἐὰν δ8) we walk). Open
confession and open assertion are acts
of the same order.

ὁμολ. τὰς du.) confess our sins, not
only acknowledge them, bat acknow-
ledge them openly in the face of men.
Comp. ii. 23; iv. 2, 3, 151 Apoe, iil. 5;
John i. 20; ix. 22; xii. 42; Rom. x. 9,
&c. The exact phrase is not found else-
where in N.T.; but the kindred phrase
ἐξομολογεῖσθαι duaprias (παραπτώματα)

24

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Π.9

ἵνα dy ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ καθαρίση ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ

ϱ. Tas du, (2) AB: + ἡμῶν RC vg αγετ the me, om. ἡμᾶς Ο.

occurs Matt. iii. 6 || Mk. i 5; James

ὁμολογὴ
14 ὠμολόγησαν τὴν ἐπιθυμία».

‘Nothing is said or implied as tothe
mode in which such confession is to

sein: ‘Vis ut ille ignoseat? tu ag-
τόν dorw.. .] The subject (God)
sapplied from th

tence (πιστός...ἴνα) presents the issue
as that which is, in some sense, con-
templated in the divine character.
Forgiveness and cleansing are ends to
which God, being what He is, has

not strictly parallel; see ο. 1, 11
note.

The epithet ‘faithful’ (πιστός) is
applied to God not unfrequently in
the Pauline epistles as being One who
will fulfil His promises (Heb. x. 23;
xi 11), and complete what He has
begun (1 Thess, v. 24; 1 Gor. i 9),
and guard those who trust in Him

(t Cor. x. 13; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 19),
because this is His Natare (2 Tim. ii.
passages those aleo
in which Christ is
spoken of as ‘faithful’ (2 Thess. iii. 3),
and that both in regard to God (Heb.
iii, 2) and to man (Heb. ii. 17).

eous’ (δίκαιο) in Apoc. xvi 5; John
xvii. 25; Rom. iii, 26; and so also
Christ, ο. ii. 1, iii 7; 1 Pet. iii 18
(the usage in Matt. xxvii. 19, 24;
Luke xxiii. 47 is different). The sub-
oct ino. i 29 in doubtful

The essence \e8s Ίου in

of righteousne
the recognition and fulfilment of what
is due from one to another. Trath
passing into action is righteousness.
Ho is said to be righteous who decides
rightly, and he also who passes suc-
cessfully through trial.
Righteousness is completely ful-
filled in God both in respect of what
He does and of what He is, Here
action and character (as we speak)
absolutely coincide. And yet further,
the ‘righteousness’ of God answers
to His revealed purpose of love; 90
that the idea of righteousness in this
case draws near not unfrequently to
the idea of ‘mercy. Compare the
use of ‘righteoumess’ in the second
part of Isaiah (ag, xlii. 6, Cheyne).
It may indeed be said most traly
that the righteousness of God is His
love seen in relation to the discipline
of man ; and that love is righteousness
ἵνα in relation to the purpose of
So far as righteousness is mani-
fosted in the life of one whose powers
and circumstances change, the prin-
ciple, which is unchanging, will receive
manifold relative embodiments from
time to time,
The forgiveness and the cleansing

L 10]

πάσης ἀδικίας.

of those who ‘confess their sins’ are
naturally connected with God’s faith-
fulness and righteousness They an-
swer to what He has been pleased
to make known to us of His being
in Scripture and life and history.
He has laid down conditions for fel-
lowship with Himself which man can
satisfy and which He will satisfy.

It is not difficult to see how this
view of God’s action is included in
the fundamental : God ie
Jight, Light necessarily imparts it-
self (πιστός), and imparts iteelf as
light (δίκαιος).

The two epithets are applied to
God as ‘a righteous and faithful wit-

ness,’ Jer. xlii. 5.

abe ἡμῖν vie Ga] The verb ἀφιέναι
occars in this connexion in 8t John
Εμάς John xx. 13. The phrase

ἄφισις ἁμαρτιῶν (Synn., Acts, Eph.,
Gol. Heb.) isnot found in his writings

The image of ‘remission, ‘forgive-
ness,’ presents sin as a ‘debt,’ some-
thing external to the man himself in
{ite consequences, just as the image of
‘cleansing’ marks the personal stain.

The repetition of the pronoun (ἡμῖν,
joticed.

specific sins (αἱ ἁμαρτίαι) are
forgiven (see Additional Note): the
character (ἀδικία) is purified. The
Christian character (righteousness) de-
pends on a distinct relation to God in
Christ. This admits of no degree;
but there is a progressive hallowing
of the Christian which follows after
to the end of life (ο. 7).

The two parts of the divine action
answer to the two aspects of right-
eousness: noticed. As judg-
ing righteously God forgives those
who stand in a just relation to Him-
self: as being righteous He commu-

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

25

"Edy εἴπωμεν ὅτι Οὐχ ἡμαρτήκαμεν,

nicates His nature to those who are
united with Him in His Son.

. Hence it is said that ‘God cleanses’
—there can be no doubt ss to the
subject—as before that ‘the blood of
Christ cleanses,’ The Father, the one
Fountain of Godhead, cleanses by
applying the blood of the Son to
believers. It is significant also that
‘sin? (as distinguished from ‘sins’)
is here regarded under the relative
aspect of duty as ‘unrighteousness
(αν. 17).

ἀδικίας] iniguitate V., unrighteous
ness, The word occurs elsewhere in
St John only in ο v. 17; John vii. 18.

Generally the kindred words (8ea-
οσύνη, &c.) are rare in his writings.
Righteousness and unrighteousness
are regarded by him characteristically
ander the aspect of trath and false-
hood: that is, under the form of being
rather than under the form of mani-
festation.

The correspondence of righteous
and unrighteousness is lost in the
Latin (justus...iniguitate), and hence
in AV.

10, So far the Apostle has dealt
with the two main aspects of the
revelation God ἐς light, He has
shewn what is the character which it
fixes for the man who is to have fel-
lowship with Him (if we walk in the
light); and he has shewn also how
that character can be obtained (i we
confess our sins), Man must become
like God ; and to this end he must re-

ise his natural unlikeness to Him.

A third plea still remains. He who
recognises the true character of sin,
and the natural permanence of sin as
a power within, may yet dony that
he personally has sinned. This plea
is suggested by the words ‘our sins’
ins. 9, just as the plea in ο. 8 was
suggested by ‘all sin’ in ο. 7. Con-
viction in this case is sought not
primarily in consciousness (we tie, 2.6;

26 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{10

- . sey
ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸν καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν

ἐν ἡμῖν.

we deceive ourselves, ο. 8), but in the
voice of God (we make Him a liar).-

The consequences of this assertion
of sinlessness are stated in the same
form as before (ov. 6, 8). By making
it we affirm (positively) that God
deals falsely with men ; and (negative-
ly) we are without the voice of God
within us which converts His revela-
tion for each one into a living Word.

Thus divine revelation is regarded
first from without and then from
within. God speaks; and (it is im-
plied) His word enters into the soul
of the believer, and becomes in him a
spring of truth (John iv. 14) and a
power of life (ο ii. 14). By claiming
sinlessness we first deny generally
the truth of the revelation of God;
and, as @ consequence of this denial,
we lose the privilege of ‘converse’
with Him : Hie word ts not in us,

Philo in an interesting passage
(Leg. Alleg. i. 13: i. Ῥ. 6ο Ν) notices
the grounds on which men seek to
escape the charge of sin: ὁ μὴ ἐμ-
πνευσθεὶς (Gen. ii. 7) τὴν ἀληθιὴν
{any ἀλλ) ἄπειρος dy ἀρετῆς κολαζό-
µενος ἐφ᾽ ols ἥμαρτεν εἶπεν ἂν ὡς ἀδίκως
κολάζεται, ἀπειρίᾳ γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ σφἀλ-
λεσθαι περὶ αὐτό...τάχα δὲ yd? duap-
τάνειν φήσει td παράπαν εἴ γε τὰ ἀκούσια
καὶ τὰ κατὰ ἄγνοιαν οὐδὲ ἁδικημάτων
λόγον ἔχειν φασί τωες.

οὐχήμαρτήκαμεν] wehave not sinned,
‘The statement is quite unlimited. It
is an absolute denial of the fact of
past sin as carrying with it present
consequences,

Ψ. ποιοῦμεν αὐτόν] mendacem faci-
mus eum Ῥ., te make Him a liar,
that is God (the Father) who is the
main subject of the whole section
6—10 (with Him, ο. 6; as He is, 0.7;
He is faithful, ο. ο). The conclusion
follows from a consideration of the
nature of divine revelation Reve-
lation is directed in the first instance

to making clear the position of man
towards God. Such an office St Paul
_ assigns to law, and to the Law par-
ticularly, And generally all the com-
munications of God to men presup-
pose that the normal relations be-
tween earth and heaven have been
interrupted. To deny this is not only
to question God’s truth in one par-
ticular point, but to question it al-
together; to say not only ‘He lieth’
in the specific declaration, but ‘He is
5 liar’ in His whole dealing with
mankind. Comp. ο, v. 10.

The iar phrase . ποιοῦμεν is
characteristic of St Jobn (John v. 18;
viii 53; X 333 xix. 7, 12), and carries
with it the idea of overweening, un-
righteous self-assertion.

ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ] His word, the word
of God, ii 14. Comp. John viii. 55;
X. 35; xvii. 6, 14, 17.

The phrase is used specially for the
Gospel message, which is the crown of
all revelation: Luke v. 1; viii. 11, 215
xi. 28; and habitually in the Acts:
iv. 31; vi 2, 7; viii 14; xi 15 xii.
243 xiii 5, 7, 44, 46, &e.

‘The ‘word’ here differs from the
‘truth’ in ο. 8 as the process differs
from the result, The ‘truth’ is the
sam considered objectively of that
which the ‘word’ expresses. The
word as a living power makes the
truth real little by little to him who
receives it (John viii. ‘on 32). And
farther, the ‘word’ is personal: it
calls up the thought of the speaker:
it is ‘the word of God! The trath on
the other hand is abstract, though it
is embodied in a Person.

The word, like the truth, can be
regarded both as the moving principle
which stirs the man and as the sphere
in which the man moves. The ‘word
abides in him’ (John τ. 38, comp. viii,
37), and conversely he ‘abides in the
word’ (John viil. 31).

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 27

Additional Note on i. 2. The Fatherhood of God.

The idea of the Divine Fatherhood, answering to that of human sonship TheDivine
and childship (see Additional Note on iii, 1), occupies an important place Father-
in the writings of St John. It cannot be rightly understood without
reference to its development in the Old Testament and in the Synoptic
Gospels.

In the Old Testament the general notion of Fatherhood was made i. In the
personal by the special covenants which He was pleased to establish with Old eee
Tepresentative men. He thus became the ‘Father’ of the chosen people το

in a peculiar sense (Ex. iv. 22; Deut, xxxii. 6; comp. i. 31, viii. 5; Is. lxiii.

16, lxiv. 8; comp. xliii, 1, 6, 21, xliv. 2, 24, xlvi. 3 f£; Jer. xxxi. 9, 20; Hos,

xi. 1; Mal ii, 10; comp i. 6); and each member of the nation was His

child (Deut. xiv. 1; Ia, i. 2, xxx. 1, 9, αλ], 6, lxiii. 8; Jer. iii. 4, 19; comp.

Matt. xv. 24, 26). But this sonship was regarded as an exceptional blessing.

It belonged to the nation as ‘priests and kings’ to the Lord; and so we

find that the relationship of privilege, in which all the children of Israel

shared in some manner, was in an especial degree the characteristic of the
theocratic minister (comp. Ps, Ixxxii. 6). Of the king, the representative

head of the royal nation, God said ‘Thou art my Son, this day? that is at

the moment of the solemn consecration, ‘haze I begotten thee’ (Ps. ii. 7):

and again, ‘He shall cry unto me: Thou art my Father, my God, and the

rock of my salvation, Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than

the kings of the earth’ (Ps, Ixxxix. 26 £,; comp. 2 Sam. vii. 12 ff.), Comp.

Eoclus, xxiii. 1, 4.

It will however be observed on a study of the passages that the idea of This idea
Fatherhood in the Old Testament is determined by the conceptions of an limited.
Eastern household, and further that it is nowhere extended to men gene-
rally, God is the great Head of the family which looks back to Him as its
Author. His ‘children’ owe Him absolute obedience and reverence : they
are ‘in His hand’: and conversely He offers them wise counsel and pro-
tection. But the ruling thought throughout is that of authority and not
of love. The relationship is derived from a peculiar manifestation of God’s
Providence to one race (Ex. iv. 22; Hos. xi. 1), and not from the original
connexion of man as man with God. If the nobility of sonship is to be
“| to Gentiles, it is by their incorporation in the chosen family (Ps.

xxxvil).

Βο far the conception of » Divine Fatherhood is (broadly speaking) ii. The
national among the Jews as it was physical in the Gentile world. But in ides of
the Gospels the idea of Sonship is spiritual and personal. God is revealed as Divine
the Giver and Sustainer (Matt. vii. 9 ff.) of a life like His own, to those who hood inthe
were created in His image, after His likeness, but who have been alienated Synoptic
from Him (Luke xv. 11 ff). The original capacity of man to receive God is Gospels.
declared, and at the same time the will of God to satisfy it. Both facts
are set forth once for all in the person of Him who was both the Son of
man and the Son of God,

28 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF 8ST JOHN.

This idea The idea of the Divine Fatherhood and of the Divine Sonship as realised
μπακ Christ appears in His first recorded words and in His dedication to His
public ministry. The words spoken in the Temple: ‘ Wist ye not that I
must be in my Father's house ? (Luke ii. 49 ἐν τοῖς τοῦ warpés) appear to
mark in the Lord, from the human side, the quickened consciousness of His
mission at a crisis of His life, while as yet the local limitations of worship
are fully recognised (contrast John iv. 21). The voice at the Baptism
declares decisively the authority of acknowledged Sonship as that in which
He is to accomplish His work (Matt. iii. 17 and parallels; comp. John i. 34).
Declared In the Sermon on the Mount the idea of God’s Fatherhood in relation
in the Ger. both to Christ and to the disciples is exhibited most prominently. The
Mount, iret notice of the sonship of men is remarkable and if rightly interpreted
most significant: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called
sons of God’ (Matt. ν. 9). This benediction is seen in its true light by
comparison with the angelic hymn : ‘On earth peace among men of well-
pleasing’ (Luke ii. 14). The peace of which Christ speaks is that of
reunited humanity (comp. Eph. ii. 14 Π.). The blessing of sonship is for those
who, quickened by God’s Spirit (Rom. viii. 14), help to realise on earth that
inward brotherhood of which He has given the foundation and the pledge.
The teaching which follows the beatitude enforces and unfolds this
thought. The sign of Sonship is to be found in god-like works which
cannot but be referred at once to their true and heavenly origin (Matt. v.
16). Thege are to be in range no less universal than the most universal
gifts of God, the rain and the sunshine (v, 44 ff.; Luke vi. 35 ff.), inorder that
the fulness of divine sonship may be attained and manifested (ο. 45 ὅπως
γένησθε viol τοῦ π. κ. τοῦ ἐν ovp.; Luke vi. 35 ἔσεσθε viol ὑψίστου). At the
same time the standard of judgment, even all-knowing love, impresses a
new character upon action (Matt. vi. 1, 4,6, 18). The obligations of kin-
dred to others follow from the privilege of kindred with the common
Father (Matt, vi 14 £; Mark xi 25f). The Father's knowledge anticipates
the petitions of the children (Matt. vi. 8; Luke xii. 30), and duly provides
for their wants (Matt. vi 26 ff; Luke xii 24 ff). Here and elsewhere the
laws of natural affection are extended to spiritaal relations (Matt. vii. 9 ff;
Luke xi. 11 8).
The eleva- From these passages it will be seen how immeasurably the conception of
tion of the Fatherhood is extended by the Lord beyond that in the Old Testament. The
idea in the bond is moral, and not physical: it is personal and human, and not national
iment” It suggests thoughts of character, of daty, of confidence which belong to 8
believer as such and not peculiarly to those who stand in particular out-
ward circumstances. In the few other passages in the Synoptic Gospels
in which the title ‘your Father’ occurs, it has the same force : it conveys
implicitly grounds of trust and the certainty of future triumph (Matt. x.
20, 29; Luke xii. 33). The ‘name’ of Him whom the Lord made known
‘was, it may be said traly, ‘the Father,’ even as the name of Him who sent
‘Moses was ‘ Jehovah,’ ‘the absolute,’ ‘the self-existent!’ And in this con-

3 ‘There is really no striot represen- Apocalypee, and even there it is modi-
tative of the name Jehovah in the New fied: Apoo. i. 4, 8, iv, 8 (ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ jy καὶ
Testament except in the ὁ ὧν of the ὁ ὀρχ), xi. 17, x¥L 6 (6 ὧν καὶ ὁ ήν).

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 29

nexion the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer gains a new meaning : Our
Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name—the supreme revela-
tion of Fatherhood (Matt. vi. 9; comp. Lake xi 2).

‘The revelation of the Father is indeed distinctly claimed by the Lord The reve-

for Himself alone (Matt. xi. 27; Lake x. 22), ‘True discipleship to Him is lation of |
the fulfilment of ‘His Father's’ will (Matt. vii. 21). He pronounces with the work _
authority upon the divine counsels and the divine working, as being of of Christ.
‘His Father’ (Matt. xv. 13, xvi 17, xviii, 10, 14, 19, 35, XXV. 34, xxvi.
29; Luke xxii. 29). He speaks of ‘His Father's promise’ (Luke xxiv. 49),
and of ‘His Father's presence’ (Matt. x. 32 f.) with the confidence of a Son.
Bat with the confidence of a Son the Lord maintains also the dependence
of Son. Every prayer which He makes will be answered (Matt. xxvi. 53),
yet He places Himself wholly in ‘His Father's’ hands (Matt. xxvi. 39, 42) 5
and He reserves some things for His Father alone (Matt. xx. 23).

Such a revelation of the Divine Fatherhood through the Son to sons Distinct-
definitely distinguishes the Christian doctrine of God from Pantheism ive fes-
and Theism. As against Panthoism it shows God as distinct from and {re of,
raised immeasurably above the world; as against Theism it shews God tion,
as entering into s living fellowship with men, as taking humanity into
personal union with Himself. The unseen King of the divine Kingdom is
made known as One to whom His people can draw near with the confi-
dence of children’,

The revelation of God as the Father is specially brought out by St iii, The
John ; but in a somewhat different form from that in which it is found in revelation
the Synoptists, Two titles occur commonly in the Gospel in relation to of Father-
Ohrist: (a) The Father; and (6) My Father. Both of these occur in the g¢ John,
Synoptists each nine or ten times. But on the other hand St John never
uses the phrases ὁ πατήρ µου ὁ ἐν οὐρανοῖς (3 οὐράνιος), ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν
οὐρανοῖν, which occur each nine times in the Synoptic Gospels; nor does he
use the phrase ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν except xx. 17 (in contrast); nor yet the
Panline phrase ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν in his own writings. In the Bpistlos he uses

1 The simple title ‘my Father’ is
comparatively rare in the Synoptic
Gospels. It is not found in St Mark
(comp. viii, 38))Matt. xvi. 27). It o0-
cars in 8t Luke:

Hi. 49 (ὁν τοῖς τοῦ κ. μ.)
x. 22 (parallel to Matt. xi. 97)
παλ, 29 (cafids διδθετό µοι ὁ π. µ.

βασιλεία)

παν. 49 (rip ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ κ. μ.)
In Bt Matthew it is found more fre-
quently

xd. 27 πάντα µοι παρεδθη ὑπὸ

τοῦ ws be

ας. 23 oft ἠτοίμασται ὑπὸ τοῦ π.μ.

XY, 34 οἱ εὐλογημόνοι τοῦ π. µ.

ακνὶ, 29 ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ η. µ.

— 39) 42 Πάτερ pov

xxvi. 53 παρακάλεσαι τὸν πατέρα

μου.
But most frequently with the addition
ὁ ἐν (eit) odpavois (ὁ οὐράνιον).

Vii. 21, xii. 50 τὸ θέληµα τοῦ π. µ.
τοῦ ἐν (τοῖς) οὐρ.

ᾱ- 20, 33 ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ π. µ. τοῦ
ἐν (ois) οὐρ.

XV. 13 i oe ἐφότευσιν ὁ π. µ. ὁ

οὐ

xvi. 17 οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψεν ἀλλ ὁ π. µ.
ὁ ἐν οὐρ.

viii. 10 τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ π. µ. τοῦ
& οὐρ.

— 19 γενήσεται αὐτοῖι παρὰ τοῦ

μι τοῦ ἐν οὐρ.

— 35 οὕτωι καὶ ὁ π. µ. ὁ οὐράνιος
ποιήσει ὑμῦ..

30 JHE FIRST EPISTLE OF ΒΤ JOHN.

uniformly the absolute title ὁ πατήρ (comp. 2 John 3) without any addition ;
and in the Apoc. ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ (μον) but not ὁ πατήρ.
incontrast These differences though minute are really significant. St John in his
Trith that latest writings regards the relation of the Divine Fatherhood in its eternal,
noptista”” that is, in its present, realisation, and not in regard to another order. Or
to look at the truth from another point of view, St John presents to us the
Sonship of Christ, the foundation of the sonship of men, from its absolute
side, while the Synoptists connect it with the fulfilment of the office of the
Messianic King.
The title The fall sense of the title ‘the Father’ will be seen by an examination
‘the Fa- of the passages in which the titles ὁ πατήρ and 6 θεός occur in close con-
nexion ;
Tohn i, 18 θεόν... els τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός.
— Sih 34 Β- ὁ θεός... τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ...ὁ πατὴρ ἀγαπῷ...ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ
θεοῦ.
— iv. 21 ff. τῷ πατρί...τῷ πατρί...ὁ πατήρ... πνεῦμα ὁ θεός.
— vi. 27 ὁ πατήρ, ὁ θεός.
— 45 £. θεοῦ...τοῦ πατρός...τὸν πατέρα...τοῦ θεοῦ...τὸν πατέρα.
— xiii 3 ὅτι πάντα ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ πατήρ...καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθεν καὶ
πρὸς τὸν θιὸν ὑπάγει.
xiv. 1, 2, 9 τὸν θεόν...τοῦ πατρός pov...rov πατέρα.
1 John ii. 138. τὸν πατόρα...τοῦ θιοῦ...τοῦ πατρός..,τοῦ πατρός...τοῦ θεοῦ.
— iii 1 ὁ πατήρ...θεοῦ.
— iv. 14 £8 ὁ πατήρ...τοῦ θεοῦ...ὁ θεόε...τῷ θεᾷ.
The title The title ‘my Father’ as used by the Lord marks the special relation
‘my Fa of God to the Son Incarnate, and so, mediately, to man in virtue of the
ther’ Tnearnation, and to all revelation as leading up to it. It is found John ii.
16, V. 17, 43, Vi. 32, 40, Vili. 19, 49, 54, X. 18, 25, 29, 37, xiv. 2, 7, 20, 21, 23,
XV. 1, 8, 15, 23, 24, XX. 17.
‘The rela- As to the relation of the two titles ‘the Father’ and ‘my Father,’ it
tion of the may be said generally that ‘the former suggests those thoughts which
two titles. soring from the consideration of the moral connexion of God and man in
virtue of the creation of man ‘in the image of God,’ while the latter points
to those which spring from what has been made known to us in the course
of the history of the world, the revelation of the connexivn of the Incarnate
Son with God and with man. ‘The Father’ corresponds under this aspect
with the group of ideas gathered up in the Lord's title ‘the Son of man’
(comp. John vi. 27, viii, 28); and ‘my Father’ with those which are
gathered up in the titles, ‘the Son of God,’ ‘ the Christ.’
The first instances in which the Lord uses the two titles seem to mark
their meaning.
il. 16 6 οἶκος τοῦ π. µου, comp. Luke ii. 49.
iv. 21, 23 προσκυνεῖν τῷ πατρί, comp. Matt, xi. 27.
And the first great discourse which lays the foundation of the Lord’s claims
unfolds the relation of the Son to the Father and to men, and 20 of men to
the Father (John v. 19 ff.)
In this discourse it will be noticed that the title ‘my Father’ is found

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN, 31

at the beginning and the end (ve. 17, 43), but elsewhere only the absolute
titles ‘the Father,’ ‘the Son.’
The two titles occur not unfrequently in close connexion, 6.9. :
John v. 43 ἐλήλυθα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρός pov,
45 μὴ δοκεῖτε ὅτι ἐγὼ κατηγορήσω ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα.
vi. 27 τοῦτον ὁ πατὴρ ἐσφράγισεν.
32.6 πατήρ pov θίλωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρωνοῦ.
X. 27 διὰ τοῦτό µε ὁ πατὴρ ἀγαπῷ.
28 ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ πατρός pov.
29 ὁ πατήρ pov ὃ δέδωκεν...ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρός.
xiv. 7 τὸν πατέρα µου ἂν ἤδειτε.
9 ὁ ἑωρακὼς dud ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα.
xx. 17 οὕπω ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα.
ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν πατέρα pov...
‘They are found also in phrases otherwise identical to which they give
a sensible difference of colour.
John xiv. 11 ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ 6 πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί.
- 20 ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί pou καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν ἐμοί.
- 31 ὀτολὴν ἔδωκέν por ὁ πατήρ.
— ᾱ. 18 ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ πατρός µου.
If πο try to go a little farther into detail we notice the title ‘the Use of the
Father’: fitle «the
(1) In relation to men: Father.
John iv. 21—3 προσκυνεῖν τῷ πατρί.
— τ. 45 μὴ δοκεῖτε ὅτι ἐγὼ κατηγορήσω ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν π.
‘Vi 45 was 6 ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ π.
46 οὐχ ὅτι τὸν π. ἑώρακέν τις.
65 ἐὰν μὴ ᾗ δεδοµένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ π.
ᾱ, 39 ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πι.
33 ἔδειξα ὑμῖν καλὰ ἐκ τοῦ π.
xii, 26 τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ π.
xiv, 6 οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν π.
8 δεῖβον τὸν π...ἑώρακεν τὸν π.
xv. 16 ὅτι ἂν αἰτήσητε τὸν π.
xvi. 23 ἄν τι αἰτήσητε τὸν.
26 ἐρωτήσω τὸν π. περὶ ὑμῶν.
27 ὁ π. φιλεῖ ὑμᾶς.
1 John ii, 1 παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν π. (note).
— 14 ὠνώκατε τὸν π.
— 15 ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ π.
- 16 ode dorw ἐκ τοῦ π.
— fii, 1 δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ π.
2 John 4 ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ π.
(3) In relation to the Son absolutely:
John i. 18 6 ὧν els τὸν κόλπον τοῦ π.
— iii 35 6 π. ἀγαπᾷ τὸν υἱόν (comp. χ7. 9).
— 1.26 ὁ κ... τῷ vip Boxer,

Prtttbrrd

ee ..

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ΕΤ JOHN.

Tohn vi. 46 οὗτος ἑώρακεν τὸν x.
— 57 κἀγὼ (6 διὰ τὸν π.
— ᾱ. 30 ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ π. & ἐσμεν.
— xiv, 28 ὁ π. µείζων μού dora,
— Xvi 15 πώτα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ π. ἐμά Core.
1 John i. 2 ἥτις ἦν πρὸς τὸν π.
2 John 3 τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ =.
— 9 καὶ τὸν π. καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει (comp. 1 John ii. 22 ff).
(3) In relation to the Mission of the Son—‘the Father that sent
me’:
John γ. 23 ὁ π. ὁ πέµψας αὐτόν.
— 36 ἃ Δέδωκέν por ὁ π....μαρτυρεῖ ὅτι ὁ π. µε ἀπέσταλκεν.
— 37, Vili. 16, 18, αν, 49, xiv. 24 ὁ πέµψας µε πατήρ.
— wi 44 ὁπ. ὁ πέµψας µε.
— x. 36 ὃν ὁ π. ἡγίασεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν.
— ᾱκ. 21 καθὼς ἀπέσταλκέν µε ὁ π.
Comp. xvi. 27 {. παρὰ τοῦ π., ἐκ τοῦ π. ἐξῆλθον.
1 John iv. 14 6 π. ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱόν.
— £3, ii 22, 23, 24 ὁπ., 6 vids.
(4) More particularly in relation to the form of the Mission:
Tobn V. 36 & δέδωκέν µοι ὁ π. ἵνα τελειώσω αὐτά.
— Wi. 27 ὁ ulds τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.. τοῦτον ὁ π. ἐσφράγισεν.
— Vili 28 καθὼς ἐδίδαξέν µε ὁ π. ταῦτα dads.
- 38 & ἐγὼ ἑώρακα παρὰ τῷ π. Node.
Xii. 50 καθὼς εἴρηκέν pou ὁ π. οὕτως λαλῶ.
xiv. 31 καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἔδωκέν pot ὁ π. οὕτως ποιῶ.
XY. 10 καθὼς ἐγὼ τοῦ π. τὰς ἐντολὰς τετήρηκα.
-- xviii. 11 τὸ ποτήριον ὃ δέδωκέν pos ὁ x.
(5) And also to the active communion between the Father and the
Bon in the accomplishment of it :
John τ. 19 ff. ἂν µή τι βλέπῃ τὸν π. ποιοῦντα, ὁ π. πάντα δείκνυσων αὐτῷ.
— Wi 37 ὃ δίδωσίν por ὁπ.
— X15 γινώσκει µε ὁ π. κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν π.
— 3B ὃν ἐμοὶ ὁ π. κἀγὼ ἐν τῷ π.
— xiv. 1 ὁ π. ἐν ἐμοὶ µένων ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.
-- 11 ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ π. καὶ ὁ π. ἐν ἐμοί.
- 31 ἀγαπῶ τὸν π.
— xvi 32 ὁπ. per’ ἐμοῦ ἑστίν.
(6) And to the consummation of the Mission:
Jobn x. 17 διὰ τοῦτό µε ὁ π. ἀγαπῇ ὅτι ἐγὼ τίθηµι τὴν ψυχήν pov.
— xiv. 12 ἐγὼ πρὸς τὸν π. πορεύοµαι.
- 13 ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ π. ἐν τῷ vig.
-- 16 ἐρωτήσω τὸν π. καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει.
- 28, xvi. 28 πορεύοµαι πρὸς τὸν π.
— xvi, 10 πρὸς τὸν π. ὑπάγω.
μι 17 ὑπάγω πρὸς τὸν π.
Comp. xiii. 1 ἵνα µεταβῃ...πρὸς τὸν sr.

It

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(7) And to the Mission of the Spirit:
John xiv, 26 τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὃ πέμψει ὁ π. ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί µου.
— αγ. 26 ὁ παράκλητος ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ #., το πνεῦμα...ὃ
παρὰ τοῦ π. ἐκπορεύεται.
— xvi 25 περὶ τοῦ π. ἀπαγγελῶ ὑμῖν.

In each respect the particular relation is traced up to the primal
a of the perfect divine love expressed in the idea of Fatherhood and

The title ‘my Father’ is far more rare than ‘the Father,’ though it Use of the
has been not unfrequently substituted for it in the later texts in order to title ‘My
bring out a more obvious sense, It fixes attention, as has been already father.”
remarked, upon the actual circumstances of Christ as the Incarnate Son,
as serving to convey the true idea of God as Father.

Hence it is used

(1) Specially in connexion with the office of Christ as the Fulfiller
of the old Covenant, the Interpreter of the God of Israel Who had
been misunderstood by the Jews. Looking to Christ, to His acta and
words, Israel might see the true character of the Lord. The Son was tho
revelation of His Father:

John ii. 16 τὸν οἶκον τοῦ π. µ.

— γι 17 6m. p ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται.
vi. 32 ὁ π. p, δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
Vili. 19 οὔτε ἐμὲ οἴδατε οὔτε τὸν π. µ.

49 τιμῶ τὸν 5. µ.

54 ἔστιν ὁ π. µ. ὁ δοξάζων µε.
X. 37 εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ π. pe
XV. 1.6 π. pa ὁ γεωργός ἐστιν.

8 ἐν τούτφ ἐδοξάσθη ὁ π.μ.

33 ὁ ἐμὲ μισῶν καὶ τὸν π. µ. μισεῖ.
— 24 µεμισήκασω καὶ ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν π. µ-

(2) And more widely of the particular aspect under which Christ pre-
sented the divine character in His own Person and Life:

John vi. 40 τὸ θέλημα τοῦ π. µ.
— x. 18 ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ π. µ.
39 ὁ π. p. ὃ δέδωκέν por.
xiv. 2 ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ π. µ.
7 al ἐγνώκειτέ µε καὶ τὸν π. μ. ἂν ἥδειτε.
30 γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ π. μ.
11 ἀγαπῶν ἐμὲ ἀγαπηθήσεται vi ὑπὸ τοῦ π.μ.
33 ὁ π. µ. ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν.
XV. 15 ἃ ἥκουσα παρὰ τοῦ π. µ. ἐγνώρισα ὑμῖν.
αχ. 17 ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν π. p. καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν.
Thus we can see the full force of the phrase ‘I came in My Father's
name,’ and not simply ‘in the Father's name’ Obrist consummated the
w. 3

ο.)

34 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN,

earlier teaching and presented in @ pattern of complete sacrifice the falfil-
ment of that love which is the source of being:
John v. 43 ἐλήλνθα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ π. µ.
— αι 26 τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ π. µ.
Comp. xvii. 6, 11, 12, 26 (τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πι).
‘My Father’ in the revelation of Christ brings ‘the Father’ close to
us (comp. Heb. ii. 11 ff).
‘Theliving _‘Btill one other title must be noticed ‘the living Father,’ John vi. 57.
Father.’ This phrase is unique, though it corresponds to the common title ‘the
living God’ (Apoc. Vii. 2 θεοῦ ζὥντος, xv. 7 τοῦ Beod τοῦ ζῶντος als τοὺς al.
Matt. xvi. 16 ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ 6. τοῦ ζ. &e.). In the view which it gives of the
continuous activity of the divine love it completes the view of the divine
sovereignty given by the phrase ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, 1 Tim. i. 17; Apoc,
XY. 3.

Additional Note on i. 7. The idea of Christ's Blood in the
New Testament’.

Theidea ‘The interpretation of the passages in the New Testament which refer
of Blood in to the blessings obtained by the ‘Blood’ of Christ must rest finally upon
* the interpretation given to the use of Blood in the sacrificial system of the
Ο.Τ. Our own natural associations with Blood tend, if not to mislead, at
least to obscure the ideas which it suggested to a Jew.
And here it is obvious that the place occupied by Blood in the Jewish
sacrifices was connected with the general conception attached to it through-
‘The seat of out the Pentateuch. The Blood is the seat of Life in such a sense that it
Life; and can be spoken of directly as the Life itaelf (0) Gen. ix. 4; Dout. xii. 23).
More exactly the Life is said to be ‘in the Blood’ (Lev. xvii. 11). Hence it
was forbidden to eat flesh with the blood (Gen. ix. 4; Lev. vii. 26 f.; xvii.
11 ff.; Deut. xii. 23 f.): a man might not use another's life for the support
of his physical life.
living For it must be observed that by the outpouring of the Blood the life
whenshed. which was in it was not destroyed, though it was separated from the
organism which it had before quickened: Gen. iv. 10; comp. Heb. xii.
24 (παρὰ τὸν “ABed); Apoc. vi. 10,
Appointed This prohibition of the use of Blood as food gave occasion for the
foran clearest declaration of its significance in sacrifice (Lev. xvii. 11): 7 will
stone ven set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him of
from among the people. For the soul—life—(WR}) of the flesh is in the
dood ; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement
for your souls—lives—(OP NCI), for the Blood, it atones through
the soul—life (0382. 0)3), ie. its atoning virtue lies not in its material
substance but in the life of which it is the ‘vehicle’ Moreover, the

1 On the subject of this noteI may Milligan, The Resurrection of our Lord,
refer to the very suggestive note of Dr pp. 263 ff. *

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN: 35

Blood already shed is distinctly treated as living. When it is sprinkled
‘upon the altar’ it makes atonement in virtue of the ‘life’ which is
in it.

Thus two distinct ideas were included in the sacrifice of a victim, the Two

death of the victim by the shedding of its blood, and the liberation, so to aspects of
speak, of the principle of life by which it had been animated, so that this 6 ον.
life became available for another end!. The ritual of sacrifice took account ding, (2)
ef both these moments in the symbolic act. The slaughtering of the victim, sprink-
which was properly the work of the offerer, was sharply separated from ling.
the sprinkling of the blood, which was the exclusive work of the priest.
Tho death was inflicted by him who in his representative acknowledged
the due punishment of his sin; the bringing near to God of the life so
rendered up was the office of the appointed mediators between God and
men. Death and life were both exhibited, death as the consequence of
sin, and life made by the divine appointment a source of life, And it is
worthy of notice that these two thoughts of the shedding and of the
sprinkling of the Blood, which embrace the two elements in the conception
of atonement, were equally expressed by tho one word αἱματεκχυσία,
sanguinis effusio (fusio) V., outpouring of blood (Heb. ix. 22). Thus the
life was first surrendered and then united with God.

Bo far the thoughts suggested by the Jewish animal sacrifices soom to The Levi-
be clear ; but they were necessarily imperfect and transitional. The union tical use
between the offerer and the offering was conventional and not real, The Doe αν
victim was irrational, so that there could be no true fellowship between it bolicaland
and the offender. Its death was involuntary, so that it could not embody imperfect.
in the highest form surrender to the divine will.

All that was foreshadowed by the Mosaic sacrificial system, all that was The idea
from the nature of the caso wanting in it, Christ supplied. With Him, the fulfilled in
Son of Man, all men are made capable of vital union: in Him all men Christ.
find their true life.. His sacrifice of Himself, through life and through :
death, was in every part a reasonable service. He endured the Cross at
the hands of men. Ho was at once ‘offered’ and ‘offered Himself” (Heb. ix.

14, 28); and by His own Wood He entered in once for all into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. ix. 12).

Thus in accordance with the typical teaching of the Levitical ordinances Christ's
the Blood of Christ represents Christ’s Life (1) as rendered in free self- Blood
sacrifice to God for men, and (2) as brought into perfect fellowship with (Raped
God, having been set free by death. The Blood of Christ is, as shed, the (2) off
Life of Christ given for men, and, as offered, the Life of Christ now given to God
to men, the Life which is the spring of their life (John xii. 24). In each (Life).
case the efficacy of the Life of Christ depends, from man’s side, on the
incorporation of the believer ‘in Christ’

It will be evident from what has been said that while the thought of The idea
Christ's Blood (as shed) includes all that is involved in Christ's Death, the pcunete
Death of Christ, on the other hand, exprossos only α part the initial part, always in-

1
1 Compare Philo, qu, det. pot. ins.§ 13, λογικῆς ἀπορρυεσα πηγῆς, τὸ πνεῦμα... ae
i. 207 M.: 9 μὲν οὖν our} πρὸν τὰ ἆλογα τόπον τινὰ καὶ χαρακτῆρα θείαε δυνόµεως, Usage of
θύναμις οὐσίαν ἔλαχεν alu’ ἡ δὲ ἐκ τῆν ἡν ὀνόματι xupl Μωνσῆς εἰκύνα adel... gt John,
3-2

36

Usage of
the Epiatlo

Hebrews.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

of the whole conception of Christ’s Blood. The Blood always includes the
thought of the life preserved and active beyond death.

This conception of the Blood of Christ is fully brought out in the funda-
mental passage, John vi. 5356. Participation in Christ's Blood is par-
ticipation in His life (ο. 56). But at the same time it is implied throughout
that it is only through His Death—His violent Death—that His Blood
can be made available for men.

In the other passages of St John’s writings, where reference is made to
the Blood of Christ, now one part of the whole conception and now the
other predominates. In Apoc. i 5 τῷ ἀγαπώντι ἡμᾶς καὶ λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ
τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ, and in Αροο, v. 9 ὅτι ἐσφάγης καὶ
ἠγόρασας τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τῷ αἵματι, the idea of the single act, the pouring out
of blood in death, is most prominent and yet not exclusively present.
In the one case the present participle (ἀγαπώντι) seems to extend the act
beyond the moment of accomplishment; and in the other ἐν τῷ αἵματι
is felt to add something to ἐσφάγης which is not included in it, The
Blood is not simply the price by which the redeemed were purchased but
the power by which they were quickened 90 as to be capable of belonging
to God.

On the other hand in Apoc. xii. 11 ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ

Apoc. vii. 14 ἐλεύκαναν αὐτὰς [τὰς στολάς] ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἀρνίου,
1 John i. 7 τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας,
the conception of the Blood as an energetic power, as a fountain of life,
opened by death and flowing still, is clearly marked.

‘This latter thought explains the streas which St John lays on the issue
of the blood and the water from the side of the Lord after the Crucifixion
(John xix. 34; 1 John Υ. 6 ff. notes). That which was outwardly, phy-
sically, death, was yet reconcileable with life. Christ lived even in Death
and through Death.

The simple idea of the Death of Christ, as separated from His Life,
falls wholly into the background in tho writings of St John (John xi. 50 f.;
xviii, 14; xii. 24 f., 33; xvili. 33). It is only in the words of Caiaphas that
the virtue of Christ’s death is directly mentioned. In this respect his
usage differs from that of St Paul and St Peter (πάσχειν). If the Good
Shepherd ‘lays down His life for the sheep’ (John x. 11), this last act only
reveals the devotion of His care for them.

In the Epistle to the Hebrews the manifold efficacy of Christ's Blood is
directly illustrated by a parallel with two representative sacrifices, the
Covenant Sacrifice by which Israel was brought into fellowship with God
(Heb. ix. 15 ff), and the Service of the Day of Atonement, by which the
broken fellowship was again restored (Heb. ix. 11 ff).

The Blood of Christ is the Blood of the New Covenant: Heb. ix. 15 ff
See Matt. xxvi. 28; Mk. xiv. 24; Le. xxii. 20; 1 Cor. xi. 25, 27 (comp. 1 Cor.
xX. 16); and it is the Blood through which He as our High Priest enters
into the Presence of God for us: Heb. ix. 12, 23 ff; comp. xiii. 1
These two aspects of the truth need to be carefully regarded. By ‘sprink-
ling’ of Christ’s Blood the believer is first brought into fellowship with
God in Christ; and in the imperfect conduct of his personal life, the life of
Christ is continually communicated to him for growth and cleansing. He

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 37

himeelf enters into the Divine Presence ‘in the Blood of Jesus’ (Heb. x. 19)
surrounded, as it were, and supported by the Life which flows from Him',

Similar thoughts find expression in the other writings of the New Usage in
Testament, Thus we read with predominant reference to the initial act of other
salvation: books of

NT.

Acts xx. 28 τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἣν περιεποήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος
τοῦ ἰδίου.

1 Pet. 1. 18 £ ἐλυτρώθητε...τιμίῳ αἵματι ὡς ἀμνοῦ ἁμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου
Χριστοῦ.

Col. i. 20 εἰρηνοπουήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ.

But even in such cases the first act is not regarded as an isolated act of
forgiveness, It is the beginning of a state which continues:

Rom. v. 9 δικαιωθέντες νῦν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ σωθησόµεθα δὲ αὐτοῦ.

Eph. i. 7 ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ.

Eph. ii, 13 ἐγενήθητε ἐγγὺς ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

In other places the thought of the continuous efficacy of Christ’s Blood
35 a power of life is even more conspicuous:

1 Pet. i, 2 (ἐκλεκτοῖς) els ὑπακοὴν καὶ ῥαντισμὸν αἵματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Heb. ix. 14 τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ...καθαριεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν ἀπὸ
Σεκρῶν ἔργων els τὸ λατρεύειν Θεῷ ζῶντι.

Heb. x. 19 ἔχοντες...παρρησίαν els τὴν εἴσοδον τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ αἵματι
ησοῦ...προσερχώµεθα...

Heb, xii 24 (προσεληλύθατε) αἵματι ῥαντισμοῦ κρεῖττον λολοῦντι παρα
τὸν “Αβελ.

The two elements which are thus included in the thought of Christ’s 1 Johni.9.
Blood, or, in the narrower sense of the word, of Christ’s Death and Christ’s
Blood, that is of Christ's Death (the Blood shed) and of Christ’s Life (the
Blood offered), are indicated clearly in ο. 9 [God] ts faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins (tho virtue of Christ's Death); and to cleanse us
JSrom all unrighteousness (the virtue of Christ's Life).

Additional Note oni.9. The idea of sin in St John.

The treatment of the doctrine of sin by St John requires to be con- The idea
sidered briefly in its main features for the understanding of many details of sin in
in the Epistle ‘Sin, St John says in a phrase of which the terms are ὃν John.
made convertible, ‘is lawlessness’ (ο. ili. 4 ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία, peo-
catum est iniguitas V.). The description is absolutely exhaustive. Man
is constituted with a threefold relation, a threefold obligation to self,
to the world, to God. To violate the ‘law’ by which this relation is de-
fined in life is ‘to sin’ Each conscious act by which the law is broken

1 Compare a remarkable passage of καὶ τοῦτ' fort πιεῖν τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Clement of Alexandria: διττὸν δὲ τὸ τῆς xupsanis µεταλαβεῖν dpGapelas* ἰσ-
αἷμα τοῦ κυρίου, τὸ μὲν Ὑάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῦ χὺτ δὲ τοῦ λόγον τὸ reine, ὧν αἷμα
σαρκικόν, ᾧ τῇ: φθορᾶε λελντρώμοθα, τὸ capeds (Pad. ii. 2, § 19).
δὲ πνευματικό», τούτεστιν ᾧ κεχρίσµεθα.

38 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

is ‘asin’: the principle which finds expression in the special acts is ‘sin’

(4 ἁμαρτία, John i. 29)3.
Sin isself- | When traced back to its last form this ‘sin’ is the self-assertion of the
assertion, finite in violation of the limits which guide the harmonious fulfilment of
the idea of its being. Every such act, being in its essence self-regarding,

hetred, self-centred, must be a violation of ‘love’ Thus lawlessness is under
another aspect selfishness ; or as it is characterised by St Jobn, ‘hatred’
in opposition to love (1 John ii. 9; iii. 14 {211.20} There can be essentially
no middle term.

The re- The ‘law’ which determines man’s right conduct finds manifold declara-

vealed law. tion, through special divine utterances (John xvii. 8, ῥήματα), commandments
(c. ii. 3 ἐντολαῦ), which are gathered up in the unity of one revelation (λόγος).
without and within (ο. ii. 7, 14). To disregard any of these is to sin.

‘gin.’ It follows that ἁμαρτία (‘a sin,’ ‘sin’) and ἁμαρτάνειν (‘to sin’) have two

‘sins.’ distinct meanings. ‘Ayapria may describe a single act impressed by the
sinful character (1 John v. 16 f.), or sin regarded in the abstract (John xvi.
8£). And again ἁμαρτάνειν may be ‘to commit a sinful act’ (ec. i, 10) or “to
present a sinful character’ (ο. iii. 6). The plural ἁμαρτίαι offers no ambi-
guity (John viii. 24; xx. 23; 1 Jobn i. 9; ii. 2, 12; iii. 5; iv. 10; comp.
ρου. i. 5; xviii. 45).

‘Thesinfal © This distinction between the principle, the power, of sin and the mani-

character. festation of the power in individual eins is of primary importance. The
wrong-doer embodies sin in deed (ο. iii. 4, 8 6 ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, comp.
John viii. 34), just as the right-doer embodies the Trath (c. i. 6 ποιεῖν τὴν
ἀληθείαν); and by so doing he contracts a character corresponding to his
deeds (ο. i. 8 ἔχει ἁμαρτίαν).

Allmenas Sin, as a fact, is universal (1 John i. 10); and the end of sin is death

sinfalneed (James i. 15). Or, as St John states the case, looking at the eternal re-

aal * lations of things, man in his natural state is ‘in death’ (1 John iii. 14
µεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν; comp. John Υ. 24, 40; Matt. viii.
33 || Le. ix. 6ο; Le. xv. 24). ‘The wrath of God abideth upon him’ (John
iii, 36 péver ἐπ' αὐτόν; comp. Eph. ii, 3 τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς. He needs ‘sal-
vation’ (σώζειν John iii, 17; v. 34; αχ. 95 Xii. 47 ; σωτήρ John iv. 42, 1 Jobn
iv. 145 ἡ σωτηρία John iv. 22; comp. Apoc. vii 10; xii. 10; xix. 1).

It may come to pass that ‘sin’ and ‘sins’ enrround the sinner and
become as it were the element in which he exists (John viii. 21 ὃν τῇ
ἁμαρτίῃ, 24 ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, comp, 1 John Υ. 19 ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται. He
who sins ‘has not seen God’ (1 John iii. 6). ‘Darkness’ not only hinders
the use of sight but destroys the organ of sight (1 John ii 11). There
is even in the Christian body a sin unto death (ο. v. 16 ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον,

1 This uso of ἡ ἁμαρτία is not found
in the Synoptic Gospels nor in the Acte.
It ocoars in Βὲ Paul: Rom. v. 12, &0.

Many of the special terms which are
used for sin in different aspects in
other writings of the New Testament,
re wanting in St Jobn, e.g. ἀσεβεῖν,
ἀσέβεια (St Paul, Bt Peter, St Inde),

παραβαίνει», παράβασι, παραβάτηε (St
Matthew, St Paul, Hebrews, St James;
in 3 John ϱ read προάγων): (καρανομεῖν,
παρανομία]; παράπτωμα (παραπίκτειν)
(St Matthew, St Mark, St Ῥαα). He
commonly speaks of sin under the
terms ‘darkness,’ ‘hatred,’ ‘ wander-
ing.’

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 39

peccatum ad mortem V.) which excludes from the privileges of the Chris-
tian society, the nataral forces of the Christian life.

The efficacy of Christ’s work extends both to sin and sins. As ‘the Christ —

Lamb of God’ ‘He taketh away the sin of the world’ (John i. 29 ὁ ἀμνὸς deals with
τοῦ θιοῦ, ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, V. Agnus Dei...qui tollit pecca- sing
tum mundi); and again ‘Ho was manifested that he may take away sins,
not simply ‘our sins’ (1 John iii 5 ἐφανερώθη ἵνα ἄρῃ τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ap-
Paruit ut peccata tolleret V.). Under another aspect this ‘removal of sins’
is an ‘undoing,’ an ‘abrogation of the works of the devil’ (ο. iii. 8 épa»-
«ρώθη 6 vids τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, apparuit Filius Dei ut
dissolvat opera diaboli V.).

The consequences of sin once committed place the need of the sinner in Sin brings
a clear light. Sin unless it be taken away ‘abideth’ (John ix. 41); and debt,
ite consequences fall under three main heads, The sinner incurs a debt; alienation
he falls into bondage; and he is estranged from God. The particular act from God.
calls for a proportionate reparation, the moral discipline of the debtor
coinciding with the satisfaction due to the broken law; the wrong-doing
impairs 80 far the powers of the doer; and it also places a barrier between
him and God. The notion of debt (Matt. vi. 12) is recognised in that
of the ‘romission’ of sins (ο. i. 9; John xx. 23): the notion of bondage
finds a most emphatic exposition in John viii. 32 f£: ‘the love of the
Father’ is incompatiblo with the love of the world, out of which sin springs
(1 John ii, 15 ff; comp. Eph. iv. 18; Col. i. 21).

‘Thus it is that man needs forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, For- Forgive-

giveness in order to be complete involves not only the remission of the 1998.
penalty of the deed but the removal of the direct results of the act on the
doer. As long as a debtor finds that his debt is remembered though the
payment of it will not be exacted, forgiveness is not complete. The
exercise of such a power of forgiveness corresponds with a new creation.
Thus when the Lord claims as Son of man the power of the forgiveness of
sins He offers as a sign of it a creative act (Matt. ix. 5 f.; comp. John v.
14). And so St John appeals to the divine promise assured to the penitent
to ‘forgive their sins and cleanse them from all unrighteousness’ (1 John
i9).

Redemption again includes two elements, the deliverance of the sinner Redemp-
from thraldom to a foreign power, and the restoration of his lost strength. tion.
St John does not use the group of words connected with λύτρον (Ἀντροῦσθαι,
λυτρωτής, λύτρωσις, ἀντίλυτρον), but he has the simple λύω (Apoc. i. 5); and
in the Apocalypse he carries out the notion yet further, representing Chris-
tians as ‘bought’ for God (v. 9; xiv. 3 £).

Man’s estrangement from God by sin can also be regarded in two ways, Reconeili-
Sin cannot but be a bar to God’s love; and conversely man as sinfal *ion.
cannot love God. He requires a change in condition and a change in
feeling, propitiation and reconcilement. The latter thought finds its
plainest expression in the group of words κατολλάσσειν, ἀποκαταλλάσσευ,
καταλλαγή, which are peculiar to St Paul: the former in the group
Ἱλάσκομαι, ἱλασμός, ἱλαστήριο. The change in the personal relation of
man to God, from the side of man, indicated by ‘reconcilement’ (2 Cor. v.

18—20 ; Rom. γ. 10 f.), is referred to its source by St John, who shows that

40

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

the love of God in the Mission of His Son calls out man's love (1 John iv. 10).
On the other hand God looks with good pleasure on man in Christ: Christ
is ‘the propitiation for our sins’ (ο. ii. 2). ‘He loosed us from our sins in
His blood’ (Apoe. i. 5). ‘His blood cleanseth from all sin’ (i. 7; comp.
Heb. i. 3 καθαρισμὸν dp, ποιησόµενος, Acts xxii, 16 ἀπόλουσαι τὰς dp),

The last phrases lead at once to St John’s view of the way in which the
work of the Word Incarnate avails for forgiveness, for redemption, for

. Feconcilement. By dying on the Cross He made His Life—His blood—

available for all who believe in Him. The gift of God is eternal, divine,
life, ‘and this life is in His Son’ (1 John v.11). The possession of such
life is the destruction of past sin, and safety from sin to come (1 John iii. 9).
By incorporation with Christ the believer shares the virtue of His humanity
(John vi. 51, 57). Thus finally unbelief in Him is the test of sin (John
xvi 9).

Compare additional notes on i. 72 ii. 2, 13.

It may be added that it will be evident from this sketch of the teaching
of the Ν. Τ. on sin, according to which the fandamental conception of sin is
the self-assertion of the finite against the infinite, that the relation of good
to evil is not one which exists of necessity in the nature of thing, The
difference is not metaphysical, inherent in being, so that the existence of
evil is involved in the existence of good ; nor physical, as if there were an
essential antagonism between matter and spirit; but moral, that is
recognised in the actual course of life, so that evil when present is known
to be opposed to good.

1 It will be of interest to put to-
gether without any discussion the
various phrases which describe the
action of Christ with regard to sin
and sins.

(1) As to sin itself, He brought
condemnation by His Incarnation;
Rom. vili. 3 6 @eds τὸν davrod
υἱὸν éuyas...naréepe τὴν ἆμαρ-
τίαν ἐν τῷ σαρκί.
disannalling by His sacrifice: Heb.
ix. 26 els ἀθέτησιν τῇν duaprias,
διὰ τῆς θυσίαε αὐτοὶ πεφανέρω-
ται... Comp. Rom. vi. 7 ὁ ἆπο-
θανῶν δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ ris ἁμ.
(2) As to the sins of men Christ
makes propitiation for them: Heb.
ii. 17...dpyuepeds...els τὸ ἱλάσκεσ-
θαι τὰς duaprias τοῦ λαοῦ.

forgives them: Matt. ix. 2 f.:
ἀφίενταί cov al ἁμαρτίαι. Comp.
Col. ii. 13 Χαρισάµενοι τὰ παρα-
στώ

taken them away, by beating them:

toa ἄρῃ ras ἆμαρ-
i ohn. 129 ὁ αἴρων τὴν duap-
τίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Comp. Heb. x. 4
ἀφαιρεῖν dip.; x. 11 περιελεῖν ἁμ.

looses men from them: Apos. i.
5 τῷ...λύσαντι tds ἐκ τῶν du.
ὃν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ. Comp. Rom.
Vi 22 ἐλενθερωθόντες ἀπὸ Tis du.

cleanses men from all sin: 1 John
i, 7 τὸ αἷμα Iysod...nadapltes ἡμ.
ἀπὸ π. ἁμ.

saves from sins: Matt. i. a1 σώσει
wind τῶν

Ly
Il.

TL Tae REMEDY FOR SIN AND THE
SIGN THAT IT 1 EFFEOTUAL (ii,
1—6).

Having dealt with the fact of sin
‘and the false pleas by which man en-
deavours to do away with its signifi-
cance, St John states

1 The divine remedy for sin (v2. 1,2).

2 The sign that the remedy is effeo-
tual in any particular case (οο. 3—6).

The first sub-section answers to the
counter-statements made in relation to
the first two pleas of men (i. 7, 9), but
it has a prominent distinctness of form,
as giving the complete answer to the
problem raised in i 6---ιο, The as-
surance of the forgiveness of sin when
combined with the fact of its univer-
sality might lead some to underrate
its eviL In order to remove the last
semblance of support for such an
error, St John shews that the na-
ture of the remedy for sin is such as
to move men most powerfully to
shrink from all sin and to help them
to avoid it,

This connexion is partly indicated
by Augustine: Male vis esse securus,
sollicitus esto. Fidelis enim est et
justus ut dimittat nobis delicta nostra
si semper tibi displiceas et muteris
donec perficiaris. Ideo quid sequitur?
Filioli mei, λαο scribo vobis ut non
peccetis,

1. The divine remedy for sin

(ii. 1, 2).

‘My little children, these things I
write to you that ye may not sin,
And if anyone sin, we have an advo-
cate with the Father, Jesus Christ,
the righteous; *and himecif is a
propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only, but also for the whole
world,

The fact of sin as something which
is irreconcileable with God and fruit-
ful in consequences raises the ques-
tions of propitiation and mediation.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 41

* Τεκνία µου, ταῦτα γράφω ὑμῖν ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρ-

How, it may be asked, is that forgive-
ness, that cleansing, already spoken
of (1. 7, 9), brought about? The answer
is given in the summary description
of Christ’s work. Christ is a universal
Propitiation for sins; and He is an
advocate for the Christian. He has
accomplished a work on earth for all:
He is accomplishing a work in heaven
for those who are united with Him.
Both in Person (righteous) and in
work (propitiation) He is fitted to
fulfil the office which our necessities
require. These thoughts are treated
in the inverse order, because the apo-
stle approaches the subject from the
side of believers (we have).

It has been already noticed that
the third plea (i 10, we have not
sinned) is not treated exactly as the
two former. Symmetry would have
required a clause answering to the
assertion ‘ts have not sinned.’ St
John might, for example, have con-
tinued: ‘if we sin...’ But he shrinks
naturally from regarding sin as a
normal element in the Christian life ;
and therefore he changes the mode
of dealing with the subject. Before
touching on the fact of sin, as indeed
part of the believer’s experience to
the last, he asserts the end of his
teaching, which is sinlessness. This
is the end; and even if it cannot be
gained by the believer’s effort and
directly, it can be gained through the
Saviour’s work. That which is true
of the past (i. 9) is trae throughout.

1, τεκνία µου] filioli mei V., my
little children, The form adopted in
1, 7, 9 is changed for one more direct
and personal. The thought of sin as a
reality for each one moves the apostle
to address with the utmost tenderness
those to whom he stands in the rela-
tion of a father. The title τεκνία oc-
curs in Joho xiii. 33 and ο. ii, 12, 28;
iii. 7, 18; iv. 4; Υ. 21 (Gal iv. 19 τεκνία
μου is uncertain). The full title τεκνία

42
TNTE.

μον is found only here (ο. 1Η. 18 is a
falso reading). A commentary on St
John’s use of the word is given by
the story (μῦθος οὐ μῦθο) of the
young Robber (Εαροῦ. 1. Ε. 3).

ταῦτα γράφω] these things I write,
not only all that has been already said
as to the nature of God and as to the
reality, the nature, and the fact of sin
(i. 5—10), but, as i. 4, all that is pre-
sent to the mind of the apostle as the
substance of his letter, though indeed
tho preceding section includes all by
implication.

The use of the singular, 7 write (ov.
7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 21, 26; Υ. 13; contrast
i. 4) follows from ‘my dear children.’

ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρτητε] ut non peccetis V.,
that ye may not sin. The phrase
is absolute. The thought is of the
single act (ἁμάρτητε) not of the state
(ἁμαρτάνητε); and the tense is decisive
against the idea that the apostle is
simply warning his disciples not to
draw encouragement for licence from
the doctrine of forgiveness. His aim
is to produce the completeness of the
Christ-like life (ο. 6).

The differonce of the aor. and pres.
conj. in connexion with ἵνα is well
illustrated by John v. 20, 23; vi. 28 f.

καὶ ἐάντις...] sed οἱ αἱ quis V., Le, ἐὰν
δὲ καί, si quis Aug., and if any... The
declaration of the remedy for sin is

placed as part of the main declara-
tion of St John. It is not set as a
contrast (i. 7 ἐὰν δὲ), nor simply as a
parallel clause (i. 9 ἐὰν ὁμολογώμεν);
but as a continuous piece of the one
meseage. Here again the thought is
of the single act (ἁμάρτῃ), into which
the believer may be carried against
the true tenor of his life (i. 7), as
contrasted with the habitual state
(ἁμαρτάνει iii, 6, 8, 9; v.18). Nothing
is said in one direction or the other
of the possibility of a Christian life
actually sinless.

The change of construction in the

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

QL er

καὶ ἐάν τις ἁμάρτῃ, παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς

sentence is remarkable. St John
writes if any one...we... and not if
ye sin...ye..., nor yet if we sin...
106...0F ¥ any one...he..., in order
to bring out the individual character
of the offence, and then to shew that
he is speaking of the Christian body
with which he identifies himeelf,
and to which Christ’s promises are
assured. This is forcibly pointed out
by Augustine: Non dixit Aabetis, nec
me habetis dixit, nec ipsum Christum
habetis dixit; sed et Christum posuit
non 8e, et habernus dixit non habetis.

Maluit se ponere in numero pecca-

torum ut haberet advocatum Chris-
tum quam ponere se pro Christo advo-
catum et inveniri inter damnandos
superbos.

ἔχομεν] we have as a divine gift.
Comp. ii. 23; τ. 12; 2 John 9.

παράκλητον] advocatum V., an ad-
vocate. This is the uniform render-
ing of the Latin and English Ver-
sions in this place, and is unques-
tionably correct, although the Greek
fathers give to it, as in the Gospel, an
active sense, ‘consoler, ‘comforter.’
Christ as Advocate pleads the cause
of the believer against his ‘accuser’
(κατήγωρ Apoc. xii. 10; comp. Zech.
fii. 1; ἀντίδικος 1 Pet. v. 8). In this
work the ‘other Advocate’ (John xiv.
16), the Spirit of Christ, joins (Rom.
viii. 26, 34).

One aspect of the Advocate’s office
was foreshadowed by the entrance of
the High Priest into the Holy of
Holies on the Day of Atonement
(Heb. ix. 11 f£, 24; vii. 25).

For the meaning of the term παρά-
wAnros in the Gospel of St John (xiv.
16, 26; xv. 26; xvi. 7) see note on
xiv. 16,

It will be noticed that in the con-
text of the passage in which the Lord
promises ‘another Advocate’ (John
xiv. 16) he sets forth his own advo-
cacy (xiv, 12 ff).

IL 2]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

43

τὸν πατέρα ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον, "καὶ αὐτὸς

Augustine applies the legal image
in a striking parallel : Si aliquando in
hac vita committit se homo disertse
lingus et non perit, committis te
Verbo et periturus es?

The reference to the Advocate im-
plies that the Christian on his part
has effectually sought His help. This
is assumed, and indicated by the
change of person (tce Christians have).

Clement of Rome (i. 36) speaks of
the Lord under a corresponding title:
+--eUpopey τὸ σωτήριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν
Χριστόν, τὸν ἀρχιερέα τῶν προσφορῶν
ἡμῶν, τὸν προστάτην (patronum) καὶ
βοηθὸν τῆς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν.

πρὸς τὸν πατέρα] apud patrem V.,
ad patrem Aug. (apud deum patrem
Ποτέ), with the Father, not simply
in His Presence, but turned toward
Him, addressing Him with continual
pleadings. Comp. ο. i. 2; Johni, 1.

Christ’s advocacy of man is ad-
dressed to God in that relation of
Fatherhood which has been fully re-
vealed in the Son who has taken man-
hood to Himself (πρὸς τὸν πατέρα not
πρός τὸν θεόν].

Comp. &. 2 ἦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα; i. 3
μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὖ-
14 ἐγνώκατε τὸν πατέρα; ii. 15
ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρός; ii, 16 ode ἔστιν
ἐκ τοῦ πατρός; ii. 22 ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν.
πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν; ii. 23 ὁ ὁμολογῶν
τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει; ii. 24 ἐν
τῷ υἱῷ καὶ [ἐν] τῷ πατρί é
ἡμῖν ὁ πατήρ; iv. 14 6 πατὴρ ἀπέσταλ-
ev τὸν υἱό».

In every case this special concep-
tion is important for the fulness of
the argument. See Additional Note
oni, 2.

And on the other side man’s Advo-
cate is described by that compound
name Jesus Christ, which presents
Him in His humanity and also as the
promised Saviour and King of man-
kind, the Son of man, and the Son of
David. See Additional Note on iii. 23.

δίκαιον] the righteous. The ad-
jective is not a simple epithet but
marks predicatively (‘being as he is
righteous’) that characteristic of the
Lord which gives efficacy to His ad-
vVocacy of man.

This rests (0 to speak) not on His
divine nature as Son of God, but on
His human charaeter.(comp. 1 Pet. iii,
18).

He has Himeelf fulfilled and pleads
for the fulfilment of that which is right
according to the highest law. He is
not an advocate who wishes to set
aside the law but to carry it out and
apply it. In Him the idea of manhood
has obtained its absolute satisfaction,
and in tarn He claims that the virtue
of this satisfaction be extended to
all in fellowship with Himself.

The righteousness of Christ as pre-
sented here answers to the righteous-
ness of the Father brought forward in
i. 9: He accomplishes perfectly all that
is set forth in the revelation of the
Father's Nature. By this righteous-
ness He fulfils in fact the conditions
which the High Priest fulfilled in sym-
bol. Comp. Heb. vii. 26.

‘The thought of righteousness as a
divine attribute belongs peculiarly to
St Jobn: John xvii. 25 πατὴρ δίκαιε;
οἱ 9; ii 29; iii. 7. Comp. Rom. iii.
36.

Nothing is said of the manner of
Christ's pleading: that is a subject
wholly beyond our present powers. It
is enough that St John represents it
as the act of α Saviour still living
(Heb. vii. 25) and in a living relation
with His people. His work for them
continues as real as during His earthly
life (Le. xxii. 32; xxiii. 34; John xvii.
24), though the conditions of it are
changed. He is still acting personally
in their behalf, and not only by the
unexhausted and prevailing power of
what He has once done. He Him-
self uses for His people the virtue of

44

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(IL 2

ἱλασμόε ἐστιν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιώῶν ἡμών, οἱ περὶ τῶν
ἡμετέρων δὲ µόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου.

Ἠλ. έστω NBC: ἐστ. I. A vg.
iit a9.
that work which He accomplished on

de says well: Unigenito Filio
Pro homine interpellare est apud co-
seternum Patrem se ipsum hominem
demonstrare; eique pro humana na-
tara rogasse est eandem naturam in
divinitatis suse celsitudine suscepisse.
Interpellat ergo pro nobis Dominus
non voce sed miseratione, quia quod
damnare in electis noluit ‘suseipiondo
servarit.

3. καὶ αὐτός...] et ipse V., and He,
or rather, and He Himself (Matt. i.
21). The emphatic pronoun enforces
the thought of the efficacy of Christ’s
advocacy as ‘righteous.’ He who
pleads our cause, having fulfilled the
destiny of man, is at the same time
the propitiation for our sink Comp.
2.25; 17; iv. 10, 19 (3 John 1Ο);
John if. 25; iv. 44; v.20; vi.6 (xii.
49); 1 Pet. ii, 24.

The ideas of ‘advocacy’ and ‘pro-
pitiation’ are distinct, and yet in close
connexion. The latter furnishes the
basis of the former: the latter is
universal, while the former, s0 far
as it is revealed, is exercised for be-
lievers, It is to be noticed further
that the ‘ propitiation’ itself is spoken
of as something eternally valid (He ts)
and not as past (He was; comp. iii. 16
τὴν ψυχὴν ἔθηκεν).

Ἱλασμός] propitiatio Ὑ., a propi-

tiation. Comp. iv. 1ο. "The Latin
renderings are unusually numerous.
Besides propitiatio which prevailed,
exoratio, deprecatio, placatio are
found, and also the verbal renderings
(ipes) exorat, interpellat, postulat
pro.... And Augustine has in some
places propitiator. Christ is said to
be the ‘propitiation’ and not simply
the ‘propitiator’ (as He is called

μόνον BAC vg: µόνων B me the; comp.

the ‘Saviour’ iv. 14), in order to
emphasise the thought that He is
Himself the propitiatory offering as
well as the priest (comp. Rom. iii. 25).
A propitiator might make use of
means of propitiation outside himself.
But Christ is our propitiation, as He
is ‘our life’ (Col. iii. 4), our ‘righte-
ousness, sanctification and redemp-
tion’ (1 Cor. i, 31). He does not
simply guide, teach, quicken: He is
“the Way, the Truth, the Life’ (John
xiv. 6). It follows that the efficacy of
His work for the individual depends
upon fellowship with Him. See Ad-
ditional Note.

Qui per humanitatem interpellat
pro nobis apud Patrem idem per di-
vinitatem propitistur nobis cum Patre
(Bede ad loc.).

περὶ τῶν dp. ἡ] pro peccatis nos
tris V., peccatorum nostrorum Aug.,
Sor our sins. The privilege of Chris-
tians (ἡμῶν) is noticed first. And it
is natural that in the firet case the
stress is laid on ‘sins’ (περὶ τῶν du.
ἡμών) and in the second case on ‘our’
(περὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων).

The propitiation of Christ is here
described as being ‘for,’ ‘in the mat-
ter of (wep!) our sins’ (comp. Sy "B2),
and not as ‘in behalf of us’ (ὑπὲρ
ἡμῶν On the phrases περὶ (ὑπὲρ)
ἁμαρτίας (-ιῶν) see Hebr. xiii, 11
note.

οὗ π.τ.ἡ. δέ] The particle (8¢) marks
the clause as guarding against error,
not merely adding a new w thought.

περὶ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου] pro totius
mundi [κο. peccatis] V., (sed et) totiue
mundi Aug., for the whole world.
The variation in the construction (for
our sins... for the whole world) is fall
of meaning (comp. Heb. ix. 7). Chris-
tians as such are holy but still not

IL 3]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 45

3 Καὶ 2 a , ¥. ρ : ον. ῥλ
Καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκοµεν ὅτι ἐγνώκαμεν αὐτόν, ἐὰν

3 Ang. reads simply et in hoc cognoscimus eum, φυλάξωµεν (for τηρῶμεν) Κ'.

unstained by sins contracted ‘in the
walk of life’ (John xiii, 10); the
world, all outside the Church, as such
is sinfal (ο. γ. 19). But for all alike

Christ's propitiation is valid. The

pitiation extends as far as the
need of it (2. ο), through all place and
all time, Comp. iv. 14 (John iv. 42;
xii. 32 5 xvii, 2224).

The supposition that περὶ ὅλου τοῦ
κόσμου is an elliptical expression for
περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὅλου τοῦ κόσµου
(so Latt.) is not justified by usage, and
weakens the force of the passage.

Philo in a noble passage (de Mon-
arch, ii. 6, ii. p. 227 M.) contrasts
the special offerings of other forms of
worship with the universal intercession
of the Jewish High-priest: 6 τῶν Ἰου-
δαίων doxcepeds οὐ µόνον ὑπὲρ ἅπαντος
ἀνθρώπων γένους ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τῆς
φύσεως μερῶν, γῆς ὕδατος ἀέρος καὶ
πυρός, τάς τε εὐχὰς καὶ τὰς εὐχαριστίας
ποιεῖται, τὸν κόσμον, ὅπερ ἐστι ταῖς
ἀληθείαις, πατρίδα εἶναι ἑαυτοῦ νοµέζων,
ὑπὲρ He ἱκεσίαις καὶ λιταῖς εἴωθεν éfev-
µενίζειν τὸν ἡγεμόνα ποτνιώµενος τῆς
ἐπιεικοῦς καὶ ἴλεω φύσεως αὐτοῦ µετα-
διδόναι τῷ γενομένῳ.

Comp. 1 Clem. R. ο. 7 ἀτενίσωμεν
ats τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἴδωμεν ds
ἔστιν τίμιον τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι
διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκχυθὲν παντὶ
τῷ κόσμῳ µετανοίας χάρων ὑπήνεγκεν.

2 The signs of the personal efficacy
of the divine remedy for sin
(i. 2--6).

2And in this we perceive that we
know him, if we observe his com-
mandments, ‘He that saith I know
Aim and obserceth not his command-
mente, is a liar, and in this man the
truth isnot ; Sbut whosoever obseroeth
his word, verily in thie man the love
Of God hath been perfected,

The first two verses of the chapter

declare the natureof the divine remedy
for sin; in these next four 8t John
indicates the sign of its personal effi-
cacy. Tho sign is twofold, and corre-
sponds with two aspects of the spi-
ritual life; there is the sign of know-
ledge (x. 3—5 a); and there is the
sign of union (σο. 55, 6). The sign of
knowledge is (shortly) obedience; and
the sign of union is imitation.

4. The new form of false doctrine
which St John meets corresponds with
and grows out of the first of those
which he has already analysed. Some
claimed a knowledge of God, as some
claimed fellowship with God (i. 6), ir-
respective of a Christ-like life. Know-
ledge no less than fellowship involves
real likeness (comp. John viii. 32;
ο iii. 7).

vv. 3—5 4. The sign of knowledge.
The sign of knowledge is developed
characteristically by the Apostle. Ho
first states generally that it lies in
obedience (ο. 3), and then follows out
this statement further negatively and
positively, showing the issues of the
want of obodience (5, 4), and of the
activity of obedience (2. 5 a).

3. Under one aspect this verse is
connected with i. 5. But between tho
declaration of God’s nature and man’s
knowledge of Him there comes in the
episode of sin. This fatal interrap-
tion breaks the natural development.
of thought. The connexion of i. 1, 3,
5 (καθ), ii 3 (καί), corresponds with
that of John i. 1, 14.

ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν] in hoc scimus
V,, in hoc cognoscimus Aug., in this
we perceive. The phrase ‘in this’ is
characteristic of the Epistle and oc-
cure with slight variations of form.

(1) In this (ὁ )) «σο perceice
(ywdcroper): ii, 55 Πλ. 24; iv. 13;
τ. 2 and 80 also ‘in this we know
@yvbeaper)’ ii, 16; and ‘in this we

46

shall know (yvwospeba)’ iii. 19; and
‘in this ye perceive’ (γινώσκετε) iv. 2.
Comp. John xiii. 35 (xv. 8; xvi. 30).
(2) From this (ἐκ τούτου) we per-
ceive: iv. 6.
(3) Whence (ὅθεν) we perceive:
1,18.

Generally ‘this’ (τοῦτο) marks some-
thing which has been already express-
ed, though it is further developed in
what follows (comp. e.g. διὰ τοῦτο...
ὅτι, iii, 1; John v. 16, 18; vii 65;
viii, 47; χ. 17 xii 18; xvi15). But
here the reference appears to be to
that which is clearly apprehended in
the mind of the Apostle and present
to him, though it has not yet been
brought forward; in this...namely if
‘Perhaps however even here the
is’ really reats upon the whole
relation of the Christian to Christ
which is implied in ov. 1, 2. That
relation furnishes the test of know-
ledge; if the relation be vital it will
include obedience. Comp. ῦ. 2.

The experience to which the A-
postle appeals here and in the pa-
rallel passages (ywwoxoper) is present
and immediate, confirmed from mo-
ment to moment in the actual course
of life. So far it is distinguished
from the knowledge of an absolute
fact (οἴδαμεν, iii, 2 note).

γνώκαμε»...] cognovimus V., know
Him, or, more exactly, have come to a
knowledge of Him. Knowledge of a
person involves sympathy (ο. iii. 1 n.);
and in this particular case includes
the striving after conformity with
Him who is known. To know God as
God is to be in vital fellowship with
Him, to love Him, to fulfl that rela-
tion towards Him for which we are
born. And conversely to be known
by God, to be the object of His know-
ledge, is to be in harmony with Him.
Comp. Gal. iv. 9; 1 Cor. viii. 2; xiii.
12; John x 141 and negatively
Matt. vii. 23; 2 Cor. v. 21.

This knowledge of God gained by
experience (γινώσκειν), and so contrast-
ed with the knowledge which is imme-

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Π. 3

diate and absolute (οἶδα), is presented

in its different stagos in the Gospel

and Epistles of St John. It is re-
led

(1) In reference to the point of
acquisition (ἔγνων John i, 10; x. 38;
xvi, 3; xvii 8, 25; ο. iii 1; iv. 8).

(2) Asa result of the past realised
in the present (ἔγνωκα, John viii. 55;
xiv. ο; xvii. 7; 0. 4, 13, 143 ili. 6, 16;
2 John 1). And

(3) As being actually realised at
the moment (γινώσκω, John viii. 43;
x. 1418, 27, 38; xiv. 7,17; xvii. 3, 23;
ο iv. 2, 6, 7; ¥. 20).

These three aspects of the know-
ledge of God offer a view of the begin-
ning, the strength and the aim of life.

It is worthy of remark that 8t John
nowhere uses γνῶσις (St Luke, St
Paul, St Peter), nor the compound
forms ἐπιγωώσκειν (Synn, Acts, St
Paul, 2 Peter), ἐπίγνωσις (St Paul,
Hob., 2 Peter). He confines himself,
as he does almost exclusively in deal-
ing with faith (πιστεύειν eis), to the
simple verb. This form of expression
brings out most distinctly the per-
sonal character of the energy.

In this context it is not clearly de-
fined to Whom the pronoun (ἐγν. av-
τόν) refera) The Divine Being fills
the apostle’s vision, but the Person
is not distinctly named. It has been
supposed that the reference is to
Christ, the main subject of the pre-
ceding verses. In favour of this view
it is urged that in i 6 6 the αὐτοῦ
refers to the last subject of i. 5, and
that the construction of this section is
similar ; that the occurrence of the
phrase the Love of God in ο. 5 implies
areference of the preceding αὐτοῦ to
the Son and not to the Father ; that
Christ Himself speaks of the ‘keep-
ing of His Commandments’ as the
proof of love (John xiv. 15, &c.). On
the other hand it is said that in this
Epistle ‘the Commandments’ referred
to are always the Commandments of
God (ie. the Father) as iii. 22, 24; v.
2, 3; and that God is the great under-

IL 4, 5] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 47

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lying subject of all, the ‘He’ (αὐτόν)
which is self-defined ; so that in point
of fact αὐτός generally refers to ‘God,’
while éxeivor always refers to Christ
(α 6 note).

The sense remains substantially the
same in both cases, It is in the Son
that the Father is known (John xiv.
g). And perhaps it is best to suppose
that St John assumes a general ante-
cedent ‘Him to whom we turn as
God’ without special distinction of
Persons. In other places he does not
seem to draw any sharp distinction
between the Father and the Son, but
in the One God looks now to the reve-
lation of the Father in the Bon and
now to the revelation of the Son
(comp. iii. 1—3, 5, 6; v. 20).

ἐάν...τηρῶμεν] ο observemus V., si
servaverimus Aug., if we keep his
commandments, Comp. ο. 4; iii. 22,
24; γ. 3; John xiv, 15,21; xv. 10;
Apoc. xii 17; xiv. 13. The phrase
(rnpeiv τὰς ἐντολάς) is only found else-
where in New Testament in Matt,
xix. 17; 1 Tim. vi. 14 (τηρεῖν τὴν ἐντ.).
Comp. 1 Cor. vii. 19. It appears to
be distinguished from the phrase
which follows ‘keep his word’ as
being an observance of definite in-
structions, while that is the observance
of α΄ principle which is ever taking a
new embodiment in the very process
of life,

The phrase ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολάς, which
18 found in the common text of Apoc,
xxii. 14, is a false reading.

The idea of τηρεῖν, as distinguished
from φυλάσσειν in this connexion
(John xii. 47; Matt. xix. 20; Luke
xi. 28) appears to be that of watchful
heed to an object which claims, so to
speak, a living observance, a service

~ wat! ἐντ. Α. ~& τούτῳ &:

not of the letter but of the spirit.
A definite, unchangeable, deposit is
‘guarded’ (φυλάσσεται, 1 Tim, vi. 20):
a vital, growing, word is ‘observed’
(Πρεῖται, John xiv. 22). Tho two
verbs occur in juxtaposition in John
xvii, 12 (note).

4- ὀλέγων] He that saith. This in-
dividualising of the statement stands.
in contrast with the comprehensive
form cited before Jf we say (i. 6, 8,
19) and that used inv. 5. It occurs
again 20. 6,9.

Ἔγνωκα αὐτόν] 86 nove cum Ὑ.,
quia cognovit (cognovi) eum Aug, I
know him. The direct personal as-
sertion (6 λέγων ὅτι) is bolder in form
than the oblique construction in vv.
6, 9 (ὁ λέγων prey, elvas). Comp.
Hos. viii. 2.

In the words which follow St John
significantly takea up again phrases
which he bas used already in connexion
with the three false pleas in rogard
to sin (Ψεύστης ἐστίν || ψεύδεται ο. 6;
ἐν τούτῳ ἡ dd. οὐκ ἔστιν || ἡ dA. οὐκ
ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν ο. 8: (ὃς δ' ἂν τηρῇ) αὐτοῦ
τὸν λόγον || ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ (οὐκ ἔστω ἐν
ἡμῖν v. 19).

ψαώστης...οὐκ ἔστιν] a liar...in thie
man. The whole character is false.
Bee i. 10 note, The clause is very
similar to i. 6 b, but differs from it in
being general while that is special.
Here we have two characteristics of a
permanent state (is a liar, the truth
ts not in him), and there two separate
manifestations of the state (we lie, we
do not the truth).

ἐν τούτφ..ιοὐκ ἔστιν] in him the
truth is not. Or more literally in
this man thus definitely characterised
and brought before us. See 0. 5.
This use of the demonstrative pro-

48

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

OL 5

αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον, ἀληθῶς ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ

noun is characteristic of St John (John
vy. 38; i 2 note); and the emphatic
order adds to its force.

The truth is said to be in a man
as an active principle within him re-
gulating his thoughts and judgments
( i. 8; John viii 44; comp. John
vill. 32); and again a man is said to
be in the truth, as the sphere in which
he moves (2 John 4; 3 John 3, 4;
John vii, 445 comp. John xvii. 17)

5. ὃς 8 ἂν τηρῇ.. 1 qui autem servat

ο qui a, servaverit Aug., but who-
soever keepeth. The indefinite form
Gii. 17; iv. 15) marks the breadth of
the assertion. The apostle does not
here, as before and after, either single
out a special example (6 λέγω», ο. 4),
or join himself with others (ἐὰν εἴπω-
per, i 6). He makes the statement
in the most general terms.

It will be noticed that the opposite
to the vain assertions of false claimants
to the Christian name is not given in
‘a counter assertion but, as always, in
action (L 7 Uf we walk; i. 9 Uf we
confess ; v.10 he that loveth).

τηρῇ μα τὸν λόγον] keepeth his
word. The phrase expresses not
only the falfilment of specific injunc-
tions (keep his commandments, v. 3)
but also the needful regard to the
whole revelation made by Christ as a
living and active power, of which the
voice is never silent. The unity of the
many ‘commandments’ is not in a
‘law’ but in a ‘word’: it answers to
the spirit and not to the letter. Comp.
Jobn viii 51 £,55; xiv. 23; xv. 20;
xvii.6, The passage John xiv. 21—24
is of singular interest as illustrating
the full meaning of the phrase,

The position of the pronoun here
(Ωὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον), a8 contrasted with
that which it has in ο. 3 (τὰς ἐντολὰς
αὐτοῦ), emphasises the idea.
The main thought is that the word is
His word, the word of God. There is
emphasis also on the ‘keeping’ ὃς 2°

ἂν τηρῇ contrasted with ὁ.. τὰς ἐντ.
μὴ τηρῶν). a

ἀληθῶς ἐν τούτῳ] verily in him, in
this man, ο. 4 note.

In the description of the state of
the watchful believer the form of
expression is changed significantly.
St John does not say of him (ο. 4)
that ‘he is true and the truth is
in him’; but he rather regards his
character from the divine side, and
points out not what such α man is, but
what sach a man has received from
Him who is unchangeable: in this
man the love of God hath been per-
fected, By doing this he passes at
the same time from that which may
be a part of life to the fulness of life.
Trath may be only a right concep-
tion realised in thought: love is the
Truth realised in a personal relation.
The love which God gives (iii. 1) be-
comes an active, divine power in the
man who welcomes it.

ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ] caritas Dei Ὑ.,
dilectio Dei Aug., the love of God.
The phrase, which occurs in the Epi-
stle first here and henceforth through-
out it, is ambiguous and may mean,
according as the gen. is taken subj. or
olj., either (1) the love which God
shews, or (2) the love of which God is
the object. It may also mean more
generally (3) the love which is charac-
teristic of God whether it is regarded
as shewn by God or by man through
His help. Generally the genitive
after dydy in the N.T. is subj, and
defines those who feel or shew love:

9; Col. i 8; Pailem, 5, 71 Apoc. ii
4 19. Onco it marks the object of
love: 2 Thess. ii, 10 ἡ dy. τῆς ἆλη-
Θείας, But the object is more com-
monly expressed by els: 1 Thess. iii.
12; Col i 4; 1 Pet iv. δ. Comp.
Ign. Mart, 1; [Clem. R] fragm, τ
(Jacobson).

In St Paul ‘the love of God,’ with

IL 5]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

49

ρ > , ρ Pe mw
τετελείωται. ᾿Εν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐσμέν
5 ἐν τούτῳ... ἐσμέν: Ang. reads tn hoc cognoscimus quia in ipso sumus οἱ in

ipso perfecti fuerimus.

the doubtful exception of 2 Thess. iii.
5, always means the love which is
ahewn by God, which comes from
God : 2 Cor. viii. 14; Rom. v. 5; viii.
39; Eph. ii 4; and so also ‘the love
of Christ’ is the love which Christ has
shewn and shews: 2 Cor. v.14; Rom.
viii. 35 ; Eph. iii. 19. Comp. Ign. ad
Trali. 6; ad Rom. inser. In like
manner ‘the love of the Spirit’ (Rom.
αγ. 30) is that love which the Spirit
Kindles and sustains. The phrase ‘the
love of God’ does not occur in the uxx.

The usage of St John is less simple
than that of St Paul In 1 John iv.
9 ‘the love of God’ is evidently the
love which God has shewn (comp.c. Υ.
9 ἡ paprupia τοῦ θεοῦ), and this love
is declared to be the spring of all
love, ‘His love’ (ο. 12) becomes
effective in man. This conception of
the love of God as communicated by
God to man is plainly expressed in 1
John iii. 1 the Father hath given to
us love (comp. ο. iv. 7, 16). Love such
as God Himself feele—‘ divine love’—
becomes therefore an endowment of
the Christian. In this sense ‘the
love of God’ in the believer calls for
deeds of love to the brethren (ο, iii.
17). At the same time God is Him-
self the object of the love of which He
is the source and the rule: ο v. 3
(comp. John xiv. 15, 31); if. 15 (ἡ dy.
τοῦ πατρός).

It appears therefore moet probable
that the fundamental idea of ‘the love
of God’ in St John is ‘the love which
God has made known, and which an-
ewers to His nature’ This love
communicated to man is effective in
him towards the brethren and to-
wards God Himself. But however
it may be manifested the essential
conception that it isa love divine in
its origin and character is not lost.
Comp. John xv. οί.

Ww.

According to this interpretation
the corresponds with the
‘righteousness of God’ (Rom. i. 17,
&c.), the ‘peace of God* (Phil. iv. 7).

The phrase occurs twice only in the
Gospels : Luke xi. 42; Johny. 42. In
each case the rendering ‘love to God’
is admissible, but this rendering does
not seem to exhaust the meaning
(comp. Clem. R. 1 Cor. 49).

In the present passage there can be
little doubt that ο iv. 9 defines the
meaning. ‘The love of God’ is God’s
love towards man welcomed and ap-

propriated by man. The thought of
action is throughout connected with
the thought of what God has done.
The Christian ‘knows the love of
God and it becomes in him a spring
of love, attaining its complete deve-
lopment in human life through vital
obedience.

On the use of ἀγάπη by St John
see additional note on ο iii. 16.

ἀληθῶς] vere V., verily, in very
truth, and not in word only (ο, iii. 18).
Comp. John i. 47 (48); viii. 31. The
word qualifies the whole clause which
follows. This practical reeult is con-
trasted by implication with the idle
assertions of false Christians.

The perfection of love is condi-
tioned by the completeness of obe-
dience.

τετελείωται] perfecta est V., con-
summata est Luct, hath been per-
JSected, Comp. ο. iv. 12 (note), 17, 18
‘where the thought is presented in
different lights. Comp. Clem. R. τ
Cor. 50 οἱ ἐν ἀγάπῃ τελειωθότες.
Doctr, Apost. x. 5 µνήσθητι, κύριε, τῆς
ἀχκλησίας σον...τελειώσαι αὐτὴν é
ἀγάπῃ σου. The potential fulfilment
of the love of God in the Christian
lies in his absolute readiness to learn
and to do God’s will (comp. Rom. xiii.
19). Each Christian according to his

4

5ο

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IL 6

56 λέγων ἐν αὐτῷ µένειν ὀφείλει καθὼς ἐκεῖνος περιε-
πάτησεν καὶ αὐτὸς περιπατεῖν.

6 καὶ αὐτὸς reper. AB vg the: καὶ adr.+ofrus’ reper. SNC me syr hol.

measure is perfected as a member of
Christ (Epb. iv. 16). He receives
from Christ what Christ has Himself
received. Comp. John xvii. 25 f. On
this idea of ‘perfection,’ ‘consumma-
tion) see Heb. ii, το; ix. 9; xii. 23
and notes, Contrast τελεῖται 2 Cor.
xii. 9.

Both τελειοῦν and ἐπιτελεῖν are used
of Christian action (Phil iii, 12; Gal.
iii. 3). But im τελειοῦν there is the
idea of a continuous growth, a vital
development, an advance to maturity
(πελειότης, Heb. v. 13; vie 1). In
ἐπιτελεῖν the notion is rather that of
attaining a definite end (τέλος). Con-
trast James ii 22 ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίσ-
τις ἐτελειώθη with 2 Cor. vii. 1 ἐπιτε-
λοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην, and Acts xx. 24
τελειῶσαι τὸν δρόµον with 2 Tim. iv. 7
τὸν δρόµον τετέλεκα. In 2 Cor. xii. 9
πελειοῦται has been substituted in
later authorities for τελεῖται.

2.50,6, The sign of union. The
‘sign of union with God is found in
the imitation of Christ. As the sign
of knowledge is to be seen in the
keeping of the divine commandments
in their unity (ο. 3) and in the keep-
ing of the divine word in its unity
(ο, 5), 80 the sign of fellowship is to
19 seen in the copying the divine life.

In this we perceive that we are in
him: She that saith he abideth in
Aim, ought himself also to walk even
as he walked,

Ἐν τούτφ] Hereby, in this, in the
realisation of this spirit of obedience
which is the gift of love: ο. 3 note,

γινώσκομεν] Comp. 9. 35 ο. Υ.2 notes,

ἐν αὐτῷ ἐσμέν] are in Him. The
idea finds a full expression in Acts
xvi 28 ἐν αὐτῷ (Sper καὶ κινούµεθα
καὶ ἐσμέν. It is prominent in St John’s
writings in ite spiritual form, and is
presented under several different, as-

pects, The fellowship of believers
with God is accomplished in Christ
(John xiv. 20; xvii. 21, 23). They
have in Him the unity and founda-
tion of their being, even as ‘the
world? ‘lies in the evil one’ (@ v.
19f). The connexion finds a twofold
fulfilment in ‘heaven’ and on ‘earth,’
‘we in Him and He in us’ (iv. 15
note).

For the phrase ‘being in God’ St
Jobn more commonly, as in the fol-
lowing clause, uses the phrase ‘abid-
ing in God, which adds the concep-
tion of personal determination and
effort: vv. 24, 27, 28; iii. 6, 24; iv.
12.515 John vi 56 note; xv. 4 ff

‘Thus there is a progressive close-
ness of relation in the three phrasos
used in this section ναι αὐτόν,
εἶναι ἐν αὐτῷ, µένειν ἐν αὐτῷ (‘cognitio,
communio, constantia’ Bengel).

6. ὁ λέγων] he that saith. ο. 4.
The open, personal profession carries
with it a paramount obligation.

ἐν αὐτῷ µένεω] ο. 5 note.

The construction of λέγω with the
infin. occurs again in ο. 9, Comp.
2 Tim. ii. 18; and ο. 4 note.

ἀφεῖλει] debet V., ought, is bound.
The obligation is represented as a
debt (Luke xvii 1ο). The life which
is from God and ia God must be
manifested after the pattern of the
divine life which has been shewn
upon earth. As contrasted with δεῖ,
an obligation in the nature of things
(John xx. 9), which is not found in
the Epistles of St John, though it is
not unfrequent in the Gospel (ο, iii.
14 note) and the Apocalypse, ὀφείλειν
expresses a special, personal obli-
gation.

Comp. ο, iii. 16; iv, 125 3 John &

The image is frequent in St Paul,
Comp. Rom. i. 14; Gal. v. 3.

IL. 6]

μαθὼς ἐκεῖνος] even as he, i.e. Christ,
‘The pronoun ἐκεῖνος occurs iii. 3, 5, 7,
16; iv. 17, and is always used of:
Christ. He stands out as the one
figure seen in full perfection of His
humanity. Comp. John i 18; 2 Tim.
ii 13. For the omission of οὕτως see
ο iv. 17 note.

περιεπάτησεν] walked, i, 6 note.
Even in the contemplation of the
loftiest thoughts St John fixes a
practical standard. The divine fel-
lowship to which he points is realised
on earth in corresponding action.

The pattern of Christ, as set before
usin the New Testament, is in every
case a pattern of humiliation, suffer-
ing, sacrifice. Comp. Matt. xi 29;
John xiii, 15; Rom, xv. 2f,; Eph. v.
1ff.; Phil. it 5 £; 1 Pet. ii 21;
Heb. xii. 2.

Angustine points out that ‘walking’
may be ‘bearing’ only: [Christus]
fixus in crace erat et in ipsa via am-
bulabat: ipsa est via caritatis,

TIL Oseprence IN LOVE AND LIGHT
IN ACTUAL 117 (ii, 7—11).

‘The declaration of the test of know-
ledge of God and fellowship with God,
which St John has given in ov. 3—6,
leads to a view of the practical fulfil-
ment of the test indicated already in
5.6. The Life of Christ, a Life of com-
plete love, of complete self-sacrifice, is
the type of the Christian’s Lif; and
the significance of Christ's Life in
this aspect is gathered up in the
one commandment of love, which ex-
presses what is meant by ‘keeping
His commandments’ (5, 3) and ‘walk-
ing even as He walked’ (2.6). This
commandment is first set forth in its
twofold character as old and yet new
(ου, 7, 8); and then traced out in its
issues (ov. 9—11).

1, The Commandment old and
new (ii. 7, 8).

The commandment, which is the
vale of the Christian Life, is as old as
the first message of the Gospel and

ΤΗΕ FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

51

yet as new as the latest realisation of
its power. It lies included in what
we first hear, and is illuminated by
the growing experience of life.

1 Beloved, it is no new command-
ment I write to you, but an old com-
mandment which ye had from the
beginning: the commandment, the
old commandment, is the word which
ye heard,

* Again, a new commandment I
write to you, even that which is true
in him and in you, because the dark-
ness is passing away and the light,
the trua light, already shineth,

‘The ‘commandment’ to which the
apostle refers has not been formally
stated, but it is implied in the ‘ought’
(‘is bound’ ὀφείλει) of ο. 6. The idea
of the imitation of Christ is identical
with the fulfilment of love. And the
word ὀφείλει carries us back to the
Lord’s interpretation of His example:
John xiii, 14 (Upeis ὀφείλετε. We
have already seen that the many
‘commandments’ (ο, 3) are included
in ‘the word’ (ο. 5). Now the ‘com-
mandments’ are summed up in the
one ‘commandment’ (John xiii, 34;
comp. ο ili. 22 f.).

This commandment is spoken of as
“not new but old.’ In this connexion
‘old’ may mean either (1) old rela-
tively: one which belonged to the
first stage of the Christian Church,
while perhaps as yet it was unsepa-
rated from the old order: one of
which believers had been in possession
JSrom the beginning, from the first
origin of their faith ; or (2) old abso-
lately : one which was included in the
very constitution of man from the
beginning : one which the Jew had
recognised in the injunctions of the
Law, and the Gentile in the prompt-
ings of his heart.

The clause which immediately fol-
lows, and the identification of the
commandment with ‘the word’ which
the disciples heard, seem to deter-
mine that the first sense is unt
edly right, :

4-2

52 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

πα. 7

7᾿Ἀγαπητοί, οὐκ ἐντολὴν καινὴν γράφω ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾽
ἐντολὴν παλαιὰν ἣν εἴχετε dx’ ἀρχῆς ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ

7 ἀγαπητοί RABO vg the me syrr : ἀδελφοί 6».

7. Αγαπητοί] Carissimi V., Dilee-
tissimé Aug., Beloved. Thisis the first
occurrence of the title. It is sug-
gested by the thought of the last few
verses, just as the paternal address
My little children (ο. 1) was sug-
gested by 1. 1ο. The love of God and
the love of Christ calling out man’s
love presents Christians in their new
relation one to another, St John
while enforcing the commandment of
love gives expression to love. Comp.
iti. 1; iv. 1, 7 note, 11; and in
the sing. 3 John 2, 5, 11. Ἶα each
case the use of the title illustrates the
apostle’s thought. So also the title
ἀδελφοί brings out the point of his
teaching in the one place where he
adopts it: iii.

With ἀγαπητοί contrast ἠγαπημένοι
Col. iii. 12; 1 Thess. i, 4; 2 Thess. ii,
13. Comp. Eph. i. 6.

οὐκ évr. κ. y.) Comp. 2 John 5 oy
ὧν ὅτι γράφων σοι κ.

dx’ ἀρχῆς] ab initio V., from the
beginning, The words are, as has
been already indicated, ambiguous.
The phrase is used both absolutely
and relatively.

1, It is used absolutely: ο iii. 8
Gn’ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει, when
first the present order of being is
disclosed.

νο, 13, 14 6 ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς.

ci 1 ὃ ἦν da’ ἀρχῆς.

Matt, xix. 4, 8 dx’ ἀρχῆς. || Mc. x. 6
dn’ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως. 2 Pet. iii. 4.

2, Again it is used relatively in
different connexions :

John xv. 27 dm’ ἀρχῆς per’ ἐμοῦ
éoré, from the beginning of my public
ministry. Comp. ἐξ ἀρχῆς John vi. 64,
xvi, 4; Acts xxvi. 4 τὴν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς
γενομένην [βίωσιν] from the beginning
of my life,

Luke i 2 of dn’ ἀρχῆς αὐτοπταί,
Comp. Acts i 22.

ο ii, 24 ὃ da’ ἀρχῆς ἠκούσατε, from
the beginning of your Christian faith.
Comp. ο. iii. 11; 2 John 6.

These last passages, which areclosely
parallel, decide that the reference here
is to the beginning of the Christian
faith of the readera.

Comp. 18. Ixiii. 16 (1xx.).

The article is omitted as in the cor-
responding phrases ἀπὸ καταβολῆς
κόσμον, πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. Bee
ο. i. 1 note.

ἡ ἐντολὴ...ἠκούσατε] the command-
ment, the commandment of which I
speak, the old commandment, is the
word which ye heard, The form of
expression used emphasises the two
thoughts which have gone before (the
commandment, the old command-
ment). Comp. i. 2, ii. 25 ἡ ζωὴ ἡ αἰώνιος
(the life, the eternal life) ; iL 3 ἡκουω-
via ἡ ἡματέρα (the fellowship of which
1 speak, the fellowship which is our
blessing); ο. 8 τὸ ids τὸ ddyStrdns iv.
9 6 vids 6 µονογενής: 2 John 11 τοῖς
ἔργοιε αὐτοῦ τοῖς πονηροῖς: 13 τῆς ἆδελ-
iis σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς.

On the other hand St John writes
ο. iv, 18 ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη: 3 John 4 τὰ
ἐμὰ τέκνα,

ὁ λόγος] The old commandment,
the commandment of love, was in-
cluded in the ‘Gospel’ which the
apostles proclaimed, The record of
the Lord’s work, the word of life, was
a continuous call to love,

ὃν ἠκούσατε] which ys heard, ο. 24,
iii 11. Contrast the perfect: i 1, 3,
5,iv. 3, Thechange of tenses in εἴχετε,
ἠκούσατε, is significant. The com-
mandment was a continuous power:
the hearing of the word was at once
final in its obligation.

IL 8]

/ . κ
παλαιά ἐστιν ὁ λόγος ὃν ἠκούσατε.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 53

Άπαλιν ἐντολὴν

καινὴν γράφω ὑμῖν, ὅ ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν,

ἠκούσατε RABC vg the me syrr: +dx’ ἀρχῆ 5.

ὃν αὐτῷ ed A.

8. πάλιν] tterum V., again. The
apostle has given one side of the
Trath: he now turns to the other.
The πάλιν answers exactly to our
‘again’ when we enter on a new line
of argument or reflection, starting
afresh. Comp. John xvi. 28; 1 Cor.
xii. 21; 2 Cor. x. 7; xi. 16,

ὀντολὴν καινήν] mandatum nooum
V., α new commandment. Comp.
John xiii. 34. The commandment of
love was new to the disciples who
had followed Christ when He gave it
them on the eve of the Passion in a
new form and with a new sanction.
It was new also to the believers whom
St John addressed in jon 88
they were now enabled to apprehend
with fresh power the Person and Life
of Christ. The ‘newness’ is relative
to the position of those to whom St
John writes. While life advances the
Gospel must be always new. Contrast
Hebr. viii. 13.

ὅ ἐστιν ἀληθές...] quod verum est...
V., even that which is true... The
whole sentence admits of several dif-
ferent translations: (1) As a new
commandment I write unto you that
which is true... (2) A new command-
ment write I unto you, namely, that
which is true... (3) A new command-
ment write I unto you, a fact (1.9.
that it is new as well as old) which is
true... The symmetry of the struc-
ture seems to be decisive against (1):
*Rvrodijy καινἠν γράφω cannot but be
strictly parallel to οὐκ.ἐντολὴν καινὴν
yebu—'s new commandment do I
write, ‘not a new commandment do
I write’ It is more difficult to decide
igh reon (2) an and a (3), If (2) be taken

be: ‘A new command-
. write ry unto you, new no less
than old, new in its shape and in its

8 ad. καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Ν:

& ὑμῶν RBO vg the me αγετ: ἐν ἡμῖν A eyr hel mg (lat).

authority, even that which, while it was
enjoined upon us from the first, has
been found to correspond more closely
than we then understood with the facts
of Christ’s Life, with the crowning
mystery of His Passion, and with the
facts of the Christian life’ If on the
other hand (3) be taken then we have
this line of thought: ‘A new com-
mandment write I unto you, new, I
say, 28 well as old, an assertion which
is proved true in Christ, so far as His
works and words have become more
fully known; and in you, so far as the
actual experience of life has shewn
this duty of love in a new light,
more comprehensive and more con-
straining.’

On the whole the second interpre-
tation appears to fall in best with the
context and with the reason which fol-
lows (because...the true light already
shineth). That which gave novelty to
the commandment was found in the
larger and deeper views of Christ’s
Person and of the work of the Church
which had been unfolded since ‘ the
beginning” Old words, St John could
affirm, and appeal to his readers for
the confirmation of the statement, had
become new. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 17.

ὅτι ἡ σκοτία...] because the dark-
ness...The apostle justifies his paradox
by calling attention to the change
which had taken place in the face of
the world since the Gospel was first
preached. The outward establishment
of the Church gave a clearer distinct-
ness to the Christian character. It had
‘become possible to point to that which
was openly before men’s eyes. At the
same time the Person of Christ Him-
self, with its infinite significance, was
illuminated by the experience of be-
lievers. The meaning of ‘the word’

54

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

πε

ὅτι ἡ ὁκοτία παράγεται καὶ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἤδη
: ond A.

(for example) was made clearer than
before by the Gospel of Βὲ John as
compared with the earlier Gospels.

The clause may be taken as an ex-
planation of the reason for which the
apostle is repeating the command,
even that it was the ‘last hour’ But
this interpretation appears impro-
bable.

παράγεται...φαίνει] transierunt...
luce V., is passing away...already
shineth, The change is pictured as
in process, The darkness is being
withdrawn (παράγεται) 08 8 cartain
from the face of the world, and the
light is beginning (ὔδη) to have free
course.

For παράγεται see ο. 17. The in~
trans. παράγει occurs 1 Cor. vii. 415
Pa, oxliv. (cxliii) 4. The idea seems
to be that God is removing the veil
in order to lay open the better things
which it conceals.

τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν] verum lumen
V., luz vera Aug, the light, the
true light. The addition of the
epithet ἀληθινόν (ο. v. 20) which is
found only here and John i. 9 (note)
with φῶς, marks the light as that
which fulfilled all that had been pro-
mised by the preparatory, partial,
even fictitious, lights which had ex-
isted in the world before. If we en-
deavour to fix the meaning of ‘the
light’ here it can be best done by the
help of the parallel John i. 9. Before
the Incarnation ‘the Word,’ ‘the true
Light’ was ever ‘coming into the
world’ Now by the mission of the
Holy Spirit, sent in His name, He
was shining with a steady beam. The
darkness had not eclipsed it. In the
Christian Society, seen in the midst
of the world, there was an evident
manifestation of the light defining the
lines of Christian conduct.

God ‘is light’ νο ιο (i. 5): the
revelation of God in Christ by the

Spirit is ‘the light, the true light’
for men; and in His light the be-
liever is enabled to see all things,

Φφαίνει] tucet V., shineth. Comp.
John i. 5 (note). The idea is of =
Tominary giving out its brightness:
Apoc, i. 16, viii. 12, xxi. 23; 2 Pet.
i 19.

For the image generally compare
Rom. xiii, 11 ff; Tit. ih 11; iii 4.

2. The iseues of the command-
ment of love (ii. 9---11).

The fulfilment of the command-
ment of love is regarded in its general
nature (ο. 9) and then more in detail
in the effects of love and hatred (ον.
10, 11). A state of love is the condi-
tion of being in light; and this state
carries with it a clear certainty of
right action which is otherwise unob-
tainable, Hatred on the other hand
involves complete ignorance of the
way and of the end of life, This must
be 20; for dwelling in darkness de-
stroys the very power by which the
light is discerned.

9He that saith he is in the light
and hateth his brother is in the dark-
ness until now. He that loveth his
brother abideth in the light, and
there is none occasion of stumbling
in him; “but he that hateth his
brother is in the darkness, and walk-
eth in the darkness, and knoweth not
whither he gosth, because the dark-
ness hath blinded his eyes.

9. The link of transition lies in the
last words of ο. 8. The thought of ‘the
light already shining’ naturally σαρ-
gests the question, Who then is in the
light? St John’s account of the obli-
gations and issues of love explains
this and is an answer to the false
claims of knowledge from
the action which embodies it (comp.
ο. 4).

Ὁ λέγω»...] He that saith, ο. 4. It

IL ο]

φαίνει.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

55

5 Ὁ λέγων ἐν τῷ φωτὶ εἶναι καὶ τὸν

ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μισῶν ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ ἐστὶν ἕως ἄρτι.
9 mode: ψεύστηε doris καί δὲ Cypr Lofr.

is always easy to mistake an intel-
lectual knowledge for a spiritual know-
ledge of the Truth. Real knowledge
involves, at least potentially, corre-

surrounded, as it were, by an atmo-
sphere of divine glory. Comp. i 7 (iv.
15 note).

μισώ»...] Aateth... Indifference is
impossible. Comp. Luke xi.23. There
is no twilight in this spiritual world,
‘The brother’ stands in a relation
towards us which makes some feeling
on our part inevitable. In such a case
there is a simple choice between ‘for’
and ‘against,’ that is essentially be-
tween ‘love’ and ‘hatred’ ‘Hatred’
is the expression of a want of sym-
pathy. Where sympathy exists hatred
is impossible (John vii 7); where
sympathy does not exist hatred is
inevitable (John xv. 18 ff., xvii. 14,
fii, 20).

‘There is howevera certain ambiguity
in the word ‘hate’ for it serves as the
opposite both to the love of natural
affection (φιλεῖν), and to the love of
moral judgment (ἀγαπῷν). In the
former case ‘hatred,’ which may be-
come a moral duty, involves the sub-
jection of an instinet (John xii. 25,
xv. 188; comp. Luke xiv. 26); in
the latter caso ‘hatred’ expresses a
general determination of character (c.
iii, 15, iv. 20; comp. Matt. v. 43, vi.
24; Eph. v. 28f.).

τὸν ἀδελφόν] his brother, that is,
his fellow-Chrietian, and not more
generally his fellow-man. It is only
through the recognition of the re-
lation to Christ that the wider relation
is at last apprehended. The idea of
brotherhood under the new dispensa-
tion (comp. Acta ii. 37, iii. 17, vi. 3,
ix. 30, &c.; Rom, i 13, &c.) is nor

mally thus limited (yet see Acts xxii.
1, xxviii. 17; Rom. ix. 3). ‘Brethren’

αχ. 17, xxi. 23; comp. Matt. xii. 50).
The title occurs significantly in the
first record of the action of the Church
(Acta i 15 ὢν plow τῶν ἀδελφῶν;
comp. ix. 30, &¢.) pate then throughout
the apostolic writings (1 Thess v. 26;
Gal. {, 2; 1 Cor. v. 11; Rom. xvi. 14
&ec.; 1 Tim. vi 2; James i.9; 1 Pet.v.
12 be; ο iii, 14, 16; 3 John 3, 5, 10,
The singular is characteristic of this
epistle (ου. 10, 11, iii, 10, 15, 17, iv.
20 f, v.16). Comp. Rom. xiv. 10 ff. ;
1 Cor. vili. 13. Compare Additional
Note on ο iii, 14.
is, as far as it appears, no
case where a fellow-man, as man, is
called ‘a brother’ in the N.T. Such
passages a8 Matt. v. 22 ff, Luke vi.
41 f£, presuppose a special bond of
‘brotherhood’ The ‘love of the
brotherhood’ (PaadeAgia’ 1 Thess. iv.
9; Rom. xii. 10; Heb. xiii. 1; 1 Pet.
i, 22 (fii. 8); 2 Pet. i 7) leads up to
‘love’ (ἀγάπη). But this widest love
is expressly assigned in its full extent
only to God (John iii. 16, ο. iv. 10 £).
‘Angustine makes a striking appli-
cation of the words to the Donatists :
Offendit te nescio quis sive malus,
sive ut tu putas malus, sive ut tu
fingis malus, et deseris tot bonos?
Qualis dilectio est fraterna? Qualis
apparuit in iat istis [Donatistis}. Cum
deseruerunt orbem

accusant Afros
terrarum.

And again he points out the ground
of the Obratian's love of enemies: Bic

dilige inimicos ut fratres optes. Sic
dilige inimicos ut in societatem tuam
vocentur. Sic enim dilexit ille qui in
eruce pendens ait Pater ignosce illis,
quia nesciunt quid faciunt.

56

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

IL το, 11

°6 ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ µένει, καὶ

σκάνδαλον ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν' 6 δὲ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν

αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳα ἐστὶν καὶ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ περιπατεῖ,
é Ὡ ry e

10 ἂν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν B vg: οὐκ ἔστω dy αὐτῷ RAC (me) the.

ἐν τῇ on. ἐστίν] is in the darkness,
Comp. i. 6 note. The assertion is not
simply characterised as false (i 6 we
149) or as revealing a false nature (ο, 4
he isaliar): it involves the existence
of a moral state the exact opposite of
that which is claimed.

ἕως ἄρτι] usque adhuc V., until
now, though. the. the light is actually
shining, and he affirms that he is in
it, yea even that he has been in it
from the first.

10. ὁ ἀγαπῶ»...] He that loveth...
The reality of the fact is set against
tho assertion in 9.9 (He that saith...).
Comp. ov. 4, 5 note.

dy τῷ φωτὶ μένει] abideth (and not
simply is a8 in ο, 9) in the light.
The idea of stability is added to that
of simple ‘being’ (comp. 2. 5, 9.
The position of the false brother anc
of the true Wwother is rfersd to the
initial point of faith, Love testifies
to the continuance of a divine fellow-
ship on man’s part but does not create
it: the absence of love shews that the
fellowship has never been realised.
For the use of ‘abide’ in various
connexions see σ. 6, iii, 14, iv. 16; 2
John 9; John xii. 46.

By love the disciple ‘follows’ his
Master and bas ‘the light of life’
(John viii, 12).

σκάνδαλον...ἕστιν] scandalum in ¢0
non est V., there is none occasion of
stumbling ‘in him. The image occurs
elsewhere in St John’s writings in
Jobn vi. 61, xvi. 1; Apoc ii 14;
comp. John xi. 9 f It is at first
sight doubtful whether the occasion of
stumbling is that which may be in the
way of others or in the way of the
believer himself. A man may cause
others to fall through want of love or

he may by the same defect create
difficulties in his own path.

The parallel in ο. 11 favours the
second view. Love gives the single
eye which commands a clear prospect.
of the course to be followed, while if
love be absent doubts and question-
ings arise which tend to the over-
throw of faith (2 Pet. i 10). But on
the other hand the general use of
σκάνδαλον points to the first meaning,
and it is quite in St John’s manner to
regard love in its twofold working in
relation to the man who loves and to
others, while he regards hatred only
in its subject. The triumph of love is
that it creates no prejudice against
the Truth. Want of leve is the most
prolific source of offences.

irg] in him. If the ‘offence’
is that which stands in a man’s own
way, then he is regarded as offering
in himself the scene of his spiritual
advance: his progress, his dangers, are
spiritual, internal If the offence is
that which lies in another’s way, then
he who gives the offence presents
the cause of stumbling in his own

person.

11, Of the fruits of love it is sufi-
cient to say that ‘he that loveth
abideth in the light, and there is
none occasion of stumbling in him.’
‘The issues of hatred are traced in dif-
ferent directions. They are regarded
both in respect of present being (is
in) and action (walketh in) and in
respect of the final goal (knoweth
not whither) to which life is directed.
He who hates has lost the faculty of
seeing, which requires light and love,
‘so that his whole life is a continual
error’ (Howe).

ἐστίν...περισατεῖ...] Comp. i.7. The

IL. 12]
op ο μι
καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν ποῦ ὑπάγει,

phrase πορεύεσθαι ἐν σκότει is used in
a different sense in Is. ]. 1ο.

οὐκ οἶδεν...] knoweth ποὺ... Jobn
xii. 35; Prov. iv. 19. On the other
hand that which was true of Christ
(John viii. 12, xiii. 3) is true also of
the believer (comp. John xiv. 4, 5).
He knows what is the end of lifa,

ὑπάγει] goeth, The idea ia not that
of ling to a definite point
(wopever Gas), but of leaving the present:
scene.

eri. τοὺς ὀφθαλμούε] The image
comes from Is, vi, 10 (John xii. 40),
which is the fundamental description
of God’s mode of dealing with the
self-willed. Comp. Rom. xi. 10 (Ps.
Ixix. 24); and for the opposite Eph. i.
18 πεφωτεσµένους τοὺς ὀφθ. τῆς καρδίας.
(Clem. 1 Cor. 36.)

ἐύφλωσεν] The English idiom will
not bear the exact rendering Winded.
The original tense (comp. 2 Cor. iv. 4
and contrast John xii, 40) marks the
decisive action of the darkness at the
fatal moment when it once for all
‘overtook’ the man (John xii, 35 ba
μὴ καταλάβῃ, i 5 οὐ κατέλαβεν). This
darkness not only hindered the use of
vision but (as darkness does physically)
destroyed the spiritual organ.

IV. ii 12-17. Taixes TEMPORAL
AND ETERNAL.

Hitherto St John has stated briefly
the main scope of his Epistle. He
has shewn what is the great problem
of life, and how the Gospel meets it
with an answer and a law complete
and progressive, old and new. He
now pauses, as it were, to contemplate
those whom he is addressing more
distinctly and directly, and to gather
up in a more definite form the charge
which is at once the foundation and
the end of all he writes.

The section is divided into two
parts, The apostle firat gives the

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

57
ὅτι ἡ σκοτία ἐτύφλωσεν

ground of his appeal (ve. 12—14);
and then he gives the appeal itself
(1s—17).

1. The ground of the appeal (ii.
12---14).

The ground of the apostle’s appeal
lies in the character and position of
those whom he is addressing. He
regards his readers first under their
common aspect as all alike believers,
and then under a twofold aspect as
‘fathers’ and ‘young men,’ separated
one from another by the length of
their Christian experience. This he
does twice, first in respect of the ac-
tual work in which he is at the moment
engaged, and then again in respect of
a work looked upon as finished and
complete. He shews with an im-

ve iteration that from first to
last, in all that he writes or has written,
one unchanging motive is supreme.
Because his readers are Christians
and have in part experienced the
power of their faith he moves them
to nobler efforts ; his object is that
their ‘joy may be falilled’ (ο i. 4).

The exact relation of γράφω to
ἔγραψα has been variously explained.
It may be a reference to some other
writing which has not been preserved,
or, as some think, to the Gospel (comp.
3 John 9; 1 Cor. v. 9; 2 Cor. ii. 3 f.,
vii. 12); but the use of ἔγραψα in ov.
21, 26 is unfavourable to this view.

It may mark a contrast between
the former part of the letter, and
that part which the apostle is now
writing, as if he resumed his work
after an interval and looked back upon
the words already written (comp.
1 Cor, ix. 15; Rom. xv. 15).

Or it may indicate simply a change
of mental position in accordance with
which St John transfers himself to
the place of his readers, and regards
the whole letter as they would do, as
belonging to a past date.

Or yet again, to put this mode of

58
τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ.

in another form, St John
may look at his letter first as it is in
the process of transcription still in-
complete (1 Cor. xiv. 37; 2 Cor. xiii.
10), and then as.it is ideally com-
plete. This appears to be the true
explanation of the ‘epistolary aorist.’
Comp. ov. 21, 26, v.13; 2 John 12;
1 Pet. v.12 ; Gal vi. 11; Philem. 19, 21.
The Latin renderings of γράφω and
fava are alike seribon
6 symmetry of the correspon:
clauses is remarkable, κ.
(1) I write to you, little children
(rexvia), because
. your sins are forgiven you
for His name’s sake.
(@) I write to you, fathers, de-

cause
ye know Him that is from the
beginning.
(8) I write to you, young men,
because
ye have overcome the evil

one.
(2) I have written (I wrote) to
you, little ones (παιδία), because
ye know the Father.
(2 1 have written (I torote) to
you, fathers, because
ye know Him that is from
the beginning.
(8) 1 have written (7 wrote) to
you, young men,
ye are strong and the word
of God abideth in you and
w have overcome the evil

The common title of address is
different in the two cases (1) little
children; (2) little ones. And in
correspondence with this the aspect
of the common ground of addressing
those who are thus designated is also
different (1) because your sine are
JSorgiven for His name's sake; (2)
because ye know the Father. The
special ground of addressing ‘the
fathers’ is the same in each case:

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{IL 12
" Γράφω ὑμῖν, τεκνία,

that of addressing ‘the young men’ is
not changed in the second case but
more fully developed.

The causes of these variations will
appear as we examine the text.

Augustine, like many others, sup-
poses that three classes of readers are
addressed. On this assumption he
characterises them vigorously :

Filii sunt, patres sunt, juvenes sunt.
Filii_ quia nascuntur: patres quia
principium agnoscunt : juvenes, quare?
Quia vicistis malignum. In filiis
nativitas, in patribus antiquitas, in
javenibus fortitudo,

12, Τράφω] J write. Compare o. 1,
and contrast i. 4 (t0¢ write), For the
present tense compare Gal. i. 20;
vines 371 2 Cor. i, 13; 1 Tim.
iid 1

τοσα] Silioli V., little children.
Comp. ο. 1 my little children. The
simple title occurs again ο. 28 (iii. 7),
iv. 4, v. 21. The word which ex-
presses fellowship of natare is con-
nected with that which is the sign of
it, the forgiveness of sina Comp.
Joho iii. 5. Both from the symmetry
of the structure (little children,
Jathers, young men), and from the
general scope of the passage, it is
evident that the title (here as οἶκο-
where) is addressed to all 8t John’s
readers and not to a particular class
of children in age.

ὅτι] guoniam V., quia Aug., be-
cause, There can be no doubt that
the particle is causal (because) and
not declarative (that), St John does
not write to make known the privi-
leges of Christians, but to enforce
the duties which follow from the en-
joyment of them.

ἀφέωνται ὁ. al ἁμ.] remittuntur
vobis peccata V., your sins are for-
given, ie. have been forgiven. The
present of the Latin is misleading
though the past forgiveness of sin
carries with it the constant applica-

IL, τα]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

59

¥, / ο. ο
ὅτι ἀφέωνται ὑμῖν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.

tion of the grace to which it was due:
John xiii, 10. In parallel narra-
tives, it may be added, ἀφίενται is
used by St Matthew (ix. 2, 5) and St
Mark (ii. 5, 9), and ἀφέωνται by St
Lake (ν. 20, 23). In Luke vii. 47 f.
ἀφέωνται is practically undistarbed.
The in John xx. 23 is some-
what doubtfal (ἀφέωνται, ἀφίενται).

The proclamation of the forgiveness
of sins was the message of the Gospel:
Lake xxiv. 47; Acts xiii, 38, This
includes potentially the folfilment of
man’s destiny as man. Comp. i. 9 note,
For Christ’ssake the Father (ο. 14) for-
gives those who are united with Him.

διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ] propter nomen
@us V., per n. 6. Aug., for hisnamés
sake, There is no direct antecedent;
but from ο. 6 the thought of Christ as
the perfect exemplar of divine love
has been present to the mind of the
apostle; and the pronoun clearly re-
fers to Him. Forgiveness is granted
to men because Christ is indeed what
He is revealed to be and what His
‘name’ expresses. It is of course
assumed that Christians acknowledge
‘Him as being what He is (Matt, xxviii,
19).

Redemption is referred to Christ as
He has been made known, both in
respect of the fact that that revelation
contains the force through which as
the moans (διά gen.) and the ground
Jor the sake of which as the cause
(διά acc.) it is accomplished. Bee ο iv,
9 ζήσωμεν δι αὐτοῦ; John vi. 57 ζήσει
δὲ ἐμέ The latter construction is
very rare. Comp. John xv. 3 καθαροί.
dove διὰ τὸν λόγον; Apoc. xii, 11 dvi-
κησαν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίου.

For διὰ τὸ ὄνομα see Matt. x. 22,
xxiv. 9 and parallels; John xv. 21;
Apoe. ii, 3.

διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος Acta iv. 30, x 43;
1 Cor. i. 10.

In two other places of the Epistle
‘the name’ of Christ is mentioned as

the object of faith in different

The commandment of God is that we
believe the name (πιστεύειν τῷ dv.) Of
His Son Jesus Christ (iii 23), that
is, that we accept the revelation con-'
veyed in that full title as true, And
again those who believe in the name
(πιστεύεω εἷς τὸ ὄν) Of the Son of
God (τ. 13), who cast themselves
wholly upon the revelation, are as-
sured of the possession of life eternal
(comp. John i. 12 note). With these
passages must be compared John xx.
31, where St John says. that the ob-
ject of his Gospel was that his readers
may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and believing may
have life in His name (ἐν τῷ ὀν.), in
fellowahip with Him as He has thus
been made known.

The pregnant use of ‘the name’ as
summing up thatwhich is made known
of Christ, explains how it came to be
used as equivalent to ‘the faith’: 3
John 7 ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθαν.
Bee Additional Note on iii. 23.

13. Believers, who are one in the
possession of the gift of forgiveness,
are distinguished by the circum-
stances of life. Differences of ex-
perience eorrespond generally to dif-
ferences of age. Mature Christians, in
a society like that which St John ad-
dressed, would be ‘fathers’ in years.
The difference of ‘fathers’ and ‘young
men’ answers to that of ‘the thinkers,
and the soldiers in the Christian
army,’ to the two main applications of
the Faith. It is a spring of wisdom;
and it is also a spring of strength. In
the natural sequence action is the
way to that knowledge through which
wisdom comes. Christian wisdom is
not speculative but first the fruit of
work and then the principle of work.

The characteristic of ‘fathers’ is
Knowledge, the fruit of experience
(ἐγνώκατε): that of ‘young men,’
victory, the prize of strength. St

60

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

πι. 1s

13 γράφω ὑμῖν, πατέρες, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν dn’ ἀρχῆς'
ο. 4 ,
γράφω ὑμῖν, νεανίσκοι, ὅτι νενικήκατε τὸν πονηρόν.

13 τὸ πονηρίν Ν.

Jobn bases his appeal to each class on
that which they had severally gained.
πατέρεε] Tho word, like 3, Abba,
pater, papa, is used naturally of those
who stand in a position of responsible
authority. Thus it is applied in the
O. Τ. to prophets (2 K. ii. 12; vi 21;
xiii 14), priests (Jud. xvii, το; xviii
19), teachers (Prov. i 8). Comp. Matt.
xalii, 9; (1 Cor. iv. 15;) Acts vii. 2;
xxii, 1. Here the nataral character-
istic of age is combined with that of
eminence in the Christian body.

ὅτι ἐγνώκατε] quoniam (quia) cog-
novistis V., because ye know.... The
essence of wisdom lies in the recog-
nition of the unity of purpose which
rans through the whole development
of being, and of that unity of life
which exists in all This trath is
brought home through the deeper
understanding of the age-long reve-
lation of God consummated in the
Incarnation and interpreted by the
Spirit. .

For the idea of knowledge seo ο. 3
note. God can be known only in His
Son. The knowledge here spoken of
is that which is the result of the past
still abiding (ἐγνώκατε) and not that
which marked a crisis in growth
(yrore) or which is still in continuous
advance (γινώσκετε).

τὸν dn’ ἀρχῆς] eum qui ab initio
(@ principio Aug.) est V., Him that
ts from the beginning, the Word,
that is, brought near to us in the
Person of Christ Jesus, The title
sums up shortly what is expressed
in its successive stages in John i.
1—14, the Word through Whom all
things were made, and in Whom all
things consist, Who, as Life, was
the Light of men, Who was ever
coming into the world which He

made, Who became Flesh. The word
of life (α i 1) is the record of the
revelation of Him that is from the
beginning. The whole course of
history is, when rightly understood,
the manifestation of one will To
know this in Christ is the prerogative
of ‘father, and the knowledge is
the opportunity for the completest
life.

vearicxot] adulescentes V., juvenes
Aug., young men in the full vigour of
opening life. Comp, Matt, xix. 20;
Luke vii. 14.

νενικήκατε] have overcome, not ‘over-
camo’ simply (ο. v. 4 ἡ νίκη ἡ νικήσα-
σα). The past remains effective. The
image, based on John xvi. 33, is cha-
racteristic of the Apocalypse (ii. 7 ff.,
xii, 11, xxi 7) and of this Epistle:
ο. 14, iv. 4, v.46

τὸν πονηρόν] malignum V., the
oril one, ο. 14, iii, 12, v. 18 £; John
xvii 15; Matt, vi. 13, xiii 19, 38 (v..
37, 39). The aspect of the
Christian conflict on its spiritual side
is natarally brought out now. Dark-
nees has its prince : Joho xii. 31, xiv.
30, xvi. 11. It is assumed that a con-
flict is inevitable unless men passively
yield to the power of evil (α v. 19).
Comp. Eph. ii. 2, vi. 14. The abrupt-
ness with which the idea of ‘the evil
one’ is introduced shews that it was
familiar. See Additional Note,

14, At the close of ο. 13 there is a
pause in thought if not a break in the
composition of the letter. Looking
back on the record of his purpose the
apostle appears to resume the thread
of his argument: ‘I write, yea I have
written, because you have had ex-
perience of the Faith”

παιδία] infantes V., pueri Απρ.,
little ones. This title, little ones, which
like rexvia is applied to the wholu

IL 14]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 6r

“*éypaya ὑμῖν, παιδία, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν πατέρα"
ο ο. ‘ Ἐν

ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, πατέρες, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν dm’ ἀρχῆς
ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, νεανίσκοι, ὅτι ἰσχυροί ἐστε καὶ ὁ λόγος

14 ἔγραγα ὁ. κ. RABC the me syrr: γράφω ὁ. πι. 5.

τὸ dx’ ἀρχῆς Β.

ὀλόγοι τοῦ θεοῦ RAC Vg αγττ: --τοῦ θεοῦ B the,

Christian body, differs from {1ο
children by emphasising the idea of
subordination and not that of kins-
manehip. St John speaks not as shar-
ing the nature of those to whom he
writes, but as placed in 8 position of
authority over them. Comp. ο. 18
(John xxi. 5).

In correspondence with this dif-

ference in the address St John gives’

a different reason for his writing:
because ye know the Father.

The sense of an immediate personal
relationship to God (comp. John xiv.7)
gives stability to all the gradations of
haman authority. In this respect
‘knowing the Father’ is different from
‘knowing Him that is from the
beginning’ The former involves a
direct spiritual connexion : the latter
involves besides an intellectual appre-
hension of the divine ‘plan.’ The
knowledge ‘of the Father’ is that
of present love and submission: the
knowledge of Him ‘that is from the
beginning’ is sympathy with the
Divine Thought which is fulfilled in
all time.

At the same time the two titles
‘little children, ‘little ones, indi-
cate a twofold spiritual position. As
‘little children’ we are all bound one
to another by the bond of natural
affection: 28 ‘little ones’ we all re-
cognise our equal feebleness in the
presence of the One Father. It may
be added that the relation of the
readers of the letter to the Apostle
really determined their relation to
God (ο i. 3).

There is a difference in the general
ground for writing (ο. 12 because your
eins are forgiven,.., 0. 14 because ys

know the Father), but in writing to
‘the fathers’ specially there is no
change, no development, in St John’s
language. The knowledge of Christ
as the Word, active from the begin-
ning of Creation, includes all that we
can know. At the same time this
knowledge is regarded in two dif-
ferent aspects corresponding to the
two general ideas of forgiveness and
Fatherhood (σο. 12, 14); even as the
Incarnation satisfies man’s need of
redemption and his need of consum-
mation.

In writing to ‘the young men’ St
John makes no change in bis reason
(because ye have overcome the evil one)
but he develops what be has said.
He adds the twofold permanent
ground of the Christian's victory to
the assertion of the fact which he
made before. The young soldier is
‘strong’ (ἰσχυρός comp. Eph. vi. 10;
Matt, xii. 29) as having the personal
qualifications for his work; and ‘the
word of God abideth in him, 80
that he is in living contact with the
source of life. The natural endowment
of energetic vigour is consecrated to
‘a divine end by a divine voice.

ὁ Aéyos...péres...] the word...abid-
eth... Comp. vv. 24, 271 John xv. 7
(ο. 3} The converse thought occurs
John viii. 31. Comp. ο. i 10 note,

4. The appeal (ii. 15—17).

In the preceding verses St John has
set forth the privileges of Christians
both generally in their sense of for-
giveness and of a Divine Fatherhood,
and specially in the far-reaching wis-
dom of the old, and the victorious
strength of the young: he now goes

62

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Τα. 14

[τοῦ θεοῦ] ἐν ὑμῖν µένει καὶ νενικήκατε τὸν πονηρόν.

on to enforce the consequence which
is made possible, A great ‘love not’
follows on the command to love,

The structure of the passage is
simple and regular. The prohibition
(15 α) is followed by a view of its over-
whelming necessity. ‘The love of the
world is incompatible with the love of
the Father (15 ὃ), for the objects of
love determine its character (16). And
further: there is between them the
contrast of time and eternity, of
transition and abiding (17).

+5 Loce not the world nor the things
in the world, If any one love the
world, the love of the Father is not in
him: * because all that is in the
world, the desire of the flesh, and the
desire of the eyes, and the vainglory
Of tif te not of the Father, but is of

the world. 1 And the world is pass-
ing away, and the desire thereof,
but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever.

The three false tendencies under
which St John ranges ‘all that is
in the world’ cover the whole ground
of worldliness, of the temptation
to set up the creature as an end.
They offer typical tests of man’s real
state as to himself, as to things
external, and (specially) as to his fel-
low-men. Or, if we follow the division
suggested by the words (ἐπιθυμία, ἐπι-
Θυμία, ἁλαζονία), they indicate prevail-
ing false views in regard to want and
to possession. We desire wrongly
and we glory wrongly in what we
have,

‘The ‘wants’ which man feels can
be divided into two great classes.
Some things he desires to appropriate
personally: some things he desires to
enjoy without tion, The
desire of the flesh embraces the one
class (6g. gratification of appetites);
the desire of the eyes the other (eg.
pursuit of art as an end).

The wrong use of possession lies in

the empty and ostentatious assertion
of advantages which are placed in a
wrong light. A superiority is asserted
on external grounds which cannot be
justified in the face of the true issues
of life. The ἁλάζων is in this case
‘one who lays claim to blessings
which are not truly his for the sake
of renown’ (comp. Theophr. Char.
§ 23; [Plat] Do p. 416 ἁλαζονεία

poowouruc) ἀγαβοῦ ἡ ἀγαθῶν τῶν
μὴ ὑπαρχόντων.

‘The three tendencies naturally re-
call the three Temptations of the
Lord, with which they have obvious
points of contact, The first Tempta-
tion corresponds to the first and most
elementary form of ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρ-
κός, the desire of the simplest support
of nataral life. A divine word is
sovereign over this: the means which
God uses are not limited to one
form (Luke iv. 4). The offer of the
kingdoms of the civilized world (τῆς
οἰκουμένης) and their glory, which is
placed second in St Luke’s order
seems to answer in tho loftiest shape
to ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, the power
of commanding all that is fairest and
most attractive in the world. Here
also Scripture shews that no aim how-
ever true and noble can beallowed to
trench on the absolute homage due
to God (Luke iv. 8). And again the
call.to claim an open manifestation of
God’s protecting power touches the
root of ἁλαζονία τοῦ βίου, in which
endowments and gifts are used arbi-
trarily for personal ostentation. Such
use is a tempting of God from Whom
man dares to isolate himself (Luke
iv, 12).

‘Tt hasbeen felt no less natural to look
for some mndence between the
threefold worldly tendencies of St John
and the three master vices which oc-
cupy a prominent place in ancient and
mediseval ethics, φιληδονία, πλεονεξία,
Φιλοδοξία, voluptas, avaritia, superbia.

IL 15]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 63

5 Mi ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσµῳ. av
τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρὸς

15 ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρός NB vg ayrr the me: # dy. τοῦ θεοῦ AC.

The correspondence is so far real,
though not direct, that the germs of
these special vices lie in the feelings
which St John characterises, Comp.
Tust. M. Dial. 82, p. 308 v διὰ Beds
οὖν [Ezech. iii, 17 ff) καὶ ἡμεῖς σπον-
δάζοµεν ὁμιλεῖν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, οὐ διὰ
Φιλοχρηματίαν ἢ Φιλοδοξίαν ἢ φιληδο-
νίαν' ἐν οὐδενὶ γὰρ τούτων ἑλέγξαι ἡμᾶς
ὄντας δύναταί τις.

The enumeration does not include
spiritual sins. These are not, under
the present aspect, ‘of the world’ or
‘in the world’ St John has dwelt
before on the relation of man to man
love and hatred; and he dwells
afterwards on the relation of man to
true opinion. Here he is considering
the relation of man to the κόσμος as
‘an external system which has lost its
true character: Rom. viii. 19 f.

15. Mi ἀγακᾶτε] Nolite diligere V.,
Love not. The command is not given
to any particular class (as to the
young) but to all. That which man
may not do, being what he is, God
can do, John iii, 16 (ἠγάπησεν τὸν
κόσμον). God looks through the sur-
face of things by which man is misled
to the very being which He created.

τὸν κόσμον] mundum V., the world,
the order of finite being regarded as
apart from God. The Roman empire
with its idolatry of the Emperor as the
representative of the State, presented
the idea in a concrete and impressive
form. See Essay I.

The system as an organised whole
(ὠσμος) is in other places considered
as the dominant form of life, the age
(6 αἰὼν οὗτος, ὁ viv αἰών). Comp. Rom,
xii, 2; 2 Tim. iv. 2.

For the use of κόσμος see Jobn i.
1ο note.

With ‘the world’ are joined ‘the
things in the world, all, that is, which

finds its proper sphere and fulfilment
in a finite order and without God.
‘To be in the world’ is the opposite
to ‘being in God” The question is
not of the present necessary limita-
tions of thought and action but of
their aim and object. Whatever is
treated as complete without reference
to God is 80 far a rival to God. This
thought is brought out in the words
which follow.

Augustine illustrates the idea in
respect of the love of nature: Non te
prohibet Deus amare ista sed non
diligere ad beatitudinem, sed ad hoc
probare et laudare ut ames creatorem.
Quemadmodum. jponsus faceret
sponse suse annulum et illa acceptum
annulum plus diligeret quam sponsum.
qui illi fecerit annulum ; nonne in ipso
dono sponsi anima adultera deprehen-
deretar quamvis hoc amaret quod
dedit sponsus 7

ἑάντιε..] There can be but one
supreme object of moral devotion. All
secondary objects will be referred to
this, The love of the finite as an
absolute object necessarily excludes
the love of the Creator (the Father).
Comp. Rom. i. 25; James iv. 4 (ἡ
Φιλία τοῦ κόσμου) Unum cor duos
tam sibi adversarios amores non capit :
Matt. vi. 24 (Bede, ad loc.).

Here as elsewhere St John places
the contrast before his readers in its
ultimate essential form, as of light
and darkness, love and hatred. Heas-
sumes that there cannot be a vacuum
in the soul So Augustine writes:
Noli diligere mundum. Exclude ma-
lum amorem mundi ut implearis
amore Dei. Vas es sed adhuc plenus
es; fande quod habes ut sccipias
quod non habes.

It will be observed also that he
speaks here of the love of the Father

64
ἐν αὐτῷ.

and not of the love of God (ο. ii. 5 note).
The phrase is unique (comp. Ool. i.
12 f.), and suggests as the object of
man’s love God as He has been
pleased to bring Himself within the
range of man’s knowledge (John xiv.
9; comp. ο. i 2 note) Thus it ex-
presses primarily the love of ‘the
children’ of God to God; but this
love answers to and springs out of the
love ahewn to them by ‘the Father’
whom ‘they know’ (ο. 14.)

By the ‘love of the world, and of the
things in the world’ the sense of the
personal relationship to God is lost,
and not merely the sense of a divine
presence. Of the man who is swayed
by such a passion it must be said that
the love of the Father ts not in him
as an animating, inspiring power (ο. i.
10). This phrase expresses more than
‘he loveth not God’ or ‘he loveth not
the Father’ That form of expres-
sion would describe a simple fact: this
presents the fact as a ruling principle.
The exact order of the Greek is
remarkable: ‘there exists not, what-
ever he may say, the love of the
Father in him? Comp.e.i. 5; iv. 16£;
John τ. 45; vi 45; vit 28; viii. 44,
50, 54; ix. 16; x. 12, 34; xiii. 10, 16.

The thought finds a striking expres-
sion under the imagery of 8t John in
a fragment of Philo quoted by John
of Damascus (Parall, Sacra a, Tit.
XXX p. 370): ἀμήχανον συνυπάρχει»
τὴν πρὸς κόσμον ἀγάπην τῇ πρὸς τὸν
Gedy ἀγάπῃ, ὡς ἀμήχανον συνυπάρχεω
ἀλλήλοις Hos καὶ σκότος,

16, drt...) because... In moral
and spiritual things there is a law of
equilibrium. Nothing rises higher
than its source. The desire of things
earthly as ends in themselves comes
from the world and is bounded by the
world, It is therefore incompatible
with the love of the Father.

The point of sight from which ‘all
that is in the world’ is regarded here

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{I1. 16

16 «, a Ne ος μα. Αα rn
ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ' ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς

is more distinctly defined than in ο,
15. In themselves all nite objects,
‘the things that are in the world,’ are
‘of the Father.’ It is the falee view
of them which makes them idols,
Hence St John defines ‘that which is
in the world,’ that which, as now re-
garded, finds its consummation ‘in the
world, from the hnman side. The
feeling which misuses the object de-
termines and shews by its misuse
what there is defective in the object
which gives occasion to the wrong-
doi

ing.

‘This general aspect of the question
determines the exact form of lan-
guage. St John writes way τὸ ἐν τ. κ.
and not πάντα τὰ dvr. x. He looks at
‘all’ in its unity in relation to the
feeling man. Comp. ο. v. 4: Eph. v.
13 (κάντα, way). The world as such
has nothing more to offer than what
is summed up in the three typical
phrases by which wayis defined. This
thought has been made wrongly the
main thought of the sentence by the
Latin versions: omne quod in mundo
est concupiscentia (desiderium) car-
nie est οἱ...

ἡ ἐπιθυμία rie σαρκός] concupiscen-
tia (desiderium Aug.) carnis V.,
the desire of the flesh, the desire of
which the flesh is the seat. The geni-
tive with ἐπιθυμία ie in the N. Τ.
characteristically subjective (John viii.
44; Rom. i. 24; Apoc. xviii. 14).
Comp. Gal. v. τό, 24; Eph. ii 3; 1
Pet. ii. 11 (αἱ σαρκικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι), Rom.
xiii. 14; 1 Pet. iv. 2 (ἀνθρώπων ἐπιθν-
pias); Tit, ii 12 (al κοσμικαὶ ἐπιθυ-

iat)

pia).
Under this category are included

all desires which involve the appro-

priation of the object to which they

are directed. By the separate men-

tion of of ἀφθιλροί the sense of σίρξ
is proportionately limi

Jn St John Ὃ καί σάρξ is used
to express humanity under the present

Il. 16]

‘THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

65

σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμών καὶ ἡ ἁλαζονία

τοῦ βίου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ

conditions of life (ο, iv. 2; 2 John 7;
Tohni. 14; vi $155; xvil.2). Once
the 6Aypa σαρκός is set by the side of
θέλημα ἀνδρός as distinct from it (John
i. 13); twice σάρε is opposed to πνεῦμα
(ohn iii. 6; vi. 63); and once κατὰ
τὴν σάρκα is used to describe a judg-
ment which is external, superficial,
destitute of moral insight (John vii.
15). The desire of the σάρξ as σάρξ

is necessarily for that which is like
itself. It cannot include any spiritual
element.

‘Compare Additional Note on iii. 19.

ἡ. ἐπιθ. τῶν ὀφθ] concupiscentia
(desiderium Aug.) oculorum V., the
desire of the eyes, the desire of which
the eyes are the organ: not the
pleasure of the miser only or charac-
teristically (Recles, iv. 8; τ. 11), but

personal vicious indulgence repre-
sented by seeing. The desire of ap-
propriation enters into ‘the desire of
the flesh’: the ‘desire of the eyes’ is
satisfied by enjoyment which comes
under the general form of contem-
plation. So far it is true that in
the former the thought of physical
pleasure is dominant, as the object
of desire, while in the latter forms
of mental (‘psychical’) pleasure find
place. The ‘eyes’ are the typical
example of the organs to which art
ministers.

Augustine gives a singular {llustra-
tion of what he holds to be ‘the
desire of the eyes” which is worth
quoting as giving vivid trait in the
Christian feeling of his time: Ali-
quando tentat etiam [curiositas] ser-
vos Dei, ut velint quasi miraculam
facere: tentare utrum eraudiat illos
Deus in miracalis. Curiositas eat;
hoc est desiderium oculoram; non
est a patre.

ἡ ἆλαζ. τοῦ βίου] superbia vite V.,
ambitio seculi Aug. (other Latin au-
w.

πατρός, ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσ-

thorities give jactantia hujus vite,
vite humana), the vainglory of life,
the vainglory which springs out of
and belongs to our visible earthly life.
The genitive is subjective, as in the
two other cases. The ἀλάζων (comp,
Rom. i. 30; 2 Tim. iii. 2) is closely
connected with the ὑπερήφανος; but
his vice centres in self and is con-
summated in his absolute self-exalta-"
tion, while the ὑπερήφανος shows his
character by his overweoning treat-
ment of others, ‘The ἁλάζων sins most
against truth: the ὑπερήφανος sins
most against love’ ᾽Αλαόνεια (-ia)
may be referred to a false view of
what things are in themselves, empty
and unstable: ὑπερηφανία to a false
view of what our relations to other
persons are. Comp. Mk. vii. 22;
Luke i. 51; James iv. 6; 1 Pet. v. 5.
See also Wied. v. 8; xvii 7; 2 Mace.
ix. 8, xv. 6; Prov, xxv. 6.

Such ‘vainglory,’ such a false view
of the value of our possessions, belongs
to life (ὁ βίος) in its present concrete
manifestation and not to life in its
essential principle (ἡ ζωή). Comp.
Luke viii. 14 (j000) τοῦ βίου): 1 Tim,
ii 2 (βίον &idyew); 2 Tim. Ἡ. 4 (ταῖς
τοῦ βίου πραγµατείαις)1 (in 1 Pet. iv. 3
τοῦ βίου is an addition, but βιῶσαι oc-
curs in 0. 2) Hence ὁ βίος is used
for ‘the means of life’: Mk. xii. 44;
Luke ὑπ 43 43) xv. 12, 30; ο, fii 17.

Compare also βίωσις, Acts xxvii 4;
and βιωτιός, Luke xxi. 34; 1 Cor. vi

3 These characteristic feelings of want
and of wealth, the desire of the flesh
and the desire of the eyes, and the
vainglory of life, are said to be,
as man now is naturally, of the
world (c. iv. 5 note; John xv. 19;
xvii. 14, 16; xviii. 36). The decla-
ration marks the false position into
which man has come. In his original

5

66

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

GIL 17

µου ἐστίν" "καὶ 6 κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία
[αὐτοῦ], ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν

αἰώνα.

"a7 4 em, αὐτοῦ: --αὐτοῦ A. Many Latin authorities and (in sense) the The-
baio version add: quomodo (sicut et) deus (ipte) manet in aterrasm,

constitution the desire was good, be-
cause it was directed consciously to-
wards the fulfilment of his office in
regard to the whole order and to God:
the exultation was good, because it
was an acknowledgment of divine
bounty. Now the desire is suggested
by the creature and not by the Crea-
tor, by the object separated from the
Living Author of all,not bythe Living
Author to whom the child should
look (ἐκ τοῦ πατρός not simply ἐκ τοῦ
Θεοῦ). Thus each typical false ten-
dency is the corruption of a noble
instinct, the longing for support and
for beauty, the joy of thankfulness.

The phrase εἶναι ἐκ (ο. 21; ili. 19;
iv. 5) to be of is characteristic of St
John expreasing derivation and de-
pendence. Compare John ifi, 31 note;
and Additional Note on iii. 1.

17. This clause contains a second
ground for the prohibition in». 15.
Not only is the love of the world irre-
concileable with the love of the Fa-
ther; but also, yet further, the fate
of the world is included in its essen-
tial character. The world—the ex-
ternal system which occupied the
place of God—was already when St
John wrote in the act of dissolution
and vanishing.

The words can also be taken as a
second proof of the antagoniam of the
love of the Father and of the love of
the world, 20 far as these are at va-
riance in their issue no less than in
their source. But this connexion
‘appears to be less natural than the
other. 1

: ts passing away: see
α oie word describes not the
general character of the world as

transitory but ite actual condition in
the face of the church, ‘the Kingdom
of God’ The whole sum of finite
things, regarded in itself as complete,
is (as it were) 8 ecreen which hides
the of God. By the declara-
tion of the Truth this was in St John’s
time beginning to be removed. Com-
pare 2. 8; 1 Cor. vii. 31; and contrast
the ideal view from the divine side:
τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδαὺ γέγονεν καινά
(2 Cor. τ. 17: comp. Αροο. xxi. 4).

In the after the
Eucharist in The Doctrine of the
Apostles the clause occurs: ἐλθέτω
xe καὶ παρελθέτω ὁ κόσμος οὗτος (ο.

ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ] concupiscentia
(desideria Aug.) ejus V., the desire
thereof, the desire which belongs to
it and which it stimulates. Comp.
Tit. 1. 12 al κοσμικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι. The
gon. is subjective as in v. 16, though
it is true that the desire which the
world fosters is in turn directed to
the world as its object. A verb cor-
responding to παράγεται must be sup-
plied. The world which is the source
and the object of the desire is shewn
to be by itself unsubstantial and evan-
escent. The desire therefore is shewn
in its utter vanity (καταργεῖται). But
the desire remains as an aching void.

The contrast to this ‘desire’ which
is earth-bern and empty is ‘the will
of God.’ That alone is permanent of
which this will is the ground.

ὁ δὲ ποι és i

:) Vey
doeth...abideth... While the fabric of
‘the world’ is being removed the
Christian suffers no disturbance. The
present in this sense is eternal, When

IL. 17]

all else changes the obedience of love
continues unchanged. This abides
in the new order to which indeed it
properly belongs.- The contrast to
the world converted into an idol is
not God, but the believer who in
action strives to do God’s will. Hence
St John does not say ‘he that loveth
God, which might have been sug-
ested by, 15, bute that doe the

of God abideth for ever. Buch a
. is traly akin to the Son of man:
Mk. iii. 35.

Compare John iv. 34; vi. 38; vil
17η ix. 31.

+ The will of God expresses the true
end of all things, and is opposed to
‘the desire’ which springs from a
finite source as its ultimate origi.
At the same time ‘the will of God’
includes the right use of all natural
powers, faculties, instincts, which in
their essential nature answer to it:
Apoe. iv. 11. Compare 1 Thess. iv. 3.

In speaking of the divine will St
Jobn says ‘the will of God’ and not
‘the will of the Father’ as might
seem to be suggested by ο. 16. Stress
is laid upon the divine majesty rather
than upon the divine love. ‘The will
of the Father’ is found only in St
Matthew (vi. 10 ous Father, vii. 21:
xii. 50 my Father; comp. xviii. 14;
xxvi. 42). The will of our God and
Father occurs Gal. i 4 (comp. Eph.
5, 9,11). The will of God is not
unfrequent : 1 Pet. ii 15; iii. 17; iv.
19; Rom. i, 10; xii. 2; Heb x. 36.
In the Gospel of 8t John the phrase
which is always used by the Lord is
the will of Him that sent me: iv. 34;
πι 303 Vi 38 ff (vii. 17).

μένει ae τ. ab) abideth for ever.
Comp. John viii. 35; xii 34; 2 Cor.
ix. 9 (αχ); 1 Pet. i, 25 (uxx). The
absolute use of pévew is not unfre-
quent: John xv. 16; 1 Pet i 23;
Heb. x. 34.

els τὸν αἰῶνα] in oternum V. This
is the only form in which αἰών occurs
in the Epistles (here and 2 John 2)

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

67

pa Gospel (12 times) of St John,

except the correlative ἐκ τοῦ αἰώνος
(John ix. 32). The phrase occurs in-
dependently of the uxx (1 Pet. i 25;
2 Cor. ix. 9; Hobr. v. 6; vi 20; vii.
17 ff.) only (with negative) in Matth.
xxi. 191Mk. xi. 14; Mk. iii. 29; 1
Cor. vili. 13 (Jude 13 els αἰῶνα). [1 Pet.
i 23 and 2 Pet. ii. 17 are false read-
inga.] It is very common in the Lxx. as
the rendering of Dyiw, Dbivy, nbiv ay,
The thought contained in the words
here is given by the addition which is
found in Theb. and Old Lat, ‘as God
also abideth for ever’ (sicut et’ ipse
manet in aternum). Augustine reads
the addition and remarks on the
whole passage: Voluit te amor mun-
di, tene Christum, Propter te factus
est temporalis ut tu fias ssternus;
quia et ille sic factus est temporalis
ut maneret seternus.

And again: Terram diligis, terra
eris. Deum diligis: quid dicam, Deus
eris? Non audeo dicere ex me:
scripturas audiamus Έρο dizi, dit estis
@ fii altissimi omnes.

B. Tam oonriicr or ΤΗΙΤΗ axp
Faxsmnoop WITHOUT AND WITHIN
(ii 18—iv. 6).

The broad contrast which has been
drawn in the last section between
things temporal and eternal, between
the world and the Church, leads to
the central subject of the Epistle, the

conflict of life, which is treated
of in ii, 18—iv. 6. In this the hostile
power is seen to arise from within
the Christian society. The world has
found expression in an anti-Christian
system which lays claim to spiritual
endowment and authority. False
prophetic power (Apoc. xiii. 1 4)
takes its place by the side of the
Smperial power (Apoe. i. 12). These
false teachers, this ‘spirit of anti-
christ,’ are. wot the world’ (iv. 4 £).
marks of this conflict
appear throughout: ἀντίχριστοε ii, 18,
5—2

ο

68
αΠαιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα

203 τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου iv. 35
ψευδοπροφῆται iv. 1; οἱ πλανῶντες Ἡ.
26, comp. iii. 7; τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης
1γ.6. And underneath the false spi-
ritual teaching lies ‘the hatred’ of
the world: ifi. 13. The question is
no longer of false opinion or vicious
practice within the Church, but of
temptations to yield allegiance to a
rival power.

The view which St John gives of
the Christian conflict falls into four
sections :

I. Tre ΒΕΥΕΙΑΤΙΟΝ of FaraEHoop
ανν Τπύτα (it, 18---29).

IL Tae Caripren or Gop ANDTHE
CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL (iii. 1—12).

II, Broraursoop in Curis? AND
THE HATRED OF THE WORLD (iii. 13—

24).
IV. Tae Rrvau serie or TRvTH
axp Erno (iv. 1—6).

Step by step the strength of the
Christian is shewn in his firm hold
- upon the Truth, in the consciousness
and the character of Sonship, in the
activity of Love, in the power of
Spiritual Discernment. So the con-
flict passes to victory.

I. Tue ΒΕΥΕΙΑΤΙΟΝ 05 ἘΑΙΕΚΠΟΟΡ
axp Truta (ii. 18—29).

This section is separable into
three parts:

1 “- and Christians (18
21

2. The essence and the power of
the Truth (22—25).

3. Abiding in the Truth (26—29).

The progress of thought is simple.
The fact of apostasy from the Chrie-
tian body is recognised as a character-
istic of the crisis. This fact serves to
remind Christians of the gift which
they have received for the discern-
ment of the Truth. The essence of
the Truth lies in the acknowledgment

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{IL 18
ἐστίν, καὶ καθως ἠκούσατε

of the Messiahship of Jesus. The
confession of the Son gives fellowship
with the Father; issuing in the life
eternal. This knowledge of God then
Christians have to keep firmly, that
they may face their Lord at His ap-
pearance, And true knowledge has
the seal of righteousness, likeness to
God, the mark of divine souship.

1. Antichrists and Christians (18
—21.

The necessity of conflict which has
Deen laid down on general grounds in
σο, 15—17 is enforced by the special
circumstances of the age. It is ‘a last
hour, and as such marked by divisions,
errors, temptations in the Christian
society iteelf (18, 19). At the samo
time, as answering to this special
peril, Christians have a gift of spirit-
ual discernment which it is their pri-
vilege to use as a decisive criterion
of error (20, 21).

38 My little ones, it is a last hour,
and as ye heard that Antichrist
cometh, even now many Antichrists
have arisen ; whence we perceive that
it ὦ @ last hour. τὸ ΤΟΥ went out
from us, but they were not of us; for
¥ they had been of us, they would
have remained with us; but they
went out that they may be made
manifest that they all are not of us.
And ye have an unction from the
Holy One; and ye all know—"I
have not written to you because ye
know not the faith, but because ye
know it, and because no lie is of
the truth.

18. Παιδία] Filioli (Pueri) V.,
My little ones. See v. 14. The apostle
addresses his readers with the au-
thority of age and experience, and
not’ as dwelling on the thought of
spiritual kinship (τεκνία).

In the sentence which precedes he
had spoken of ‘the world’ as ‘passing
away. He now points out the decisive
sign of the coming change in the con-

IL. 18)
dition of the Christian society. It is ‘a

last hour.

The conception of ‘a last time; ‘a
last season,’ the ‘last days, rests upon
the O. T., in which the phrase NYP
O'S is used for the distant futare,
on which the prophets eye is fixed.

‘Thus in Gen, xlix. 1; Num. xxiv. 14_

(¢n', ἐσχάτων [-rov] τῶν ἡμερῶν) it
points to the time when Israel had

of the divine promise, In Is. ii 2;
Mic. iv, 1; Hoa iii. 5; Jerem. xxiii.
20; xxx. 24; xlviii. 47; xlix. 39, it
describes the time when Zion shall
be restored and the people shall fear
and obey the Lord. In Ezek. xxxviii,
16 it regards some particular season
of signal deliverance. Thus the phrase
in its biblical sense includes in \ part
the notion of ‘the age to come’ and
the immediate preparation for it.

In post-biblical times ‘the age to
come’ was sharply distinguished from
the period of trial by which it was to
be ushered in; and ‘the latter days’
came to be regarded as a season of
conflict and suffering through which
the divine victory should be accom-
plished. This tobe the ruling
idea of the phrase in the N.T.: Acta
iL 17 ὃν ταῖς ἐσχ. ἡμ. (Joel iii, 1, ἐσ-
χάταις an explanatory gloss);
James τ. 3 ἐν dox. ju; 1 Pet. i 20
és’ doxérey τῶν

But in this interpretation the suc-
cessive partial dawnings of ‘the age
to come’ give a different force to the
words ‘the last days’ which usher in
the age according to the context in
which they occur. In one sense ‘the
age to come’ dated from Pentecost; in
another from the destruction of Jeru-
salem ; in another it was still the ob-
ject of hope. So also ‘the last days’
‘are found in each of the seasons of
fierce trial which precede the several
comings of Christ. The age in which
we live is, under one aspect, ‘the last
days,’ and in another it is ‘the age to

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

69

come, which was prepared by the
travail-pains of the old order. As
we look forward a season of sore dis-
tress separates us from that which is
still to be revealed (2 Tim. iii 1; 2
Pet. iii, 3; Jude 18; 1 Pet. i 5,
contrast 0. 20): as we look back we
have entered on an inheritance now
though struggles of ‘a last time’

But while the great counsel of God
goes forward to fulfilment the date of
the consummation is not revealed:
Acta i. 7; Matt. xxiv. 36.

The calculation which Severus (Cra-
mer, Cat. in loc.) makes is interesting
in the face of our present knowledge
of the world’s history : πεντακισχιλίων
énavray παραδραµόντων ἐξ οὗ γέγονεν
ὁ κόσµος...καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Χριστοῦ παρου-
clas ode πεπληρωµένων ἐξακοσίων
ἠἡγοῦν ἑπτακοσίων ἢ χιλίων, ἐτῶν, Bayer
γὰρ οὕτω, πῶς [οὐκ] (dele) ἔξωλόγου φα-
νήσεται τῶν ἑξακοσίων ἐτῶν # χιλίων, εἰ
τύχοι, τὰς ἡμέρας πρὸς τὰς τῶν πεντακισ-
χιλίων παρεξεταζοµένας ἐσχάτας καλεῖν;

In this passage the anarthrous
phrase ἐσχάτη Spa, novissima hora V.,
seems to mark the general character
of the period and not its specific
relation to ‘the end.’ It was a period
of critical change ‘a last hour,’ but not
definitely ‘the last hour. The exact
phrase is not found elsewhere in the
Ν.Τ. (comp. 1 Pet. i. 5; 2 Tim. iii 1).
The use of ‘hour’ recals that in the
Gospel: iv. 21, 23; v. 35, 38; xvi 2,
4,25, 32. Compare ii. 4; vil. 30; vili.
20; xii, 23, 27; xiii. 1; xvii, 1; and
the idea of ‘a last hour’ corresponds
with the characteristic phrase of St
John ‘the last day’ (vi. 39 £, 44, 543
xi. 24; xii. 48). The definiteness of
this latter phrase (ἡ ἐσχ. ἡ.) justifies
the wider sense given to the former
(comp. iv. 17, ἡ ἡμέρα τῆς κρίσεως note).
Comp. Ign. ad Ephes.c.11, Thetrue
reading in 1 Thees. v. 2 (ἡμ. not ἡ ἡμ.)
illustrates oy. Spa here.

καθὼς ἠκούσατε] as ye heard in
general terms as part of the evangelic
message (Mk. xiii. 6 £ ; Matt. xxiv. 5,

79

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

GL 18

ὅτι ᾽Αντίχριστος ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ

18 ὅτι Αντ.: --ὅτι ΔΑ.

34), and in the teaching of apostles
(Acts xx. 30), Comp. 1 Tim. iv. 1.
These general predictions of false
Christs and false teachers were con-
centrated in the thought of a typical
adversary: 2 Thess. ii. 3.

ἈΑντίχριστος] Tho term Antichrist
is peculiar to St John in the Ν.Τ. It
occurs again », 22; iv. 3 and 2 John 7.
The absence of the article shews that
it had become current as a technical
(proper) name,

The word means far more than
simply ‘an adversary of Christ’ As
far as the form is concerned it may
describe ‘one who takes the place of
Christ’ (ἀντιβασιλεύς, ἀντιταμίας, ἀνθύ-
πατος), or ‘one who under the same
character opposes Christ’ (ἀντιδιδά-
σκαλος, ἀντιστρατιώτης). There is 8
similar ambiguity in the word ἀντι-
στράτηγος, which means both ‘one
who occupies the place of στρατηγός,
propretor, and also ‘an opposing
general’ It seems to be most conso-
nant to the context to hold that ᾿Αντί-
χριστος here describes one who assum-
ing the guise of Christ opposes Christ,
In this sense it embodies an important
truth. That hostility is really formid-
able in which the adversary preserves
the semblance of the characteristic
excellence which he opposes (comp.
2 Cor. xi 13; Apoc. ii. 2). The Ant
christ assails Christ by proposing
do or to preserve what He did ‘le
denying Him (comp. John v. 43). The
false Christ on the other hand (yevdd-
χριστος Matt. xxiv. 24) is simply a
pretender to the Messianic office.
In St John’s use of ‘Antichrist’ it
will be seen that the sense is deter-
mined by the full Christian concep-
tion of ‘Christ’ and not by the Jewish
conception of the promised Saviour.

Under one aspect it may be said
that the work of the Incarnation was
to reveal the true divine destiny of

Αντίχριστοι RYBO: ὁ ἀντίχριστον ΝΑ»

man in his union with God through
Christ; while the lie of Antichrist
was to teach that man is divine apart
ἑἑ- Ἱἑ.
The in wi e
occurs are not decisive to Bt Sohn’
teaching in regard to the coming of
one great Antichrist, of which the
others were preparatory embodiments.
As far as his he bales “-
‘Antichrist’ may ι _personifica-
tion of the principle shewn in dif-
ferent antichriste, or the person

former is however the most natural
interpretation: ». 22; 2 John 7. The
spirit of evil comes in those whom he
inspires. Contrast 2 Thess. ii. 3 ff

The essential character of ‘Anti-
christ’ lies in the denial of the true
humanity of Messiah (ο, 22 6 ἀρνού-
µενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ χριστός.
Iv. 3 nv. ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ (λύει) τὸν Ἰησοῦ».
2 John 7 οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν
Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκΏ:

This denial involves the complete
misunderstanding of Christ’s past and
fature work, and takes away the
knowledge of the Father, which is
brought to us by the Incarnate Son.
The teaching of Antichrist leaves God
and the world still ununited. The
proclamation of the union is the
message of the Gospel.

It may be added that St John’s de-
scription of ‘Antichrist’ (c. iv. 3) is
made use of by Polycarp (ad Phil. 7);
and Irensons, the disciple of Polycarp,
first developed the teaching. The
word does not occur in the other Apo-
stolic Fathers, or Justin Martyr, who
does however refer to ὁ τῆς dropias
ἄνθρωπος (Dial, 32, Ρ. 250 46 ris
ἀποστασίας ἄνθρωπος Dial. 110, p. 336
D). It appears therefore to be cha-
racteristic of the school of 8t John.
Bee Additional Note.

TL. το]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

7

γεγόνασιν' ὕθεν γινώσκοµεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη wpa ἐστίνι
ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν, GAN οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμών' εἰ γὰρ ἐξ

19 ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν (9) BO αγτ mo the: ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν SRA vg,

Έρχεται] vomit (it venturus) V.,
cometh. The same term is used of
Christ and of His ady Comp.
ο- iv. 3; John xiv. 3; xxi, 22£.; Apoo,
xxii, 20. In both cases it implies
something more than one advent,
though it includes this, The rival
power finds a personal expression as
often as Christ comes. Comp. v. 6
note.

καθών...καὶ νῦν] as...even 80 now,
Comp. John xv. 9; xvii. 18; xx. 21.

γεγόνασιν] facti aunt V, have
arisen, and fulfilled the expectation,
The use of a different word for their
advent (γεγόνασιν not ἐληλύθασω) oon-
nects their ap; with the ac-
tual conditions of the development of
the Church. Comp. Heb. ii. 17 note.
The use is the more remarkable as the
verb is not used elsewhere in the
epistle (yet 3 John 8). The tense
shews that these antichrists are
spoken of as being still active. They
are not simple types of Antichrist but
αν of him in many parts : ο,
iv.

For the absolute use of γίνεσθαι φορ
3 Pet. ii 1; Johni 6; Mei 4-

ὅθεν γωάώσχομον...] tohence we per-
esive... because this form of trial is
connected with each critical conflict
which comes before an end. A full
manifestation of (good and) evil is the
condition of a divine judgment.

Ὃθεν is found here only in the
writings of St John. It is character-
istic of the Epistle to the Hebrews
(see ii. 17 note), but is not found in
the Epistles of St Paul.

19. ἐξ ἡμ. ἐξ.] Bx nobis prodierunt
(exierunt) V., They went out from us
they proceeded from our midst. They
belonged at first to our outward com-
munion and shared all our privi-

leges. Till the moment of separation
they were undistinguishable from the
reat of the Christian society ; but they
were not of ue, they did not draw
their life from our life (ο. i. 3) and so
form living members of the body.
Comp. Heb. vi. 4 8.

The change in the position of ἐς
ἡμῶν in the successive clauses varies
the emphasis: ‘From us, it is true,
they went out, but they were not of
us; for if they had been of us really...
For εἶναι ἐκ see ο, 16 note.

The phrase ἐξελθεῖν ἐξ may describe
either removal (Apoc, xviii. 4; John
viii. 59) or origin (Apoc. ix. 3; xiv.
13 f£; xix. 5, 21; John iv. 30). The
correspondence with οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν
decides here in favour of the latter
sense (comp. Acts xx. 30), though it
necessarily leads to the other. This
trait in the Antichrists indicates one
ground of their influence, They pro-
feased to speak with the voice of the
Christian Body. Διὰ τί ἀπὸ τῶν τοῦ
Κυρίου μαθητῶν οἱ ἀντίχριστου; ἵν' ἕ-
χοιεν τὸ πιστὸν τοῖς πλανωμένοις κο-
μίζεν ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν µαθητῶν ὅντεν...
(Theophlet.)

el γὰρ...] If they had in the truest
sense shared our life, the life would
have gone forward to its fruitful con-
summation (µεμενήκεισαν ἄν perman-
sissent utiqua V.). The fact of separa-
tion revealed the imperfection of their
fellowship. The words will not admit
of any theoretical deductions, The test
of experience is laid down as final.
Non audio quid sonet, Augustine
says, sed video quid vivat, Opera
Joquuntur ; et verba requirimus?

Here, looking upon the manifest
apostasy, St John denies the truth of
the life; from another point of sight,
in regard to the uncertain future, the

72 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

OIL 19

ἡμών ἦσαν, µεμενήκεισαν ἂν µεθ rudy: GAN’ ἵνα Φανερω-

life is presented as real, but liable to
an abrupt close (John xv. 1 ff). The
two views are perfectly harmonious.
The end of life is fruitfulness. The life
which is barren or worse than barren is
not life and yet potentially it was life.

Thus Augustine can say truly in
reference {ο the actual Church: Si
antequam exirent non erant ex nobis,
multi intus sunt, non exierunt, et
tamen Antichristi sunt. And again:
Sic sunt in corpore Christi quomodo
humores mali Compare also the
striking language of Ignatius, ad
Trall. 11 οὗτοι οὐκ εἰσὶ φυτεία πατρὸς
ἀλλ’ ἔγγονα κατηραµένα. πᾶσα δέ, φη-
σὶν ὁ κύριος, φυτεία ἣν οὐκ φότνσο ὁ ὁ
πατήρ µου ὁ ἐπουράνιος ἐκριζωθήτω.
γὰρ ἦσαν τοῦ πατρὸς κλάδοι οὐκ ἂν ἦσαν
ἀχθροὶ τοῦ στανροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀλλὰ
τῶν ἀποκτεινάντων τὸν τῆς δόξης κύριον.

It may be added that γάρ, for, is
very rarely used in the Epistles ; c. iv.
20; v. 3; 2 John 11; 3 John 3, 7.
‘As distinguished from ὅτι, because, it
will be seen that γάρ expresses a
reason or explanation alleged (sub-
jective), while ὅτι marks a distinct
fact (objective) which is itself an ade-
“quate cause or explanation of that
with which it is connected. Comp.
α Υ. 3, 4; John ii, 25; iii, 16—21;
iii 23; ix. 22, de.

μεθ ἡμῶν]. It might have been ex-
pected that St John would have
written ἐν ἡμῖν, according to his cha-
racteristic usage which is all but uni-
versal in his Epistles; but the thought
is not of absolate unity in one body
but of personal fellowship one with
another: John xiv. 16; Luke xxiv.

29,

ἀλλ’ ἴνα...] but they went out (or
this ‘separation came to pass) that
they may be made manifest (ut
manifesti sint [manifestarentur] V.),
that they all are not of us i.e. that
none of them are of ua For this
ellipse see Johni. 8; ix. 3; xiii. 18; xiv.

31; xv. 25. The departare of these
false teachers after a temporary
sojourn in the Christian society was
broughtaboutthat they might be shewn
in their true character, and so seen
to be not of it. The last clause is
rather irregular in form. The πάντες
is inserted as it were by an after-
thought; ‘they went out thet they
may be made manifest that they are
not, no not in any case, however fair
their pretensions may be, of us’

The separation of these teachers
from the Christian Body was, with-
out exception, a decisive proof that
they did not belong truly ¢o it. The
clear revelation of their character was
a divine provision for the avoidance
of further evil. By ‘going out’ they
neutralised the influence which they
would otherwise have exercised. Comp.
1 Cor. xi. 19.

When the πᾶς is separated by the
verb from the οὐ the negation accord-
ing to the usage of the New Testament,
is always universal (all...nof), and not
partial (not all). Comp. v. 21; iii. 15;
Apoc, xxii 3; Matt. xxiv. 22 (ov...
wis); Luke i, 37 (οὐ was); Acts x.
15; Rom. iii 20 (οὐ.. πᾶς); Gal. ii.
16 (ov...as); Eph. v. 5; and in de-
pendent negations, John iii, 16 (was
sa); Vi 39 (πᾶς.. μή); xii. 46 (id);
1 Cor. i. 29 (µή...πᾶς)» Eph. iv. 29
(was...pq). Comp, Apoc, xxi. 27 (οὐ

μή. πᾶς).

On the other hand see Matt. vii. 21;
Rom. ix. 6; 1 Cor, x. 235 ΣΥ. 39 (οὐ
was).

In the face of this usage it is im-
possible to translate the words ‘that
they may be made manifest them-
selves, and that it may be made mani-
feat in them that not al who are out-
wardly united with the Church are of
us, in true fellowship with Christ.’

For φανερ. ὅτι οὐκ εἰσίν compare
2 Cor. iii, 3 φανερούμενοι ὅτι ἐστέ.

20. Even without this revelation

11. 20, 21]

θῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμών.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 73

Ps ee /
και υμείς χρισµα

Ν. on ο ee 23, / αχ ἡ,
έχετε απο του αγιον’ οἴδατε παντες-- '' οὐκ ἔγραψα

1ο οἴδατε πάντεε:

in outward fact, the readers of the
Epistle had the power of discerning
the real character of ‘Antichrists.’
‘Christians’ are themselves in a true
sense ‘Christs,’ anointed ones, conse-
crated to God as ‘prophets,’ ‘priests,’
and ‘kings’ (1 Pet. ii. 5 (9); Apoc. i
6;¥. 10; xx. 6); and in virtue of that
consecration endowed with corre-
sponding blessings. So Severus (Cra-
mer, Cat. in loc.) writes: χριστοί εἰσίν
οὐχ οἱ προφῆται pévov...d\r’ ἐξαιρέτως
καὶ πάντες οἱ ele τὸν µέγαν καὶ µόνον
καὶ ἀληθῇ Χριστὸν καὶ σωτῆρα Θιὸν
πιστεύσαντεν...καὶ ἐν τῷ θείφ...βαπτίσ-
ματι συμβολικῶς τῷ μύρφ χριόμενοι,

καὶ ὑμεῖς...] Sed (¢t) v08...V, And
farther you yourselves, in virtue of
your position as contrasted with them,
have an unction (comp. 2.27 χρίσμα
ὁ λάβετε) from the Holy One. Comp.
νο, 24, 27; iv. 4.

χρίσμα] unctionem V. (unguentum
Hier.), an unction. The word, which
expresses not the act of anointing,
but that with which it is performed
(‘anointing oil’ Ex. xxix. 7; xxx. 25;
xL 15 (xx); comp. Dan. ix. 26), marks
the connexion of Christians with their
Head. As He was ‘anointed’ for His
office (Luke iv. 18 [Is. lxi. 1]; Acts iv.
27 [Pa ii. 2]; x. 38; Hebi g[Pa xlv.
7); 80 too are they (2 Cor. i 21£), The
verb χρίω (answering to NY) in uxx.
is employed generally, though not ex-
clusively, of the anointing of things
for sacreduse, Inthe New Testament
it is found only in the places quoted
above, and thus always of the impart-
ment of a divine grace.

Here the outward symbol of tho
Old Testament —thosacred oil—is used
to signify the gift of the Spirit from
the Holy One which is the character-
istic endowment of Christians. This
gift is referred to a definite time (ο.

καὶ offare πάντας», See Additional Note.

27 8 ἐλάβετε); and the narrative of the
Acts fixes this normally at the im-
position of hands which followed on
Baptism (Acts viii. 148). But the
context shows that the word xpicpais
not to be understood of the material
sign, but of the corresponding spiritual
reality. There is not indeed any evi-
dence to shew that ‘the chrism’ was
used at confirmation in the first age.
Porhaps, as has been suggested, St
John’s language here may have tend-
ed to fix the custom, which represent-
ed the communication of the divine
grace in an outward rite. Tertullian
speaks of the custom as habitual in
his time: Egreesi de lavacro perun-
gimur benedicta unctione de pristina
disciplina, qua ungi oleo de cornu in
sacerdotium solebant (de Bapt. 7).

Unctiospiritualis ipse Spiritus Sanc-
tus est cojus sacramentum est in unc-
tione visibili (Bede).

This ‘unction,’ this gift of the Spirit,
is said to come finally (ἀπὸ see ο i. 5,
note) from the Holy One. The title
is chosen with direct reference to the
gift, for all hallowing flows from ‘the
Holy One, but in itself it is ambigu-
ous, and has been understood of God
(the Father) and of Christ. In sup-
port of the former view reference is
made to 1 Cor. vi 19; John xiv. 16;
but ὁ ἅγιος seems to be more naturally
referred to Christ; Apoc. iii. 7; John
vi. 69; Acts iii 14; iv. 27, 30; and
Christ Himself ‘sends’ the Paraclete
(John xvi. 7).

οἴδατε πάντες] ye all know, 1.9. the
Truth, If this reading be adopted
the statement must be taken in close
connexion with the clause which fol-
lows: ‘ye all know—I have not written
to you because ye do not know—the
Trath.” With οἴδατε τὴν dA. contrast
2 John 2 of ἐγνωκότες τὴν dh.

74

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(IL 22

ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, addr’ ὅτι οἴδατε
αὐτήν, καὶ ὅτι πᾶν ψεῦδο ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ

”
εστιν.

3 Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης εἰ μὴ ὁ ἁρ-

ar --πᾶν Ο.

The common reading καὶ οἴδατε
πάντα gives an explanation of the ac-
tual force of χρίσμα ἔχετε : ‘yo have an
unction, and, in virtue of that gift of
the Holy Spirit, ye know all things ;
ye have potentially complete and cer-
tain knowledge: no false teaching can
deceive you if ye are faithfal to your-
selves.’ Comp. σ. 171 Jude 5 (eldéras
ἅπαξ πάντα); John xiv. 26, xvi. 13.

See Additional Note.

21, The object of the apostle in
writing was not to communicate fresh
knowledge, but to bring into active
and decisive use the knowledge which
his readers already possessed. For
ἔγραψα 999 00. 14 note, 26.

ἀλλ’, ὅτι. καὶ Bre...) sed quasi
acientibus...et quoniam..(sed quia...
quia) V., but because...and because...
The ὅτι in the second clause appears
to be coordinated with that in the
first clause. St John gives two grounds
for his writing:

1. Because his readers know the
trath,

2. Because no lie is of the truth.

‘The first witnesses to the necessary
sympathy between writer and readers:
the second explains the occasion of
the particular warning.

The second ὅτι can however also be
translated ‘that’ thus defining a se-
cond featare in Christian knowledge:
“ye know the truth and know that no
lie is of the truth’ In this case the
words indicate the practical oconse-
quences which follow from the revela-
tion of the antichriste,

According to both views the abso-
lute irreconcileableness of any false-
hood with ‘the Truth’ is laid down as
aclear rule for the protection of Chris-
tians in the presence of seductive
teachers, It was, on the other hand,

the office of the Paraclete to guide
them ‘into all the Trath’(Jobn xvi.
1

oe ψ... οὐκ ἔστιν] see ο. 19 note.

ψεῶδος] mendacium V. Error is

in its positive form as part

of ‘the lie’ (τὸ ψεῦδος) which is the
opposite of ‘the Truth.’ Compare
John viii. 44; 2 Thess. ii 11; Rom.
i 25; Eph, iv, 25. See also Apoc.
xxi. 27, xxii. 15.

ἐκ τῆς ἁλ. ἕστω] ©. ΠΠ. 19; John
xviii. 37. 8990. 16ποῦθ. The source of
falsehood is marked in John viii. 44.

4. The essence and the power of
the Truth (22—25).

‘The mention of ‘lies’ in ο. 21 leads
directly to the question as to the
essential character of him who main-
tains them, and by contrast of him
who holds the Truth (21, 23). Then
follows the iture of the power
of the Trath firmly held, which brings
fellowship with God, even eternal life
(24, 25).

=Who is the liar but he that
denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the Antichrist, even he that
denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Every one that denieth the Son hath
not even the Father: he that con-
Sesseth the Son hath the Father also.
Ἂ, As for you, let that which ye
heard from the beginning abide in
you, Uf that abide in you which
ye heard from the beginning, ye also
shall abide in the Son and in the
Father, -' And this is the promise
that he himself promised us, even
the life eternal.

22. τίς dari...) Quis est mendar
a? V. Who is the liar...? The
abrupt question (comp. ο. ¥. 5) corre-
sponds with a brief mental pause after

11. 23]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 75

, ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς οὐκ & ῃ ὃν oe
νούμενος ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ χριστος! οὗτός
ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν

v.21. ‘I have spoken of lies: shat,
nay rather, who is their source? Who
is the liar?’ The abruptness of ez.
22 {. is remarkable. Clause stands
by clause in stern solemnity without
any connecting particles,

ὁ ψεύστηε] the liar, who offers in
his own person the sum of all that is
false; and not simply ‘a liar’ who is
guilty of a particular sin, The denial
of the fact ‘Jesus is the Christ’ when
grasped in its fall significance—intel-
lectaal, moral, spiritual—inclades all
falsehood: it reduces all knowledge
of necessity to a knowledge of phe-
nomena: it takes away the highest
ideal of sacrifice: it destroys the
connexion of God and man,

τίε...εἳ μή] ο. v.53 1 Cor. 4, 115
2 Cor. ii. 2, &e.

6 ἀρνούμενος ὅτι...οὐκ tony] that
denieth that... The insertion of the
negative in the original (preserved in
the Old Latin, gui negat quod Jesus
non est Christus) gives a positive,
aggressive, character to the negation.
The adversary denies that Jesus is
the Christ when the claim is made;
and on his own part he affirms that
He is not. Comp. Luke xx. 27; Gal.
v.7; Heb. xii. 19. For the converse
see John i. 20.

The phrase by which St John de-
scribes the master-falsehood as the
‘denial that Jesus is the Christ,
itself marke the progress of Christian
thought. In the éarliest stage of the
Church the words would have ex-
pressed a denial of the Messi
of Jesus from the Jewish point of
view (Acta v. 42, ix. 22, xvii 3,
xviil 28), They now answer to a
later form of opinion. A common
‘Gnostic’ theory was that ‘the son
Christ’ descended upon the man
Jesus at His Baptism, and left Him
before the Passion. Those who held

such a doctrine denied that ‘Jesus
was the Christ’; and in so denying,
denied the union of the divine and
human in one Person. This heresy
then St John signalises here, the
direct contradiction to the funda-
mental truth which he proclaimed,
the Word became flesh.

οὗτος] this liar, this maintainer of
the central falsehood in regard to
revelation, as to God and man, is the
antichrist, even he that denieth the
Father and the Son. The denial of
the personal union of true manhood
and true Godhead in Christ involves
the denial of the essential relations
of Fatherhood and Sonship in the
Divine Nature. The conception of
this relation in the immanent Trinity
prepares the way for the fact of the
Incarnation; and conversely, the fact
of the Incarnation gives reality to
that moral conception of God as
active Love without which Theism
becomes a formula.

6 ἀντίχριστος] The term expresses
the embodiment of a principle, and
is not to be confined to one person.
‘The character of ‘the antichrist’ is
described in the words which follow
(even he that...Son), which are not
simply 8 resumption of οὗτος.

6 ἀρνούμενος τ. π.] To deny the
Father is to refuse to acknowledge
God as Father. Comp. Matt. x. 33;
Acts iii. 13 f.; 2 Tim. ii, 12; 2 Pet. ii,
1; Jude 4.

τὸν πατέρα] The title the Father
occurs in the Epistles of St John, as in
the Gospel, in connexion with ‘the
Bon’ (ov. 22, 23, 24, i 3, iv. 14; 2 J.
3,9), and in relation to men (ii. 1, 14,
15 f, iii 1; 2 J. 4) in virtue of the
revelation of Christ. It is used also
in relation to ‘the Life’ (i. 2 note).

The title always stands in the Epi-
stles in its simple form, ‘His Father’

76

er
νιον.

34 ὁ ὁμολ....ἔχει RABC me αγττ. οπι ς-.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

; arn ars κα) γὸ te
ὁ ὁμολογών τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει.

(11. 23, 24

oe ee Mey omy oy {ο ».
Saas ὁ αρνουµενος ΤΟ» υιον οὐδὲ τον πατερα εχει"

”'Υμεῖς ὃ
24 ὑμεῖε ΝΑΡΟ vg: ὑμ. «οὖν ο.

Other conjunctions are inserted in versions.

or ‘our Father, or ‘the Father in
heaven’ do not occur, See additional
note on i. 2.

τὸν υἱόν] By the use of the absolute
term the Son (comp. John v. 19 note),
which occurs in the Rpistle first here
(comp. iv. 14, v. 12), 8t John brings out
distinctly what is involved in the fact
that the Christ and Jesus are person-
ally one, There is no passage in the
mind of the Apostle from one per-
sonality to another, from the human
to the divine, nor yet from the con-
ception of ‘the man Christ Jesus’ to
that of ‘the Word’: the thought of
‘the Son’ includes both these con-
ceptions in their ideal falness,

23. was 6 ἀρν. τ. ul...) Qui negat
Filium nec Patrem habet V. The
original is compressed: Every one
that denieth the Son hath not even
the Father (οὐδὲ. π. ζ:) or,
to our idiom, No one that denieth the
Son hath even the Father. Such a
one hath not the Son, whom he re-
jects, nor yet the Father, whom he
professes to regard. The translation
quoted by Augustine completes the
sentence: gui negat Filium nec
Filium nec Patrem habet.

The ‘denial of the Son’ expresses
in another form that which has been
more fully described before as ‘the
denial of Jesus as the Christ.’

The denial of the Son involves the
loss of the Father, not only because the
ideas of sonship and fatherhood are
correlative, but because the Son alone
can reveal the Father (Matt. xi. 27;
John xiv. 9), and it is, in other words,
only in the Son that we have the
revelation of God as Father.

The οὐδέ retains its full force ‘has
not even the Father,’ though this re-
sult may seem to be against expecta-

tion, and contrary to the claim of the
Απο teachers. Comp. John v. 22,
viii. 42; Gal. ii 3; 1 Tim. vi 7.

For the use of wae ὁ ἀρν. in place of
the simple ὁ dpv. see ο. iii. 3 note.

οὐδὲ ἔχει...ἴχε] hath not even...
hath... The second clause in each
case is more than a simple repetition
of the first. It is not said of him
‘that denieth the Son’ that he denieth
the Father also; but that he ‘hath
not even the Father.’ Such Αα man
might shrink from denying the Father
in words, and even claim to do Him
honour, but yet St John says ‘he hath
not even the Father,’ as one who en-
Joys the certain of a living
Friend. And conversely he ‘ that con-
feaseth the Son’ not only confesses
the Father in an act of faith, but also
lives in conscious communion with
Him,

ἔχει] Comp. π. 12; 2 John 9.

Augustine has an interesting dis-
cussion on the application of the test
to Catholics and Donatiste. His con-
clusion is: ‘Quisquis factis negat
Christum Antichristus est,’ adding
the words quoted on ο. 19. And Bede
says of this confession : confessionem
hic cordis vocis et operis inquirit qua-
lem queerebat Paulus (1 Cor, xii. 3).

ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱόν] gut conjite-
tur Filium V., he that confesseth the
Son, he that openly acknowledges that.
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
The constructions of ὁμολογεῖν in N.T.
are numerous. The simplest are those
with the infin, and with ὅτι which
serve for the affirmation of a definite
fact past, present or future (infin.
civ. 2; Tit i 16; Matt xiv. 7; ὅτι
ο, iv, 15; John i 20; Acta xxiv. 14;
Heb. xi. 13). From the construction
with the injin. that with the accus.

IL 24]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 77

ἠκούσατε dn’ ἀρχῆς, ἐν ὑμῖν µενέτω" ἐὰν ἐν ὑμῖν µείνη

Αν

ὃ dx’ ἀρχῆς ἠκούσατε, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ vid καὶ

ἀκηκόατε (bis) Ν.
ἐν τῷ π. καὶ ὃν τῷ VGH ayr Vg.

follows, either a simple accus. Acts
xxiii. 8 (comp. ο. i 9); or an accus,
with a secondary predicate 2 John 7;
John ix. 22, Here and in ο, iv. 3 the
predicate which gives the substance
of the confession is supplied from the
context. Elsewhere the verb is used
absolutely: John xii 42; with oogn,
accus, 1 Tim. vi. 12; with the sub-
stance of the confession added in the
direct: Rom, x. 9 (Κύρις Ἰησοῦ).
More remarkable is the construction
with é Matt. x. 31 Ε; Luke xii 8
which suggests the idea of an ac-
kmowledged fellowship.

To know the Son as Son is to have
such knowledge as we can have at
present of the Father (John xiv. 7 f£).
Hence he that confesseth the Son
hath the Father also as well as the
Son whom he directly acknowledges.

341. The view of the true nature
of the confession and denial of Christ
is followed by a view of the power
of the confession. The knowledge to
which it witnesses carries with it
eternal life.

24. ‘Yueis...] As for you. The
pronoun stands at the head of the
sentence in contrast with the false
teachers of whom the apostle has
spoken (ο. 22): comp. Matt, xiii, 18,
For the irregular construciion see ο.
27; John vi. 39; vii. 38; xiv. 12; xv.
2; Luke xxi. 6, &e.

‘The construction is broken, because -

the thought of St John is turned from
that which the disciples had to do to
that which was done for them. ‘As
for you, do you keep’ is changed to
‘ As for you, let that abide in you’
The final strength of the Christian
lies not in his own effort, but in the
Truth by which he is inspired. That
is the power of life which he is charged

[έν]

8 dx ἀρχ. ἀκηκ. (vg) mg the. & τῷπ. RAC: --ἐν B vg.

not tohinder. Comp. John xv. 7. For
the double divine fellowship, ‘God in
us, we in God,’ see iv. 15 note,

3 ἠκούσατε..] that which ye
heard...(o. 7). ‘The first simple mes-
sage of the Gospel apprehended in its
unity (3 not 2; comp. Jobn xiv. 23).
This ‘word’ taken into the heart be-
comes a power fashioning the whole
man (John viii. 31 £.; xv. 7). ι

ἐν ὑμῖν µενέτω] let that...abide in
you, The Gospel is described both as
@ medium in which the believer lives
(John viii. 31), and as a quickening
spirit which dwells in him (Col. iii.
16; 2 John 2).

8 de ἀπ ἀρχῆς...ὸ dm? ἀρχ. ἠκ....]
The change of order marks a change
of emphasis. In the first clause the
stress lies on the fact that the read-
ers had received a divine message
(ye heard): in the second, on the
coincidence of that message in time
with the origin of their faith (from
the beginning). Comp. iii. 8 note.

Susis...] yo also...i.e, ‘then ye
on your ..” not ‘ye as well as
others...’ The presence of the divine
life carries with it of necessity the
possession of divine fellowship. ‘Thus
one fact is correlative to the other
(comp. i, 3). This correlation is made
clearer by the correspondence in the
pronouns: ἐὰν ἐν ὑμῖν...καὶ ὑμεῖς,
Comp. iii. 24.

For the use of καί to mark a cor-

ling issue, see iv. 11.

ἐν τῷ vig καὶ ἐν r. π.] The order, a5
cont with that in ο. 22 (τ. π. καὶ
+. υἱ) is significant, Here the thought
is that of rising through the con-
feasion of the Son to the knowledge of
the Father; there the thought is of
the issue of denial culminating in the
denial of the Father.

78

τῷ πατρὶ μενεῖτε.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{IL 25, 26

Sxai αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία

3 ον. / en \ 9 \ a)
ἣν αὐτὸς ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώ-

νιον.

25 ἡμῖντ ὑμῖν B (lat),

35. ralairy ἐστίν...] Andthis is...
‘The pronoun may refer either to that
which precedes or to that which fol-
lows. The promise may be that of
abiding communion with the Father
and the Son (John xvii. 21), which is
explained by the words added in ap-
position ‘the life eternal’; or it may
be simply ‘the life eternal.’ In either
case ‘ the life eternal’ consists in union
with God by that knowledge which is
sympathy (Jobn xvii, 3), s0 that there
is no real difference of sense in the
two interpretations. The usage of
St John in the Epistle is decidedly in
favour of the second view (i. 5, ili. 23,
τ. 11, 14), nor is there any sufficient
reason for departing from it.

ἐπαγγελία] repromissio V, polli-
citatio Aug. This is the only place
where the word occurs in the writings
of St John (not ο, i 5). Contrast

fréyr\na (promissum Υὴ 3 Pet L4;

13

BS .] that He... He himself,
Christ our Master. nom. (atrés)
is always emphatic: see v. 2 note,
There is not any special saying of the
Lord recorded in which this promise
is expressly contained (σος er comp.
James i. 12; Apoc. ii, 10); but it was
the whole aim and scope of His
teaching to lead men to seek ‘life’
And a divine charge is a divine

promise.

τὴν ¢ rival) Seec.i2note. For
the attraction compare Phil iii. 18.
Winer, p. 665.

4. Abidingin the Truth(ii. 26—29).

The view which 8t John has given
of the nature and power of the Trath
is followed by a fresh application of
the teaching to the readers of the
Epistle. An affirmation (uévere, indic.,

“Taira ἔγραγψα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν πλα-

26 ταῦτα” δὲ X syrve.

ο, 27) leads to a command (µένετε,

imper., ο. 28), Thus the Ὃ αν,
falls into two parte which deal (1)
with the divine teaching as perma-
nent and progressive (ου. 26f.) and
(2) with human effort directed to the
future (oe. 28 f.).

% These things have I written to
you concerning them that would lead
you astray. 7 And as for you, the
unction which ye received from him
abideth in you, and ye have no need
that any one teach you; but as hie
unction teacheth you of all things
(and it is true and is no lie), and
even as it taught you, ye abide in
him.

* And now, little children, abide
in him, that, if he shall be manifested,
we may have boldness and not shrink
in shame from him at his presence.
» If ye know that he is righteous,
ποιο (notice) that every one that doeth
righteousness hath been begotten of
him,

26f. In the preceding verses νά
24 £) St John had appealed to the
original apostolic message which his
readers had received (ὁ ἠκούσατε) in
contrast with all false teaching. He
now appeals to the inward voice of the
Spirit whose first teaching (ἐδίδαβεν)
and whose present teaching (διδάσκει)
is one.

26. Tatra] These things, the clear
unfolding of the true character and
significance of the false teachers in
relation to the church (ου. 18—25).

ἔγραψα] See ο. 14 note,

τῶν πλανώντω»] qui, seducunt vos
V., them that would lead you astray,
who are actively engaged in the effort:
ο, iil. 7; Apoo. xiii. 14, xii. 9.

St John bas spoken of the false

IL 27]

νώντων ἡμᾶς.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

79

"kat ὑμεῖς τὸ χρίσμα ὃ ἐλάβετε ax’

αὐτοῦ μένει ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἵνα τις διδάσκη
ὑμᾶς ἀλλ᾽ ὡς τὸ αὐτοῦ χρίσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς περὶ

47 χρίσμα (1): χάρισ µα Ὦ,
μσέτω ve.
ayr bl: τὸ αὐτό SA me.

teachers under their spiritual aspect
as ‘antichrists’; he now speaks of
them under their outward aspect as
leading men away from the fellowship
of the Christian Society.

27. καὶ dpeis...] And as for you...
The construction is like that in ο. 24.
‘The pronoun is set at the head of the
sentence in order to bring out sharply
the contrast betwoen believers and
their adversaries,

τὸ χρίσμα] 5. 20 note.

& AaB. d. ad] which ye received
from Him ‘the Holy One’ (ο. 20), even
Christ (ο. 25). The gift which before
(ο. 20) was simply described as a pos-
seasion (ἔχετε) is now referred to its
source, The personal relation to which
it witnesses is a ground of confidence.

GB. ἀπ᾿ at.) The use of ἀπό to
mark the source in this connexion has
been already touched on (c. i. 5). The
distinction of the ‘source’ (ἀπό) and
the ‘giver’ (wapd) is illustrated by
the combination of the prepositions
ἀπό and παρά with different verbs:

(1) AapBdvew παρά John v. 41, 445
x. 18; 2 Jobn 4; Apoc. ii. 27; Mk. xii.
2; Acta ii, 33; iii. 5; xvii; xx. 24;
James i. 7; 2 Pet. i. 17. λαμβάνεν
ἀπό 1 John iii, 22; 3 John 7; Matt.

xvii. 25.

(2) mapadapSdvew παρά 1 Thess. ii.

13; iv, i; 2 Thess, iii. 6; Gal i, 12.
ιν ἀπό 1 Cor. xi. 23.

(3) ἔχειν παρά Acts ix. 14. ἔχεν
ἀπό ο. ii, 20; iv. 21; 1 Tim. ifi, 7.
ἔχειν ἐκ 1 Cor, vii. 7; 2 Cor. Υ. 1.

For dxovew παρά, ἀπό seo ο. i. 5
note.

μένει]οδίέἀείλ. The apostle 20 writes
as looking at the divine side of the

μέν. ἐν ὑμ. RABC vg mo the: ὁν ὑμ. pdr. ©:
ἀλλ' ὧν RAO vg the: ἀλλά Β.

τὸ αὐτοῦ MBC vg the

χρίσμα (2): πνεῦμα N*me (χρεῖσμα B).

truth. The gifts of God are sure on
His

οὐ χρείαν ἔχ....] ye have no need...
The outpouring of the Spirit, the
characteristic of the last days (Jer.
xxxi 34; Joel ii 28; Heb. viii. 11;
Acts ii. 17 ff.), gave to each one who
received it a sure criterion of truth.
Christians needed not fresh teaching
even from apoutles, still less from thoso
who professed to guide them into
new ‘depths.’

οὐ xp. ἔχ. iva...] non necesse habetis
ut V., non habetis necessitatem ut
Aug. The same construction occurs in
Jobn ii.25, xvi. 30. The phrase xpelay
ἔχειν is used absolutely in several
places: Mk. ii 25; Acts ii. 45, iv. 35;
1 Cor. xii. 24; Eph. iv. 28, as in this
Epistle ο. iii. 17. This usage supplies
@ probable explanation of the con-
struction: ‘Yo are not in need such
that you require...

ἀλλ" ὧς...καὶ καθὼς...ὲν αὐτῷ] but
as His ωποίίοη teacheth you...and
even as it taught you,ye abide in Him,
These words serve to establish the
statement just made. ‘You need no
one to teach you, but on the cont
you remain firm in that direct divine
fellowship established by the teaching
which you are continually receiving
and which at first you received once
for all’ Impatience drives men to
look without for the guidance which
in due time will be recognised within.
Such impatience is the opposite to
the steadfastness of the Christian,

But while so much is clear the con-
struction of the sentence is uncertain.
The last clause (and even as...in
Him) may be either a resumption or

80

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IL 27

πάντων, καὶ ἀληθές ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ψεῖῦδος, καὶ

27 ἀληθήν Ν.

rather continuation of the former
words (as His...no lie), or 8 new and
distinct clause. In the latter case the
first apodosis will be in the words ‘s0
ts it true and no lie? ‘but as His
unction teacheth you, even so is it
true and no lie’ This use of καὶ in
the apodosis is however rare in St
Jobn; nor does there appear to be
any special force in making the affir-
mation of the perfect truth of the
divine teaching substantive con-
clusion. It is therefore more natural
to suppose that there is only one
apodosis (ys abide in Him), and that
the sentence as originally shaped (but,
on the contrary, as His unction teach-
eth you concerning all things, ye
abide in Him) was afterwards en-
larged by the addition of the reflec-
tion ‘and it is true and is no lie!
which again led to the further state-
ment that the present progressive
teaching is essentially the same as the
first teaching as His unction teach-
eth...and even as it taught you, ye
abide in Him.

The reading of B gives a plain and
simple sense, but it is difficult to under-
stand how it could have been altered
if it had been the original reading.

το av. χρ.] His unction, the unc-
tion which ye received from Christ.
Comp. John xvi. 7.

‘The most unusual order τὸ av. xp.
(for τὸ yp. av.) throws a strong empha-
sis on the pronoun. Comp. 1 Thess,
ii. 19 (contrast 1 Cor, xv. 23; 2 Cor.
vii. 7); Rom. iii. 24 (in 2 Pet. iii, 7
τῷ αὐτοῦ λ. is probably a false read-
ing), As might be expected this is
the normal order with ἐκεῖνος: John
v. 47; 2 Pet. i. 16; 2 Cor. vili. 9, 14;
2 Tim. ii 26; Tit. iif. 7.

Διδ. ὁ, π. π.] toacheth you of all
things, The application and inter-
pretation of the trath is continuous.

καὶ καθώτ: om. καὶ A the.

The Spirit of Trath sent in Christ's
name (John xiv. 26), sent, that is, to
make the meaning of the Incarnation
fally known, is ever bringing out
something more of the infinite mean-
ing of His Person and Work, in con-
nexion with the new results of thought
and observation (περὶ πάντων). Comp.
John xvi. 13 £

καὶ ἀληθές ἐστι»...] and it ts true...
The ‘unction, the gift of the Spirit,
is now identified with the results of
the gift. The Spirit is the Spirit of
Trath (John xiv. 17); and its teaching
is true, and admits no element of
falsehood (ο, 21).

Parenthetical reflections like this
are found elsewhere in St John’s
writings, Comp. ο i. 2 note.

οὐκ ζ. ψεῶδος] non est mendacium
V., is no lis. By the use of ψεῦδος
(not ψευδές) St John implies ‘that the
false teachers practically represented
the Gospel as ‘a lie’ in its concrete
form, and not simply as ‘false’ (comp.
9. 21 note).

The combination of the positive and
negative is characteristic of St John:
i 5 note.

καὶ καθὼς ἐδίδαξεν...] and even as it
taught... The first teaching contained
implicitly all that is slowly brought to
light in later times (comp. ii. 7). The
believer abides in Christ as the Spirit
makes Him known, and even as it
made Him known in the simple Gospel
‘ Jesus is the Christ.’ This clause ex-
cludes all ‘developments’ of teaching
which cannot be shewn to exist in
germ in the original message; and
at the same time leaves no room for
the inventions of fanaticism. That
which was taught first is the absolute
standard,

‘The use of καθώς marks this idea of
‘a definite and fixed standard: ο0. 6,
18, iif, 2, 3, 7, 12, &e.

IL, 28]

καθως ἐδίδαξεν ὑμᾶς, µένετε ἐν αὐτῷ.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. δι

38 Καὶ νῦν,

τεκνία, µένετε ἐν αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐὰν φανερωθῇ σχῶμεν παρ-

µένετε ΚΛΒΟ vg syrr me the: μενεῖτε ς..

Ίνα édy ABC the: ἵνα ὅταν 6 syrr.

µένετε ἐν αὐτφ] ye abide in Him,
ie Christ. The verb may be ind
cative or imperative (as in v. 28, 80
Vulg. manete in 60), but the pa-
rallelism with µένει (the unction abid-
eth...ye abide) is decisive in favour of
the indicative. In this verse St John
assumes the fulfilment of the con-
ditions which he presses upon his
readers in ο, 28.

For the general thought compare
John vi. 56, xv. 4ff Elsewhere the
Christian is said to ‘abide in God’:
iii. 24, iv. 128. Soin vv. 28f ‘Christ’
and ‘God’ are treated as i
able.

At first sight it might appear most
natural to take ἐν αὐτῷ of the ‘teach-
ing of the Spirit’ (χρίσμα) as is done
by the Latin translation used by
Augustine (permanete in ipsa sc.

‘unctione) according to John viii. 31;
but the personal reference cannot be
questioned in ο, 28, and that must de-
cide the interpretation here. Christ—
God in Christ—is the subject con-
stantly present to the mind of the
Apostle.

Augustine contrasts finely the hu-
man and divine teachers: Sonus ver-
boram nostrorum aures percutit,
magister intus est Nolite patare
quemquam hominem aliquid discere
ab homine. Admonere poasumus per
strepitum vocis nostree; si non sit in-
tas qui doceat inanis fit strepitus
noster.... Magisteria forinsecus ad-
jutoria queedam sunt et admonitiones,
Cathedram in cwlo habet qui corda

185. St John turns from the ideal
view of the believer to the practical
enforcement of duty: ‘I have said
that God’s gift. is unchangeable; and
that the Christian continues living in

w.

28 -- καὶ νῦν.. αὐτῷ Ν.

σχῶµο WABCO: ἔχωμο ςΝ'.

that which he received, and so abides
in his Lord ; and now, in the face of
your enemies, realise your life: do
you abide in Him, and prove your fel-
lowship by your action,’

The verses serve also to prepare
the way for the next section, intro-
ducing { ideas which are afterwards de-

connexion see John xvii 5; 2 John
5; Acts iii, 17, x. 5, xiii, 11, xx. 25,
xxii. 16.

τεκνία] flioli V., my little children.
The tenderness of the address (τεκνία)
commends the

shall be manifested, ο ii. 2. The hy-
pothetic form does not throw doubt
‘upon the fact in itself (see ο. 29), but
marks the uncertainty of the circum-
stances under which the fact will be
realised: the manifestation might be
while they all still lived. Comp. John
xxi, 22 f.; ο. iv. 17 ἐν τῇ ἡμ. ris κρί-
σεως.

The same word φανερωθῆναι is used
for the first manifestation of the Lord
in the flesh (ο. i. 2, iii. 5, 8; 1 Tim. iii,
16; 1 Pet, 1. 20); and for that mani-
festation which is still looked for (ο.
iii 2; Col. iii, 4; 1 Pet.v. 4). It is
used also for the manifestations of the
Risen Lord (Mark] xvi. 12, 14; John
xxi. 14 (1), and for His ‘manifesta-
tion to Israel’ (John i. 31: comp, vil.

4).

It is worthy of notice that 8t Jobn
nowhere uses ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι of the
revelation of Christ. Bt John

ant ο at t

identifies himself with his
6

82 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{II. 29

ῥησίαν καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθώμεν an’ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ

αὐτοῦ,

3ρἐὰν εἰδῆτε ὅτι δίκαιός ἐστιν, γωώσκετε ὅτι

πᾶς ὁ ποιών τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγέννηται.

28 ἐν τῇ παρ. d. dx’ αὐτοῦ Ν.

2g εἰδῆτε RBC vg αγτε: [Όητε A me.

--ὅτι

πᾶς B πιο ογε bl: ὅτι- καν was NAC the syr vg.

children: comp. ο. 1. All form one
body. It is possible to understand
the words as referring to the Apostle’s
joy in the crown of his work (comp.
1 Thess, ii. 19 f.; Phil iv. 1). The
parallel with 1 Thess. ii. 19 f is cer-
tainly close; but it seems to be more
natural to suppose that the apostle
made himself one with those who
shared his life, and the absence of
the personal pronoun seems to exclude
the notion of any contrast between
him and them.

The use of Zxew παρρησίαν (0. iil.
21, iv. 17, v. 14; comp. Heb. iii. 6,
α. 19; Phil. 8) in connexion with the
manifestation of Christ suggests St
Paul's thought of the judgment-seat
of Christ (2 Cor. v. 10) or of God
(Rom, xiv. 10), where man must
“render account? (Rom. xiv. 12) of his
life. The idea of open, unreserved
utterance is never lost. See John vii.
4note, The difference in order here
(ox. παρρ.) and in iii. 21, iv. 17 (παρ.
ἔχεν) indicates a diferent emphasis
on the elements of the phrase: comp.
Eph. Πλ. 12.

μὲ αἰσχυνθῶμεν de’ αὐτοῦ] non con-
Sundamur ab 00 V., not shrink with
shame from Him, ‘as @ guilty thing
surprised’ The same thought of
separation is found more plainly ex-
pressed 2 Thess. i. 9. The construo-
tion αἰσχύνεσθαι ἀπό is used in the
same sense in the Lxx: Ia. i 29;
Jer. ii. 36, xii. 13 (19 033); Eoolus.
xxi 22, xii. 17 ff.

παρουσίᾳ] adventu V., presence
(coming). The word does not occur
elsewhere in St John’s writings. Ite
single occurrence here, where it might
easily have been omitted, in oxactly

the same sense as it bears in all the
other groups of apostolic writings
(Matt., James, 2 Peter, 1, 2 Thess, 1
Cor.) is a signal example of the danger
of drawing conclusions from the nega-
tive phenomena of the books of the
New Testament, The fact is the more
worthy of notice as the subject of
eschatology falls into the background
in the Gospel and Epistles of St Jobn.
Comp. John xxi. 22.

It may be added that St John does
not use the Pauline word ἐπιφάνεα
(2 These, 1,2 Tim, Tit).

29. ἐὰν εἰδῆτε...γινώσκετε...] si scitis
«tcitote (Vig. Taps, scitis)... V. If
ye know...percsice, notice...
Knowledge which is absulute (εἰδῆτ ε)
becomes the basis of knowledge which
is realised in observation (γινώσκετε).
Comp. John ii. 24 note. The dis-
tinction is lost in the Latin and can
hardly be preserved in an English
version.

The second verb (γινώσκετε) may be
either indicative or imperative. Both
renderings are found in early Latin
authorities. In favour of the im-
perative it is urged that it stands be-
tween two imperatives (µένετε, and
iii, 1 Bere). On the other hand it is
said that ο. 29 contains a general
reason for the command in ». 28.
‘Abide in Him in fraitful well-doing,
for the first articleof your faith teaches
you that right action is the sign of 8
divine birth.

A decision is difficult; but upon
the whole the general structure of vv.
28 f. favours the imperative. It seems
to be more in accordance with the
context that St John should here
charge his readers to apply practi-

{L 29]

cally the truth which they had in-
wardly mastered, than that he should
appeal to them as having done thus.

The use of édy with the subj. (ὢν
«ἰδῆτε), when there is no intention of
questioning the fact or treating it as
uncertain, often serves to turn the
thoughts of the hearer or reader upon
it in the way of self-interrogation:
“if, as I assume to be the case, as you
profess, as by silent inquiry you can
assure yourselves...’ Comp. ο iv. 12
(v.15); John xiv. 15.

δίκαιος... ἐξ ad. γεγένν.] He is right-
eous...begotten of Him.... Great diffi-
culty has been felt in determining
whether the pronoun refers to ‘God’
or to ‘Christ’ There can be no doubt
that Christ is the subject in ο. 28
(abide in Him...at His presence). It
is therefore most natural to suppose
that He is the subject in this verse
also, unless the context makes such
an interpretation impossible, This
probability is strengthened by the fact
that no personal pronoun is introduced
in ο, 29, And there is a further pre-
sumption that the same subject is
continued from the fact that in iii. 1
a new subject is distinctly named (the
Father). The application of the epi-
thet ‘righteous’ to Christ is supported
by o.1. But it is argued on the other
side that the Christian cannot be said
‘to be born of Christ. It is certainly
true that the exact phrase does not
occur elsewhere, while ‘to be born of
God’ (who is called ‘righteous’ ο. i,
ϱ) is a characteristic phrase of St John
(yor. ἐκ θεοῦ John i. 13, γενν. ἐκ τοῦ
θεοῦ ο. iii. 9; iv. 7; v.1, 4, 18). But this
argument does not seem to be con-
clusive. Christians are said equally
to ‘abide in God’ and to ‘abide in
Christ’ (ο. 27). They are also said to
be ‘born of the Spirit’ (John iii. 6, 8).
The word of Christ is in them as a
quickening power (comp. 1 Pet. i 23;
James i. 18). There is then nothing
against the tenour of Scripture in
saying that Christians are ‘born of

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

83

Christ,’ who is ‘God only-begotten’
(Jobn i. 18).

The true solution of the difficulty
seems to be that when St John thinks
of God in relation to men he never
thinks of Him apart from Christ
(comp. ο v. 20). And again he never
thinks of Christ in His human na-
ture without adding the thought of
His divine nature. Thus a rapid
transition is possible from the one
aspect of the Lord’s divine-human
Person to the other, Here the pas-
sage is from ‘Christ’ to ‘God’ (ἐὰν
φανερωθῇ, ἐν τῷ, παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ, δὲ
καιός ἑστω» ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγέννηται); an
conversely in iii, 1—4 the passage τν
from ‘God’ to ‘Christ’ (τέκνα θεοῦ,
οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν, ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι
αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, καθὼς ἐκεῖνον), yet With-
out any change of Person.

This a to be the view of
Augustine who writes: ex ipso natus
est, ex Deo, ex Christo. Bede writes
simply ‘id est, ex Christo’

δίκαιος] righteous. The epithet is
used of Christ ii. 1; iii 7. Comp.
Acts iii, 14, vii. 52, xxii. 14; and of
God (the Father) ο. i 9 (see note);
Jobn xvii. 25; Άροο, xvi 5.

ὅτι πᾶς...γεγέννηται] that every
one...hath been begotten of Him. The
presence of righteous action is the
aure sign of the reality of the divine
birth, We are often tempted, ac-
cording to our imperfect standards of
judgment, to exclude some (comp. ο.
23 was ὁ dp», note), but the divine law
admits no exception. It must be
further observed that righteousness is
not the condition but the consequence
of Sonship. God is the one source of
righteousness. Apart from God in
Christ there is no righteousness. It
follows therefore that the presence of
active righteousness is the sign of the
divine Sonship, and the sign of that
abiding power of Sonship which brings
final confidence. Other tests of Son-
ship are offered in the Epistle : ‘love’
(iv. 7) and belief ‘that Jesus is the

6--2

84 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Christ’ (v. 1). Each one, it will be
found, includes the others, See v. 1
note.

The apostle’s argument might have
appeared more direct if the clauses
had been inverted : ‘know (take note
of the fact) that every one that is born
of God doeth righteousness.’ But the
present order includes a promise, and
leaves the of Sonship in its
amplitude. The outwardly witnessed

tiam V.., who dosth righteousness, who
realises in action little by little the
righteousness which corresponds with
the Divine Nature (τὴν δικ. compare
ο iii. 7 note), The tense (ποιών) is
fall of meaning, as Theophylact ob-
serves: ἐπισημαντέον ὅτι οὐκ εἶπε Πᾶς

{IL 29

ὁ ποιήσας δικαιοσύνην 9, Ὁ ποιήσων
@X Ὁ ποιῶν. πρακτικαὶ γὰρ [al] dpe
ra) καὶ ἐν τῷ γίνεσθαι ἔχουσι τὸ εἶναι-
πανσάµεναι δὲ ἢ μέλλουσαι οὐδὲ τὸ
εἶναι ἔχουσι.
Bede thus marks the beginning and
the end of this realisation of right-
eousness: Coepisti non defendere pec-
catum tuum, jam inchoasti justitiam.
Perficietur autem in te quando te
nihil aliud facere delectabit.

Compare also ποιεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν
c i. 6 note.

εξ αὐτοῦ γεγώνηται] ex ipso natus
eat V., ie begotten of Him, Comp.
@ ili. 9 note. The phrase occurs here
first in the Epistle. The order em-

izes the fact that such a one has

God for his Father, and not that he
has a new life. Compare iii. 9 b; iv.
73 τσ. τς John i. 13.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 85

Additional Note on ii. 2. The use of ἑλασμός and cognates in
the Greek Scriptures,

The word Dacpés occurs in the N.T. only here and in a parallel passage Use of
iv. 10. Dagybs in
In the uxx, it is found with the corresponding ἐξιλασμός more frequently, N° "4
where one or other of the two words is the usual representative of O'R} :
Lev. xxv. 9 ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ Ἱλασμοῦ.
— xxiii. 27 {. ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ ἐξιλασμοῦ.
Num. τ. το bape τοῦ Ἰλασμοῦ δὲ οὗ ἐβιλάσεται.
xxix. 11 τὸ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῆς ἐξιλάσεως.
Exod. xxix. 36 ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ.
Vat. A. 2. 6. ἀξιλασμοῦ.
— xxx. 10 ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ,
Vat. A. ἐξιλασμοῦ.
The two words used also for WD :.
XIV. 19 λήψεται ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐξιλασμοῦ.
xliv. 27 προσοίσουσιν Ἱλασμόν.
Comp. Ezek. xliii. 23 (Amos viii. 14 is a false rendering of NYY).
2 Mace. iii. 33 ποιουµένου τοῦ ἀρχιερέως τὸν ἵλασμόν (the sacrifice offered
for the recovery of Heliodorus).
2 Mace. xii. 45 περὶ τῶν τεθνηκότων τὸν ἐξιλασμὸν ἐποιήσατο τῆς ἁμαρτίας
«ἀπολυθῆναι,
no Pa, oxxix. (oxxx.) 4 and Dan, ix. 9 Dacpée (-ol) is used to translate
9,
The words are always used absolutely without any addition to mark the
person to or for whom, or the offence for which the propitiation is offered.
In Koclus, xviii, 12 ἐπλήθυνε (κύριος) τὸν ἐξιλασμὸν αὐτοῦ the sense is that
of Ps, cxxix. 4 ‘mercifulness,’ Comp. ο. xvi. 11 ἐξιλασμοί.
The corresponding verb ἑλάσκομαι is found twice in the Ν.Τ.: . Use of
(1) With the dat. of person sinning, Ddoxonas.
Luke xviii. 13 ἑλάσθητί por τῷ dpapradg.
(2) With the accus. of the sin,
Heb. ii. 17 εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ,
Ἱλάσκομαι is comparatively rare in the Lxx. It occurs as a translation
of ?:
(1) With accus, of the sin,
Ps, Ixiv. 3 ἱλάσῃ τὰς doeBelas.
(2) With dat. of the sin,
Ps, Ixxvii. 38 ἱλάσεται ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις.
— xxviii, 38 ἑλάσθητι ταῖς ἁμ.

86 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Tt occurs also as a translation of M29 for which Treas εἶναι is commonly
used :
(1) With the dat, of person,

4 (3) Κ. v. 18 Ἱλάσεται [ἱλασθήσεται] τῷ δούλφ.
(2) With the dat. of the sin,
Ps. xxiv. 12 ἑλάσθητι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ.
(3) Absolutely,
Lam. iii. 42 οὐχ ἱλάσθη».
Dan. ix. 19 Ἱλάσθητι.
ὀμλάσ- The compound ἐξιλάσκομαι, which is the usual representative of p>,
Ope. is more common. This is found
(1) With the accusative
(4) of the object cleansed :
Ezek. xlifi. 26 τὸ θυσιαστήριο».
— ly. 18 τὸ ἅγιον,
— xiv. 20 τὸν οἶκον.
— xiii. 20, 22 τὸ θυσιαστήριον (NAN).
(6) and specially of ain,
Dan, ix. 24 τοῦ ἐβιλάσασθαι ddixias.
Eeelus. ΠΠ. 30 ἁμαρτίαον
Comp. Ps. Ixiv. 4.
In this case the subject (he who expiates, atones, cleanses) may be either
(@) God,
Beclus. v. 6 πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
— —-xxxi, (xxxiv.) 23 οὐδὲ ἐν πλήθει θυσιῶν ἐξιλάσκεται
or z
() the human agent, id
Roclua, iii. 3 ὁ τιμῶν πατέρα ἐξιλάσεται ἁμαρτίαν.
— xx 28, xxviii. 5.
So also the word is found in the passive,
1 Sam. ili. 14 el ἐξιλασθήσεται ἡ ἀδικία...ἐκ θυσίας (BIN).
Comp. Deut. xxi. 8 ἐξιλασθήσεται αὐτοῖς τὸ αἷμα.
(2) With κερί gen.
(@) of the sin,
Ex, xxx1i. 30, &c.
or
(0) of the person sinning,
Lev. i. 4.
— iv. 20, &.
Comp. Boclus, xvi. 7 οὐκ ἐξιλάσατο περὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων γεγάντων,
Bo also with ὑπέρ,
Ezek. xlv. 17.
The word is also used absolutely,
Lev. xvi 17. Comp. Lam, iii, 42; Dan. ix, 19.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 87

(3) Passive with ἀπὸ,
Num. xxxv. 33 οὐκ ἐξιλασθήσεται ἡ γῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος.

(4) The accusative of the person ‘ propitiated’ is found only,

Gon, xxxii. 20 (3) ἐξιλάσομαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς
δώροις (for ἐν comp. Levit. vi. 37; 1 Sam. iii. 14).
Zech. vii. 2 (TPN) ἐξιλάσασθαι τὸν κύριον.

These constructions stand in remarkable contrast with the Classical Contrast
and Hellenistic! usage in which the accus. of the person propitiated is the of Biblical
normal construction from Homer downwards ; a usage which prevails in Classical
patristic writers, usage.

They shew that the scriptural conception of ἱλάσκεσθαι is not that of

‘appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender ;
but of altering the character of that which from without occasions a neces-
sary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship. Such
phrases as ‘propitiating God’ and God ‘being reconciled’ are foreign to the
language of the N. T. Man is reconciled (2 Cor. Υ. 18ff.; Rom. v. 10).
There is a ‘propitiation’ in the matter of the ain or of the-sinner. The
love of God is the same throughout; but He ‘cannot’ in virtue of His very
Nature welcome the impenitent and sinful: and more than this, He ‘can-
not’ treat sin as if it were not sin,

This being s0, the ἱλασμός, when it is applied to the sinner, so to
speak, neutralises the sin, In this respect the idea of the efficacy of
Christ’s propitiation corresponds with one aspect of the Pauline phrase
‘in Christ’ The believer being united with Christ enjoys the quickening,
purifying, action of Christ’s ‘Blood,’ of the virtue of His Life and Death,
of His Life made available for men through Death.

Compare additional note on i, 9.

Additional Note on ii. 9. St John’s view of the state of man.

St John assumes that the actual state of man and of the world is known
by experience, from what we see about us and from history and from con-
aciousness.

Natarally ‘darkness’ (comp. ο. i. 5, note) is the sphere in which man Man by
abides (John xii. 46; 1 John ii. 9 ἕως ἄρτι) until it is dispelled. (Comp. 2atare in
Tob viii. 12; 1 Pet fi. 9; Eph. vi. 12; Col. i 13.) Under one aspect this 2*"kness
darkness has wrought its work, and the crisis is past (ο. ii 11, ἐτύφλωσε»,
note) Under another aspect there are times when the darkness falls
afresh over men with a thicker gloom (John xii. 35, ἵνα μὴ σκ. v. καταλάβῃ).

Viewed from a different point of sight this darkness is death (John Υ. 24).

1 Ε.ρ. Clem. ad Cor. i. 7.01 δὲ (the Ύοῦντες καὶ ἐξιλασκόμενοι xpis Κύριον ἐπὶ
Ninevites) µετανοήσαντες ἐπὶ rois duap- πάσαιε ταῖν d-ywolaus τῶν δικαίων. Philo,
πήµασυν ἐξιλάσαντο τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσαντει. de Ρίαπίαι, § 39 (i. 354) «ὐξάμενοι καὶ
Herm. Vis. i, 2 wis ἐξιλάσομαι τὸν Bed» θυσία: ἀναγαγόνει, καὶ ἱλασάμενοι τὸ
περὶτῶν ἁμαρτιών µου τῶν τελείων; Test. θεῖον. Comp. Leg, Alleg, iii. § 6 (i.
aii, Patr, Levi 3 οἱ ἄγγελοι...οἱλειτουρ- 141 Μ).

88 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

‘This state ‘This present state of man is due to a mysterious interruption of the
due to ex- Divine plan which is noticed abruptly (John i. 5) and came from another
ternal in- order (ο, ili. 8). It is not due to physical or metaphysical necessity, and is
foreign to the essence of man. As the creature of God man was made good
not absolutely but relatively. Bin has disturbed his normal development
(ος iii. 4). Nothing however is said by St John of the Fall; nor does he
mention Adam (yet comp. Apoc, xif. 9ff.; xx. 2 6 ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος). The sin
of Cain, the manifestation of sin in the realm of human life, and not the
sin of Adam, is treated as the archetypal sin (ο. ii. 12).
Man failed As a necessary consequence of his state, man failed of himself to gain
19899 God. a knowledge of God in the way of nature (John i. 10; comp. iii. 3), though
he was not left unvisited (John i. 4, 9).
The mie- ‘Under these circumstances God sent His Son to save the world, giving
sion of the in this the measure of His love (John iii. 166; ©. iv. 1ο). But the coming
of Christ was in effect a judgment, shewing to men what they had become
manto (John ix. 39; comp. Apoc. iii 17 ff; Luke ii, 34f). For they were not
himself, without the power of recognising this Divine revelation (John xv. 22, 24;
τ. 36). The will to recognise God and not the capacity was wanting (John
τι. 403 vil 171 Vill 445 xii 48 ἔχει τὸν κρίνοντα; comp. iii 18; vi. 67;
ix. 41). The manifestation of love called out, as a neceasary consequence,
the opposition of selfishness, hatred (John iii. r9f.; vii. 7; xv. 18f, 23£;
xvii. 14; comp. ο. ii 9, 11; iii. 10, 15; iv. 20). But this hatred was in
despite of man’s real nature. It is true still that if he violates moral law
he ‘lies, and ‘deceives himself’ (ο. i. 6, 8; ii. 4, 22; iv. 20).
Theactual These several traits combine to give a striking view of the grandeur
state of and powerlessness of man (‘un roseau pensant’). He is made for God: he
Shown in #8 Unable of himself to attain to God: God claims his concurrence with the
Contrasts, activity of Divine love. And it is most worthy of notice that St John
simply declares the antithetic facts in their simple solemnity. He shews
no desire to resolve the discords which he accentuates, He leaves them
for a state of fuller knowledge and larger life,

Man is in darkness and death (John τ. 24; ο. iii. 14). On the other
side the true Light shineth (John i. 5; xii. 36; ο ii 8); and Christ offers
“ His fleah for the life of the world’ (John vi 51).

‘The world ‘lieth in the Evil One’(c. v. 19). On the other side ‘the
Prince of the world’ is judged and cast out (John xii. 31 ; xvi. 11; comp.
xiii. 40; © Υ. 4 ἡ νίκη ἡ νικήσασα). There is a human will which is responsible
and therefore in that sense ‘free’ (John v, 40; iii. 19 ff ; τή. 17) On the
other side there is a Divine will which we cannot conceive to be finally
ineffective (vi. 44 f£, 65; v. 21).

In the opening of the Gospel, John i. 12 f, these contrasts find a con-
current affirmation. On the one side the human element is seen in ἔλαβον,
πιστεύουσιν, γενέσθαι. On the other side the Divine element is seen in
ἐγωνήθησα», ἔδωκεν ἐξουσίαν, τέκνα θεοῦ. Comp. John vi. 27 ff (ἐργάζεσθε,
δώσει).

The wide The same clear assertion of truths which appear to be in opposition
... of extends to other parts of the region of Divine and human relations. There
contrasts, 18 one absolute message (John xii. 48); and yet concessions are made that

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 89

men may embrace it more readily (John v. 34; comp. viii. r7). There is a
group whom Christ speaks of as His own (John x. 27, 4); and yet He
appeals generally to all, for the image of thirst expreeses a universal want
which Christ alone can satisfy (John vii. 37). A new birth is necessary for
the perception of the Divine Kingdom and entrance into it (John iii. 3 ff) ;
and yet there are, as still without it, those who ‘are of the trath’ (John
xviii, 37), who ‘do the trath’ (18. 21), who are ‘children of God’ (xi. 52).

In part we can see perhaps where the reconciliation of these statements
can be found. In part they finally go back to the fundamental antithesis
of the finite and infinite before which our present powers fail. The teaching
of Βὲ John helps us to see that it is enough that we hold the fulness of the
truth as it is presented to us in complementary fragmenta.

Additional Note on ii. 13. The powers of evil.

St John speaks comparatively little of subordinate spiritual powers in Few refer-
his Gospel and Epistles. The ministry of angels is essential to the whole ences to
struotare of the Apocalypse, which contains also characteristic reforences Subordi-
to ‘the Serpent,’ ‘the ancient Serpent,’ ‘the dragon’ (xii. 3 ff. ; xiii. 2 ff; powers
xvi. 135 xx. 2), ‘who is called the Devil and Satan’ (xii. 9) ; compare also of good
ix. 20 (τὰ δαιμόνια); xvi 14 (πν. δαιμονίων). But into these notices we do and evil in
not now inquire. St John.

The only references to angels in the Gospel are in i. 51 (52); xx. 12 (v. (3)

4, embodies an early tradition, but is no part of the original text). They
have no place in the Epistles. In the Gospel ‘demons’ are only spoken of
by the Jews or in direct reference to their words (vii. 20; viii. 48 ff. ; x. 20
6). In the first epistle ‘spirits’ of antichrist are described as influencing
men (ο, iv. 2 ff. note, 6).

But the notices of the representative powor of evil are of great im- The Evil
portance. He is spoken of as ‘the Devil’ (ὁ διάβολος John viii. 44; xiii 2; One.
ο iii. 8, 10), the false accuser (Jobn vi. 70 note); ‘Satan’ (6 Σατανᾶς John
xiii, 27), the adversary (comp. 6 κατήγωρ Apoc. xii. 10); ‘the evil one’

{6 πονηρός xvii. 15, note; ο. ii, 13f.; iii. 12 ; v. 18 f.); ‘the raler of this (the)
world? (6 ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου John xii, 31; xvi. 11 ; ὁ τοῦ κ. ἄρχ. John
xiv. 30).

Of his origin nothing is specially said. But enough is laid down to A fallen
exclude the notion of two coordinate or absolute or original beings, good being.
and evil. He was originally good, but ‘he stood not (John viii. 44 ovx
ἔστηκεν, note) in the trath.’ This is all that we are concerned to know.

For the rest he appears ‘from the beginning’ on the scene of human
activity (ο iii. 8). Thus he stands in opposition to the Word (ο, i. 1), and
finally to the Incarnate Son (ο. iii. 8 note; v. 18 f.; John xiv. 3940).

In this respect he is directly at variance with Christ in His essential The ante-
character. Christ is ‘the trath’ (John xiv. 6): the devil is a liar (John viii. gonist of
443 comp. ο ii 22), Christ is ‘the life’ (John xiv. 6): the devil is a *e Son.
murderer (John viii. 44; comp. ο iii. 15). In each case a personal an-

Bt John’s
concep-
tion of
creation.

A Divine
‘cannot.’

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

tagonist is set over against the absolute idea. In relation to the reality
of things, and in relation to human fellowship: in the regions of thought,
feeling, action ; the devil conflicts with the Son of God.

For the present, as the title ‘the ruler of this world’ implies, the devil

- exercises a wide influence over men (ο, iii. 8 ff.; John viii. 44; xiii. 2, 27).

They may become his ‘suns,’ his ‘children’ (ο. iii. 10 note); they may be ‘of
him’ (ο iii, 8). But they are never said to be ‘born of him,’ as they are
born of God (ο, ii. 29 &c). And in relation to the work of Christ he is
already finally defeated (John xvi. 11; xii. 31; xiv. 30; ο. v. 4, 18). It
remains to secure the fruita of the victory.

Additional Note on ii. 17. St John’s teaching on creation,

‘The main conception of creation which is present in the writings of St
Jobn is expressed by the first notice which he makes of it: ‘all things came
into being (ἐγένετο) through [the Word]' (John i. 3). This statement sets
aside the notions of eternal matter and of inherent evil in matter. ‘There
was when’ the world ‘was not’ (John xvii. 5,24); and, by implication, all
things as made were good. The agency of the Word ‘who was God’ again
excludes both the Gnostic idea of a Demiurge, a creator essentially inferior
to God ; and the idea of an abstract Monotheism, in which there is no living
relution between the creature and the Creator; for as all things come into
being ‘through’ the Word, so they are supported ‘in’ Him (John i. 35 γέγ.
& αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν note; comp. Col. i. 16; Heb. i 3). And yet more the
use of the term ἐγένετο, ‘came into being,’ as distinguished from ἐκτίσθη
‘were created,’ suggests the thought that Creation is to be regarded
(according to our apprehension) as a manifestation of a Divine law of love.
Thus Creation (πάντα ἐγένετο δι αὐτοῦ) aiswers to the Incarnation (6 λόγος
σὰρξ ἐγένετο). All the unfolding and infolding of finite being to the last
issue lies in the fulfilment of His will Who is love.

The irraption of darkness, however, has hindered the normal progress of
the counsel of God. This is obvious in ‘the world’ which fulls within the
range of man’s observation. But in spite of the violation of the Divine

" order by man there is still a fulfilment of the counsel of God in the world.
. This is seen most distinctly in the record of the Lord’s work. In the

accomplishment of this there is a Divine necessity, a ‘must’ and a ‘cannot’
in the very nature of things ; and also a Divine sequence in the unfolding
of its parta.

This Divine ‘must’ (δεῖ) extends to the relation of the Forerunner to
Christ (1. 30); to the fulfilment of the work of God during an allotted
time (ix. 4); to the Passion and Exaltation (iii. 14; xii. 34); to the Rising
again (xx, 9); to the execution of a wider office (x. 16) (comp. Apoc. i, 1;
iv. 13 xxii. 6; xvii, 10; xx. 3).

On the other hand there is also a ‘cannot, a moral, and not an
external or arbitrary, impossibility in life. This defines, while it does
not limit, the action of the Son : v. 19, 30 (comp, Mark vi. 5). And s0 also it

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF 8ST JOHN. gi

fixes the conditions of discipleship (iii. 5 ; vi. 44, 65 ; vii. 34, 36; vili. 21 8
comp, xiii, 33, 36); of understanding (iii. 3; viii 43; xiv. 17); of faith
(xii. 39 ; comp. v. 44); of fruitfulness (xv. 4 5); of progress (xvi. 12); of
character (1 John iii. 9).

‘These terms (‘ must,’ ‘cannot’) lay open the conditions (so to speak) of A Divine
the Lord’s life. The Divine sequence in the course of its events is no less ‘hour.’
distinctly marked by the term ‘hour.’ The crises of the manifestations of
the Lord are absolutely fixed in time (ii. 4; comp. xi. 9f.; ix. 4). Till this
hour comes His enemies are powerless (vii. 30; viii. 20), When it has
come He recognises its advent (xii. 27: xvii. 1); and it is appointed with
a view to the issue to which it leads (xii. 23; xiii. 1 ba).

iv. 21, 23; Τ. 25, 28; 1 John ii, 18; Apoc, xiv. 7, 15 (Spa);
John vii, 6, 8 (καιρός); Eph. i 10 τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν καιρών; Gal. iv, 4 τὸ
πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου.

‘Under this same aspect the ‘works’ of the Lord are said to have been The life of
‘given’ to Him (v. 36; xvii. 4). The circumstances which furnished Christ,
occasion for them are shewn to enter into the scheme of providence (ix. 3
ἵνα; xi 4 ἵνα. Even unbelief was a necessity in regard of the history of
mankind (xii 38 ; xiii 18; xv. 25; xvii. 12). This being #0, Christ knew
all ‘the things that were coming upon Him’ (xviii. 4; comp. xiii 1, 11; vi.

64; comp. xviii. 9, 32). He laid down His life ‘in order to take it again’
(x.17). This was His Father’s will.

The whole life of Christ was thus a ‘fulflment,’ ‘a bringing to a perfect
accomplishment’ of all that had been shadowed forth or begun},

The same Divine appointment is extended to the discipline of the Church. and the
The extremity of persecntion is part of the revelation of the counsel of God {1° of he
(John xvi. 2 ἵνα, note), as oven was the failure of the disciples at their cording to
Master's suffering (John xvi. 32 ἵνα, note). The birth of the Church has a law.
real correspondence with the birth of the man (John xvi. 21 ff). And in
the work of service there is an appointed difference of function with a
common end (John iv. 36 ff).

The life of Christ and the life of the Church, as presented by St John, thus A true
become revelations of a perfect order even in the disorder of the world ..
lying beneath the surface of things, and veiled by suffering and by the λι
workings of evil. In the same way he seems to indicate that below the
transitory appearances of nature there is that which is Divine and abiding.
‘The world passeth away (παράγεται) and the desire theres? (ι Jobn ii,
17, 8), but at the same time he looked for a new heaven and a new earth
(ρου xxi. 1).

He recognised most sharply the difference between the natural and the
unnatural in what we call Nature as a whole, and saw in the complete

1 The use of the two words πληρω, (ὐ) τελειῶσαι
re\edw is worth study : iv, 34 τελ. αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔργον; V. 36 τὰ
(a) πληρῶσαι ἔργα & 83. ἵνα τελ.] αγ, 4 τὸ ἔργον
Vil. 8 ὁ duds καιρὸ: οἴπω πεπλήρωται. red. ὃ δέδωκάν µοι.
Of Holy Serie and Divine words: Οἱ Holy Scripture: xix. 28 ἵνα red. +
γρ. Comp. τετέλεσται, xix. 28, 30; and
Apos. x. 7.

oat ap-

92

Inenzve.

OnicEN.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

destruction of the unnatural, the restoration of Nature. In this position
he stands alike removed from the Hellenic worship of natare and from the
Gnostic degradation of nature. (Comp. Lutterbeck, Lehrb. ᾱ. Apost. ii.
270 8)

Additional Note on ii. 18. Antichrist.

Different elements entered into the conception of ‘ Antichrist’ in early
patristic literature. Of these the chief were Dan. vii. 7 ff: Matt xxiv.
33 f£; 2 Thess. ii, 3 £ ; Apoc. xiii.

But the aspects under which the opposing power is presented by St
Panl and St John (Bpistle) are distinct. The portraiture in St Paul is based
on that of Daniel and presents a single adversary claiming personal wor-
ship, while St John dwells upon the spiritual element in his claims, amd the
spiritual falsehood which gave him the semblance of strength.

Inexavs, the earliest writer who treats of the subject in detail, combines
the name of Antichrist with the description in 2 Thess, ii. 3 8. and the
cognate passages in Daniel, St Matthew and the Apocalypse (Iren.
¥. 25 ff. ; compare iti. 6, 4; 7,2; 16, 5,8; 23, 7).

Ciuwunt or ΑΙΗΣΑΝΥΒΙΑ is silent on Antichrist. But the teaching on
Antichrist attracted the attention of Cxisvs, though Origen says that he had
not read what was said of him by Daniel or Paul (ο, Cels. vi. 45). In reply
to Celsus Oziemy explains his own view, which is briefly that the Son of
God and the son of tho evil one, of Satan, of the devil, stand at the opposite
poles of humanity, presenting in direct opposition the capacity of man for
good and for evil. Elsewhere Origen draws out at length a comparison of
Christ and Antichrist. All that Christ is in reality Antichrist offers in
false appearance (Comm, Ser. in Matt. § 27); and so all false teaching
which assumes the guise of truth, among heretics and even among heathen,
is in some sense ‘ Antichrist’ (id. § 47).

TERTULLIAN speaks several times of Antichrist and Antichrista.
Quoting 2 Thess. ii. 3 he writes ‘homo delinquentian, id est, antichristus’ (de
Res. carnis, 24; cf. 27). Again referring to Matt. xxiv. 24, he asks: ‘qui

sunt nisi falsi preedicatores ? qui peeudapostoli nisi adulteri
evangelizatores ? qui antichristi nisi Christi rebelles? (de prascr. har. 4).
And again in reference to 1 John ii. 18 he writes: in epistola sua eos
maxime antichristos vocat qui Christum negarent in carne vonisse, et qui
non putarent Jesum esse filium dei, Illud Marcion, hoc Ebion vindicavit
( 33).

One feature in the conception of Antichrist ought not to be overlooked.
Just as Moses was the type of the Christ in His prophetic character,
Balaam, ‘the anti-Moses, was regarded as a type of the Antichrist. This
explains the enigmatic references in Apoe. ii. 14 (6); Jude 11; 2 Pet.
ii 15.

In late Rabbinic traditions an Antichrist (Armillus, Armalgus) was
represented as killing the Messiah of the stock of Ephraim, and then
himself alain by the Messiah of the stock of David (Targ. on Is. xf. 4;
comp. 2 Thess, ii, 8).

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 93

The Epistles to the Seven Churches form 9 commentary on the idea of The Apo-
the many antichriste, calypse.

Apov. ii, 2 (Ephesus) τοὺς λέγοντας ἑαυτοὺς ἀποστόλουε, id. 6 τὰ ἔργα
τῶν Νικολαιτῶν.

ii. 9 (Smyrna) τῶν λογόντων Ἰονδαίουε εἶναι.

ii. 19 (Pergamum) ὅπου ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ. 14 τὴν διδαχὴν Ῥαλαάμ.
15 τὴν διδαχὴν Νικολαιτῶ».

ii, 20 (Thyatira) Ἰεζέβελ, ἡ λέγουσα ἑαυτὴν προφῆτω. 24 τὰ βαθέα τοῦ
Σατανᾶ (cf. 1 Cor. ii. 1ο).

Hii 3 (Sardis) µνηµόνευε πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας καὶ Tipe.

ili, 8 f, (Philadelphia) τῆς συναγωγῆς τοῦ Σατανᾶ, τῶν λεγόντων ἑαυτοὺς
Ἰουδαίους εἶναι. ,

Additional Note on the reading of ii. 20,

There is a remarkable variety of readings in the last words of this
verse:

(1) καὶ οἴδατε πάντα

AO ΜΒΒ mss
Memph Vulg.

The Syriac reads πάντα but translates it as if it were masc, (and know
every man).

(2) καὶ οἴδατε (-αι κ) πώτες RP 9.

Hesych. Presb, (ssec. vii) in Lev. i. 5 8 (Migne P. Gr. xom. p. 796) Et
‘vos unctionem habetis a sancto et acitis omnes,

(3) οἴδατε πάντες B Theb.

The rendering which is given without variation in the Discourses of
Angustine (ad loc.) ut ipsi cobis manifesti sitis can hardly be correct.
His comment suggests πάντες: hanc unctionem Christi dicit omnes qui
habent cognoscere malos et bonos ; nec opus esse ut doceantur quia ipsa
unctio docet eos.

The Latin translation of Lrensous, in a continuous quotation of σσ. 183—22,
omits ο. 20 and part of ο. 21; ...sed ut manifestarentur quoniam non sunt
ex nobis. Cognoscite ergo quoniam omne mendacium extraneum est et
non est de veritate. Quis est mendax...(Iren. ifi. 16. 5).

The combination for πάντες SBP 9 Theb. is very strong; and the shorter
reading without καί readily explains how the others arose. When once the
connexion of οἴδατε with τὴν ἀλήθειαν was lost, the insertion of καί and the
change of πάντες to πάντα was almost inevitable, especially with the ap-
parent parallel in 0. 27 περὶ πάντων.

The occurrence of 9 (Cambr. Univ. Libr. Kk. vi. 4) in the small group of
authorities which have preserved the main element of the true reading
May serve as an excuse for directing attention to that remarkable ms,
which has been strangely overlooked.

‘It was pointed out by Porson and Marsh that this us is that marked
ey in Stephens’ edition of 1550; and apparently the capricious selection of

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

readings quoted from it by Stephens has been the limit of the knowledge
of the ms preserved by later editora. Mill’s generalisations from the
readings in Stephens (Proleg. 1170) might well have caused it to be more
carefully examined.
The following readings in 1 John are worthy of notice;

4 2 ἐφανερώθη ὃν ἡμῖν.

— 4 ἡμῶν,

—. 9 τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.

ii 1 γράφομεν.

— 8 dy ἡμῖν.

— 11 ὀτύφλωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ rove ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ.

— 17 ἡ ἐπιθυμία om, αὐτοῦ.

— 18 νῦν om, καί.

— 20 καὶ οἴδατε πάντες,

ii, 1, Zener.

— — κληθῶμεν καὶ ἐσμέν.

— 5 τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.

— 7 τέκνα.

— 8 τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν om. ἐκ.

—— 6 διάβολος an’ ἀρχῆς.

— 19 γινωσκόµεθα.

— 21 καταγινώσκῃ OM, ἡμῶν.

— 23 πιστεύωµεν.

iv, 2 yudoxoper.

— 3 Ἰησοῦν om. τόν.

— 86 μὴ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ Zorw.

— 10 ἠγαπήκαμεν.

ve 4 ὑμῶν,

— 20 ἡ ζωὴ ἡ aldinos.

The title of the Epistle is ἐπιστολὴ Ἰωάννου ἅ and the subscription τοῦ

ἁγίου dx, "Is ἐπιστολὴ a.

IIL 1)
ΠΠ.

1 δέδωκεν NBO: ἔδωκεν A.

IL Tae campren or Gop ΑΝΟ
‘THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL (iii. I—12).

The section seems to fall most na-
turally into three parts :

1. Theposition presentand future
of the children of God (iii. 1-3).

2, The essential character of the
children of God (4—9).

3. The outward manifestation of
the children of God (1o—12).

The thoughts are unfolded through-
out in contrast with the corresponding
thoughts as to the position, character,
and manifestation of ‘the children of
the devil’? The world knows not
Christians. Sin is incompatible with
Sonship of God. Active hatred is the
sign of hostility to right.

1. The position present and future
of the children of God (1—3).

The position of Christians is con-
sidered in regard both to the present.
(ο. 1) and to the future (ο, 2). They
stand now to ‘the Father’ in the rela-
tion of ‘children of God’ in title and
in reality: on the other hand ‘the
world’ fails to recognise them. Their
fature is as yet unrevealed; but so
much is known that it will answer to
the open, transfiguring vision of God
in Christ. Meanwhile therefore the
thought of this transfiguration is the
rule and inspiration of Christian effort
(ο 3).

Ἡ) Behold (See) what manner of
love the Father hath given to us,
that we should be called children of
G@od:—and such we are. For this
cause the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not. * Beloved,
noto are we children of God, and it
te not yet manifested what we shall
be. We know that if he shall be
manifested, we shall be like him,
because we shall sce him even as he is.

And every one that hath this hope

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 95

"Bere ποταπἠν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ πατὴρ

ἡμῖντ ὑμῖν Β.

on him purifieth himself even as he
is pure.

I. Ίδετε] Videte V., Ecce Aug., Be-
hold, See, The use of the plaral is re-
markable, and elewhere it is used only
of something actually visible (Gal vi.
11; yet comp. Acts xiii. 41, Lxx). The
image at the close of the last chapter
(born of Him) seems to fill St Jobn’s
vision, and, as he pauses to dwell upon
it himself, he invites his readers to
contemplate the same truth as pre-
sent before them in an intelligible
shape.

ποταπὴν ἀγάπην] qualem carita-
tem (dilectionem Aug.) V., what man-
ner of love traly divine in ita nature.
The word ποταπός, which is not found
in the uxx, is rare in the New Testa-
ment. It is used to call attention to
the character both of porsons (Matt
viii. 27; Luke vii. 39; 2 Pet. iii. 11)
and of things (Mk. xiii, 1; Luke i.

29).

ὁ πατήρ] the Father. This title is
ehosen in order to illustrate and (in
some degree) to explain the gift of
love which God has bestowed on men.

δέδωκεν ἡ.] dedit nobis V., hath
given to us, Comp. John xiv. 27. The
love is not simply exhibited towards
believers, but imparted to them. The
divine love is, as it were, infused into
them, so that it is their own, and be-
comes in them the source of a divine
life (Rom. xiii. 1ο). In virtue of this
gift therefore they are inspired with a
love which is like the love of God, aud
by this they trily claim the title of
children of God, as partakers in His
nature. Comp.c. iv. 7,19. See also
Leo, Serm. xii. § 1 (Migne, Patrol.
Lat. uv. p. 169): Diligendo itaque
nos Deus ad imaginem suam nos re-
parat et, ut in nobis formam sus bo-
nitatis inveniat, dat unde ipsi quoque
quod operatur operemur, accendens

. 3

να

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

τέκνα θεοῦ κληθώµεν, καὶ ἐσμέν.

πας

διὰ τοῦτο ὁ

καὶ ἐσμέν ΝΑΒΟ vg mo the eyrr: om. 6. The Latt, by a natural error read et

simus (as depending on ut).

scilicet mentium nostrarum lucernas,
et igne nos suse caritatis inflammans,
ut non solum ipsum sed etiam quid-
quid diligit diligamua

With δέδωκεν, which regards the en-
dormant of the receiver, contrast

άρισται (Gal, iii, 18), ἐχαρίσατο
ή, 9) ii 9) which regards the feeling
of the giver.

ἡμῖν η St John is here con-

the blessing of love as actu-
ally realised in the Christian society.
Contrast John ii. 16 ἠγάπησιν ὁ θεὸς
τὸν κόσμον.

‘ba. ληθώμεν...]. ut...nominemur
(vocemur Aug.) V., that we should
be called. The final particle has its
fall force, The divine gift of love
which is appropriated by the believer
forms the is, the justification, of
the divinetitle. The end of the bless-
ing is that sonship may be real. For
ta compare 0. 11 note.

Pelagii...condemnatur hssresis in eo
quod dicitur a Deo nobis caritatem...
dari qua adoptionem filiorum accipia-
mus (Bede).

τέκνα θεοῦ] filii Dei V., children of
God not sons of God which comes
from the Latin. The thought here
is of the community of nature with
the prospect of development (τέκνον,
comp. 2 Pet. i. 4), and not of the poai-
tion of privilege (υἱός) The only place
in 8t John’s writings where ‘son’ is
used of the relation of man to God is
Apoc, xxi. 7 in a free quotation from
Zech. viii. 8. .

‘The use of vids is characteristic of
St Paul’s Epistles to the Romans and
Galatians: Rom. viii. 14, 19; Gal. iii,
26; iv. 6,7. Comp. Heb. ii. 10, xii,
5; Rom. ix. 26: 2 Cor. vi. 18; Matt.
¥. 9, 45, xvii, 26; Luke vi. 35, xx. 36.

Qn the other hand the idea of ‘chil-
dren of God’ (τέκνα θεοῦ) is not un-

Compare ο. Υ. 20.

frequent in St John: ve. 2, 10, v. 2;
John i. 12, xi, 52. See Additional
Note.

By using θεοῦ in place of the sim-
ple pronoun αὐτοῦ St John, reciting
the fall name of Christians (ο, 10; v.
2; Johni. 12, xi, 525 Rom. viii. 16 ff,
ix. 8; Phil. ii. 15), emphasises the idea
of the nobility of the Christian’s posi-
tion (‘children of Him who is God’).

κληθώμεν] be called. The privilege
is already enjoyed in the present and
not ouly anticipated in the future,
Christians are outwardly recognised
as ‘God’s children’ in their services
and intercourse with others, Such
‘an open recognition of the title gives
a solemn dignity to it.

It is worthy of notice that 8t John
never uses καλεῖν of the Divine ‘call’
(John x. 3 gee’). Comp. Jobn ii, 2,

καὶ ἐσμέν] and such we are, This
parenthetical addition is an emphatic
expression of the Apostle’s own faith.
‘He has stated the historic position of
Christians in the world, which
on the Father's gift of love. He af-
firms now that that historic position
corresponds with a real fact. The
name represents an absolute truth,
For such an introduction of a refleo-
tive comment see i. 2 note; 2 John 2.
The Latin by a natural error con-
nects the ἐσμέν with ἵνα, uf nomine-
mur...ct simus,

διὰ τοῦτο] propter hoc V., For this
cause (iv. 5), i.e, because we are chil-
dren of God, and so share His nature,
the world knoweth us not, secing that
it has shewn decisively its inability
to recognise Him. The reference
to the world at first sight seems to
interrupt the current of thought, but
St John’s whole argument proceeds
on the supposition that men stand
between two powers, God and the

UL 2]

κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN, 97

3 Άγα-

κ μα 5 1 [
πητοί, νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμέν, καὶ οὕπω ἐφανερώθη τί

ἡμᾶς: ὑμᾶς κ".

world. He has shewn the relation
in which they stand to God: he now
ahews the relation in which they stand
to the world, At the same time the
clause meets an objection which is
likely to rise from a consideration of
the character of Christians. If they
are children of God, righteous and
loving, may they not look for an im-
mediate and decisive victory? So we
are inclined to argue; and therefore
the apostle at once points out that
their likeness to God becomes the oc-
casion of misunderstanding.
γωώσκει...οὐκ tyre...) non no-

vit...non novit...V4 non cognoscit...
non cognovit...Aug., the world know-
eth us not does not enter into, come
to understand, our principles and
methods and character, for true know-
ledge of men requires sympathy (ο. ii.
3 note). The conduct of Christians
must be more or leas a riddle to those
who do not take account of that
which is to them the spring of action,
This follows from the fact that when
the opportunity was given to the
world for recognising the great fea-
tures of the divine character it knew
Him not (comp. ¢. iv. 8 note). The
world failed to recognise God so far
as He was manifested in creation and
history (1 Cor. i. 21); and its failure
was still more conspicuous when He
was manifested in His Son (John xvi.
3). It is to this revelation specially
that the Apostle refers. The ‘Him’
is God in Christ, as in ii. 29.

Augustine says, using an impressive
image: [homines] amando delecta-
tiones peccatorum non agnoscebant
Deum: amando quod febris suadebat
injuriam medico faciebant.

2. Αγαπητοί] Carissimi V., Di-
lectissimi Aug., Beloved. The title
(ii 7 note) embodies the thought

w.

which has been just expressed, St
John in the spirit of love addresses
those who with him look forward to
the issue of love. In doing this he
takes up the words which he has just
used, half in personal reflection (καὶ
éopéy); ‘Yes, now are we children,
children with the promise of mature
development.’ The change to which
he thus looks forward will not be in
the position of children, but in the
conditions under which the relation
will be shewn. The Christian has now,
even in the present life, that which
carries with it potentially infinite
blessings, but the manifestation of his
sonship is hindered by the circum-
stances in which he is placed. He
willnot beanything essentially different
hereafter, but he will be what he is
now essentially more completely,
though in ways wholly beyond our
powers of imagination.

viv..doudr, καὶ...] now are we
and... The thought of what Christians
are and the thought of what they will
be are treated as parts of the same
thought and not placed in contrast,
The fact and the hope are both power-
ful for life.

οὕπω ἐφανερώθη...ἐὰν φανερωθῇ...]
nondum apparuit...cum apparue-
rit...V., nondum manjfestatum est
(and apparuit)...cum apparuerit
(and manjfestatum fuerit) Aug,
manifestatum est...ei manifestarerit
(one ma. manifestatus fuerit) Tert.,
nondum revelatum est...cum revela-
tum fuerit Ambr.

‘The main difficulty in this passage
lies in the interpretation of the clause
ἐὰν φανερωθῇ. The subject is not
expressed; and the clause can be
rendered either (1) if t¢ shall be
manifested i.e, what we shall be;
or (2) if Ae shall be manifested. In

7

98

ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσό-
µεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(IIL. 3

:

3xal πᾶς 6

2 οἴδαμεν RABC vg the syrhl: δέ s me syrvg.

favour of the first interpretation it is
urged that the clause must refer back
to the corresponding words (οὕπω
ἐφανερώθη) which have immediately
gone before: it ie not yet manifested...
f it shall be manifested...; unless
such an explanation be obviously
excluded by other considerations ;
and on the other hand it is answered
rightly, I think, that this is in fact
the case; that the words if it shall
be manifested are altogether without
force; or rather that they obscure the
meaning. The knowledge which is
affirmed is not dependent on any
manifestation, but absolute. Christians
already possess it; and their certainty
80 far is not conditioned by anything
future. Or to put the thought some-
what differently: it cannot be said
that the knowledge that we shall be
like Christ (which is assumed) de-
pends upon the manifestation of what
we shall be. On the other hand there
is an inspiring power in the assurance
that our likeness to the Lord will be
8 likeness to His glorified Being,
which will hereafter be shewn, though
as yet we cannot understand what it
is.

And further in support of the ren-
dering {/ he shall be manifested it is to
be noticed that the same phrase has
been used in ii. 28 where the meaning
is beyond all doubt. 16 may be added
that this use of φανεροῦσθαι appears
to rule the whole line of the apostle’s
thought (ii. 28, 11. 8). Christ has been
(was) manifested and He will be
manifested. The past manifestations
made some things clear and left some
things dark (iii. 5, 8). The future
manifestation will remove this dark-
ness (comp. Col. iii. 4).

Even in the foregoing clause there
is, as will be seen, something of this

same thought. The manifestations of
the Risen Christ have not completely
illuminated our future,

οὕπω ἐφανερώθη] it is not yet made
manifest. The aorist (ἐφανερώθη) ap-
Pears to point back to some definite
occasion on which the revelation
might have been expected (compare
Έγνω ο. 1). Perhaps it is best to
refer the word to the manifestations
(comp. ii. 28 note) of the Risen Lord.
‘These revelations of a changed and
glorified humanity do not make
known to us what we shall be. They
only serve to shew that the limita-
tions of the present mode of existence
will be removed.

τί ἐσόμεθα] For the use of the
direct interrogation, see Moulton’s
Winer, pp. 210f.

οἴδαμεν] We know. Comp. 0. v. 2, 18
notes. There is no opposition between
this clause and that which imme-
diately precedes such as is suggested
by the δέ of the common text. The
knowledge corresponds with the
whole consciousness of the position
of children.

ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ] similes ei, V., like him,
like God in Christ. The image in which
we were made will then be consum-
mated in the likeness to which it was
the divine purpose that we should
attain, Compare the Essay on The
Gospel of Creation, απ. 1 (a).

This likeness of man redeemed and
perfected to God is the likeness of
the creature refiecting the glory of
the Creator. Contrast Phil. ii, 6 τὸ
εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, said of the Son. Dispar
est res, sed sicut ad similitudinem
dicitur. Habemus ergo et nos imagi-
nem Dei, sed non illam quam habet
Filius sequalis patri (Aug).

ὅτι ὀψόμεθα...] quoniam οἰδοδί-
mus...V., because we shall see.... The

HL 3)

cansal particle is ambiguous... The
likeness to God may be either (1) the
necessary condition, or (2) the actual
consequence of the Divine Vision.
‘The argument may be: We shall see
God, and therefore, since this is pos-
sible, we must be like Him; or, We
shall see God, and in that Presence
we shall reflect His glory and be
transformed into His likeness. Both
thoughts are scriptural; and per-
haps the two thoughts are uot very
sharply distinguished here. It is
true that likeness is, in this case, the
condition of vision; and it is true
also that likeness is the consequence
of vision, We see that which we
have the sympathetic power of see-
ing and we gain greater power of
seeing, that is greater sympathy with
the object of sight, by exercise of
the power which we have. At

tine dwells upon this idea: Tota vita
Christiani boni sanctum desiderium
est. Quod autem desideras nondum
vides ; sed desiderando capax efficeris
ut cum venerit quod videas implearia.
sss+Deus differendo extendit desi-
derium, desiderando extendit ani-
mum, extendendo facit capaciorem.
‘And again: Hoc est vita nostra ut
desiderando exerceamur.

‘At the same time it may be urged
that the verb (ἐσόμεθα), which de-
scribes a being and not a becoming
(Ὑωησύμεθα 1 Cor. xv. 37, 54; John
ᾱ. 16), appears to mark a state which
co-exists with the divine manifesta-
tion at the first, and does not follow
from it. On the other hand the
thought of the transSguring virtue of
the divine vision is familiar. Comp.
2 Cor, iii, 18; v. 4; Iren. rv. 38. 3
(a very fine passage).

In either case the central truth is
the same. The great confidence of
the believer is that he will see the
fall revelation of the glory of God in
Christ, and therefore that when that
is made he will be like Him. Time,
indeed, before and after, has no place
in the eternal,

thought of the verse: Ergo visuri su-
mus quandam visionem...prescellen-
tem omnes pulcritudines terrenas,
auri, argenti, nemorum atque cam-
porum, puleritudinem maris et seria,
pulcritadinem solis et lune, puleri-
tudinem stellaram, pulcritudinem an-
gelorum : omnia superantem quia ex
ipsa pulcra sunt omnia. Quid ergo
nos erimus quando heec videbimus?
Quid nobis promissum est? Similes
οἱ erimus, quoniam videbimus eum
sicuti est. Quomodo potuit lingua
sonuit: cetera corde cogitentar.

Philo in a remarkable
(de Abr. § 12, ii. pp. 9 f. 4.) speaks of
the vision of the ‘ Father of all things,
as man’s highest blessing: Sry ἐβεγέ.
vero μὴ µόνον τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα ἐν τῇ φύσει
δὲ ἐπιστήμης καταλαµβάνεω ἀλλὰ καὶ
τὸν πατέρα καὶ ποιητὴν τῶν συµπάντων
ὁρᾶν, én’ ἄκρον εὐδαιμονίας tore προ-
«ληλυθώς. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀνωτέρω θεοῦ πρὸς
ὃν ef τις τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς reas Supa
ἔφθακε μονὴν εὐχέσθω καὶ στάσιν.

The main elements in the idea of
the ‘vision’ of God seem to be a
real knowledge, a direct knowledge,
3 continuous knowledge, a knowledge
which is the foundation of service.
The seat of the organ of spiritual sight
is the ‘heart,’ the part of man which
is representative of personal character
(Eph. i. 18; Matt. v. 8). The ‘vision’
of God’s face appears in the hope of
the righteous in the Psalms (Ps, xvii.
15; xi. 7 Hupfeld), while it is recog-
nised as unattainable and unbearable
by man in the present earthly life
(Bx. xxxifi. 184). In the new Jeru-
salem it finds accomplishment, Apoc.
xxii. 4, His seroants (δοῦλοι) shall do
Him service (λατρεύσουσιν) and they
shall see His face and His name
shall be on their foreheads, As He
is light, they shall be made light
(comp. Eph. v. 13), and when the sons
of God are thus revealed the end of
creation will be reached (Rom. viii.
188).

In treating of this final transfign-

7-2

100
2, dane! ῃ a>
έχων την ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ'

ration the Greek Fathers did not
scruple to speak of men as being
‘deified’ (θεοποιεῖσθαι), though the
phrase sounds strange to our ears
(Athan, de Inc. ουδέ rv. § 22).

καθώς ἐστω] sicuti est V., even as He
ts, Hitherto the Divine in Christ has
been veiled, Hereafter the Godhead
will be plain as the Manhood, when,
according to Christ’s prayer, His dis-
ciples shall see His Glory (Jobn xvii.
24). It may be doubted whether it
could be said of the Father that men
shall see Him ‘as He ia’ Comp.
1 Cor. xiii. 12, ἄρτι δι’ ἐσόπτρου ἐν al-
νίγµατι τότε πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπο».
Thomas Aquinas discusses at length
(Sum. Theol. Suppl. Qu. xcii. art. 1)
the question whether the human intel-
lect can attain to seeing God in essence
(ad videndum Deum per essentiam),
and concludes in the affirmative.

‘The last words with which [Dr
Arnold] closed his last lecture on the
New Testament were in commenting
on [this verse]. “So too,” he said,
“in the Corinthians, For now we see
through a glass darkly, but then face
to face, Yes,” he added, with marked
fervency, “the mere contemplation of
Christ ehall transform us into His
likeness”? (Life ii, 329 5).

3 καὶ πᾶς...ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ] ot omnis qui
habet hanc spem in eo (ipso Aug.) V.,
And every one that hath this hope on
Him, The practical conclusion from
the great Christian hope of the assi-
milation of the believer to his Lord
is given as a coordinate thought (cai).
The conclusion itself is involved in
the hope. He who looks forward to
becoming like God hereafter must
strive after His likeness now: Matt,
v. 8; Gal. v. 5, Amida δικαιοσύνης
ἀπεκδεχόμεθα.

By employing the universal form of
expression (was ὁ ἔχων) instead of the
simply descriptive (5 ἔχω»), St John
deals withthe exceptional presump-

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

ΠΠ. 3
αὐτῷ ἁγνίζει ἑαυτὸν καθὼς

tion of men who regarded themselves
as above the common law. In each
case where this characteristic form of
language occurs there is apparently a
reference to some who had questioned
the application of a general principle
in particular cases (ov. 4, 6, 9, 10,
15; ο ii, 23, 27; iv. 75; V. 1, 4, 18; 2
Jobn 9).

It is remarkable that this is the
only place in which St John speaks
of the Christian ‘Hope,’ a character-
istic thought of St Paul and St Peter.
St Peter speaks of a ‘living hope’ as
the result of a new birth (1 Pet. i. 3).

ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ] on Him, that is, as before,
on God in Christ.

The phrase ἔχειν Amida ἐπί run is
not found elsewherein the N.T. It is
distinguished from édm. ἔχειν els (Acts
xxiv. 15) by the idea of “hope resting
upon’ in place of ‘reaching unto’: and
from the simple ‘hoping on’ (ἐλπίζειν
ἐπί Rom. xv. 12; 1 Tim. iv. 10) by that
of the enjoyment of possession. Comp.
i, 3 note (κοινωνίαν ἔχειν).

dyites ἑαυτόν] purificth himself.
Personal effort is necessarily called out
by a definite object of personal devo-
tion. The believer's act is the using
what God gives. So Augustine writes :
Quis nos castificat nisi Deus? Sed
Deus te nolentem non castificat. Ergo
quod adjungis voluntatem tuam Deo
castificas teipsum. Castificas te non
de te sed de illo qui venit ut habitet
in te. Tamen quia agis ibi aliquid
voluntate ideo et tibi aliquid tributum
est.

Comp. James iv. 8; 1 Pet. i. 22;
2 Cor. vii. 1; 1 Tim. γ. 22.

ἁγνίρει] sanctificat Ὑ., castificat
Aug., purifieth. The thought pro-
bably is derived from the ceremonial
purification required before the ap-
pearancein the Divine presence. Comp.
John xi. 55 (Acts xxi. 24 ff); Ex. xix.
10, The spiritual correlative is marked
Heb. x 19 £

III. 4]
ἐκεῖνος ἀἁγνός ἐστιν.

It is not easy to lay down sharply
the distinction between ἁγνός, ἁγνίζειν
and καθαρός, xabapifey. As far aa the
asage of the N. T. is concerned, dyvds
has a personal, an internal, reference
which is wanting in καθαρός. ‘Ayvés
suggests the notion of shrinking from
contamination, of a delicate sensibility
to pollution of any kind, while καθαρός
expresses simply the fact of cleanness.
"Ἁγνός marks predominantly a feeling,
and καθαρός a state. ‘Ayreia comes as
the result of an inward effort, καθα-
ῥότης by the application of some out-
ward means, He of whom it is eaid
that he ἁγνίζει ἑαυτόν not only keeps
himeelf actually ‘pure,’ but disciplines
and trains himself that he may move
more surely among the defilements of
the world (1 Tim. v. 22; 1 Pet. iii 2).
Both ἁγνός and καθαρός differ from

* ἅγιος in that they sdmit the thought
or the fact of temptation or pollu-
tion ; while ἅγιος describes that which
is holy absolutely, either in itself or
in idea. God can be spoken of as
ἅγιος but not as ἁγνός, while Christ
can be spoken of a8 ἁγνός in virtue of
the perfection of His humanity. A
man is ἅγιος in virtue of his divine
destination (Heb, x. 10) to which he is
gradually conformed (ἁγιάζετα,, Heb.
x. 14); he is ἁγνός in virtue of earthly,
human discipline.

καθὼς ἐκ. ἁγνός ἐστιν] even as He
(Christ) is pure, The pronoun ἐκεῖ-
vos, a8 throughout the Epistle (ii 6
note), refers to Christ, It is chosen
here, though the preceding αὐτός re-
fers to the same divine-human Per-
son, in order to emphasise the refer-
ence to the Lord’s human life. It is
in respect of this only that He can be
spoken of as dyvés; and in respect of
His true humanity it can be said of
Him that “He is pure,” and not only
that “He tae pure.” The result of
the perfection of His earthly disci-
pline (Heb. τ. 7 8) still abides in His

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

101
4 Πᾶς 6 ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρ-

glorified state. For the change of
pronouns compare 0. 5; John v. 39;
xix. 35.

2. The essential character of the
children of God (1. 4—9).

The character of children of God is
seen in relation to sin and righteous-
ness, Sin is in its nature irreconcile-
able with Christianity (συ. 4—6). Sin
marks a connexion with the devil as
righteousness with Christ (vv. 7, 8).
Sin is impoasible for the child of God
(9.9). The underlying thought of the
action of false teachers (ο, 7), who
placed salvation in knowledge, is
everywhere present.

4—6. The nature of sin is con-
sidered in itself as to its manifestation
and its essence (v. 4); as to Christ
both in His Work and in His Person
(0. 5); and as to man negatively and
positively (5. 6).

4Eoery one that dosth sin dosth
also lawlessness ; and sin is lawless-
ness, SAnd ye know that he was
manifested, that he may take away,
sins; and in him is no sin. © Every
one that abideth in him sinneth not ;
every one that sinneth hath not seen
him neither knoweth him.

4. The transition of thought from
συ. 1—3 lies in the idea of ‘purifica-
tion.’ This effort corresponds with
the fulfilment of man’s true destiny,
which Christ has again made possible.
He who commits sin does in fact
violate the divine law; and, more
than this, sin and violation of the
divine law are absolutely identical,
The first clause deals with the prac-
tical manifestation of sin and the
second with the innermost essence
of it.

In ου. 4, 5 the successive clauses
are coordinated by καί...καΐ...καί. In
σο. 6—8 clause follows clause without
any conjunction.

4. Was 6 roy...) Every one that,.,

102

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[TIL 4

τίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν movi, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν κἡ

Comp. ο. 3 note. The constant repe-
tition of this form in this group of
verses is very impressive,

6 ποιῶν τὴν dp.) qui ο ο
tum (delictum Τοτὲ) V., that d
sin, The phrase is dis tiaguished
from the simple term ‘that sinneth’
(5 ἁμαρτάνων σ. 6) by adding the con-
ception of the actual realisation of
sin as something which is definitely
brought about. This conception is
emphasised by the addition of the
article (τὴν ἁμαρτίαν). The man does
not simply commit a sin (wis ὁ duap-
τίαν ποιῶν comp. 0. 9; 1 Pet. ii 22;
2 Cor. xi. 7), but realises sin in its
completeness.

Compare v2. 8, 9, John viii. 34 (τὴν
dy.); and contrast James v. 15 κἂν
ἁμαρτίας § πεποιηκώς.

‘The corresponding phrase is ὁ ποιῶν
τὴν δικαιοσύνην ο. 7 (10), ii, 29, Sin
as a whole (ἡ ἁμαρτία) answers to
righteousness as a whole (ή δικαιοσύνη).
For ἡ ἁμαρτία compare Rom. v. 12
(ἁμαρτία ο. 13); 198, vi 18.

καὶ τὴν drop. ποιεῖ] et iniquitatem
Sacit V., dosth also lawlessness, vio~
lates a law which claims his loyal
obedience (comp. Matt. xiii. 41 ; vii. 23
οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομ.). And, yet
more than this,

ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία, peccatum
est ἐπέφιείας Ὑ., sin is lawlessness, Sin
and lawlessness are convertible terms,
Sin is not an arbitrary conception.
It is the assertion of the selfish will
against a paramount authority. He
who sins breaks not only by accident
or in an isolated detail, but essentially
the ‘law’ which he was created to
fulfil.

This ‘law’ which expresses the di-
vine ideal of man’s constitution and
growth has three chief applications.
There is the ‘law’ of each man’s per-
sonal being: there is the ‘law’ of his
relation to things without him: there
is the ‘law’ of his relation to God. To

violate any part of this threefold law
is to sin, for all parts are divine
(James ii. 10).

The Mosaic Law was directed in a
representative fashion to each of these
spheres of duty. It touched upon
man’s dealing with himeelf : upon his
treatment of creation (of men, animals
and crops): upon his duty towards
God. In this way it was fitted to
bring home to men the divine side of
all action,

The origin of sin in selfishness is
vividly illustrated by St James (i. 14f.),
who shews also that the neglect of
duty, the violation of the law of growth,
is sin (James iv. 17). So St John lays
down that ‘unrighteousness, the fail-
ure to fulfil our obligations to others,
is sin (ο, v. 17).

Other examples of the use of the
article with both subject and predi-
cate, when the two are convertible,
occur : Αροο. xix. 10 ἡ μαρτυρία Ἰησοῦ
ἐστὶν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς προφητείας: Matt
vi. 22; 1 Cor, x. 4; xv. 563 Phil iii.
19; comp. John i. 4; xv. 1; 2 Oor. iii. 17.
The variations in Matt. xiii. 38f are
instructive (3 ἀγρός ἑστω ὁ κόσμος...
ὁ θερισμὸς συντέλεια αἰῶνος).

It is interesting to notice that Bede
observes the inadequacy of the Latin
rendering: Virtus hujus sententiz,
he says, facilius in lingua Greecorum,
qua edita est epistola, comprehenditur,
siquidem apud eos iniquitas ἀνομία
vocatur... Omnes enim qui peccant
preevaricationis (Ρα. exix. 119 Lat)
rei sunt, hoc est non solum illi qui
datam sibi scriptes legis scientiam:
contemnunt, sed et illi qui innocentiam
legis naturalis quam in protoplasto
omnes accepimus sive infirmitate sive
negligentia sive etiam ignorantia cor-
rumpunt.

For the change of order in the two
clauses see v. 2 note.

5. Not only is sin a violation of
the law of man’s being: it sets at

ΤΠ. ς, 6]

ἀνομία.

ἁμαρτίας ἄρη, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν.

6 olBare: οἴδαμεν & the (lat).
ἐν ai. οὐκ ἔ.: οὐκ &. ἐν ad. δὲ me the

naught Christ’s mission. His work
was to take away sins: He Himself
was sinless. Thus the most elementary
knowledge shews that sin is utterly
alien from the faith.

οἴδατε] scitie V., ye know. This
appeal to the knowledge of Christians
is characteristic of St John, though it
is found also in St Paul: ο. ii 20f.,
iv. 2, 14f, v. 15, 18f. note; 3 John 12,

ἐκεῖνος ἐφαν] ille apparuit V.,
manifestatus est Aug., He was mani-
JSested. The subject is not defined
‘under any particular aspect (Lamb of
God John i. 29, Son of God ο. 8), but
left in its fulness. For ἐκεῖνος see ο.
ii. 6 note. It will be observed that in
this verse ἐκεῖνος and αὐτός are natu-
rally referred to the same subject.
Comp, John xix. 35.

ἐφανερώθη] was manifested. Comp.
i. 2; ii, 28 notes, The ‘manifestation’
of the Lord includes the whole of His
historical Life with its consequences:
His Birth, and Growth, and Ministry,
and Passion, and Resurrection, and
Ascension. Each part of the Revela-
tion contributed in some way to the
removal of sins. The Redemption
and Atonement were wrought out by
His living as well as by His dying.

Compare Matt. viii. 17.

‘The idea of ‘ manifestation’ in this
connexion involves a previous being.
Thus the term includes not only 4 ἦν
én’ ἀρχῆς but also ἦν ἐν ἀρχῦ.

For the different phrases used by
St John to describe the Incarnation
see Additional Note.

ba...dpy] ut peccatum (-ta Tert.) au-
JSerat Aug., ut peccata nostra tolleret
V., that He may take away sins, not
simply do away with the punishment
of them. Comp. i. 9 note.

Tollit autem et dimittendo que

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

103

καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς

Saas

ras dy. AB vg me syrhl: +sjuide SNC the (lat).

6 was ὁ du.t «καί vg SyrVE.

facta sunt et adjuvando ne fiant et
perducendo ad vitam ubi fieri omnino
non possint (Bede).

For the sense of αἴρειν compare John
1, 29 note; and Heb. x. 4 (ἀφαίρειν
dy.); id. 11 (περιελεῖν dp.) notes. The
dominant thought here is not that of
the self-sacrifice of Christ, but of His
utter hostility to sin in every shape.
He came to remove all sins even as
He was Himeelf sinless. It is true
that Christ ‘took away’ ains by
“taking them upon Him, by ‘bearing
them,’ but the simple sense of ‘bear-
ing’ appears to be foreign to the
context here, though it has found
strong support in the parallel passage
in the Gospel.

‘The use of the plural ‘sins’ (ras dy.)
distinguishes the exact conception of
Christ's work here from that given in
Jobn i. 29 (‘the sin of the world’).
The idea is that of the manifold per-
sonal realisations of the sin of humanity
which Christ takes away. The phrase
stands without further definition (sins
not oursins)in order to include the fal-
ness of the truth expressed in ο ii. 2.

For the plural used absolutely see
Rom. vii. 5; Col i. 14; Heb. i 3;
(James τ. 16; 1 Pet. ii, 24). [The
common reading in Eph. ii 1 is
wrong.)

ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν] The clause
is independent and not to be con-
nected with ὅτι. For the statement
and the form of expression compare
John vii. 18 ἀδικία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν.
‘This fact at once explains how Christ
could take away sin, and how sin is in-
compatible with fellowship with Him.
The tense (ie not twas) marks the
eternal character of the Redeemer.
‘All that belongs to His ‘perfected’
manhood (Heb. ii. τοι v. 9) ‘is’ in Him

104

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IIL6

6 ἐν αὐτῷ µένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει mas ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ

no less than His unchanged Divinity,
The ‘purity’ of ο. 3 is traced back to
its inherent source.

The emphasis is thrown upon ‘sin?
so that the literal rendering would be:
‘sin in Him there is not’

6. This verse flows directly from
the last clause of ο. 5. True fellow-
ship with Christ, Who is absolutely
sinless, is necessarily inconsistent with
sin; and, yet further, the practice of
sin excludes the reality of a professed
knowledge of Christ. ‘No one that
abideth in Him sinneth,

μένων] St John speaks of ‘ abiding’
in Christ and not simply of ‘being’ in
Christ, because his argument rests on
the efficacy of continuous human effort.
Comp. ii. 5 note,

οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει] sinneth not. The
commentary on this phrase is found
inc i 6. It describes a character, ‘a
prevailing habit’ and not primarily an
act. Comp. Tit. iii 11; Hebr. x. 26.
Each separate sinful act does as such
interrupt the fellowship, and yet 60
far as it is foreign to the character
of the man, and removed from him (ii.
1), it leaves his character unchanged.
This is the truth which Augustine
partially expresses when he says that
the sin spoken of is the violation of
love; for love may be taken fairly to
express the essence of the Christian
cbaracter. Comp. ο v. 18 note.

Compare John xiii, 10.

Bede describes the fact as it is
practically embodied when he says: in
quantum in eo manet in tantum non
peceat; but he leaves out of sight
the internal spiritual character.

πᾶς ὁ ἁμ....οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν] The
interruption of the formal jelism
is characteristic of St John. Instead
of saying ‘every one that sinneth a-
bideth not in (is cut off from) Him,
he substitutes a predicative clause
which carries back the mind of the
reader to an earlier stage of the fatal

failure, as if he would say: ‘In such 8
case there is no question of ‘abiding.’
The conditions of fellowship have
never been satisfied. Such one hath
not seen Christ (God in Christ) nor
yet come to know Him,’

Compare i. 6f. (‘fellowship with
Him, ‘fellowship one with another’) ;
i. 8, 9, ii. 4 f. (‘the truth is not in us,’
‘the love of God is perfected’); ov. 7,
8; iv.5,6a; 7b, 8; v. 10. Inii 23
there is a perfect correspondence,

οὐχ ἑώρ....αὐτόν] non vidit eum nec
cognovit cum V., hath not seen...
neither knoweth. The first word de-
scribes the immediate and direct
vision of Christ; and the second the
personal and detailed appropriation
of the truth so presented to the eyes.
‘Seeing’ expresses briefly the fullest
exertion of our utmost faculties of
gaining new elements of trath from
without : ‘knowing’ (ἐγνωκέναι) the ap-
prehension and coordination of the
truth within. ‘Knowing’ is less direct
and immediate and therefore forms
the climax here.

ἑώρακεν] Comp. ο. iv. 20; 3 John 11;
John i. 18, v. 37, vie 46, xiv. 7, 9 (Heb.
xi. 27).

The use of the word here in con-
nexion with Christ seems to point
to some teachers who appealed to their
personal sight of the Lord (comp, i.
1 f£; John xix. 35, xx. 29) as giving
authority to their false doctrine, Of
such in spite of outward intercourse
it could be said that ‘they had not
seen Christ? (comp. 2 Cor. v. 16).

οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν] ‘neither hath come to
know, i.e. neither knoweth, The point
regarded is present and not past.
Comp. ii. 3 note.

The statement leaves on one side
the question of the indefectibility of
grace. It deals with the actual state
of the man. Past sight and past
knowledge cease to be unless they go
forward.

IL 7}

πο Pant Saeed ae
έαρακεν avTov οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτὸν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

1ος

7 Τεκνία, μηδεὶς

πλανάτω ὑμᾶς' ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστιν,

Ττεκνία MB vg syrr; radia AC me syrhimg.

Luther expressed the truth when
he said ‘He who is a Christian is no
Christian.’

7, 8. From considering the nature
of sin St John passes on to consider
the personal spiritual source with
which it is connected as righteous-
ness is connected with Christ. Sin is
the sign of dependence on the devil
whose works Christ came to abolish,

1 Little children, let no one lead
you astray: he that dosth righteous-
ness is righteous, even as he is
righteous: 3 he that doeth sin is of
the devil, because the devil sinneth
Srom the beginning. Unto this end
the Son of God was manifested that
he may destroy the works of the devil.

7. Τεκνία] Filioli V., Little chil-
dren, See ii. 12 note. The tender-
ness of the address is called out by the
peril of the situation.

pqdele πλανάτω] nemo vos seducat

‘4 let no one, even with the most
plausible signs of authority (ii 26),
lead you astray. The question is one
of action not of opinion. Comp. i. 8
note.

ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικ] he that dosth
righteousness, he who gives effect to
it in life, who realises it in condact
(c. ii, 29), Compare ‘doeth sin’ (ο. 4
note), ‘dosth the truth’ (ο. i. 6 note).

‘To do righteousness’ is more than
“to do righteous acts’ (ποιεῖν δίκαια,
comp. 1 Pet. iii, 12 ποιεῖν κακά, James
iv. 17 καλὸν π.), or even than ‘to do
the acts of righteousness’ (ποιεῖν τὰ
δίκαια, comp. 0. 22 π. τὰ ἀρεστά, Rom.
iii. 8 π. τὰ κακά); and it differs from
‘doing that which is righteous’ (m. τὸ
δίκαιον, comp. Rom. αἱ]. 3 f. m. τὸ dya-
Ody, τὸ κακόν) by presenting the idea
in a less abstract form. Compare Col.
iv, 1 (τὸ δίκαιον, τὴν ἰσότητα) ; iii. 5

(ἀκαθαρσίαν, τὴν πλεονεξίαν).

µήτιΑ. --τὴν Bex, I,

The exact phrase is different in
form from the negative phrase (ο, 10
note). ‘Righteousness’ here is the
virtue in its completeness and unity
(Ών Δικαιοσύνη»): in 9. 10 δικαιοσύνη
expresses any particular manifestation
of righteousness. Comp. ii 29; Matt.
γιο.
δίκαιός ἐστιν] Righteousness is the
sign of divine sonship (ο ii. 29). The
“doing righteousness’ reveals the cha-
racter and does not create it. The
man who is righteous ia recognised by
his actions. The personal character
underlies the deeds. The form of the
sentence may be compared with John
34. 31 he that ἐν of the earth is of
the earth and speaketh of the earth.

καθώς] sicut V., even as. Christ
(ἐκεῖνος ο, ii, 6 note) is the One Type
of righteousness. The Christian’s
righteousness, like that of his Master,
must extend to the fulness of life.
Comp. ο. Wy i. 17; John xiii.
155 xv. 1:

‘Augustine πάσα, Bede tranacribes)
remarks on this comparison between
the righteousness of the believer and
the righteousness of Christ (see ο. 2):
Videtis quia non semper sicut ad
parilitatem et sequalitatem refertur...
Habemus et nos imaginem Dei, sed
non illam quam habet Filius sequalis
Patri.

δίκαιός ἐστιν] ii. 29; iv. 17; 0. 3 notes.
Christ gave the complete example of
the fulfilment of all man’s offices,
In Him righteousness was and is the
expression of love.

8 The opposite to v. 7 is ex-
pressed with characteristic variations
in the parallelism;

(a) ὁπ. τὴν dee. I ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμ.

(b) δίκαιός ἐστιν | ἐκ τοῦ διαβ. ἐστίν.

(ο) καθὼς ἑ. ὃ. él ὅτι...ὁ διάβ. dp,

The spiritual affinity (9) is in the

106

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN,

[UL 8

καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν' °6 ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ
τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἆμαρ-

τάνει.

εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύση

8 ὁ ποιῶν: ὁ δὲ x. A me (lat).

one case described by the personal
character, in the other, directly ; while
man’s character is shewn to be in each
case though under different relations
(καθώς, ὅτι), a reflection of his spi-
ritual master (ο).

Sm. τὴν ἁμ.] ο. 4 note.

ἐκ τοῦ διαβ. ἐστίν] ex (de, a, all)
diabolo est V., is of the devil, draws
from him the ruling principles of his
life, as his child. Comp. ii 16 note;
and Additional Note on ο. 1. The
phrase finds a parallel in twas of the
evil one, v, 12; and John viii. 44 ye
are of your father, the devil. Com-
pare ‘to be of the things below’ John
viii. 23; to be of the world xvii. 16, &c.,
ii 16, Additional Note on 2. 10,

It will be noticed that as St Paul
traces back sin to the act of the typi-
cal representative of mankind, Adam
(Rom. v. 14; 1 Cor. xv. 22), 80 St
John traces it back yet further to a
spiritual origin.

‘Augustine remarks that the devil
is not treated in Scripture as the
author of any being: Neminem fecit
diabolus, neminem genuit, neminem
creavit, Sed quicunque fuerit imi-
tatus diabolum quasi de illo natus
sit filius diaboli imitando non proprie
nascendo. In this connexion it is re-
markable that Origen, while he dis-
tinctly notices that in relation to the
devil St John says ἐστίν ἐκ and not
γεγέννηται ἐκ (yeyermperos ἐστὶν ἐκ) (in
Joh, xx. § 13, iv. 325), elsewhere gives
ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου γεγένηται (γεγέννηται)
(Hom. ix. in Jor. § 4, iii, 181 ; Sch.in
Jer. xii. 10, iii, 290; Hom, vi. in
Exech. § 3, iii. 377, Lat.) in quoting
the verse freely.

For St John’s teaching on the powers
of evil see Additional Note on ii. 13.

ὅτι...ἁμαρτάνει] because...the begin-

ning. The forceof the argument lies in
the recognition of the state of things
at the first dawn of human history.
From the very beginning we see a
power in action hostile to God. Be-
tween these two, as between light and
darkness, there can be no middle
term. He who does not belong to
the one belongs to the other. Cha-
racter reveals the choice, The posi-
tion of dx’ ἀρχῆς at the head of
the clause emphasises the thought.
Contrast i. τ ii. 7; iii, 11; and com-
pare ii, 24 note.

dx’ ἀρχῆς] ab initio V., α primor-
dio Tert.,from the beginning. Comp.
i 1; ii 7 notes. Sin exists before

man.

ἁμαρτάνει] sinneth, Seo ο. 6 note.
His sinful action is continuous and
present : subjunxit verbum preeeentis
temporis quia ex quo ab initio coppit
diabolus peccare nunquam desiit
(Bede).

els τοῦτο] in hoc V. (ideo, idcirco
all.), unto this end, which has been
included in the preceding clauses and
is defined by what follows.

ἐφανερώθη] See ο. 5 note.

6 υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ] the Sun of God.
The title of dignity is now expressed
for the first time in the Epistle to
bring out the nature of the couflict (ο.
iv. 4). Hitherto the Christ has been
spoken of under the title ‘the Son’
(ii. 22, 23, 24), or more fully ‘ His (i.e.
the Father's) Son’ (i. 3). Hencefor-
ward ‘the Son of God’ is His most
common name (iv. 15; ¥. 5,9 f£, 20).
The spiritual adversary of man has
& mightior spiritual antagonist. A
second Adam answers to the first
Adam: the Son of God to the devil.

λύση] dissoloat V., solcat Aug.,
destroy. ‘The works of the devil’ are

IIL 9]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

107

a) 3 διαβό, “- ο a
τα εργα του ιαβόλου. πας ο γεγεννηµενος εκ, του
θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ mou, ὅτι σπέρµα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ

represented as having a certain con-
sistency, and coherence. They shew
a kind of solid front. But Christ by
His coming has revealed them in their
complete unsubstantiality. He has
‘undone’ the seeming bonds by which
they were held together.

The word Ave» occurs literally in
this sense Acts xxvii. 41. Comp.
Eph. ii. 14; Johnii. 19, and 2 Pet. iii.
1o—12; and Acts v. 38; Gal. ii. 18;
Rom. xiv. 20 do. (καταλύει»).

The transition to the figurative
sense is seen in Acts xiii. 43 (λυθείσης

Σατανᾶ καὶ λύεται ὁ ὄλεθρος αὐτοῦ ἐν
τῇ ὁμονοίᾳ ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως.

The two objects of the ‘manifesta-
tion’ of Christ (οο. 5, 8) cover the
whole work of redemption, ‘to take
away sing? ‘to destroy the works of
the devil’

In this connexion ‘the works of the
devil’ are gathered up in ‘sin’ which
is their spring. This the devil has
wrought in men and in the world,
and men make his works their own.
Comp. John viii, 41. These works
under different aspects are spoken of
as ‘works of darkness’ (Rom. xiii. 12;
Eph. v. 11), and ‘of the flesh’ (Gal. v.
19). They stand opposed to ‘the
works of God’ (John ix. 3) and ‘the
works of the Christ’ (Matt. xi.2). Au-
gustine brings the thought of ‘de-
stroying the works of the devil’ into
connexion with man’s natural and spi-
ritual births: Si cum nullo peccato
nascimur, quid est quod cum infanti-
bas ad baptismum curritur at absol-
vantur? Ergo duas nativitates at-
tendite fratres, Adam et Christi...
Nativitas illa trahit secum peccatum,
nativitas ista liberat a peccato.

9. Theantegonism of the Christian
to sin is now placed in its last and de-
cisive aspect. Two things are affirm-

ed of him: ‘he doeth no sin’ and ‘he
cannot sin’ The first fact follows
from the permanence of the vital
power by which he is animated. The
second from the nature of that power,
that it is of God. In the second case
the ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ is placed emphatically
first ; “he cannot sin, because it is of
God, and of no other, that he hath
been born.”

» Every ons that is begotten of God
dosth no sin, because his seed abideth
in him ; and he cannot sin because he
ie begotten of God.

Syeyenmpévos ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ] qui natus
αἱ 0 Deo V., that is begotten of God.
Comp. ii. 29. The phrase occurs here
first in the epistle in its full form.
Comp. iv. 7, τ. 1 (4), 18.

John i. 13, (1. 3, 5 f£).

The exact form is important. The
perfect (ὁ γεγεννημένος) marks not only
the single act (aor. ἐγεννήθησαν John
i. 13; ο. v. 18) but the continuous
presence of its efficacy. ‘He that
hath been born and still remains a
child of God’ See Additional Note
on. 1.

ἁμαρτίαν οὐ moi] Compare 0. 4
note. A fine phrase of Athenagoras
will serve as Αα comment on this view
of the Christian life: οἷς ὁ Bios as
πρὸς στάθµην τὸν θεὸν κανονίζεται
(‘Christians for whom the conception
of God is the ideal standard of life’)
wulore τούτους, µηδ els ἔννοιάν ποτε τοῦ
βραχυτάτου ἐλευσομένους ἁμαρτήματος
(Leg. pro Christ. ο 31).

σπέρμα αὐτοῦ] semen ipsius V., his
seed, the principle of life which He
has given continues to be the ruling
principle of the believer's growth.
God gives, as it were, of Himself to
the Christian, He does not only work
upon him and leave him, The germ
of the new life is that out of which
the mature man will in due time be
developed. Comp. John i. 13,

108

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

ΠΠ. 10

μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ

γεγέννηται.

Ey τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα

Lis ~ ara
τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν

The instrument by which this vital
element is conveyed is the ‘word’:
James i, 18; 1 Pet. i. 23; Luke viii,
12, 15.

The absence of the article (orépya
not τὸ σπέρµα) directs attention to
the character of the divine principle
and not to the divine principle com-
municated in the particular case. See
®. 10 note.

οὐ δύναται ἁμ.] he cannot sin, The
ideas of divine sonship and sin are
mutually exclusive. As long as the re-
lationship with God is real (ὅτι ἐκ θεοῦ.
γεγένν.) sinful acta are but accidents.
They do not touch the essence of the
man’s being. The impossibility of
sinning in such a case lies in the moral
nature of things. Comp. John v. 19,
30, xii, 39, xiv. 17, ἃο.

Augustine again insists that the
reference is to the great command-
ment of love: Ket quoddam peccatum
quod non potest admittere ille qui
natus est ex Deo, et quo non admisso
solvantur cetera, quo admisso confir-
mantur cetera. Quod est hoc pec-
catum? Facere contra mandatum
Christi, contra testamentum novum
(John xiii 34) The explanation is
true so far as love is the deter-
mining element in the Christian cha-
racter.

3. The outward manifestation of
the children of God (10—12).

The spiritual affinities of men are
shewn by two patent signs, righteous-
ness and love (ο. 10); and these signs
correspond to two archetypal pat
terns, the Gospel, that is, the Life of
Christ (ο. 11), and the history of Cain
(οι 12).

~ In this the children of God are
manifest and the children of the
devil: every one that dosth not

righteousness is not of God, and he
that loveth not his brother. * Be-
cause this is the message which ye
heard from the beginning that we
should love one another: “not as
Cain was of the wicked one and slew
his brother ; and wherefore slew he
him? because his own works were
evil and his brother's righteous.

10, Life reveals the children of
God. They bear characteristic marks
which stamp their action and their
feeling, their conduct and the motive
of their conduct, They embody right-
eousness in deed. They acknowledge
the ties which Christ has established
among Christians and so potentially
among men. They practically realise
the law of man’s original constitution,
and the law of man’s redemption.

ν τοῦτῳ] In hoc V. (Ez hoc F.), In
this, in this fact of the easential sin-
leasness of the Christian’s life, which
is followed out into its main aspects
in the verse which follows (comp. c.
ii. 3 note).

τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ] filii Dei V., the
children of God. See ο, 1 note.

St John divides the world sharply
into twoclasses. Looking at thespiritual
characteristics of life he admits no in-
termediate class. For him there is
only light and darkness, and no twi-
light. He sees only ‘life’ and ‘death.’

Φωερά] manifesti V., manifestati
Aug., manifest, so that all men may
see what they are: Matt. xii. 16; Acts
vii. 1331 Cor. xi. 19. That which is
in its essence secret is thus revealed
before the eyes of men. Comp. Mark
iv. 22; 2 Cor. 1. 10f.

τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου] flit diaboli
V., the children of the devil. The
phrase is unique. Compare Eph. i. 3
τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς. 2 Pet. ii. 14 κα-
τάρας τέκνα. And also: Matt. xiii. 38

ΠΠ. 11]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

109

δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπών

τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.

α ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αγγελία ἣν

το ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικ. ΝΑΒΟ me syrr (lat): ὁ μὴ ὧν δίκαιος vg the syrhlmg.

δικαιοσύνην RB: τὴν dx. AC, Comp. ο. 7.

the syrr (lat), Comp. i. 5.

οἱ vlol τοῦ πονηροῦ ; xxiii. 15 υἱὸς γεέν-
ons; Acts xiii. 10 υἱὲ διαβόλου.

was 6 μὴ π. δ.] μην one... Com-
pare v. 3 note. By expressing the
characterisation of Divine sonship in
a negative form, St John enforces the
necessary universality of the condi-
tion which he lays down, and gives a
pointed warning against those who
trusted in the Christian name, It is
not only true that every one that
doeth righteousness ‘hath been born
of God’ (ii. 29) and ‘is of God’ (3 John
11) and shares the character of Christ
(ο. 7), but it is true also that to do
righteousness is a necessity for him
who is of God. A Christian must be
active and not passive only. To fail
either in deed or in word (0, iv. 3 8 μὴ
ὁμολογεῖ) is fatal to the reality of the
divine connexion.

ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικ] qui non est justus
Υ. (qui non facit justitiam F.), that
dosth not righteousness. 1t has been
already noticed (ο. 7 note) that the
phrase used here is different from
that used in 2, 7, ii, 29. Here ‘right-
eousness’ (δικαιοσύνη) expresses that
which bears a particular character: in
the former passage ‘righteousness’
(j δικαιοσύνη) expresses the idea
realised in its completeness, The
same general distinction is to be
observed in the use of other like
words in the Epistle: ἁμαρτία 5ο.
5, % Ve 16Η; ἡ ἁμαρία ov. 4, 8;
ἀγάπη iv. 8, 165 ἡ ἀγάπη (ii. 5, 15),
iii, 16, iv. 7, 10, 12, 16f£ (v. 3); ζωή
5. 15, ¥. 11, 13, 16, 203 ἡ ζωή i. 2, ih,
25, iii, 14, v. 12 ; ἀλήθεια 3 John 3;
ἡ ἀλήθεια i. 6, 8, ii. 4, 21, iti. 19, iv. 6,
v. 6; 2 John 1, 2; 3 John 8.

The full force of the article will also
be felt in the following places: i 6 ἐν

11 ἀγγελία AB vg: ἐκαγγελία ΝΟ me

τῷ σκότει, Ἡ. 9 ἐν τῷ φωτί, iid 4 ἡ
ἀνομία, iv. 18 τῇ γλώσσῃ, Ὑ. 10 τὴν
μαρτυρίαν (γ. 21 τῶν εἰδώλων). On the
other hand the absence of the article
in the following places is significant:
in ii, 18 ἐσχάτῃ Spa, 5. 9 σπέρμα.
From the nature of the case anar-
throus forms occur in predicates and
negative sentences : yet gee iii, 4, v. 6.

οὐκ & ἑ τ. 6.] Comp. iv. 3 note;
Additional Note on ο. 1.

καὶ ὁ μὴ dy. r. 43.) and he that loveth
not his brother. Comp. ii. το note.
This clause is not a mere explanation
of that which precedes but the ex-
pression of it in its highest Christian
form. Righteousness involves the ful-
filment of all law, of relations to God
and to man, both personally and
socially. The love of Christian for
Christian, resting on the sense of a
divine fellowship (ο. i. 3) carries for-
ward to its loftiest embodiment the
righteousness which man can reach.

Augustine says in striking words
which were adopted by Bede: Quid-
quid vis habe; hoc solum [caritatem]
non habeas: nihil tibi prodest. Alia
si non habeas hoc habe, et implesti
legem.

11,12. The revelation of character
is traced back to the type given in
the portraiture of the first fulfilment
of man’s ideal in the Gospel, and of
the first sin after the Fall.

11, Gr...) Because... The whole
aim of the Gospel is the creation and
strengthening of love. To this Christ’s
life of sacrifice pointed from first to
last. The record of His life is the
message of the Gospel.

ἡ ἀγγελία] adnuntiatio V., manda-
tum F., repromissio (ἐπαγγελία) Lucf.,
the message, Όυτηρ. i. 5 note.

11ο

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(UL 12

ἠκούσατε dn’ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπώμεν ἀλλήλους “ov κα-

θὼς Καὶν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν καὶ ἔσφαξεν τὸν ἀδελφὸν

αὐτοῦ. καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν; ὅτι τὰ ἔργα
βαν. ως ον αλα ῃ ο ο στι,

αὐτοῦ πονηρὰ ἦν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ δίκαια.

én’ dpxfs] from the beginning. See
ii, 7 note. The first tidings of Chris-
tianity contain this lesson.

ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλ.] ut diligatis al-
terutrum V., diligamus invicem Aug.,
that we love one another... The
words do not simply give the con-
tents of the message, but its aim, its
purpose. The fundamental declara-
tion of Christ’s Life and Work is
directed to this end, that men should
be moved by it to self-sacrifice. For
this use of ἵνα see 0. 23; iv. 213
Jobn xiii. 34; xv. 12, 17. The par-
ticle not unfrequently expresses an
effort or an aim suggested by the
words which precede: ο, v. 3; iv.
17; 2 John 6; John iv. 34; vi. 293
vili. 56; xv. 13; xvii. 3. Sometimes
it indicates ο divine purpose which is
not at once obvious: ». 1; i.9; John
xii. 23; xvi. 2, 32.

The phrase “to love one another’
«9. 23 note) differs in shade of mean-
ing from ‘loving the brethren’ (ο. 14).
“Loving one another’ expresses the
full social energy of the Christian
life: ‘loving the brethren’ points to
the personal feeling of one towards
the body.

12, οὗ καθών...] not as... The con-
struction is irregular and elliptical.
Comp. John vi. 58. The clause with-
out the negative would have run on
naturally with ο, 10 ...‘that loveth
not his brother, even as Cain was of
the evil one and slew his brother.’
Cain shewed his dependence on the
devil by want of love and hatred
of righteousness. But the insertion
of ο. 11, the positive rule of Chris-
tians, leads to the insertion of the
negative before the typical example
of the opposite character. ‘We do
not (or We shall not) present the

type of selfishness, even as Cain was
of the evil one...’ ‘The case is not
with us as it was with Cain; he
was of the evil one...” The use of
the direct negative οὐ requires that
the sentence should be treated as
independent and not connected with
ἵνα (μηδὲ Sper ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ καθὼς
Καίν...).

The history of the first death na-
turally attracted wide attention as
presenting in a representative and im-
pressive form the issues of selfishness,
self-will, sin. Comp, Jude 11; Heb.
xi. 4; xii 24. Philo discusses the
history in a special book. In Clem.
Hom, iii. 25 it is said of Cain: φονεὺς
By καὶ ψεύστης καὶ μετὰ ἁμαρτίων ov-
χάζεων μηδὲ ἐπὶ τῷ ἄρχειν θέλων.

ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν] ex maligno erat
V., was of the evil one. Comp. 0, 8 ἐκ
τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν note; ii, 13 τὸν
πονηρόν note. The name is chosen
here in order to connect the works of
Cain (πονηρὰ ἦν) with their spiritual
source,

ἔσφαξεν] occidit V., slew. The word
occurs elsewhere in the N.T. onlyin the
Apocalypse. It expresses properly the
slaughter of a victim. Here it seems
to point to the deliberate determina-
tion of the murder.

καὶ χάριν τίνος...] et propter quid
V., and wherefore... This unusual
mode of expression (comp. 2. 17),
appears to be adopted in order to bring
out sharply that the murder of a
brother came from hatred of righte-
ousness. Cain lost practical sympathy
with his brother; and so in the end
he slew him.

This use of χάριν occurs in this
place only in the writings of St John.
Elsewhere in the Ν. Τ. it stands (as
generally) after its case. It expresses

ΤΠ. 13]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

il

3 Μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοί, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.

13 μὴ θανμ. ABO vg me the syrhl: +xal’ μὴ θαυμ. ΝΟ" syrvg.

ABC vg: +yov 5 me the syrr.

commonly an object aimed at (Eph.
iii. 1, 14; 1 Tim. v. 14; Gal. iii, 19,
Igtft. &c.), but also an antecedent
ground (Luke vii. 47).

irs...) because... ‘The explanation
given is an interpretation of the his-
tory in Gen. iv. The sacrifices (Heb.
xi. 4) answered to the characters of
the brothers, and God’s judgment
upon them gave occasion for the open
revelation of character which followed.

Augustine traces the temptation of
Cain to envy: Qui invidet non amat.
Peccatum diaboli est in illo... Cecidit
enim et invidit stanti. Non ideo vo-
luit dejicere ut ipse staret sed ne
solus caderet.

IIL Brornernoop 1x Curist AND
THE HATRED oF THE Ίος (iii,
13—24).

There appear to be three main di-
visions of the section:

1. Hatred and love (13—15).

2. The manifestation of love (16
—18),

3. The fruit of love (19—24).

St John starts from the thought of
hatred as the characteristic of the
world. Over against this is love, the
necessary sign of the presence of the
new life of Christians. This love must
be moulded on the pattern of Christ’s
sacrifice, and extend to the fulness of
life. And the fruit of love is confidence,
which issues in perfect sympathy.

1. Hatred and love (13—15).

. The thought of Cain leads to the

consideration of the Cain-like charac-

ter. Hatred is the mark of the world,
which is ‘dead’ (13). Love among

Christians is the sign of a new life

(14). And consequently hatred among

Christians is the sign not only of the

absence of life but of the destruction

of life (15).

ἀδελφοί

13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world
hateth you. + We know that we have
passed out of death into life, because
we love the brethren: he that loveth
not abideth in-death. 1s Every one that
hateth his brother is a murderer;
and ye know that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him.

13. Love has been presented as
the necessary mark of the Christian.
Still it is met by hatred. This how-
ever cannot but be 8ο, Love is the
sign of a change from death to life.
They who remain in death must shew
their real nature (hatred) towards the
living. Terrible as Cain’s history is,
it is still realised in essence.

Μὴ θαυμάζετε] Nolite mirari V.,
Marcel not. For the thought com-
pare John xv. 18 ff, xvi. 1 ff.

The words occur again John τ. 28,
and in another form John iii 7 μὴ
Θαυμάσῃς. The latter place is the only
example in the Gospel or Epistles
(John xix. 24 is not strictly parallel)
of the imperative construction of µή
with aor. subj. which occurs more fre-
quently than the construction with
pres, imp. in the Apocalypse (vi. 6, vii.
3, x. 4, Xi. 2, xxii. 10). A comparison
of John iii. 7 with the present passage
brings out the difference of meaning
in the two constructions. There the
thought is of the special feeling a-
roused by the single statement, here
of the continuous feeling stirred by
the whole temper of men (comp. ii.
15, iv. 1), Comp. 1 Pet. ii. 17; John
ii, 16 note.

For θαυμάζειν εἰ see Mark xv. 44.

ἀδελφοί] brethren. Thisis the only
place in the Epistle where this title of
address is used is a false reading).
It contains an implicit argument. By
emphasising the new relation in which
Christians stand one to another it im-
plies that this position of necessary

112

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN,

(IIL. 14

Mijucis οἴδαμεν ὅτι µεταβεβήκαµεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου eis
τὴν ζωήν, ὅτι ἀγαπώμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς' ὁ μὴ ἀγαπών

14 τοὺς Gd, + ἡμῶν ἓὲ syrvg.
me syrr.

mutual affection is characteristic of
them as distinguished from other men
(‘the world’), The title is common
in St James (ἀδελφοί, ἀδελφοί pov),
and not unfrequent in St Paul and in
the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is not
found in the first Epistle of St Peter
or St Jude.

The three forms which St John
borrows from the family to express
Christian relations preserve each their
propermeaning. ‘Brethren’ expresses
the idea of Christian equality in virtue
of the common life: ‘Children’ (γεκνία)
that of spiritual dependence in the
order of the new life with the pro-
spect of growth: ‘Little ones’ (παιδία)
that of subordination and immaturity.
In contrast with these ‘Beloved’ is
simply the personal manifestation of
feeling.

el μισεῖ] εὲ odit V., if...hateth you,
This is assumed as a fact (comp. ο. iv.
11;'¥. 9; John xv. 18); and by the
order the stress is thrown here upon
the verb and not (as in John xv,
18 ff) upon the pronoun or the sub-
ject. Hatred is characteristic of ‘the
world’ (mundus V., hic mundus Ἑ.).

14. ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν] nos scimus V.
We (ἡμεῖς) a8 distinguished from the
world, know by the easential nature
of our faith, by our own inward experi-
ence....The fact that we are conscious
of a love for Christians as Christians
is a proof to us that we have entered
upon a new life: that we now first
truly live. The passage has been
made: the new sphere of being has
been gained. Life is not future but
present. Compare the simple οἴδαμεν
ine. 2.

µεταβεβήκαμεν] translati sumus V.,
have passed... Comp. John v. 24 (xii
1). This love was indeed the accep!

ὁ μὴ dy. RAB vg.:-4rdy ἀδελφόν [αὐτοῦ] SC

ance in faith of Christ's ‘word’ (α ii
7, iii, 11).

ἐκ τοῦ 6, els τὴν ζ.] de morte in vitam
V., out of death into life, Death and
life are regarded as the two spheres
in which men move, and they are pre-
sented in their substantive fulness
‘the death which is truly death,’ ‘the
life which is truly life’ (6 θάνατος, ἡ
ζωήλ. ‘O θάνατος is found here and
in the following clause in St John’s
Epistles; in the Gospel it occurs only
in the parallel v. 24 (xi. 13 is different).
‘0 θάνατος is personified in Apoc. i 18,
vi 8, ix. 6,xx.13f (xxi. 4) Compare
Acta ii, 24; Rom. v. 12 ff, viii 2; 1
Cor. xv. 21 Β.; 2 Cor.iv. 12; 2 Tim. i.
10 (opposed to ζωή); Heb. ii. 14. For
ἡ ζωή compare i. 2 note; John v. 24;
Matt. vii. 14 (opposed to ἡ ἀπώλεια),
xviii. 8 £., xix. 17; (Mark ix. 43, 45);
Acts iii, 15; 2 Cor. v. 4. The depth
of the expression is lost both in Latin
and in English.

“To enter into life’ (εἰσελ. εἶντὴν ¢) is
8 phrase characteristic of St Matthew
(xviii, 8 5, xix. 17; comp. vii. 14) and
of St Mark (ix. 43, 45). In this
largest sense ‘life’ (ἡ ζωή) is the fulfil-
ment of the highest idea of being:
perfect truth in perfect action, Com-
pare 2 Tim. i. 10 καταργήσαντος μὲν
τὸν θάνατον φωτίσαντος δὲ ζωὴν καὶ
ἀφθαρσίαν, where in the second mem-
ber the thought is of ‘life’ in the
abstract and not of the Christian ful-
filment of the whole conception of life,

éru..5re...] quoniam....quoniam...
V., that...because. . Active love is the
sign of life and not the ground of life.
Comp. Luke vii. 47. The connexion
is ‘we know ... and not ‘we
have passed because.
τοὺς ἆδ.] the brethren. The simple
phrase (3 John 5, 10) is more expres-

IIL. 15]

, . ~ ῃ
μενει εν Tw θανάτῳ.

ΞΤΒΕ FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

113

Sas 6 μισών τὸν ἀδελφὸν

αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστίν, καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἂν-
θρωποκτόνος οὐκ ἔχει Conv αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ µένου-

19 ἑαυτοῦ Β.

sive than ‘our brethren,’ This is the
only place in which the exact words
occur (dy. τοὺς ἀδελφούς). Elsewhere
St John says dy. ἀλλήλους (ο. 11 note).
*Ay. τὸν d8. occurs fi, 10; iii, το; iv.

2ο.

See Additional Note.

In view of the imperfection of
Christians Augustine says: Viget
[gloria caritatis] sed adhuc in hieme :
viget radix sed quasi aridi sunt rami,
Intus est medulla que viget, intus
sunt folia arborum, intus fructus; sed
etatem expectant.

ὁ ph ἀγαπῶν] gui non diligit V.,
he that loveth not. The omission of
his brother, according to the true
text, strengthens the thought. The
feeling. is regarded in its completest
form,

μένει ἐν τῷ 6.] abideth (permanet

FB) in death, There is » moral vis
inertia. It is not said that he dies.
Death is his natural state. It fol-
lows that love and life are convertible
terms.

Compare John iii. 36.

15. The hatred of ‘the world’ can
cause no marvel: it is, in a certain
sense, natural. But hatred may find
place among ‘the brethren’ (ii. 9, 11).
There are Cains in the new family.
Such hatred is essentially identical
with murder, not simply a8 being the
first step towards it but as involving
the same moral position. It is more-
over in the man himself the deatruc-
tion of that life which is love.

was ὁ...] Every one that hateth...
though he bear the name of Christ.
Comp. ο iii 3. τ,

ἀνθρωποκτόνος] homicida mur-
derer. The word is used of the devil,
John viii. 44. Among men Cain is
the type.

w.

(αντω B: ἑαυτῷ RAC.

οἴδατε] ye know, Comp. ο. Υ. 18
note,

πᾶς...οὐκ...] Comp. ii. 19 note.

πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος] Omnis inquit
homicida: scilicet non solum ille qui
ferro verum et ille qui odio fratrem
insequitur (Bede).

al. ἐν αὐτῷ μέν] eternal life
abiding in him. The addition of
the last words brings out the thought
that ‘eternal life’ must (under the
circumstances of our present life) be a
continuous power, and a communicat-
ed gift (comp. John vi. 53).

The whole phrase is unique. Else-
where ‘the word’ (ii. 1 ohn vy. 38;
comp. xv. 7), the ‘unction’ (ii. 27), ‘the
seed of God’ (iii. 9), ‘the love of God’
(iii. 17), ‘the truth’ (2 John 2), are
said to ‘abide’ in the believer; and so
also God (ο. 24, iv, 12, 13, 15 f.) and
Christ (John vi. 56, xv. 5). Even to
the last man has not ‘life in himself’
‘This is the divine prerogative alone.

2, The manifestation of love (or.
16-18).

It has been shewn that love is the
sign of the Christian life. It is now
shewn that love must be fashioned
after the pattern of Christ who made
jt known in sacrifice (ο. 16). Such
love extends to the common inter-
course of life (v.17); and must be at
once active and real (ο. 18).

19 In this we know love, because he
laid down his life for us; and we
ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren. 4 But whosoever has the
world’s goods, and beholdeth his
brother in need, and shutteth up his
heart from him, how abideth the love
of God in him? * Little children,
let us not love in word, neither with
the tongue, but in deed and truth,

8

114

σαν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

IL. 16, 17

wrEy τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι

ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχἠν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν' καὶ ἡμεῖς
ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τών ἀδελφώῶν τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι. "ds
ὃ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσµου καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν

16 τὴν dy. +700 θεοῦ vB.

16. Ἐν τούτφ] In this, φοο ο, ii. 3
uote, The truth which has been
enunciated, the self-sacrificing charac-
ter of love, as opposed to the murder-
ous character of hatred, opens the way
to the most complete revelation of love.
The ‘this,’ as elsewhere, looks both
backwards and forwards,

ἐγνώκαμεν] cognovimus V., cognosei-
mus Aug., ce know as the result of
divine teaching: we have learnt and
now hold the lesson for ever. This
knowledge of experience is contrasted
with the knowledge of intuition (οἵ-
Bare) in 0. 15. Comp. John xv. 13.

τὴν ἀγάπην] See Additional Note.

ἀκεῖνος] He, Christ. See ii. 6 note.

τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν] animam
suam posuit V., laid down His life.
The phrase is peculiar to St John,
John x. 11 (note), 15, 17 f£, xiii. 37 f£,
Xv. 13.

This is the only passage in the
Epistle in which St John uses ὑπέρ in
behalf of (comp. 3 John 7). It occurs
in the Gospel in similar connexions not
unfrequently : vi. 51; X. 11,15; xi 50
f£ ; xiii, 37 f.; xv. 13; xvii. 19; xviii.
14. Contrast περί ο ii. 2; iv. 10.

‘The image appears to be that of
divesting oneself of a thing (John xiii.
4). Compare ‘animam ponere,’ ‘de-

ponere.’

καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν] and we ought...
as a consequence of this knowledge;
but St John regards the duty as in-
cluded in the knowledge (and we
ought) and not as logically deduced
from it (wherefore we ought). Comp.
2. 3. The obligation lies in the per-
ception of the relation in which we
stand to one another and to Christ.
‘That which constrains us is not only

θεῖναι RABC: τιθέναι =

His example, but the trath which
that example reveals, Comp. ο. 7.
For ὀφείλομεν see ii. 6 note, Ignatius
speaking of himself in the spirit of
this passage says to the Ephesians :
i ν ὑμῶν ἐγώ (ad Eph, 21;
comp. ad Smyrn. 10; ad Polyc. 2,6).
The words addressed by St John to
the young Robber sound like an echo
of it: ἂν δέῃ τὸν σὸν θάνατον ἑκὼν ὑπο-
μενῶ, ds ὁ Κύριος τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ
ood τὴν ψυχὴν ὠτιδώσω τὴν ἐμήν
(Euseb. H. Ε. iii. 23).

17. 8tJohn turns from considering
the greatness of our obligation to notice
the οἱ character of failure. By
the transition he suggests that there
is a danger in indulging ourselves in
lofty views which lie out of the way of
common experience. We may there-
fore try ourselves by a far more home-
ly test. The question is commonly
not of dying for another but of com-
municating to another the outward
means of living. If we are found
wanting here, we need look no further
for judgment.

858 ἂν ἔχη] Qui habuerit V. Comp.
ii, 5 note.

τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου] substantiam
vite V., facultates mundi Απρ, the
life of the world ‘the substance of
the world’ as contrasted with ‘life
eternal’ (ο. 15). Comp. Luke xv. 12
(τὸν βίον); ii, 16 note. The phrase
includes all the endowments which
make up our earthly riches, wealth,
station, intellect. It has been finely
said of a great teacher that ‘ho was
tender to dulness as to all forms of
poverty,

θεωρῇ] behold as a spectacle on
which he allows his eyes to reat, This

IIT. τε]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

115

αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχοντα καὶ κλείση τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ
dn’ αὐτοῦ, πῶς 1 ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἐν αὐτῷ:
ἍΤεκνία, μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ μηδὲ τῇ γλώσσῃ ἀλλὰ

18 τεκνία ΝΑΒΟ (vg) ayrhl: --μου © syrvg me the (vg).

«τῷ SR.

is the only place where the verb oc-
cars in St John’s Epistles; and else-
where in the Epistles it is found only
in Heb. vii. 4. Comp. Apoc. xi 11 f.
‘The word is common in the Gospel of
8t John and is always used with its
fall meaning. See John ii. 23 note.

χρείαν ἔχοντα] necesse habere V.,
ogere F., esurientem, egentem Aug.
The rendering of the Vulgate is
suggested by if. 27. See note there
for the absolute use of xp. ἔχεω.

αλείσῃ τὰ σπλ.] clauserit viscera sua
ab 60 V., shute up his heart from him
20 that the destitute brother can find
no access to hissympathy. The phrase
“to shut up the heart” is apparently
unique. It expresses the interposi-
tion of a barrier between the sufferer
and the tender feelings of his brother.
Comp. Ps, Ἱαχνή, το (ΠΥΒΡ συνέχειν
τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς 1ΧΣ). Τὰ σπλάγχνα is
found here only in the writings of St
John (it occurs in St Luke and St
Paul).

πῶς... ϱ) how doth... ? The interro-
gative construction is similar to that
in. 12.

ἡ ἆ. τοῦ ϐ.] caritas Dei V., dilectio
Dei Aug., the love of God, the love of
which God is at once the object and
the author and the pattern. Comp.
ii. 5 note.

μένει] abide...as a continuous active
power. Comp. 0. 15.

18, Τεκνία] Filioli V., Little chil-
dren. The word of address is changed
(9. 13). The father now pleads with
those who draw their being from him.

μλ..λόγφ μηδὲ τῇ γλ] not...0ith
word, neither with the tongue, in
theory as opposed to action; with
mere outward expression as opposed

τῇ γλ. ABO:

to the genuine movement of our whole
being.

λώγφ...ἐν ἔργῳ...] with word...in
deed... The aligh change of construc-
tion marks the difference between the
instrament and the sphere of the mani-
featation of love. It must find scope
in our true and fall life. For ἐν ἔργφ
καὶ dA. compare John iv, 23 f. &
πνεύµατι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.

‘If love depends on a word, when
the word ceaseth the love ceaseth.
Such was the love of Balak and Ba-
Taam’ (Jalkut Reub. 145. 4: Schoett-
gen). The passage quoted from Aboth
γ. 22 is wholly different. in sense.

3 The fruit of love (ου. 19—24).

As 8t John has spoken of the ne-
cessity and of the pattern of love #0
now he goes on to speak of its fruit.
The fruit of love is confidence. Such
confidence stills the condemnation
which the heart pronounces against
the believer (oe. 19, 20). It finds
its expression in prayers, which are
necessarily answered, because they are
the voice of obedient love (vv. 21—23).
It issues in the fulness of sympathy
(ο 24).

13 In this we shall know that we
are of the truth, and shall assure our
heart before him, * whereinsoever
our heart may condemn us ; because
God is than our heart and
knoweth all things, Beloved, if our
heart condemn us not, we have bold-
ness towards God, and whatsoever
we ask we receive from him, because
we observe his commandments and
do the things that are pleasing in his
sight, *3 And this ts his command-
ment, that we should believe the name

8—2

116 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. ΠΠ. 19, 20

ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ. Ey τούτῳ γνωσόµεθα
ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐσμέν, καὶ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πεί-
σοµεν τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν "ὅτι ἐὰν καταγινώσκῃ ἡμῶν

& ἔ. ΚΛΒΟ: -ὂ ο.
γνωσόµεθα RABC mo the: γωώσκοµον © Vg syr.
κ. ΚΑΣ Ο vg me syrhl,

of his Son Jesus Christ and love one The simple pronoun (αὐτός) naturally

19 ἐν τι AB vg mo syrhl: +xal’ é τ. ΝΟ the syrvg.
τὴν κ. ΑΒ the eyrvg: τὰς

another, even as he gave us command-
ment. ™ And he that observeth his
commandments abideth in him and
hein him ; and in this we know that
he abideth in us, from the Spirit
which he gave us.

19. Ἐν τούτφ] In this, the con-
sciousness of active and sincere love
of the brethren, resting upon and
moulded by the love of Christ.

γνωσόμεθα] cognoscemus V., we shall
know, perceive, The future expresses
the dependence of the knowledge upon
the fulfilment of the specified condi-
tion. Again it is to be noticed that
the knowledge which comes through
outward experience stands in contrast
with the knowledge which belongs to
the idea of faith ο. 14 (οἴδαμεν).

de τῆς Gd. ἐσμέν] ax veritate sumus
V., are of the truth, draw the power
of our being from the Truth as its
source. Comp. ii 16, Christ Himself
is revealed as the Truth, in whom the
right relations of man to man and to
God and to the world are perfectly
presented (comp. John xviii. 37). So
far then as the Christian is like Him,
he is ‘of the truth’ The conception
of being ‘a child of the Truth’ is dif-
ferent from that of being ‘a child
of God, though practically the two
are identical. In the latter case the
thought is of the presence of the divine
principle as divine : in the former, of
the fulfilment of all the offices of man.

καὶ ἔμπροσθεν airs...) and, a8 8
consequence of the knowledge of our
complete dependence upon the Truth,
we shall assure our hearts before Him,
ie. in the presence of God. The an-
tecedent is supplied by the reader,

describes the one Sovereign Lord,
just as the isolating and defining pro-
‘noun (ἐκεῖνος) describes Christ,

The phrase ‘before Him’ (in con-
spectu Gus V., coram ipso Aug.) stands
emphatically first in order to mark
the essential character of the Christian
life. It is lived out in the very sight
of God. The believer feels himself to
be always before His eyes, In that

ce (comp. ii. 28) if not before,
he comes to find what he is. Comp.
2 Cor. v. 10 (φανερωθῆναι): 1 Thess.
iii. 13.

πείσομεν...ὅτι day καταγινώσκῃ...ὅτι
μεί(ων...πάντα] suadernus (suadeamus,
suadebimus) quoniam si reprehende-
rit nos (male senserit Aug.) cor nos-
trum major est Deus corde nostro et
norit omnia V., (09) shall assure our
heart before Him whereinsoever our
heart condemn us, becauss God is
greater than our heart and knoweth
all things. The many conflicting in-

ions of this passage spring
out of the different translations of (1)
the verb πείσοµεν, and (2) the double
conjunction or relative ὅτι (8 τι).

1, Thus if we take the sense
suade for the verb, there are two
groups of renderings possible: the
first (a) in which the clauses which
follow give the substance of that of
which we are satisfied; and the se-
cond (8) in which this substance is
supposed to be supplied by the reader.

(a) In the first case there are two
possible views:

(a) The second ὅτι may be simply
resumptive: We shall persuade our
heart, that, if our heart condemn us,
that, 1 say, God is greater...

IIL. 2ο]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

117

ἡ καρδία, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν 6 θεὸς τῆς Kapdias ἡμών

20 ὅτι μ. NBC syrvg: om. ὅτι A vg me the.

(ϐ) Or the first ὅτι may be taken as
the relative: We shall persuade our
heart, whereinsoever our heart con-
demn us, that God is greater...

‘Against both these interpretations
it may be urged, as it seems with de-
cisive force, that the conclusion is not
one which flows naturally from the
premiss. The consciousness of a sin-
cere love of the brethren does not
fornish the basis of the conviction of
the sovereign greatness of God.

(8) If the substance of that of which
we shall be persuaded is mentally sup-
plied, as, ‘that we are of the truth,
or ‘that our prayers are heard,’ there
are again two possible interpretations :

(a) The second ὅτι may be taken as
resumptive in the sense because: we
shall persuade our heart, because if
our heart condemn us, because I say
God is greater...

@) Or again the first ὅτι may be
taken as the relative: we shall per-
auade our heart whereinsoever our
heart condemn us, becauss God ts

It appears to be a fatal objection to
both these views that just that has to
be supplied which the sense given to
the verb leads the reader to expect to
be clearly expressed. And farther it
may be remarked that while the use
of a resumptive ὅτι is quite intelligible
after the introduction of a consider-
able clause it is very unnatural after
the insertion of a few words.

2. If on the other hand the verb
be taken in the sense ‘we shall assure,’
‘we shall still and tranquillise the
fears and misgivings of our heart,
there are yet two modes of completing
the sentence:

(a) The second ὅτι may be taken as
resumptive in the sense of because:
we shall assure our hearts, because iff
our heart condemn us, because, I say,

όριο: (for θεό) Ο.

God is greater, Such a resumptive
‘use of the particle has however been
shewn to be very harsh.

(8) There remains then the adop-
tion of the first ὅτι as the relative:
We shall assure our heart, wherein-
soever our heart condemn us, because
God is greater...

‘This sense falls in completely with
the context and flows naturally from
the Greek.

But an ambiguity still remains. In
what sense is the superior greatness
of God to be understood? Is it the
ground of our exceeding need? or of
our sure confidence? Both interpre-
tations can be drawn from the words.
(1) We shall then, and then only, still
our heart, in whatsoever it may con-
demn us, because we know that the
judgment of God must be severer than
‘our own judgment, and so apart from
fellowship with Him we can have no
hope. Or (2) We shall then still our
heart in whatsoever it may condemn
us, because we are in fellowship with
God, and that fact assures us of His
sovereign mercy. The latter sense
seems to be required by the whole
context. See below.

πείσομεν] The nearest parallel in
the N. T. to the sense of the word
which has been adopted here is Matt.
xxviii. 14. Comp. 2 Mace. iv. 45.

τὴν καρδίαν] our heart, the seat of
the moral character. It occurs only
in this passage in the Epistles of St
John. Comp. Rom. ii. 15; Eph. i. 18.

The singular (which St Jobn always
uses in the Gospel and Epistle) fixes
the thought upon the personal trial in
each case, See Additional Note.

20, ὅτι day] whersinsoever. Tho
words balance the ‘all things’ which
follows. The form ὅτι ἐάν does not
occur as the true text elsewhere in
Ν. T. (Col. ifi. 23 8 ἐάν), but always

118

καὶ γινώσκει πάντα.

ax ἀγαπητοί: ἀδελφοί Ν.

ὅτι ἄν (John ii. 5, xiv. 13, xv. 16). This
however does not appear to be a deci-
sive objection. In John ii 5, xv. 16
é is an early variant (ΝΑ).

word is used of the internal judgment
of conscience (Ecclus. xiv. 2) as dis-
tinguished from the formal sentence
of the judge (κατακρίνω).

Comp. Gal. ii. 11.

μείζων 2. 5 6. τῆς κ. 4] major est
Deus corde nostro V., God is greater
than our heart, justly able to sway
and control it, He is the Supreme
Sovereign over the whole man. No-
thing in man can stand against His
judgment and will. The context re-
quires that this sovereignty should be
regarded under the aspect of love, as
exercised for the calming of human
doubts, The supposition that ‘greater’
means more searching and authorita-
tive in condemnation than the heart
is at variance with the tenor of the
passage and also with the natural sense
of ‘greater.’

γινώσκει π.] novit omnia V., know-
eth all things, watches (to use human
Tanguage) the course and spring of
action (John ii. 25 note), not only this
failure and that on which the heart
dwells, but these and all else, and
with this knowledge offers us His
love and assures us of it.

Thus the meaning of the whole
passage will be: The sense within us
ofa sincere love of the brethren, which
is the sign of God’s presence with us,
will enable us to stay the accusations
of our conscience, whatever they may
be, because God, who gives us the
love, and so blesses us with His fellow-
ship, is greater than our heart; and
He, having perfect knowledge, for-

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ΑΤ JOHN.

(IML 21, 22

a), roy --
γαπητοί, ἐὰν ἡ καρδία μὴ
καταγινώσκη, παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεόν͵,

\
Kat

ἡ κ. AB (lat): + ἡμῶν SRC vg syrr me the.
μὴ κατ. BC: --ἡμῶν SRA vg me the syrr.

ἔχομεν: ἔχει Ἑ.
gives all on which the heart sadly
dwells,

21. ᾽Αγαπητοί] Carissimi V., Dilec-
tissimi Aug. Comp. ο ii. 7 note, The
tender address follows naturally from
the thought of the fears and hopes of
Christians. The sense of misgiving
(the condemnation of the heart) and
the sense of duty done (the acquittal
of the heart) severally involve special
applications of the divine revelation.
In the one case this revelation brings
assurance, and in the other effectual

prayer.
ἐὰν ἡ καρδία μὴ | αἱ cor nostrum
non reprehenderit y (male senserit

Aug.), if our heart condemn us not.
This evidently is the converse case to
‘¢f our heart condemn us. It does
not imply a claim to sinlessness, nor
yet an insensibility to the heinousness
of ain, but the action of a lively faith
which retains a real sense of fellow-
ship with God, and this carries with it
confidence and peace.

The change in the order of the
words in the parallel clauses marks
a change of emphasis. In the first
clause stress is laid on the fact of
condemnation (ὅτι ἐὰν καταγινώσκῃ ἡ
καρδία): in the second on the moral
faculty which pronounces no con-
demnation (ἐὰν ἡ καρδία μὴ xaray.).

παρρησίαν ἔχομεν] fiduciam ha-
bemus V., we have boldness, 9ο 38
to express without reserve all our
wants. Compare ο. v. 14 (ii 28, iv.
17); John vii. 4 note. The thought
here is of the boldness with which the
son appears before the Father, and
not of that with which the accused
appears before the Judge

πρὸς τ. 6] ad Deum V., towards
God, Compare Acts xxiv. 16 ; Rom. iv.
2 (πρὸς 6:), v.15 2 Cor. iii. 4; Phil. iv. 6.

111. 23) THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 419

ὃ ἂν αἰτῶμεν λαμβάνομεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι τὰς ἐντολὰς
αὐτοῦ τηροῦμεν καὶ τὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ποιοῦμεν.
32Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσωµεν τῷ

22 αἰτώμεθα B®, Comp. v. 1 {.

fusion ο, iv. 17 (8) 13: sccipiemus vg the syrhl.
23 πιστεύσωµον SB: πιστεύωµεν RAC.

τηρῶμεν RA.

λαμβάνωμεν A: comp. for similar con-
ἀπ’ ai, RABO: raf at. 5.
τῷ br. τοῦ ul αὖ.

‘I. Χ. RBC vg me the syrr: τῷ &, al. Ἰ. Xporg A (all. τῷ vig αὖ. Ἰ. K.).

22, καὶ ὃ ἂν ο τόμο] a πο μασ
petierimus V., a
ask... The expression ατα our wants is
followed by the satisfying of them.
The words describe the actual present
experience of the believer (αἰτώμεν)
and the assertion is absolute. Every
prayer is granted. But Augustine
Tightly adds: Discernamus exaudi-
tiones Del, Invenimus enim quosdam
non exanditos ad voluntatem exau-
ditos ad salutem ; et rursus quosdam
inyenimus exauditos ad voluntatem
et non exauditos ad salutem.

Here the thought is of the actual
perception of the gift by the believer
in time (λαμβάνομεν): in St Mark xi,
24 (ἐλάβετε) the thought is of the
divine response in the eternal order.
For λαμβ. ἀπό see ο. ii. 27 note.

ὅτι...τηροῦμεν] because twe observe...
Obedience is not alleged as the ground
but as the assurance of the fulfilment,
‘The anawer to prayer is given not as
a reward for meritorious action, but
because the prayer itself rightly un-
derstood coincides with God’s will
(comp. John viii. 29, xi. 42). The sole
object of the believer isto do thorough-
ly the part which has beon assigned
to him: his petitions are directed to
this end and so arenecessarily granted.
Comp. John xv. 7.

τηροῦμεν...ποιοῦμεν] keep...do...The
eyes of the believer are turned watch-
fally to discern (τηροῦμεν) the will of
God for the future, and at the present
he is engaged in executing that which
is pleasing to Him. Under this two-
fold aspect right action is presented
both as a work of obedience and as a

work of freedom, as enjoined and aleo
as spontaneous,

For the sense of τηρεῖν see John
xvii, 12 note, and for τηρεῖν τ. ἐντ. 9.
ii, 3 note. ‘Typei» and ποιεῖν occur
again together in v. 2, 3.

τὰ ἀρεστά] ea quae sunt placita V.,
the things that are pleasing... not
simply ‘things pleasing,’ but definitely
those which correspond with our po-
sition and duty.

Compare John viii. 29.

ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ] coram eo V., in His
sight, Comp. Hebr. xiii. 21; Acts iv.
19; 1 Pet. iii. 4; 1 Tim. ii, 3; v. 4
But we find ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ John viil. 29.

The slight shade of difference be-
tween ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ (ο. 19) and ἑνώ-
muy αὐτοῦ seems to be expressed by
the phrases ‘in His presence’ and ‘in
His sight’ The latter phrase ac-
centuates the thought of the Divine
regard. Comp. John xii. 37 (um. a.)
and xx. 30 (éveim. τ. μ.).

43. καὶ αὕτη ὁ, ἡ ἐντ. αὐ.] And this
ts his commandment. The ‘things
that are pleasing,’ the many ‘com-
mandments’ are summed up in one
commandment, which includes faith
and practice, the power of action and
the form of action, faith and love,
Comp. ii. 4 f.; 2 John 6,

..dva...] Comp. John xiii.

.. Faith also is a work, John vi. 29,
and therefore the proper object of
command; and it may be regarded
either as unceasingly continuous and
progressive (πιστεύωμεν) Or a8 exer
cised at a critical moment when the

120

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(IIL..23

ὀνόματι τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἀγάπώμεν

whole tenor of life is determined
(πιστεύσωμεν). This is the first. place
in the Epistle in which the exercise
of faith is mentioned. Afterwards
πιστεύω occurs not unfrequently.

On the whole the reading πιστεύ-
σωμεν is the more likely here. In this
case the decisive act of faith is treated
a8 the foundation of the abiding work
of love; at the same time the pre-
sent πιστεύωµεν gives an excellent
sense, faith aud love being presented
as simultaneous in their present de-
velopment,

The tenses of the verb (πιστεύω) ap-
pear to be used with significant ex-
actness by St John; and the instances
of the occurrence of the different
forms will repay examination.

1 Present: the immediate, con-

tinuous exercise of faith:

John x. 38 (dat.), vi. 29, xvi. 9 (ets),
XX. 31 (ὅτι), iv. 42, x. 25 Ε., xii. 39
(xix. 35), xx. 31 (abs).

imper.: John iv. 21, x. 37, xiv. 11;
1 John iv. 1 (dat.); John xii. 36,
xiv. 1 (els).

partic, (ὁ πιστεύων, οἱ πιστεύοντες):
John v. 24; 1 John v. 10 (dat.);
John iii. 16, 18, 36, vi. 35, 40, 47,
vii. 38 f., xi. 25 £, xii. 44, 46, xiv.
2, xvii. 20; 1 John v. 10, 43 (els),
1 John γ. 1, 5 (ὅτι); John iii. 15,
vi. 64 (abs.).

2 Imperfect: the continuous exer-

cise of faith in the past:

John v. 46 (dat.), vii. 5, xii. 11, 37

(es).
3 Aorist: the definite, decisive act
of faith:

John ii. 22, iv, 50, vi. 30, x. 38; 1
Jota iil-23 (dat); John i 11, 23,
iv. 39, vii. 31, ο, ix.
we Arh 2 Gas dae
viii. 24, ix. 18, xi. 42, xiii. 19, xvii.
8,21 (ὅτι); John i. 7, iv. 4, $3, ¥.
44, xi. 15. 40, xiv. 29 (aba).

partic.: John xx. 29 (abs).

4 Perfect: the past exercise of faith
continued into the present:

John viii, 3 (dat.); John iii. 18, 1

John v. 10 (els); John vi. 69, xi.
27, xvi. 27 (ὅτι): John xx. 29; 1
John iv. 16 (2) (abs.).

The differences come out clearly
where different tenses stand in close
connexion; ¢.g. John vi. 29 £,, vii. 5, 31,
xii. 37, 42 ; 1 John v. 1ο.

mor. τῷ ὀνόματι] believe the name...
The phrase is remarkable. It is equi-
valent to ‘believe as true the message
which the name conveys.’ The full
title, His Son Jesus Christ (oi 3
note), is a compressed Creed. Con-
trast ‘believe in the name’ v. 13; John
i. 12, fi. 23, iii, 18. Comp. ν. 1ο. The
translation of A. V. probably comes
from the Vulgate which gives cre-
damus in nomine, the rendering else-
where of πιστεύειν els τὸ ὄνομα (John
i. 12, ii, 23, iii, 18). See Additional
Note on the names of Christ in this
Epistle.

ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλ.] diligamus alteru-
trum V., love one another: 0. 11 note,
iv. 7, 11, 12; 2 John 5; John xiii,
34 (ἐντολὴν καωὴν δίδωμι) ; xv. 12, 17.
The exact words are used (contrast 5,
14) in which Christ Himself gave the
commandment on the eve of His Pas-
sion, when He fulfilled the ideal of
love. The subject to ἔδωκεν is sup-
plied naturally from the preceding
clause,

Compare Rom. xiii. 10.

Multum facit qui multum diligit...
Bene facit qui communitati magis
quam sus voluntati servit (Thom. a
Kempis, De Imit. 1. 15, 2).

24. The obedience, which is the
rule of the Christian life, issues in
abiding fellowship with God. This
verse is closely connected with σ. 22,
while ο. 23 is in thought parenthe-
tical.

TI. 24]

ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἔδωκεν ἐντολὴν ἡμῖν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

121

“kal ὁ τηρών

Σα \ ας ὁ ο Paneer κ».
τας ἐντολας αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ µένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν αὐτῷ"
A , ot a μι ῥ α
καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκοµεν ὅτι μένει ἐν ἡμῖν, ἐκ τοῦ πνεύ-

µατος οὗ ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν.

ἡμῖν NABC vg me the syrr: om. 5.

24 καὶ ἐν τι: om. καὶ ΝΑ the, οὗ

ἡμ. ἔδ. ABC (lat): οὗ ἔδ. qu. N vg me the syrr.

καὶ ὁ τηρῶν...] And he that obser-
veth... These words take up ὅτι τὰς
ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρ. in ο. 22, 80 that the
reference is to ‘the commandments of
God,’ and not directly to the one com-
mandment of Christ 2. 23. Ourprayers
are granted because they spring out
of that spirit which strives after per-
fect sympathy; and, more than this,
our obedience is the pledge of a per-
sonal fellowship.

ἐν αὐτῷ péve...jie. in God, See
ο. iv. 15 note, .

Bede says with singular force: Sit
ergo tibi domus Deus et esto domus
Dei: mane in Deo, et maneat in te
Deus

ἐν τούτφ γινώσκομεν] in this we
know, perceive... The love which the
Christian feels and which is the spring
of his obedience, assures him of God’s
fellowship with him. In other words,

God has given him of His Spirit.
The use of the two prepositions ‘in
(ἐν) this, ‘from (ἐκ) the Spirit, shews
that the two clauses are not in ap-
position. Γινώσκοµεν is repeated in
thought before ἐκ τοῦ mv. ο. iv. 6.

ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος] This is the first
mention of the Spirit in the Epistle.
Afterwards the references are not un-
frequent. It is remarkable that the
Name never occurs with the epithet
‘Holy’ in the Epistles or Apocalypse
of St John.

οὗ...ἔδωκεν] which he gave when
we became Christians, Comp. c. iv. 13;
John xiv. 16; Acts v. 32, viii, 18, xv.
8; 2Cor.i. arf.

Augustine draws a striking conclu-
sion from the truth that the Spirit of
God is the source of man’s life: Con-
temne te cum laudaris, . Ile in te
laudetur qui per te operatur.

122 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Additional Note on iii. 1. Children of God.

‘The three St John uses several phrases to describe the relation of believers to
phrases by God which require to be carefully considered in connexion with the contexts
which St in which they occur.
John de-
scribes the The initial fact of the communication of the divine life is expressed by
new life. γεννηθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (i). The essential connexion existing in virtue of this
quickening is expressed by εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (ii). In virtue of this connexion
the believer becomes and is a τέκνον θεοῦ (iii).
i, ‘To be i (1) The phrase γεννηθῆναι ἐκ τ. 6. is used commonly in the perfect
born (be: (γεγέννηταί, γεγωνηµένοι); that is, the initial fact of the new life is regarded
ames ϱ/ ‘in its abiding power.
(1) in the This communicated life is
Perfect, _(g) shown by certain signs, faith in Jesus as the Christ, righteousness
and love:
1 Johny, 1 πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστὶν ὁ χριστὸς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
- ib 29 πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγέννηται.
— iv. 7 wits ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
and
(8) carries with it certain consequences, freedom from sin and victory:
1 John iii. 9 πᾶς ὁ γεγεννηµένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ ὅτι σπέρµα
αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει.
- οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνεω ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
—_ τι 18 πᾶς ὁ γεγεννηµένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει.
— a wav τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ mag τὸν κόσµον.
Compare
John ili. 6 τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος.
— 8 όγεγενηµένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος.
(2)in the (4) The fact of the communication of the divine life is specially noticed :
Aorist. John i. 12 {. ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐβουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι...οἵ...ἐκ θεοῦ eye
νήθησαν.

Compare
1 John v. 18 ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
- 1 πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν γεννήσαντα...
Compare also
John iii, 3 (7) ἐὰν µή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν.
- 5 ἐὰν µή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος.
The aorist and perfect occur together 1 John v. 18; John iii. ς---δ.
See also Gal. iv. 23, 29.
The form of expression is not found in any of the other writers of the
N.T. Yet compare St Paul’s use of γεννᾶν 1 Cor. iv. 15; Philem. 10; and
St Peter’s use of ἀναγεννᾶν, 1 Pet. i 3, 33.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 123

fi, The phraso εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ is connected with a considerable group ii. ‘To be
of similar phrases, εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου (ο. iii. 8), ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ (ili, 12), ἐκ 0 04s
τοῦ κόσμον (ii. 16, note), ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας (ii. 21, note), ἐκ τῆς γῆε (John iii
31, note), ἐκ τῶν κάτω, ἐκ τῶν ἄνω (viii 23). It expresses the ideas of
derivation and dependence, and so of a moral correspondence between the
issue and the source,

(1) The characteristics of him who is thus vitally dependent upon God 9 signs
(1 John v. 19, iv. 4, 6) are expressed both in a positive and in a negative {3 men;
form.

(α) positively:

3 John 11 6 ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν,

John viii. 47 ὁ dy ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκούει,

(β) negatively

1 John iii, 10 was ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

— Iv. 6 ὃς ove ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν.

(2) And corresponding declarations are made with regard to spirits (2) signs
(1 John iv. 1): in epirite.

1 John iv. 2 way πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ ᾿Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλνθότα ἐκ

τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν,
— Απᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν.

Compare

1 John iv. 7 ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν,

John vii. 17 ...περὶ τῆς διδαχῆς πότερον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν.

1 John ii, 16 may τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμφ...οὐκ ἔστω ἐκ τοῦ πατρό»...

Tho noarest parallels in other writings of the N.T. are:

Acta v. 38 f. el ἐκ θεοῦ ἐστίν.

1 Cor. 1. 30 ἐξ αὐτοῦ [τοῦ θεοῦ] ὑμεῖς ἐστὲ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

— αἰ 12 τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

iii, The familiar title τέκνον θεοῦ, which describes the relation established iii. «Child
by the new life, is of rarer occurrence in St John’s writings. of God.’

(1) The power of duly becoming a ‘child of God’ is given by the (1) The
communication of the divine life.

John i. 12 f, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν

als τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, οἳ...ἐκ θεοῦ ἀγεννήθησαν.

(2) The position is realised through the gift of love. (2) The
1 John 1, 1..ιἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ἵνα τέκνα θεοῦ κληθῶμεν... growth

-- 3 νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμέν.

(3) Thus ‘the children of God’ form a distinct body marked by right- (3) The
eousness and love. aigns.

1 John 1Η, 10 ἐν τούτφ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ...

Comp. c. v. 2; John xi. 52.

The idea of τέκνον as it is thus presented by St John includes the two The idea
notions of the presence of the divine principle and the action of human of fohil-
growth. The child is made to share in his Father’s nature (comp. 2 Pet. i.

4), and he uses in progressive advance the powers which he has received.

124

distinct
from that
of ‘sons,’

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

This thought of progress will be traced through the whole picture which
St John draws of the spiritual life. ‘From strength to strength’ is the
Jaw by which it is shaped.

It is therefore easily intelligible why St John never uses the title υἱός,
the name of definite dignity and privilege, to describe the relation of
Christians to God. He regards their position not as the result of an
‘adoption’ (viodecia), but as the result of a new life which advances from
the vital germ to full maturity.

Additional Note on iii. 5. Aspects of the Incarnation.

The phrases which St John uses to describe the Incarnation fall into
different groups corresponding with different aspects of the Fact. In

" regard to the Father, it is a ‘Sending,’ a ‘Mission’ (1). In regard to the

Son, it isa ‘Coming’ (2). In regard to the form, it is in ‘Flesh’ (4). In
regard to men, it is a ‘Manifestation’ (4).

1, The idea of the Mission of Christ, the Son, by the Father is ex-
préssed by two verbs, πέµπω, ἀποστέλλω. The former describes the simple
relation of the Sent to the Sender: the last adds ‘the accessory notions of
aspecial commission and so far of a delegated authority in the. person sent.’

Ἠέμπω is not found in this connexion in the Epistles of 8t John (comp.
Rom. viii. 3 only); and it is used in the Gospel only by the Lord in the
participial form in three phrases ὁ πέµψας µε (αὐτόν), ὁ πέµψας µε πατήρ,
ὁ πατὴρ ὁ πέµψας pe.

Of these phrases the simple 6 πέµψας µε is by far the most common.
It is used in two connexions to express (a) some relation of Christ to Him
‘Who sent Him, and (8) some relation of men to Christ as so sent,

(a) Tobn iv. 34 ἐμὸν Apsua...tva ποιήσω τὸ θέλημα τοῦ π. μ.

— ¥. 30 (ητώ.. τὸ θέληµα τοῦ π.μ.

— τ 38 καταβέβηκα., να ποιῶ...τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πι μ.

— 39 τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ π. μ. ἵνα...μὴ ἀπολέσω...
— vib 16 ἡ ἐμὴ διδαχή...ἐστίν...τοῦ π. µ.

— 26. dm. µ. ἀληθής ἐστιν κἀγὼ ἃ ἧκουσα...λαλᾶ.

— ix, 4 δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ π. µ.

— viii. 29 ὁ π.μ. per? ἐμοῦ ἐστίν.

— Vii 33, xvi. 5 ὑπάγω πρὸς τὸν π. µ.

Comp. vii. 18 ὁ ζητῶν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ π. αὐτὸν ἀληθής ἐστι».

(8) John v. 24 ὁ.. πιστεύων τῷ π. µ.

— αἲἲ 44 ὁ πιστεύων els ἐμό...πιστεύει...εἷς τὸν π. po:

- xiii, 20 ὁ dud λαμβάνων λαμβάνει τὸν πι. μι
— XV. 21 ταῦτα ποιήσουσιν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά µου ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασιν
τὸν π.μ.
Comp. vii, 28 ἔστιν ἀληθωὸς ὁ π. μ. ὃν ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 125

The phrase 6 πέµψας µε πατήρ adds to the notion of ‘sending’ that of ii. ὁ πέµ-
the essential relation which gives authority to the mission. μὴ με πα-
John v. 37 ὁ π. μ. π. ἐκεῖνος µεμαρτύρηκο». e
— [viii. 16 (doubtful reading: comp. viii. 29) µόνος οὐκ elpi, ἀλλ᾽
ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ π. μ.π.]
— vill, 18 μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ ὁ π. µ. π.
— απ, 49 ὁ π.μ. ὠτολὴν δέδωκεν τί εἴπω...
— xiv. 24 ὁ λόγος ὃν ἀκούετε...ἐστίν...τοῦ π. μα
In the phrase ὁ πατὴρ ὁ πέµψας µε the two notions of natural authority i iii. ised
and mission are dwelt on separately. It occurs
John vi. 44 ἐὰν μὴ ὁ π. ὁ π. µ. ἑλκύσῃ αὐτόν,
Comp. v. 23 ὁ μὴ τιμῶν τὸν υἱὸν οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν π. τ. π. αὐτόν.
The use of ἀποστέλλω differs from that of πέµπω by the fact that in 8t(b) The
John (yet see Matt, x. 40; Mark ix. 37; Luke ix. 48, x. 16) it is found only use aay
in the finite forms, ἀπέστειλα, ἀπέσταλκα. λ-
The aorist is by far the most common tense, This is used to describe “Aorist.
the fact of the specific Mission in some particular aspect:
John iii, 17 ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν els τὸν κόσµον...ἴνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος
δι αὐτοῦ.
x. 36 ὃν ὁ πατὴρ ἡγίασεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὸν κόσµον.
1 John iy. 10 [ὁ Oebs] ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἷὼν αὐτοῦ Ἰλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶ»
ἡμών.

arte

Compare
John vi. 57 καθὼς ἀπέστειλέν µε ὁ (Gv πατήρ...
— xvii. 18 καθὼς ἐμὲ ἀπέστειλας els τὸν κόσμον...
— vii 29 wap’ αὐτοῦ εἰμὶ κἀκεῖνός µε ἀπέστειλεν.
— vill, 42 οὐδὲ dn’ ἐμαυτοῦ ἐλήλυθα GAN’ ἐκεῖνός µε ἀπέστειλεν.
And this Mission is presented as the object (a) of recognition (know-
ledge), or (8) of faith:
(a) John xvii. 3 ἵνα γινώσκωσυ...ὸν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.
- 33 ἵνα γινώσκῃ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι σύ µε ἀπέστειλαν.
-- 25 οὗτοι ἔγνωσαν ὅτι σύ µε ἀπέστειλας.
(8) John v. 38 ὅτι ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος τούτῳ ὑμεῖς οὐ πιστεύετε.
— vi 29 τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα πιστεύητε cis ὃν ἀπέστειλεν
ἐκεῖνος.
— xi, 42 ἵνα πιστεύσωσιν ὅτι σύ µε ἀπέστειλαν.
— xvii. 21 ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ µε ἀπέστειλας.
Comp. John iii. 34 ...ἐσφράγισεν ὅτι...ὂν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεό»...
The perfect, which occurs but rarely, describes the Mission in its ii. Perfect,
abiding continuance:
Tohn γ. 36 τὰ ἔργα & ποιῶ μαρτυρεῖ...ὅτι ὁ πατήρ µε ἀπέστελκον.
1 John iv. 9 τὸν νἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῇ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ θεὸς ele τὸν κόσμον
ἵνα ζήσωµεν δὲ αὐτοῦ.
- 14 τεθεάµεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν
σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμον.
John xx. 21 καθὼς ἀπέσταλκέν µε ὁ πατήρ, κἀγὼ πέµπω ὑμᾶς,

126 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

a.Comme. 2. The Coming of Christ, like the Mission, is regarded both as a simple
fact realised historically once for all (JAdov), and as an abiding fact (ὕκω,
ἐλήλυθα). It is also set forth as a present fact being realised at the
moment, and as a future fact of which the fulfilment is potentially begun
(ἔρχομαι)".

@, Aor The simple fact of Christ's Coming is affirmed by St John both in

Ἓλθο, respect of His true Divinity as the Word, and of His true humanity:

Tohn i, 11 εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν [τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν].
1 John v. 6 ὁ ἐλθὼν 8: ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός.
In the discourses of the Lord the fact of His Coming, the fact of the
Incarnation, is connected with the manifold issues which it involved:
John ix. 39 ele κρίµα as els τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον ἵνα οἱ μὴ βλέποντες
ο. «καὶ οἱ βλέποντες....
-- ᾱ. 10 ἐγὰ γλον ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσων καὶ περισσὀν ἔχωσι».
— xii. 47 οὐκ ἦλθον ἵνα κρίνω τὸν κόσμον ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα σώσω τὸν κόσµο».
— αν. 22 εἰ μὴ ἦλθον καὶ ἐλάλησα οὐκ ἂν εἶχον ἁμαρτίαν.
And the Lord bases the truth of His witness on His consciousness of
the fact:
John viii. 14 ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ paprupla µου ὅτι οἶδα πόθεν ἦλθον καὶ ποῦ
ὑπάγω (contrasted with πόθεν ἔρχομαι).

«ξῆλθον. ‘The divine relation implied in this use of ‘came’ is expressed more
distinctly by the verb ‘came forth’ (ἐξῆλθον). This is used in the Lord’s
words with different prepositions (ἐκ, παρά):

John viii. 42 ἐγὼ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω.
— xvi. 28 ἐξῆλθον ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐλήλυθα els τὸν κόσµο».
-- 27 πεπιστεύκατε ὅτι ἐγὼ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον.
— xvii. 8 ἔγνωσαν...ὅτι παρὰ σοῦ ἐξῆλθο».
And it is significant that St John and the disciples use the word with 9
yet different turn of thought (ἀπό):
Tohn xiii, 3 εἰδὼς...ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθεν.
— αγ. 30 πιστεύοµεν ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἀβῆλθες".

(2) Pert, The perfect (ἐλήλυθα) serves to bring out the abiding significance of the

ἀλήλυθα. fact of Christ’s Coming, the necessary effects which it has as distinguished

2 The usage in John i. g ἦν τὸ φῶν ἀλλὰ µάχαιρα». ἆλθον γὰρ διχά-

: It is of interest to compare the τὴν γῆν.
instances of the use of ἦλθον, ἐλήλυθα Matt. xi το || Luke vii. 33 ἦλθεν
in the Synoptic Gospels: (Lk. ἐλήλυθε») ὁ υἱὸτ τοῦ ἀνθρώ-
Matt. v. 17 οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι που ἐσθίων καὶ πίνω».
ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι. —— xx. 28 || Mark x. {6 ὁ vide
— ix. 13 || Mark ii. 17 οὐκ ἤλθον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆ-
καλέσαι δικαίου; ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούν' vat...
Luke v. 32 οὐκ ἐλήλυθα κ. 8. d. Luke xix. 10 ἦλθεν ὁ vids τοῦ ἂν-
4, els μετάνοια». θρώπου ὑητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ

— x. 34 οὐκ ἦλθον βαλεῖν εἰρήνην ἀπολωλός,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. . 127

from its general issues, So St John uses the tense in connexion with the
testing power of Christ revealed as ‘light’ and ‘in flesh’:

John 1Η. 19 τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν els τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι

μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος...

x John iv. 2 πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰ. Χ. ἐν cape) ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ

ἐστίν.

And the Lord thus speaks of the special character of His Coming: ‘
John v. 43 ἐγὼ ἐλήλυθα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρός pov.

— xii 46 ἐγὼ dis eis τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα.

— xviii, 37 ἐλήλυθα els τὸν κόσμον ἵνα µαρτυρήσω τῇ ἀληθείᾳ.

and generally:

John vii. 28 καὶ dm’ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐκ ἐλήλυθα (viii. 42 οὐδὲ ἀπ᾿ ἐμ. ἐλ.).

— xvi. 28 ἐξῇῆλθον ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐλήλνθα els τὸν κόσμον.

‘The verb ἥκω is used in this connexion twice only: xe,

John viii, 42 ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω.

1 John v. 20 6 vids τοῦ θεοῦ ἥκει.

It occurs also in quotations from the uxx. Hebr. x. 7, 9 (Ίκω); Rom. x.

26; Hebr. x. 37 ({ξα); and of the future Coming of Christ; Apoc. ii. 25,
iii. 3.

The present ἔρχομαι occurs to desoribe = Coming realised at the (c) Pres.
moment: ἔρχομαι.

John viii. 14 πόθεν ἔρχομαι (contrasted with πόθεν ᾖλθον),
and as a future fact potentially included in the present:

Jobn xiv. 3 πάλων ἔρχομαι.

- 18, 28 ἔρχομαι πρὸς Ups.
— xxi 22 {. ἕως ἔρχομαι.

2 John 7 of μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰ. Χ. ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί.

Comp. John iii. 31 £. ὁ ἄνωθιν (ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ) ἐρχόμενος,

See also Άροο, i. 7, ii. 6, iii. 11, xxii. 7, 12, 20.

The passages John viii. 14, 42, xvi. 27 { will repay particular study as
illustrating the different forms.

3. The mode of Christ’s Coming is exhaustively set forth in the three 3. Incan-
phrases in which it is connected with ‘flesh’ First there is the fundamental Nation.
statement:

John i. 14 ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετε

‘And then this fact is connected with the past and present :

1 Jobn iv. 2 (ὁμολογεῖν) Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν capel ἐληλυθύτα (έληλυ-

θέναι),
and with the future:

2 John 7 (ὁμολογεῖν) Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν expel,

Tho ‘manifestation’ (φανερωθῆναι) of the Lord is notiood by Bt John 4- Mat
in regard to the great crises in His progressive revelation. Thus it is said "™*™47%-
that He was ‘manifested’ by the Incarnation:

1 John i. 2 ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη.

— ili. 5 ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ.
— 8 ἐφανερώθη ὁ vids τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου.

128 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

and when He was openly presented to the people: -

John i. 31 ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τοῦτο FABov.

Βο also ‘He was manifested’ and ‘He manifested Himself’ in the new
life after the Resurrection :

Tobn xxi. 14 ἐφανερώθη Ἰησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς.

-- 1 ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν Ἰησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς.

and Christians still look for a manifestation in the future :

1 John ii. 28 ἵνα ἐὰν φανερωθῇ σχῶμεν παρρησίαν...ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ aired.

— ih, 2 ἐὰν φανερωθῇ ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα,

Complete. 6 is not necessary to draw out in detail the teaching of these pregnant
ness of the words. They offer the fullest view which man can gain of the Person of the

The tit

- Lord in its absolute unity, truly human and truly divine. St John says both
‘the Word became flesh’ and ‘Jesus Christ came in flesh’; and further he
speaks of ‘Jesus Christ coming in flesh.’ Again he says equally ‘the Life was
manifested,’ ‘the Life which was with the Father, and ‘He [Jesus Christ]
was manifested,’ and ‘the Son of God was manifested.” Now one aspect
of the Lord’s Person, now another is brought forward without change.
There is nothing in the least degree formal in the different statements:
they spring directly out of the immediate context as answering to one
sovereign conception: and when put together they combine to produce
8 final harmony, the fulness of apostolic teaching, upon the central Trath
of the Gospel. The least variation adds something to the completeness
of the idea; and the minute correspondences bring an assurance that
the result which the combivation of the different phrases suggests answers
to the thought of the Apostle which underlay all that he wrote.

Additional Note on iii. 14. Titles of believers.
les ‘The different names which are given to Christians in the Apostolic

of believ- writings offer an instructive atudy of the original conception of the Goapel.

ers in

the The origin of the historic Gentile name ‘Christians’ (Χριστιανοί, comp.

Ber net, Pompeiant) ia noticed in Acts xi, 26; and it is used as familiarly known

by Agrippa (Acts xxvi. 26) and by St Peter (1 Pet. iv. 16; comp. Tac.
Ann. xv. 44). From the time of Ignatius this name, with the correlative
for ‘Christianity’ (Χριστιανισμός), passed into general use (comp. Ign. ad
Magn, 4, 10; ad Rom. 3; Mart. Ῥοΐψο. 10); but it was natural that in
the first age of the Church it should not be used by believers among them-
selves.

Four terms find more or less currency in the N. T. which express
different aspects of the Christian view of the Christian position: ‘the

disciples, disciples’ (οἱ µαθηταΏ, ‘the brethren’ (οἱ ἀδελφοῦ), ‘the saints’ (οἱ ἅγιοι),

‘the believers’ (οἱ πιστοί, οἱ πιστεύοντες). These fall into two pairs, of which

believers, the first pair, ‘disciples, ‘brethren, marks predominantly traits of personal

relationship, and the second pair, ‘saints’ ‘faithful; traits of general
character.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 129

The earliest title is that of ‘the disciples’ This answers to ‘master, 1. The

“teacher’ (διδάσκαλος), and passed from the Jewish schools to the followers disciples.
of Christ during His lifetime, It was used both in a wider sense for all
who attached themselves to Him (John ii. 11 ff. ; vi 61, 66; vii. 3) and aleo
in a narrower sense for ‘the twelve’ (John xiii. 5 ff.). After the Ascension
it is still employed absolutely in the narrative of the Acts to describe
believers generally (vi. 1, 2, 7; ix. 19, 25, 38; xi. 26, 29; xili. 52; xiv. 20,
22, 28; xviii. 23, 27; xix. 9, 30; xx. 1; xxi. 4, 16); and so it is found in
the record of a speech of St Peter (xv. 10) and of a speech of St Paul (xx.
30). The discipleship is once connected with the human teacher (ix. 25 of
μ. αὐτοῦ) and once with the Lord (ix. 19). It is remarkable that in one
place (xix. 1) those who had only received John’s Baptism are spoken of as
disciples, The title does not occur in the Epistles or in the Apocalypse.

It is significant that the first title given to the body of believers after 2- The

the Ascension is ‘the brethren’ (Acts i, 15 true text); and from this time °sthren.
onwards it occurs in all the groups of Apostolic writings. Thus in the Acts
it is found in the narrative: ix. 30; x. 23; xi 29; xiv. 2; xv. 1, 3, 22,32 £,
40; xvi 2, 40; xvii. 10; xviii. 18, 27; xxi. 7,17; xxviii. 14 f.; and once in
the record of St Paul’s words: xv. 36. Twice in the same book it is used
of unconverted Jews: xxii. 5 (St Paul’s words); xxviii. 21. St Paul uses
the title throughout his Epistles: 1 Thess. iv. 10; v. 26 f.; 1 Cor. viii, 12;
xvi. 20; Gal. i. 2; Rom. xvi. 14; Phil. iv. 21; Eph. vi. 23; Col. iv. 15;
1 Tim, iv. 6; 2 Tim. iv. 21, In the writings of St John it occurs: 1 John iii.
14; 3 John 5, 10; John xxi. 23. St Peter uses the abstract term ‘the
brotherhood’ (ἡ ἀδελφότης, 1 Pet. ii 17; v. 9). The singular is not
uncommonly used (eg. Rom. xvi. 23; 1 Cor. vii. 15), and especially with a
personal pronoun, ‘thy brother, ‘his brother’ (eg. Rom. xiv. 10; 1 John
ii. 9 £). Compare ο. ii. 9 note,

‘The general idea of ‘the believers’ is expressed in three different forms δν

which convey shades of difference in the application of the common mean- O¢lievers.
ing: ‘the believers’ (οἱ πιστοί), ‘they that believe’ (οἱ πιστεύοντεν), ‘they
that believed’ (οἱ πιστεύσαντες). The first (οἱ πιστοῦ) is found Acts x. 45
(οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς πιστοῦ} 1 Tim. iv, 12; comp. Eph. i. 1; 1 Tim. iv. 35
1 Pet.i 21. ‘They that believe’ (οἱ πιστεύοντες) occurs: 1 Pet. ii. 7; 1 Thess.
i 7; ii. 10; 1 Cor.i.21; Rom. iii. 22; Βρὴ. . 19. ‘They that believed’
(οἱ πιστεύσαντες) occurs: Acta ii 44; iv. 32; 2 Thess. i 10; Hebr. iv.3.
In the two last phrases the historic reference to the act of belief still
remaing,

The title ‘the saints’ is characteristic of St Paul and of the Apocalypse. 4- The
It occurs four times in the Acts, twice in connexion with St Paul’s conver- *iuts.
sion (Acts ix. 13 τοὺς dyiovs σον; xxvi. 10), and twice in connexion with the
episode of St Peter's visit to Lydda (ix. 32) and Joppa (ix. 41). It is found
also once in St Jude (Jude 3); but not in any other of the Catholic Epistles
(comp. 1 Pet. ii. 5,9). In St Psul it is frequent and distributed throughout
his Epistles: 1 Thess. iii. 13; 2 Thess. i 10; 1 Oor. vi. 1 £.; xiv. 33; xvi. 1,

15; 2 Cor, i. 11 viii. 4; ix. 1, 12; xiii, 12; Rom. xii 13; xv. 25 f., 31;
xvi. 2,15; Phil. i. 1; iv. 22; Eph. i 1, 15, 18; iv. 12; vi 18; Col. i 2, 4,
12, 26; Philem. 5, 7. It is found also in Hebr. vi. 10; xiii. 24. In the

w. 9

130 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Apocalypse it is found: v. 8; viii. 3 f.; xi. 18; xiii. 7, 10: xiv. 12; xvii. 6;
xviii. 20; xix. 8.

General The main differences of conception between the four titles are evident.

relation of Christians stand in the position of learners in the school of their Lord.

the titles. The lesson which they have to learn surpasses all others, But the relation
to the Divine Master is at once embodied in a new relation to fellow-
believers. So the title ‘the disciples’ is soon lost in that of ‘the brethren.’
In the same way the title of “the faithful,’ which corresponds to ‘disciples,’
is far lees common and characteristic than ‘the saints’ (‘the holy’), which
marks the recognised consecration of believers.

‘The titles But while these broad distinctions are obvious, it is not easy to seize

incon- the exact force of the particular titles except that of ‘the faithful’ on each

nerion. ᾿ occasion, or even when they come near together, as ‘disciples’ and
“brethren ;’ Acta xi 29; xviii. 27; xxi. 16 f.: ‘disciples’ and ‘saints;’ Acts
ix. 38, 41: ‘brethren’ and ‘saints;’ 1 Cor. xvi. 15, 20; Rom. xvi. 14 £3
Eph, vi. 18, 23. It seems not unlikely that the title ‘the brethren,’ was
carried over from the ‘ Israel according to the flesh’ to the spiritual Israel,
and was specially used of the Jewish congregations. This view is supported
by Acts xxii. 5; xxviii, 21. But in any case the title was soon extended
more Widely; Acts xv. 1.

Additional note on iii. 16. St John’s conception of love
(ἀγάπη).

1. The verb ἀγαπᾶν occurs throughout Greek literature from Homer
downwards, The noun ἀγάπη belongs to Biblical literature exclusively.
It occurs first in the Lxx, where it is found in 2 Sam. xiii. 15, thirteen
times in Recles. and Cant. and in Jer. ii 2. It is not found in the
Pentateuch; nor is it quoted from Philo or Josephus. The word is used
in all the books of the New Testament except the Gospel of St Mark, Acta,
and the Epistle of St James (in the Synoptic Gospels only Matt. xxiv. 12;
Luke xi. 42). The collateral form ἀγάπησις occurs in the Lxx. and later
Greek writers but not in the New Testament,

The one compound of ἀγαπ- which is recorded is the Homeric ἀγαπήνωρ.

2. The words ἀγαπᾶν, ἀγάπη are used to describe the feeling of

1. God (the Father) for

(1) The Son:

John iii, 35 ὁ πατὴρ dyang τὸν υἱόν.
— %.17 διὰ τοῦτό µε 6 πατὴρ ἀγαπᾷ ὅτι...
— αν. 9 καθὼς ἠγάπησέ µε ὁ πατήρ, κἀγώ...
— — 10 µένω αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ.
-— xvii, 23 ...καθὼς ἐμὲ ἠγάπησας.
— — 34 ἡγάπησάς µε πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.
— = 26 tba ἡ ἀγάπη ἣν ἠγάπησάς µε ἐν αὐτοῖς ᾖ...

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(2) The world:
John iii. 16 οὕτως ἠγάπησεν ὁ beds τὸν κόσμον ὥστε...
(3) Men:
John xiv. 21 ὁ ἀγαπῶν µε ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπὲ τοῦ πατρός µου.
— — 236 πατήρ µου ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν.
— xVvil. 23 ἠγάπησας αὐτοὺς καθὼς ἐμὲ ἠγάπησας.
1 John iv, 10 αὐτὸς [6 θεὸς] ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.
— 1 εἰ οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς...
Comp. Apoc. xx. 9 τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἠγαπημένην.
Φιλεῖν is found in a corresponding connexion in regard to
(1) The Son: .
John v. 20 ὁ πατὴρ φιλεῖ (1]. ἀγαπᾷ) τὸν υἱόν,
(2) Men:
John xvi. 27 ὁ πατὴρ φιλεῖ duds.
IL The Son, for
(1) The Father:
John xiv. 31 ἵνα γνῷ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι ἀγαπῶ τὸν πατέρα.
(2) The disciples:
severally
xi. 5 ἡγάπα δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν Μάρθαν...
xiii. 23; xix. 26; xxi. 7, 20 (els τῶν μαθητῶν) ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς.
xiv. 21 ἐγὼ ἀγαπήσω αὐτόν...
Άρος ili. 9 ὅτι ἐγὼ ἠγάπησά σε,
generally

xiii 1 ἀγαπήσας τοὺς ἰδίους τοὺς ἐν τῷ κόσµφ ele τέλος ἠγάπησεν
αὐτούς.
aii. 345 xv. 9, 12 ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς. µείνατε...
(—, 9 µείνατε ἐν τῇ pg]?
— 10 μενεῖτε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ µου καθώς...
Apoc. i 6 τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς.
Compare the uso of φιλεῖν for the foeling of Christ towards men severally.
John xi. 3 ἴδε bv φιλεῖς ἀσθενεῖ,
— — 36 Be πῶς ἐφίλει αὐτόν.
— Xx. 2 μαθητὴς ὃν ἐφίλει ὁ Ἰησοῦς.
Άροο. iii, 19 ἐγὼ ὅσους ἐὰν φιλῶ, ἐλέγχω.
TIL. Men for
(1) God (the Father) :
John τ. 42 τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς.
1 John ii, 15 οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ.
— iv. 10 οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν.
— —20f. day τις εἴπῃ ὅτι Αγαπώ τὸν θεόν.
— Vv. I mas ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν γωνήσαντα...
——2...drav τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπῶμεν.

9--2

131

132 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(2) Christ:
John viii, 42 el 6 Beds πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἦν ἠγαπᾶτε ἂν ἐμέ.
-- xiv. 15 ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ pe...
— — 21.. ἐκεῖνός ἐστι ὁ ἀγαπῶν µε" ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν pe...
— — 23 ἑάντις ἀγαπᾷ µε...
— — 246 μὴ ἀγαπῶν µε...
— -- 28 εἰ ἡγαπᾶτέ µε ἐχάρητε ἄν...
[— xv. 9 µείνατε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ dup _
— xxi 15 {. Σίµων Ἰωάνου ἀγαπᾷς µε...
(3) The brethren:
John xili. 34; xv. 17 (ἐντολήν) ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλου».
στ στ 3. μεέὰν ἀγάπην ἔχητε ἐν ἀλλήλοις.
στ. αν. 12 ἵνα ἀγακᾶτε ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἠγάπησα ἡμᾶς.
1 John ii. 10; iv. 21 6 ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφόν...
— fii. 10, 14; iv. 206 μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφόν.
— ασ, 23; iv. 7, 113 2 John 5 (éyyeaie) ba ἀγαπῶμεν
ἀλλήλους.
— —14...drt ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς.
— v1 οι ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τὸν γεγεννημένον ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
— —2 ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ.
2 John 1 οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ.
3 John 1 ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ.
(4) Life:
ρου. xii. 11 οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου.
(5) Evil (darkness):
Tohn iii. 19 ἠγάπησαν...μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς,
— xii. 43 ἠγάπησαν τὴν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων...
1 John ii 15 μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσµον μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσµφ' dia τις
ἀγαπῇ τὸν κόσμον...
So φιλεῖν is used of the feeling of men for
(1) Ohrist:
Sohn xvi. 27 ὑμεῖς ἐμὲ πεφιλήκατε,
— xxi. 15 ff. σὺ οἶδας (γινώσκεις) ὅτι $25 or.
— — α7φιλες µε;
Comp. 1 Cor. xvi. 22 εἴ τις οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν κύριον.
(2) Life:
John xii. 25 ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχήν.
(3) Keil:
Apoc. xxii. 15 ὁ φιλῶν...ψεῦδος.
Comp. John xv. 19 ὁ κόσμος ἂν τὸ ἴδιον ἐφίλει.
Φιλεῖν ia not used by St John of the feeling of man for the Father or for
man (Matt. x. 27; Tit. iii. 15).
Φιλία occurs only James iv. 4 ἡ φιλία τοῦ κόσμον ἔχθρα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

3. The words ἀγαπᾶν, ἀγάπη are also used absolutely.

α Toh il Xora ἀγόπην ῥέδωκον Hu 8 tebe.
— = 16 ἐν τούτφ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην..
— —18 μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ...
— iv. 7 ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν.
— id wis ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
— — 86 ph ἀγαπῶν οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν θεόν.
— td, 16 ὁ beds ἀγάπη ἑστίν,
— —10 ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι...
— = 16 ὁ µένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ.
στι =17 ἐν τοὐτφτετελείωται ἡ ἀγάτη μεθ ἡμῶν, ἵνα
— --- 18 φόβος οὐκ ἕστω ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ.
— = idk ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη ἔξω βάλει τὸν φόβο».
— 8d. ὁ φοβούμενος οὐ τετελείωται ἐν τῷ ἀγάπῃ.
— στ 19 ἡμεῖς ἀγαπώμῳ, ὅτι...

3 John 3 ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ.
— ὅ αὕτῃ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἵνα...

3 John 6 ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ.

4 From a consideration of these passages it will be seen that ἀγαπᾶν,
ἀγάπη are an expression of character, determined, as we are forced to
conceive of things, by will, and not of spontaneous, natural emotion.

In this sense ‘love’ is the willing communication to others of that which
we have and are; and the exact opposite of that passion which is the
desire of personal ‘appropriation (ἐρᾶν, ἔρως).

5. God Himself is love. The creation and preservation of the world
are in easence a continuous manifestation of His love; but, as things are,
His love is characteristically made known through redemption, that is
the consummation of the divine counsel of creation in spite of the intrusion
of sin (1 John iii, 16 ; iv. 9). So it is that the revelation of the divine love
is referred to an absolute (eternal) moment (ἠγάπησας, ἠγάπησεν) both
in relation to the Son and also to the world and to men.

6, At the same time God who is love is also the source of love
(1 John iv. 7). He endows believers with love (1 John iii. 1, 16 £.; iv. 9, 12,
16; 2 John 6); and this love becomes in them a fountain of moral energy,
issuing necessarily in self-sacrifice (John xv. 13; 1 John iii. 16).

On the other hand the love of evil is so far moral suicide,

7. It is of interest to notice that ‘love’ is connected by St Paul with
each Person of the Holy Trinity :

ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ' 2 Thess, iii. 5 ; 2 Cor. xifi. 13; Rom. v. 5 ; (Eph. if. 4).

ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ χριστοῦ" 2 Cor. v. 14; Rom. viii. 35; Eph. iii. 19.

ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πνεύματος Rom. xv. 30.

In each case the thought appears to be of the love of which God is the
source rather than the object. But the love of God in man becomes
in him a spring of love. On the idea of ‘the love of God’ see ο, ii, 5 note.

133

134

i, Flesh
(σάρθ).

Use of
‘flesh’ in
Telation to
Christ.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Additional Note on iii. 19. The nature of man.

St John does not, like St Paul, give any definite analysis of the consti-
tution or of the spiritual experience of man. But he recognises the same
elements in human nature. Like St Paul, he distinguishes ‘the flesh,’
“the soul; ‘the spirit,’ ‘the heart.’ But it is worthy of notice that the
characteristic intellectual faculties are rarely noticed by him. ‘Under-
standing’ (διάνοια) occurs only once in the most remarkable passage 1 John
v.20; and ‘mind’ (νοῦς) is found only in the Apocalypse (xiii. 18 ; xvii. 9).
‘Conscience’ (συνείδησις) is nowhere mentioned by St John (contrast
[John] viii. 8). In St Paul these words are not unfrequent. ForSt John’s
use of γινώσκειν 9969 ο. ii, 3 note.

The term ‘flésh’ (σάρξ) describes the element with the characteristics
of the element (comp. 1 Cor. xv. 39). It includes all that belongs to the
life of sensation, all by which we are open to the physical influences of
pleasure and pain, which naturally sway our actions.

As applied to human nature ‘flesh’ describes humanity so far as it
is limited and defined by earthly conditions. In ‘flesh’ lies the point of
connexion between man and the lower world. Through flesh come the
temptations which belong to sense.

‘The word is used of mankind (as in O. Τ.) Jobn xvii. 2 (πᾶσα σάρθ) to
describe them under the aspect of earthly transitoriness,

‘Flesh’ is contrasted with ‘spirit,’ not as evil with good, but as the
ruling element of one order with the ruling element of another : John iii.
6; vi 63,

By ‘flesh’ we are united to earth; and by ‘spirit’ to heaven.

‘The will of the flesh’ (John i. 13) is the determination which belongs
to the earthly powers of man as such,

‘The desire of the flesh’ (1 John ii. 16) is the desire which, as it springs
out of man’s present earthly constitution, is confined within the earthly
sphere and rises no higher.

‘Judgment after the flesh’ (John viii. 15) is external, superficial,
limited by what catches the senses (comp. 2 Cor. v. 16).

Thus the idea of evil attaches to the flesh not in virtue of what it is
essentially, bnt from the undue preponderance which is given to it, The
flesh serves for the manifestation of character. It ministers to other powers.
It becomes evil when it is made supreme or dominates. It does not
include the idea of sinfulness, but it describes human personality on the
side which tends to sin, and on which we actually have sinned.

The essential conception of odpé is seen in its application to Christ

(1) in His Person :

John i. 14 ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο.

1 John iv, 2 ἐληλνθὼς ἐν σαρκί,

.2-John 7 ἐρχόμενος ἐν σαρκί,
Compare 1 Tim. iii, 16 ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί.
Col. i. 22 τὸ σῶμα τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 135

And
(2) in His Work :
Tohn vi. 51 ἡ σάρε µου ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσµον Cafe.
— 58 φαγεῖν τὴν σάρκα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πιεῖν αὐτοῦ τὸ
αἷμα,

— 56 ὁ τρώγων µου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων pou τὸ αἷμα.

In these passages ‘flesh’ is seen to describe the element of Christ’s
perfect humanity

It may be added that while σώμα is found in St John (John ii. 211 xx.

12, &c.), it is never used metaphorically, and it does not occur in the
epistles (Apoc. xviii. 13= =mancipiorurm), In the Apocalypse odpé is found
only in the plural.

The senze of the word represented by ‘soul,’ ‘life’ (ψυχή) is often ii. Sout
obscure in other apostolic writers from the complex nature of the living ‘life’
man; but in St John it is used only for the persoual principle of our (ψυχή).
present earthly life, the vital energy of the edpé (yet notice John x. 24).

It is used

(1) of men generally :

Jobn xii. 25 (comp. Luke xiv. 26 ; xvii. 33).

— xii, 37 {. τιθέναι τὴν ψυχήν.
— xv. 13 id; I John iii, 16 id. ; 3 John 2.

And

(2) of Obrist :

John xii. 27; x. 11, 15, 17 τὴν Ψ. τιθέναι.

1 John iii. 16 id.

With the phrase τιθέναι τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπέρ (x. 11, 15; comp. Matt. xx, 28)
must be contrasted (δοῦναι) τὴν σάρκα ὑπέρ (vi. 51).

In the Apocalypse ψυχή is used in the most unusual sense of disem-
bodied ‘souls’; vi. 95 xx. 4.

While the ‘soul’ (ψυχή) expresses the sum of man’s present vital iii, Spirit
powers, the ‘spirit’ (πνεῦμα) describes the quickening element which (πνεῦμα).
belongs to a heavenly sphere (comp. Rom. viii. 10) as the flesh describes the
earthly element: John iii. 6 (5); vi. 63.

It is used of the Lord: John xiii. 21 (comp. xii. 27); xi. 33.

Compare the phrases ‘to become in spirit, ‘in spirit,’ found in the
Apocalypse: i 10 (ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι); iv. 2 (id); xvii. 13 (ἐν πνεύµατι);

xxi, 10 (4).

The sense the ‘breath of life’ is wholly distinct: John xix. 30 (comp.
Matt. xxvii. 50; Lk. viii. 55); Apoe, xi. 11 (πνεῦμα ζωῆς); xiii, 15 (δοῦναι πν.
τῇ εἰκόνι).

The seat of individual character, of personal feeling and moral determi- iy, ‘Heart’

nation, is the ‘heart’ (καρδία). The elements already considered are (καρδία).
morally colourless in themselves, they are generic and not individual.
‘The mention of the heart is comparatively rare in St John, But he shews
that it is the seat of sorrow (John xvi. 6), of joy (xvi. 22), of distress gene-
rally (xiv. 1, 27), and also of purpose (xiii. 3), and spiritual discernment
(xii. 40, uxx.).

136

Thenames

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

The most remarkable passage in which he describes the office of the
heart is in r John iii. 19—21. In this the heart appears as
the whole conscious moral nature of man. The heart in fact includes the
conscience, and covers the whole range of life. It takes account not only of
the abstract rule but of all the personal circumstances which go to charao-
terise action.

Compare Apoc. ii. 23; xvii. 17; απ]. 7.

Additional Note on iii. 23. The Names of the Lord.

Something has been already said on the use of the Divine Names in the
Epistles of St John (Additional Note on i. 2). It is however of deep
interest to study in detail the exact relation of the several Names of the
Lord to the contexts in which they occur. Such an inquiry will leave,
I believe, a strong conviction in the mind of the student that each Name is
perfectly fitted to present that aspect of the Lord’s Person which is domi-
nant at the particular point in the Apostle’s exposition of the Truth.

Here, as elsewhere in the Bible, the Name has two distinct and yet
closely connected meanings. It may express the revelation of the Divino
Being given by a special title; or the whole sum of the manifold revela-
tions gathered up together so as to form one supreme revelation. It is
used in the latter sense in regard to the revelation of God in Christ in
3 John 7 ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος, where τὸ ὄνομα, ‘the Name’ absolutely, includes
the essential elements of the Christian Creed, the complete revelation of
Christ’s Person and Work in relation to God and man (comp, Acts v. 415
John xx. 31). In ii 12 διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ the term is more limited. The
Person Who is present to St John through the paragraph is Christ as Ho
lived on earth and gave Himself for those whom He called brethren (ii. 6;
comp. Hebr. ii. 11 ff). In iii 23, v. 13 the exact sense of ‘the Name’ is
defined by the words which follow.

From the Name thus generally referred to or defined we pass to the
actual Names used. The full title His Son Jesus Christ (6 υἱὸς αὐτοῦ
Ἰησοῦς Χριστός) is found i. 3, ili. 23, v. 20. The divine antecedent is
differently described in the three cases, and this difference alightly colours
the phrase. In i. 3 it is ‘the Father’ (compare 2 John 3 παρὰ θεοῦ πατρός,
καὶ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ sarpés); in iti, 23, ‘God’; and in τ. 20,
‘He that is true’ Thus in the three cases the Sonship of Jesus Christ is
regarded in relation to God as the Father, to God as God, and to God as
perfectly satisfying the divine ideal which man is able to form. Bearing
these secondary differences in mind we see that the whole phrase includes
the two elements of the confession, or the two confessions, which St John
brings into prominence: ‘Jesus [Christ] is the Son of God’ (iv. 15, v. 5);
and ‘Jesus is the Christ’ (v. 1; comp. ii 22). It is in other words ‘the
Name’ written out at length.
ἑ- ita of this compressed phrase are all used separately by

it John :

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 137

(1) Jesus: Jesus,
fi, 22 6 ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ χριστός.
v.16 πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστὶν ὁ χριστό».
iv. 3 ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦ».

In these passages it is obvious that the central thought is of the Lord in
His perfect, historical, humanity. The use of the definite article in the last
‘example probably conveys a reference to 2. 2.

(2) Christ: Christ,

2 John 9 ἡ διδαχὴ τοῦ χριστοῦ.

The title seems to point back to the long preparation under the Old
Covenant which checks impatience (προάγων) under the New.

(3) Jesus Christ: Jesus

fi, 1 παράκλητον ἔχομεν...ησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον. Christ,
V.66 Addy δι ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός.
3 John 7 οἱ μὴ ὁμολ. Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί.

Here the idea of the Messianic position of the Lord is no less important
for the full sense than that of His true humanity.

In iv. 15 ὅτι Ἰησοῦς [Χριστός] ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ the reading is doubt-
ful. The adoption of Χριστός adds to the completeness of the thought.

For the clause iv, 2 ὁμολ. Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ dd. see note, In
spite of the close verbal parallel of these words with 2 John 7 the use of
"Inoots Χριστός here seems to be differentiated from the sense there by
ἐληλυθότα as contrasted with ἐρχόμενον.

(4) the Son: the Son,
fi, 22 ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν.
—23 6 ἀρν. τὸν υἱὸν σὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει.
— 23 ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει.
— 24 ἐν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ peveire.
iv. 14 ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν uly.
¥. 12 ὁ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει τὴν ζωήν.
In all these cases the central thought is that of the absolute relation of
sonship to fatherhood. The argument turns upon essential conceptions of
son and father. Comp. John v. 19 note,
(5) the Son of God: the Son
iil. 8 ἐφανερώθη ὁ vlds τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβύλον, of God,
¥. 106 πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ.
— 12 ὁ μὴ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ.
— 13 τοῖς mor, als τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.
— 20 οἴδαμεν ὅτι ὁ vids τοῦ θεοῦ iret,
With these passages must be compared
iv. 10 ἀπέστ. τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ,
¥. 9 ff. ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ,
where the immediate antecedent is ὁ θεός. In all these cases the idea of

138

Jesus His
Bon,

His Son,
His only
Son,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Christ’s divine dignity is equally prominent with that of sonship in relation
to a father.

Compare also v. 18 6 γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ,
(6) Jesus His (God's) Son:
1 7 τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.
The double title brings out the two truths that ‘the blood’ of Christ
can be made available for men and is efficacious.
(7) His (God’s) Son, His only Son:
iv. 9 τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ.
Tho uniqueness of the gift is the manifestation of love.
In connexion with these titles it must be added that the title ‘the Son’
in various forms is eminently characteristic of the first and second Epistles,

in which it occurs 24 (or 25) times (22 or 23 +2), more times than in all the
Epistles of St Paul.

It is remarkable that the title ‘Lord’ (κύριος) is not found in the
Bpistles (not 2 John 3). It occurs in the narrative of the Gospel and is
frequent in the Apocalypse. It occurs also in all the other epistles of the
N. T. except that to Titus,

The absence of the title may perhaps be explained by the general view
of the relation of Christ to the believer which is given in the Epistles.
The central thought is that of fellowship. For the same reason the con-
ception of external organization is also wanting in the Epistle.

17.1]
Iv.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

139

VAyarntol, μὴ παντὶ πνεύµατι πιστεύετε,

ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν,

IV. ΤΠΕ ΒΙνΑΙ ΒΡΙΗΙΤΕ oy TRvTH
anp ΕΕΔΟΣ (iv. 1—6).

This section is closely connected
both with what precedes and with
what follows; and corresponds with
the first section of this great division
of the Epistle: if, 18-29. It contains
three main thoughts:

1 There are many spiritual in-
Suences at work (ο. 1).

2 The test of spirits lies in the
witness to the incarnation (00. 2, 3).

3 The test of men lies in the
recognition of the Truth (vv. 4, 5).

The progress of thought is parallel
to that in fi, 18—z9 (966 p. 67), but
the argument of St John has passed
to a new stage. There his teaching
was centred in the Messiahship, the
Sonship of Jesus: here in the In-
carnation of Jesus Christ. There he
insisted on the original message of the
Gospel: here he appears to regard
the fuller interpretation of the mes-
sage. This section in fact presents
the conflict of the Faith with its
counterfeits in the last form, as a con-
flict of spiritual powers, unseen and
real.

false ? stand
in a relation towards the Spirit like
that which the ‘many Antichrists’ oc-
eupy towards Christ (ii. 18). Through
them evil spiritual powers find ex-
Leenks Spirits therefore must be

Priaiceed, balisce not every spirit,
but prove the spirits, whether they
are of God; because many false
prophets are gone out into the world,

1, Δ΄ Comp. ii 7 note, The
existence of a subtle spiritual danger
calls out the tenderness of love.

1) παντὶ αν. mor.) nolite omni

iritui credere V., believe not every
spirit. The mention of a spirit as the
characteristic endowment of Christ-
ians leads to a definition of true and
falso spirits. There are many spiritual
powers active among men, and our
first impulse is to believe and to obey
them. They evidently represent that
which is not of sight, But some of
these are evil influences belonging to
the unseen order. They come to us
under specious forms of ambition,
power, honour, knowledge, as distin
guished from earthly sensual enjoy-
menta All such spirits are partial
revelations of the one spirit of evil
which become (so to speak) embodied
in men.

Comp. Doctr, App. 11 οὐ πᾶς ὁ
λαλῶν ἐν πνεύµατι προφήτης ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽
ἐὰν ἔχῃ τοὺς τρόπους κυρίου.

δοκιμάζετετὰ nv. probate spiritusV.,
prove the spirits, Aswe are charged
to ‘prove’ the season (Luke xii. 56),
ourselves (1 Cor, xi.28; 2 Cor. xifi. 5),
what is the will of God (Rom. xii. 2;
Eph. ν. 10), our work rk (Gal vi. 4), our
fellow-workers (2 Cor. viii. 8, 22; 1
Cor. xvi. 3; 1 Tim. iii 1ο), all things
(1 Thess, v. 21, notice oe. 19, 20), 80
we are charged to ‘prove the spirit’
Elsewhere the discrimination of spirits
is referred to a special gift (1 Cor. xii.
10 διακρίσεις πνευμάτων). Here how-
ever the injunction to ‘prove’ them
is given to all Christians. Comp. ii
20, Man maintains his su-

and responsibility in the pre-

sence of these powers: 1 Cor. xiv. 32.
εἰ ἐκ τοῦ 6. ἐστίν] whether they are

& God, whether they derive from Him
their characteristic being and their

er,

For εἶναι ἐκ see ii, 16 note; and for
Borys. εἰ compare 2 Cor. xiii. 5; Mk.
iii. 2; Lk. xiv. 28, 31 (Matt. xii, 10
parallels).

140

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[Iv. 2

ὅτι πολλοὺὶ γευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν

κόσμον.

"Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα

4 γινώσκετε ΝΡΑΒΟ me the syrhl: γιώσκεται vg syrvg: γινώσκοµεν Ν'.

ὅτι π. Ψευδ....] Such watchful care
is required because many false pro-
phets, through whom the false spirits
speak, as the Spirit speaks through
the true prophets (2 Pet. i. 21, ii, 1),
are gone out into the world. ‘The
spirit of antichrist’ inspiresthem. So
“false Christa’ and ‘false prophets”
are joined together (Matt. xxiv. 24).

The use of the term ψευδοπροφήτης
in the Ν. Τ. is suggestive. It is ap-
plied to the rivals of the true prophets
under the old dispensation (Luke vi.
26; 2 Pet. ii. 1); and to the rivals of
the apostles under the new dispensa-
tion (Matt. vii. τς, xxiv. 11, 23f || Mk.
xiii, 22 ; Acts xiii. 6); and especially,
in the ‘Apocalypse, to the embodied
power of spiritual falsehood (Apoc. xvi.
13, xix. 20, xx. 10). The false-prophet
is not only a false-teacher (2 Pet. ii 1
ψευδοπροφῆται, ψευδοδιδάσκαλοι) but a
false-teacher who supports his claims
by manifestations of spiritual power
(Matt. xxiv. 24 δώσουσιν σημεῖα peydda
καὶ τέρατα; Acts xiii, 6 ἄνδρα rod
µάγον; Apoc. xix. 20 6 ποιήσας τὰ

σημεῖα

ἐξεληλύθασω] exierunt V. (prodie-
runt F.), are gone out on a mission of
evil from their dark home. The tense,
as contrasted with ii. 19, 2 John 7,
ἐξῆλθαν, expresses the continuance of
their agency as distinguished from
the single fact of their departure.
Comp. John viii. 42, xiii. 3, xvi. 27 &c.

εἰς τὸν κόσμον] into the world asthe
scene of their activity. John iii. 17,
ix, 39, x. 36 &e,

The words evidently refer to ex-
ternal circumstances vividly present
to St John’s mind. They point, as it
appears, to the great outbreak of the
Gentile peendo-Christianity which is
vaguely spoken of as Gnosticism, the

. orera) Vi,

endeavour to separate the ‘ideas’ of
the Faith from the facts of the his-
toric Redemption,

2 The test of spirits lies in the
witness of the Incarnation (2, 3).

2,3. The test of the presence of
the Divine Spirit is the confession of
the Incarnation, or, more exactly, of
the Incarnate Saviour. The
centres in a Person and not in any
truth, even the greatest, about the
Person, The Incarnate Saviour is
the pledge of the complete redemption
and perfection of man, of the restora-
tion of ‘the body’ to its proper place
as the perfect organ of the spirit.
Hence the Divine Spirit must bear
witness to Him. The test of spirits
is found in the confession of a fact
which vindicates the fulness of life.
The test of antichrist was found in
the confession of a spiritual truth (ii.
22f).

*In thie ye know the Spirit of God;
every spirit which confesseth Jesus
Christ come in flesh is of God ; sand
every spirit which confesseth not
Sosus is not of God. And this is the
spirit (revelation) of Antichrist where-
Of ye heard that it cometh ; and now
ta tt in the world already.

2. Ἐν τούτφ] In hoc π (Hine Ε.,
Hereby. The idea of the process of
testing passes directly into that of the
teat itself.

γωώσκετε] cognoscitur (1.6. γινώ-
ye know, ie, perceive,
recognise the presence of. The Vul-
gate rendering is evidently derived
from s common itacism (-αι for -ε) and
may be dismissed at once. Through-
out the Epistle St John speaks per-
sonally (106 know, ye know), and not
in an abstract form (it is known). It
is more difficult to decide whether γι-

Iv. 3]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

141

τοῦ θεοῦ: πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν.
σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν, *kai πᾶν πνεῦμα

αν Σ»: SLC.
»ώσκετε is indic. (ye know), or imper.
(know ye). In every other place in
the Epistle ἐν τούτῳ is joined with
direct statement, On the other hand
it is always elsewhere used with the
first person in combination with γι-
Ῥώσκω (ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκοµεν, ἐγνώ-
καμεν). The change of person may
therefore be connected with a change
of mood ; and in this case the impera-
tive carries on the charge believe not,
‘prove. Compare John xv. 18. So far
there is nothing in usage to determine
the question; but on the whole it
seems more likely that St John would
appeal to the results of actual ex-
perience which had been hitherto de-
cisive (ye discern, recognise) than
seem to enjoin a new and untried
rule (discern, recognise). Comp. 0. 4.
τὸ πν. τοῦ 6. the Spirit of God, the
one Holy Spirit who reveals Himself
in many ways and in many parts. He
must be recognised as the inspirer of
all who speak from God; and all that
is truly spoken is from Him,

In σ. 13 8t John speaks of ‘His
Spirit’ (1.9. of God), and ino. v. 6,8
of ‘the Spirit,’ but, as has been noticed,
the title ‘the Holy Spirit’ is not found
in the Epistles or in the Apocalypse.
Comp. σ. 6.

nay αν. ὃ...] every spirit which...
There is an endless variety in the
operations of the Spirit (1 Cor. xii. 4).
These appear to find cha-
racteristic organs in ‘spirits’ which
are capable of acting on man’s spirit.
Comp. 1 Cor. xii, 10; xiv. 12, 32;
Hobe, i 14 (xii. 9, 23), a Pet. iii. 19)
a ἑπτὰ wv. Apoc. i

‘and boldly acknowledges the
Person of the Incarnate Saviour and
not only the fact of the Incarnation.

ἐληλυθότα NAC: ἐληλυθόναι B (16).

Comp. ii. 23 note. The question
here is not of inner faith, but of out-
ward confession. Faith, if it is real,
must declare itself, Active love must
be connected with a distinct recogni-
tion of its source. Ergo, Augustine
says, followed by Bede, ipse est epiri-
tus Dei qui dicit Jesum in carne ve-
nisse ; qui non dicit lingua sed factis ;
qui dicit non sonando sed amando.

Ἰ Χ. ἐνσ. ἐλ.] The construction of
these words is not quite οἶθατ. Three
ways of taking them are possible. (1)
The direct object may be Ἰησοῦν and
χριστὸν é σ. &. 8 secondary predi-
cate: ‘confesseth Jesus as Christ and
a Christ come in fiesh’; (2) The direct
object may be Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν and ἐν
σ. ἐλ. a secondary predicate: ‘con-
fesseth Jesus Christ, Him whoisknown
by this full name, as come in flesh,’
(3) The whole phrase may form a com-
pound direct object : ‘confesseth Him,
whose nature and work is described
by the phrase, ‘Jesus Christ come in
flesh’’ ‘The corresponding clause in
ο. 3 "Incovy which gives the person
and not any statement about the per-
son as the object of confession is in
favour of the last view.

ἐληλυθύτα] The construction with
the participle gives a different thought
from that with the infinitive (έληλν-
θέναιλ. It does not express the ac-
knowledgment of the truth of the fact
but the acknowledgment of One in
whom this fact is falfilled and of whom
it is predicated. Comp. 2 John 7 (ὁμολ.
ἐρχόμενονλ. For the sense of ἔρχεσθαι
see ο v. 6 note,

ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλ.] come in flesh, mani-
feated under this special form. The
order (ἐν σαρκὶ ἐλ.) and the tense of
the verb (ἐληλ.) lay emphasis on the
mode rather than on the fact of
Christ’s coming. ‘The Word became

142

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{IV. 3

ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν' καὶ

8 ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ: 8 Ader vg. See Additional Note.

Tr ἂν (vg) (others read τὸν Iv ἄν).
vg me the.

flesh’ (i. 14); and that not tempo-
rarily, but eo that He is still coming
in it (2 John 7). The Christ ‘who
should come’ came, and coming in
this way fulfilled and still fulfils the
promises of the past. For the confes-
sion is not only of One who ‘came’
(ἐλθόντα) but of One who ‘is come’
(Cproséra) whose ‘coming’ is an
ding fact. And yet further Ho
an ‘in flesh,’ as revealing the nature
of His mission in this form, and not
only ‘into flesh’ (εἰς σάρκα), a8 simply
entering on such a form of being.

ἐκ τοῦ 6. ἐ.] Comp. 1 Cor. xii. 3;
and Additional Note on iii. 1.

3. καὶ πᾶν πν.] The negative state-
ment is here directly joined to the
positive. In ii. 23 the positive and
negative statements are placed in
simple parallelism.

ὃ μὴ ὁμ. τὸν Ἰ] The substance of
the confession which has been given
in detail in the former verse is gather-
ed up in the single human name of
the Lord. To ‘confess Jesus, which
in the connexion can only mean to
confess ‘Jesus as Lord’ (1 Cor, xii. 3,
Rom. x. 9), is to recognise divine
sovereignty in One Who is traly man,
or, in other words, to recognise the
union of the divine and human in one
Person, a trath which finds its only
adequate expression in the fact of the
Incarnation.

The very ancient reading & Ave: τὸν
ησοῦν (gui solvit Jesum V., qui
destruit Lefr.: see Additional Note)
expresses this view more directly.
‘The meaning which it is designed to
convey must be ‘which separates the
divine from the human, which divides
the one divine-human Person.’ But
it may well be doubted whether

τὸν Tv AB (vg) me αντε;

+6 σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα & ayrr (lat): om. AB

"Ingots would be used in this compre-
hensive sense, In Scripture ‘Jesus’
always emphasises the humanity of
the Lord considered in itself, The
thought would be conveyed by ὁ Ave
ησοῦν Χριστόν or even by ὁ λύει τὸν
χριστόν. Tt seems likely that the
verb was transferred to this context
from some traditional saying of St
John in which it was applied to false
teachers, such as οἱ λύοντες τὸν χρι-
στόν, or the like, The words of Poly-
carp which appear only indirectly, and
yet certainly, to refer to the phrase
in the Epistle indicate that St John
dwelt upon the thought in various
aspecta: was γὰρ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ Ἰη-

ν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθέναι ἀντί-
αριστών ἐστι, καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ τὸ
μαρτύριον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου
ἐστί (ad Phil. ο. vii.).

ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ] The use of µή marks
the character of the spirit which leads
to the denial (‘such that it confesseth
not’) as distinguished from the simple
fact of the failure to confess (8 οὐχ

fi: ο. 6 ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν).
τὸν Ἰ.] Comp. i.7 note. For tho use
of this simple human name of the Lord
in similar connexions see Rom. iii. 26;
(x. 9;) 2 Cor, xi. 4; Eph. iv. 21; Phil,
ii, 10; Hebr. ii.9 note. Comp. 2 Cor.
iv. tof.

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔ] The denial of
the Incarnation is in fact the denial
of that which is characteristic of
the Christian Faith, the true union of
God and man (comp. ii, 22ff). By
this form of statement (as distin-
guished from ‘is of the devil,’ or the
like) St John meets the specious
claims of the false prophets: such a
spirit, whatever appearances may be,
is not of God.

Iv. 4]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

143

- ar 3 , wg
τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχε-

1 ~ oe ἐστὶν abi
ται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσµῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.

ὅτι ἀκηκ. Re

3 dene.

The antagonists regarded here are
not mere unbelievers but those who
knowing Christianity fashion it into a
shape of their own.

Augustine (ad Joc.) remarks cha-
racteristically that the denial of the
Incarnation is the eign of the absence
of love: Caritas illum adduxit ad car-
nem. Quisquis ergo non habet cari-
tatem negat Christum in carne venisse,
And 80 he goes on to interpret ‘solvit?
of the spirit of the schismatic: Mle
venit colligere, tu venis solvere. Dis-
tringere vis membra Christi, Quo-
modo non negas Christum in carne
venisse qui disrampis Ecclesiam Dei
quam Ile congregavit ?

It is of interest to notice the two
negative signs which St John gives of
‘not being of God’ Τη ο, iii. 10 he
writes was ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ
ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ: here πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ
μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ
Zor. In the case of men the proof
of the absence of the divine connexion
is found in the want of active righte-
ousness: in the case of spirita in the
failure to confess the Incarnation.
The two testa exactly correspond to
one another in the two spheres to
which they severally belong. The
confession of the Incarnation embodied
in life must produce the effort after
righteousness which finds its absolute
spiritual support in the belief in the
Incarnation.

καὶ τοῦτο...] οἱ hic est antichristus
quod audistis V., hoc est illius anti-
christi quod aud. F., ‘and this whole
manifestation of false, ungodly, spiri-
tual powers és the manifestation of
antichrist, whereof (3 not ὄν) ye have
heard...’ The omission of πνεῦμα in
the phrase τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου gives
greater breadth to the thought, so
that the words include the many

'γμεῖς

spirits, the many forces, which reveal
the action of antichrist.

τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου] The spiritual in-
fluence is not only negatively ‘not of
God’: it is positively ‘of antichrist”

ἀκηκόατε] Compare καθὼς ἠκούσατε
ii, 18, The difference in tense places
the two warnings in a somewhat dif-
ferent relation to the hearers, For
the perfect see ο. i. 1, 3, 5; for the
aorist, ii 7, 18, 24, iii. 11; 2 John 6.

ἔρχεται] The same word is used of
the advent of the power of evil as of
the advent of the Lord. Comp. if 18;
v. 6, notes.

καὶ νῦν...ἤδη] 6ὲ nunc jam V., and
now...already. Forthe position of ἤδη
see John ix. 27 (not,iv. 35). The pro-
phecy had found fulfilment before the
Church had looked for it.

3. The test of men lies in the re-
cognition of the Truth (4—6).

4—6. In the verses which precede
(2, 3) St John has considered the
teaching of spirits as the test of their
character. He now regards the sub-
ject from another point of view and
considers the teaching of spirits as the
test of men.

* Ye are of God, little children, and
have overcome them, because greater
ta he that is in you than he that isin
the world, 5 They are of the world:
Sor this cause speak they of the world
and the world heareth them. ‘We
are of God: he that knoweth God
heareth us; he who is not of God
heareth not us. By this we know
the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error.

4- ‘Ypeis] You as contrasted with
the world; you who are in possesion
of spiritual endowments. Comp. ii. 20
καὶ ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε, ii. 24, 27.

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀστέ] Comp. Addi-
tional note on iii. 1.

144

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

flv. 5

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστέ, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι
μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ" ἡαὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ

The hearers of St John have that
divine connexion which the false
spirits have not (ο, 3 ἐκ τοῦ 6. οὐκ ζ.).

τεκνία] ο iii, 18. The father in
Christ again. The address
‘beloved’ has been used twice in the
interval (iii. 21, iv. 1).

venujeare αὐτούς] vicistis eum V.,
905 F., have overcome them. The per-
sonal reference goes back to ο, 1 (ψεν-
Δοπροφῆται)ὶ. The intervening verses
are structurally parenthetical, though
they contain the ruling thought of the
section.

The false spirits, whose character-
istic has now been defined, must have
their organs through whom to speak ;
and Christians must wage war against
them. In this conflict the virtue of
their Master's Victory (John xvi. 33)
is granted to them. They have to
claim the fruits of a triamph which
has been already gained.

Comp. ii. 13 (νενικήκατε) note.

The thought of a spiritual conflict
is developed in Eph. vi. 12 ff.

Sr...) The ground and the assur-
ance of the victory of Christians lie in
the Power by which they are inspired
(ο, iii. 24). The strength of men is
proportioned to the vital force of
which they are the organs.

Vicistis eum, inquit. Sed unde vi-
cerant? Numquid liberi virtute ar-
bitrii? Non utique, Taceat Pelagius,
dicat Ίροο Johannes: Quoniam major
est qui in vobis est... (Bede). So Au-
gustine; ...qui audit Vicistis erigit
caput, erigit cervicem, laudari se vult,
Noli te extollere: vide quis in te
vicit.

μείζων] greater. See ili. 20.

ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν] qui in vobis est V., he
that is in you, that is in the Christian
Society. The Church appears to be
set over against the world; so that
here the thought is of the body, and

not (as in iii, 24) of the individual
The Divine Person is undefined. We
think naturally of God in Christ.
Comp. John vi. 56, xiv. 20, xv. 4f,
xvii. 23, 26. Elsewhere ‘the word of
God’ (¢. ii, 14), ‘the unction received
from Him? (ii, 27), ‘His seed’ (iii. 9)
is said to ‘abide’ in believers, as here
He himself is in them. See note on 2.
15. St Paul expresses the same
thought in relation to the individual:
Gal. ii. 20.

é τῷ κόσμφ] he that is in the

“The many false spirits repre-

sent one personal power of false-
hood, ‘the prince of the world’
(John xii. 31, xiv. 30), the devil
whose ‘children’ the wicked are (iii.
1ο). The world occupies in regard
to him the same twofold position
which Christians occupy with
to God: ‘the world lieth in the
wicked one’ (ο, v. 19) and he ‘is in
the world’ The natural opposite to
‘in you,’ taken personally, would have
been ‘in them’; but St John wishes to
shew that these false prophets are
representatives of the world. The
conflict, as has been said above, is
regarded socially.

Comp. Eph. ii. 2.

5. αὐτοί...] ipsi V., they, the false
prophets, through whom the false
spirits work.

The nom. pl. avroi, which occurs
here only in the Epistles, emphasises
the contrast. Comp. James ii 6, 7;
Hebr. xiii. 17; Luke xi. 48. Seec. ii.
25 note.

der. κ. εἰσίν] de mundo sunt V.,
are of the world and not simply of the
earth (Jobn iii, 31). The ‘earth’ ex-
presses the necessary limitations of
the present order: the ‘world’ the
moral characteristics of the order, as
separated from God. For the phrase
compare ο. ii, 16; John xv. 19, xvii.

Iv. 6]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

145

’ sy ey ee ~ η
κόσμου εἰσίν' διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ Τοῦ κόσµου λαλοῦσιν καὶ

ee ym αμ,
0 κοσµος avTwY ακουει.

Sypets ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμέν: ὁ

γινώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν, ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ

6 δν οὐκ...ἡμῶν: om, A.

14, 16 and the cognate phrase ‘to be
of this world’: John viii. 23, xviii. 36.

διὰ τοῦτο] ideo V., for this cause.
The character of their speech and the
character of their hearers are deter-
mined by their own character. They
draw the spirit ‘and the substance of
their teaching from (out of) the world
and therefore it finds acceptance with
kindred natures, The words ‘of the
world’ answer to ‘the world’ in the
order of the original: ‘it is of the
world they speak, and the world
heareth them.

For the threefold repetition of ‘the
world’ see John iii. 17, 31; 2 Mace,
vii. 11.

ἀκούει] Comp. John xv. 19.

6. ἡμεῖς ἐκτ. 6. ¢.] we are of God,
‘The apostle has spoken of Christian
hearers (ο. ἐκ τ. 6. é.): he now
speaks of Christian teachers. In each
case living dependence upon God pro-
duces its full effect. The hearer dis-
cerns the true message. The teacher
discovers the true disciple, And this
concurrenceof experience brings fresh
assurance and deeper knowledge.

‘The opposition of ἡμεῖς to ὑμεῖς and
the use of ἀκούει shew that St John is
not speaking here of Christians gene-
rally but of those whose work it is to
unfold the divine message.

‘The description of the true teachers
is not exactly parallel with that of the
false teachers, It is not directly said
of these that ‘they speak of God’ be-
cause the conclusion does not admit
of being put in the same form as in
the former case (‘they speak of the
world and the world heareth them’).
The‘world listens to those who ex-
press its own thoughts; the Christian
listens to those who teach him more

w.

of God, new thoughts which he makes
his own, Thus the argument which
in the former clause lies in ‘speak of
the world,’ in this clause lies in ‘he
that knoweth God.’ The readiness to
hear springs from a living, growing,
knowledge, which welcomes and ap-
propriates the truth.

Comp. John viii. 47.

ὁ γινώσκων τ. 6] qui novit Deum
V., he that knoweth God. The Latin
and English renderings both fail to
express the force of the original
phrase which describes a knowledge
apprehended as progressive and not
complete, a knowledge which answers
to the processes of life. Comp. ο. 7,
y. 20; John xvii. 3. Contrast ii 24,
13 f, iii 1.

Βο 8t Paul speaks of ‘the call’ of
God as continuous; 1 Thess. v. 24.
Comp, Phil. iii, 12 ff.

St John appears to choose this most

expressive phrase in place of the more
general one ‘he that is of God’ in
order to illustrate the position of the
true disciple as one who is ever ad-
vancing in the knowledge of God, and
whose power of hearing and learning
is given by this attitude of faithful
expectancy.
So it is that when he passes to the
negative side it is sufficient to say ‘he
that is not of God’ without bringing
into prominence the special energy
which flows from this divine de-
pendence in regard to the fuller ex-
position of the Gospel.

The contrast which is marked here
between him ‘that knoweth God’ and
the man ‘who is not of God’ is given
under e slightly different form in v. 7
where it is said ‘he that loveth hath
been born of God and knoweth God,

10

146

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Πγ. 6

θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. ἐκ τούτου γινώσκοµεν TO πνεῦμα
τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης.

ἐκ τούτου RB syrr: ἐν τούτῳ A vg me the.

while ‘he that loveth not knew not
God.’

οὐκ drove] Comp. John xiv. 17
note,

de τούτου] in hoe V., hereby, from
this. The phrase does not occur again
in the Epistle and must be die-
tinguished from the common ἐν rovrp
(see ος ii. 3 note). It is found twice in
the Gospel marking a connexion partly
historical and partly moral (vi. 66,
xix. 12), Ἐν τούτῳ seems to note a
fact which is a direct indication in
iteelf of that which is perceived: ἐκ
rovrov suggests some further process
by which the conclusion is obtained.
The consideration of the general
character of those who receive and
of those who reject the message, and
again of the teaching which is re-
ceived and rejected by those who are
children of God, leads to a fuller dis-
cernment of the spirit of the Truth
and of the spirit of the opposing error.
The power to recognise and accept
the fuller exhibition of the Truth
must come from the Spirit of Truth :
the rejection of the Truth reveals the
working of the spirit of error.

γινώσκομεν]. cognoscimus V., we
know, recognise, perceive. This power
of recognition belongs to all believers.
It is not limited to teachers by an
emphatic pronoun as before; but ex-
presses what is leant in different
ways by hearers and teachers.

τὸ πν. τῆς ἀλ.] spiritum veritatis
V., the Spirit of Truth. Comp. John
xiv. 17 note; 1 Cor. ii. 12 8.

τὸ mv. τῆς πλάνης] spiritum errorie
V., the spirit of error, The phrase is
unique in the N.T. Comp. 1 Cor. ii.
12 τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου. 1 Tim. iv. 1
πνεύµασι πλάνο, In contrast to ἡ
ἀληθεία ‘the Truth’ stands ἡ πλάνη
(Eph. iv. 14) ‘the error, in which lie

concentrated the germs of all manifold
errors, Compare τὸ ψεῦδος 2 Thess.
ii 11; Rom, i 25; Eph. iv. 24f;
John viii. 44.

‘The seven spirits of error’ oc-
cupy an important place in The
Testaments of the XII Patriarchs,
Reuben 2 ff. The two spirits of truth
and error are described as attending
man, and it is added, τὸ πνεῦμα vis
ἀληθείας μαρτυρεῖ πόντα καὶ κατηγορεῖ
πάντων, καὶ ἐμπεπύρισται ὁ ἁμαρτήσας'
de τῆς ἰδίας καρδίας. Judah, 20.

6 Tae Curistian Liru: της
Vicrory or Farra.
(iv. 7—¥. 21.)

The consideration of Antichrists
and of the spirit of Antichrist and
error is now over, and St John lays
open the fulness of the Christian
life. In doing this he takes up in a
new connexion thoughts which he
bas before touched upon, and groups
them in relation to the final revela-
tion God ts love (iv. 8, 16).

The whole division of the Epistle
seems to fall most naturally into
three sections:

1. Tae Sprarr or tHe ΟΠΕΙΒΤΙΑΝ

Lire: Gop axp 1078.
(iv. 7—21.)

1. Tax Power or tax Cristian
Lore: tas Victory anp Witness
or Farrn.

(¥. I—12.)

IIL. Tam Aorrvrry anv ΟΟΝΡΙΡΕΚΟΕ
ov THE CupisTian Lire: Ept-
LOGUE.

(νι 13—21.)
1. Tae Spier or Tas ΟΠΕΙΗΤΙΑΝ.

‘Lire: Gop anp Loves (iv. 7—21).
This section deals in succession

with

Iv. 7]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

147

Αγαπητοί, ἀγαπώμεν ἀλλήλους, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ
τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν, καὶ πᾶς 6 ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέν-

7 ὁ ἀγαπῶν: +rdv θεόν A (fratrem is also added).

1. The ground of love (7—10).

3. ‘The inspiration of love
(11—16 a).

3. The activity of love (16b—
21).

In the first paragraph the subject
is regarded mainly from its abstract,
and in the second mainly from its
personal side: in the third it is
treated in relation to action.

1. The ground of love (7—10).

The Christian Society has been
shown to be clearly distinguished
from the world, even when the world
obtains the support of spiritual pow-
ere. St John therefore passes on to
consider the spirit of the Christian
life as seen in the Christian Body.
This spirit is love, the presence of
which is the proof of divine sonship,
seeing that God is love (ον. 7, 8);
and in the Incarn: we have set
before us the manifestation (ο. 9)
and the essence of love (ο. 10).

7 Beloved, let us love one another,
decause love is of God, and every une
that loveth is begotten of God and
knoweth God. * He that loveth not,
Knoweth not (Jew not) God, because
God is love. 9In this was mani-
Seated the love of God in us, that God
hath sent his Son, his only Son, into
the world that we may live through
him. In this is love, not that we
have loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son a propitiation for
our sins.

7. The transition of thought ap-
pears to lie in the implied efficiency
of love as a moral test of knowledge.
The twofold commandment of faith
and love is essentially one command-
ment (iii, 238). Love in the region
of action corresponds to the confession

of the Incarnation in the region of
thought. The Christian spirit then
is proved by love. Comp. John x.
14 ff. note.

Αγαπητοί] The title and the charge
go together. See ch. ii, 7 note.

The title occurs comparatively fre-
quently in 2 Peter, Jude, and sparingly
in the other Epistles of the New Tes-
tament: 2 Pet. iii 1, 8, 14, 173
Jude 3, 17,20; 1 Poet. ii 11; iv. 12;
2 Cor. vii. 1; xii 19; Rom. xii, 19;
Phil. iv. 1; Hebr. vi. 9. Αγαπητοί
pov occurs 1 Cor. x. 14; and ἀδελφοί
μου ἀγαπητοί, James i, 16, 19; ii, 5;
1 Cor, xv. 58.

ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλουν] diligamus in-
vicem, V., let us love one another.
Comp. ch. iii, 11 note. St John deals
with the love of Christians for Chris-
tians (φιλαδελφία, St Paul, Hebr., St
Peter) as the absolute type of love.
There is no longer any distinction of
‘ye’ and ‘we’ (ο. 4ff); nor any em-
phasis on the pronoun, Compare iii.
14, 18, 23; iv. 12,19; v. 2. Bt John
never says ἀγαπᾶτε, though he does
say μῇ ἀγαπᾶτε (ii. 15).

ὅτι... because... The charge is
based upon a twofold argument: (1)
Love is of God, and therefore since it
proceeds from Him, it must be cha-
racteristic also of those who partake
in His Nature, as His children; and,
again, (2) Active love becomes to
him who exercises it the sign of his
sonship (iii. 19).

de τ. 6. ἐ] is of God, flows from
Him, as the one spring, and in such
a way that the connexion with the
source remains unbroken, See Addi-
tional Note on iii. 1.

πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν...] every one that
loveth... The clause appears at first
sight to be inverted in form. It
might have seemed to be a more

10—2

148

νηται καὶ γινώσκει τὸν θεόν.
ν yo 8 βελς κα, ret
τὸν θεόν, ὅτι 5 θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IV. 8,9
Be ~ ey

ὁ μὴ ἀγαπών οὐκ ἔγνω
δὲν τούτῳ ἐφανε-

ρώθη καὶ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ

8 ὁ μὴ ἀγ....θεόν om, δὲ" (om. τὸν θεὸν KY).

οὐκ ἔγνωκεν 8.

direct argument to say ‘let us love
one another because...every one that
is born of God loveth” But as it ia,
the words bring out the blessing as
well as the implied necessity of love.
Every one that loveth hath in the
consciousness of that spirit the proof
of his divine sonship. Comp. ο iii. το.
every one that... Comp.
. St John does not say
any ‘he that loveth? He insists
on the supreme characteristic of love
as overpowering in whomsoever it is
realised difficulties which men might
discover in subordinate differences.

ἐκ τοῦ 6. γεγέννηται] hath been be-
gotten of God. Compare Additional
Note on iii. 1. The combination of

γεγέννηται with γωώσκει (not ἔγνωκεν)
W'signifcant. Living knowledge is
regarded only in its present activity.
The active principle of sonship is
referred to its origin.

γιυώσκει] cognoscit V., knoweth,
See 7.6 note. The present is sharply
contrasted with the aor. (ἔγνω, novit,
V.) which follows (ο. 8).

The idea of ‘knowledge’ is intro-
duced here in connexion with the ac-
tion of the Spirit of Truth in the fuller
unfolding of the mystery of Christ’s
Person. He that loveth derives his
spiritual being from God, and of
necessity therefore is in sympathy
with him, and knows Him, that is,
recognises every revelation which
shews more of Him (ο. 6).

8. As the presence of active love
is the pledge of advancing know-
ledge, 80 the absence of love is the
proof that apparent knowledge was
not real. ‘He that loveth not, knew
not God? (οὐκ ἔγνω τ. 0, non novit V.,

οὐκ ἔγνω: οὐ γωώσκει Az

ignorat F.) when he made profession
of knowing Him. His acknowledg-
ment of God (as at Baptism) was
based on no true recognition of His
nature.

‘The aor. (ἔγνων) always has its full
force. Compare iii. 1; John x. 38,
xvi. 3.

See -] because. It is assumed that
knowledge involves practical sym-
pathy. Compare ii. 3 note.

Bede puts well one side of the
truth; Quisquis [Deum] non amat,
profecto ostendit quia quam sit ama-
bilis non novit (ad ο, ii. 5).

This conception of ihe nature of
knowledge corresponds with the view
of the Gospel as ‘the Truth’

6 6. ἀγάπη ἐστίν] Deus caritas est
V. See Additional Note.

Ὁ. ἐν rovrp..drt...] In hoc...quo-
niam...V. In this...that... Bo ©. 10,
John ix. 30.

ἐν τ. ἐφαν...] The manifestation and
the essence of love (ο. 10 ἐν τ. ἐστὶν
ἡ ᾱἱ) are distinguished, though both
are seen in the Incarnation. The
manifestation of love was shewn in
the fact (r. υἱ. τ. pox. ἀπέστ.) and in
the end (iva ζήσ.) of the Mission of
the Son. The essence of love was
shewn in this that the Mission of the
Son was absolutely spontaneous (av-
τὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡ). Comp. Rom. viii. 32.

épavepaity apparuit V..manifestata
est Aug., tas manifested. That which
‘was’ eternally was made known in
time. Compare ο 1. 2 note. In the
retrospect of His completed work on
earth the Lord says: ἐφανέρωσά σου
τὸ ὄνομα (John xvii, 6), that is ‘the
Father’s name,’ the revelation of love.
See also 2 Tim. i. 9 £

IV. ιο]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

149

N Pa? « νο \ , v.
τὸν povoyern ἀπέσταλκεν 6 θεὸς εἰς τὸν κὀσμον ἵνα

, κας.
ζήσωμεν δι αὐτοῦ.
9 ἑήσωμεν: ζῶμεν ἔ'.

ἐν ἡμῖν] in nobis V., in us: not
simply ‘towards us’ as the objects
to whom the love was directed, but
‘in us, in us believers, as the me-
dium in which it was revealed and
in which it was effective (that we
‘may live through Him). Comp. ο.
16, The Christian shares the life of
Christ, and so becomes himself a
secondary sign of God’s love. There
‘is 8 sense in which creation shews
God’s love, but this revelation be-
comes clear through the new crea-
tion. The manifestation of the love
of God to man becomes a living power
a8 a manifestation of His love tn man.

The sense in our case, or among
us (John i. 14), is excluded by the con-
atant use of the preposition in the
context to express the presence of
God in the Christian body (ο. 12).

τὸν υἱὸν av. τὸν pov.) flium suum
anigenitum V., His Son, His only
Son, The exact form occurs only here
and John iii. 16. Comp. ii. 7; John i.
14 notes ; and Additional Noté on iii.
23. The order of the words in the
whole clause is most impressive: ‘in
this that His Son, His only Son, hath
God sent into the world, into the
world, though alienated from Him,

ἀπέσταλκεν] He hath sent, and we
now enjoy the blessings of the Mission:
ο. 14; John v. 36, xx. 21. Comp.
John v. 33; Luke iv, 18; 2 Cor, xii.
17, ο The sorist (ἀπέστειλα) oc-
ears ο. 10; John iii. 17, 34, vi. 29, &c.,
xvii. 3, &c. See Additional Notes on
18. 5; John xx. 21.

Both here and in John iii. 16 the
Mission of the Son is referred to
*God’ and not to ‘the Father’ The
central idea is that of the divine
majesty of the Son and not that of
the special relation in which the

102 ῃ pn ee .
ἐν τουτῳ εστιν η ἄγαπη, ουχ

το ἡ dy.: +700 θεοῦ Ν me the.

Father stands to the Son and, through
the Son, to men. Contrast σ. 14, and
see Additional Note on i. 2.

ἵνα ζήσωμεν...] that we may live...
The natural state of men is that of
death: ο. iii. 14. It is perhape strange
that this is the only place in the
Rpistles in which the verb (jv occurs.
Compare John v. 25; vi. 51, 57 £5
xi. 25; xiv. 19. The term is used
because the Apostle lays stress upon
the activity of the Ohristian and not
upon his safety only (that t06 may be
saved: John iii, 17). In him, as he
lives, the love of God is seen visibly
working. As compared with John
iti. 16 £, which should be closely
examined with this passage, the ob-
ject of the Mission of Christ is here
set forth in its personal working and
not in its general scope.

δὲ αὐτοῦ] per eum V., through
Him, as the efficient cause of life.

Elsewhere the Christian is said to
live ‘on account of’ Christ; John vi.
57 (δὲ ἐμέ).

St Paul speaks of Christ as living
in the Christian; Gal ii 20. ‘The
life of Jesus’ is that which the be-
liever strives to manifest: 2 Cor. iv.
1ο f.; and Christ is his life: Col iii.
4 (comp. 1 John vy. 12, 20); while
hereafter the Christian will live with
Him (σὺν αὐτῷ): 1 Thess. v. 10. So
Christ is the aim of the Christian's
life: Rom. xiv. 8 (τῷ κυρίφ ¢.); comp.
Rom. vi. 1ο f.; Gal. ii. 19; and the
substance of his life (τὸ (jv): Phil.
i 21.

It is to be noticed that the Christian
is not said in the New Testament to
‘live in Christ’ (contrast Acts xvii.
28); though the Christian’s life is
‘in Him’: 1 Johnv.11; Rom. vi. 23;

2 Tim. i. 1. This phrase however

150

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IV.1r

a er ῃ νι
ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν, GAN ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγά-

μα. αμ ν
πησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἱλασμὸν

περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιώῶν ἡμῶν.

Αγαπητοί, εἴ

οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἀλλή-

ἠγαπήσαμεν WA (ἠγάπησεν Ν'): ἠγαπήκαμεν Β.

ἀπέστειλεν: ἀπέσταλκεν &.

occurs in Ῥοἱγο. ad Phil. 8, 8° ἡμᾶς,
ἵνα ζήσωμεν ἐν αὐτῷ, πάντα ὑπέμευε.

1ο, ἐν τούτῳ ἐστίν...ὄτι...] in this
is...that...] In this we can see a
revelation of the true nature of love.
‘The source of love is the free will of
God Himself. He loved us because
‘He islove, and in virtue of that love
sent His Son. The origin of love lies
beyond humanity.

ἡ ἀγάπη] caritas V., love, in its
most absolute sense, not farther de-
fined as the love of God or of man.

οὐχ ὅτι...ἀλλ' ὅτι...] non quasi...sed
quoniam V., not that...but that...
‘The negative clause is brought for-
ward to emphasise the thought of
than’s inability to originate love. For
somewhat similar forms of expression
see 2 John 5; John vi. 38; vii. 22;
xii 6, Non illum dileximns prius:
nam ad hoc nos dilexit ut diligamus
eum (Aug., Bede).

αὐτός] ipse V., He, of His own free
will Compare ii. 25 note.

ἠγάπησεν] loved us. The love is
viewed in to its historic mani-
featation, John iii. 16; Eph. ii. 4;
2 Thess. ii, 16. Comp. Gal. ii. 20;
Eph. v. 2, 25; Apoc. iii. 9,

Ἱλασμόν] propitiationem V., litato-
rem Aug. ; in quibusdam codicibus...
legitur...litatorem... Bede; expiatorem
Lefr., a propitiation. Comp. ii, 2 note.
The idea is introduced here to mark
the preparation of men for fellowship
with God. God was pleased to make
men fit to share His nature. The life
(ο, 9) followed on the removal of sin.

2. The inspiration of love (11---16α).
St John has shewn that love must

αὐτόε: ἐκεῖνος A.

come from God Who has revealed im
the Incarnation what it is essentially,
the spontaneous communication of the
highest good. He now considers what
must be the effect upon men of this
manifestation of love, which is the
assurance and the revelation of the
Divine Presence.

The character of God’s love carries
with it an obligation to love (ο. 11)
through the fulfilment of which by
the Spirit we gain the highest possible
assurance of fellowship with God (ve.
12, 13). And the experience of the
Church attests equally the love of
God and the effects of His love
among men (14—16 a).

Beloved, if God 40 loved us, we
also ought to love one another. * No
man hath ever yet beheld God : if we
lowe one another, God abideth in us
and his love is perfected inus, 3 In
this we know that we abide in him
and he in us, because he hath given
us of his Spirit. “ And we have
beheld and bear witness that the
Father hath sent the Son as Saviour
of the world, *s Whosoever shall
confess that Jesus [Christ] is the Son
of God, God abideth in him and he
in God, © And we know and have
believed the love which God hath in us,

11, Αγαπητοί] ο. 7 note.

el obras...) εἰ sic Deus dilexit nos,
¥ it was so, a8 we seo in the mission
of His Son, God loved us... The
order of the words throws a stress
upon the particular manifestation of
God's love (ἠγάπησεν, John iii, 16);
and the repetition of ὁ θεός empha-
sises the Majesty of Him Who thus
revealed His love.

IV. 12]

λους ἀγαπάν.

. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

151

μθεὸν οὐδεὶς πώποτε τεθέαται" ἐὰν aya-

πώμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν µένει καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ

καὶ ἡ. ὀφ.] δὲ nos debemus V., we
also ought... 899 11. 16 note. Thelove
which God has not only shewn but
given to us (ο. 1) becomes 8 con-
straining motive for action.

ἀλλ. dy.) alterutrum diligere V.,
invicem diligere Aug. (F.). The
phrase marks the mutual fulness of
love. Comp. iii. 11 note. Of thelove
itself Augustine says: Noli in homine
“amare errorem, sed hominem: homi-
nem enim Deus fecit, errorem ipse
homo fecit.

It is of importance to observe that
the obligation which St John draws
from the fact of God’s love is not that
we should ‘love God’ but that we
should ‘love one another.’ It is
through human affections and duties
that the spiritual, when once appre-
hended in its sublime purity, gains
definiteness and reality under the
conditions of our present state (comp.
v. 20; οἱ], 3 note). The thought of
‘the love of God’ (6, of which God
is the object) as distinct from the
‘love of Christ’ (John xiv. 15, 21, 23 f.
28; xxi 16; Eph. vi. 24) is very rare
in the N. T. (ο 21; ¢. v.2; Rom. viii.
28; 1 Cor. ii. 9, uxx.; viii, 3 εἴ τις
ἀγαπᾷ τὸν θεόν, οὗτος ἔγνωσται in’ av-
τοῦ) The command to love God is
quoted from the Law (Matt. xxii. 37
and parr, from Dent. vi 5). Gradu-
ally by the elevation of thought God
seemed to be withdrawn from men;
and then in the Person of His Son,
who took humanity to Himself, God
gave back to man that in which
human feeling can find inspiration
and rest,

12. θεόν...τεθέαται] Deum nemo
vidit unquam V., God hath no man
ever beheld, Comp. Jobni. 18 uote, In
both passages Θεόν stands first and
without the article, ‘God as God’;
and in both passages the object is

directly followed by the subject: God
hath no man ever (seen). But the
verbs are different. In John i. 18
the thought is of the vision which
might be the foundation of revelation
(ἑώρακεν): here the thought is of the
continuous beholding which answersto
abiding fellowship (τεθέαται). Comp.
John xvi. 16 note, On θεός and 6
θεός see Additional Note.

οὐδεὶς rotrore...]n0 Man ever yét....
In these words St John seems to call
up all the triumphs of the saints in
past time. However close their fel-
lowship with God had been, yet no
one had beheld Him as He is. The
question here is not one of abstract
power but of actual experience.

ἐὰν ἀγαπώμεν...] if we love......
Though God is invisible He yet is not
only very near to us but may be in
us, the Life of our lives. The words,
as Bede points out, meet the implied
question: Quo solatio utendum ubi
divina visione nondum licet perfrui ?

The manifestation of active love by
men witnesses to two facts: (1) the
abiding of God in them, and (2) the
presence of divine love in them in its
completest form, There is both the
reality of fellowship and the effective-
ness of fellowship.

6 6. ἐν ἡμ. μένει) abidethin us. Bee
Additional Note on v. 15. Generally
this fellowship is described under its
two aspects (‘ God in us, we in God’),
but here the idea is that of the power
of the divine indwelling. Comp. John
xvii. 23, 26.

‘The question has been asked (Bede),
How the highest blessedness is at-
tached to the mutual love of Chris-
tians while in the Gospel the love of
enemies is enjoined (Matt. v. 43 ff)?
The answer lies in the recognition of
the easence of Christian love. This
resting upon the Incarnation regards

152

τετελειωμένη ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστίν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

LIV. 13

ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκοµεν

” 2 yom ren cm 8 5
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ µένομεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ

1a rer, ἐν ἡμῖν & RB: ἐν ἡμῖν τετ. ὁ. A vgs τετ. ὁ. ἐν ἡμῖν me the syrr,

all men in the light of that fact. The
Christian can separate in man that
which belongs to his true nature from
the disease which corrupts it: Ssvit
in te homo, 119 ssevit, tu deprecare :
ille odit, tu miserere. Febris anime
ipsius te odit: sanus erit et gratias
tibi aget (Aug. in 1 Joh. Tract. viii,
§ 11).

The love of the brethren is indeed
the recognition of God in men by the
exercise of that in man which is after
the image of God. Ubi factus est ad
imaginem Dei? Augustine asks on

this passage, and replies: In intel- .

lectu, in mente, in interiore homine,
in eo quod intellegit caritatem, diju-
dicat justitiam et injustitiam, novit a
quo factus est, potest intellegere Crea-
torem suum, laudare Creatorem suum
(Tract. viii. § 6).

He afterwards adds a profound
test of love: Hoc naturale habes :
semper melior eris quam bestia, Si
vis melior esse quam alius homo, in-
videbis ei quando tibi ease videbis
gequalem. Debes velle omnes homi-
nes sequales tibi esse (§ 8).

ἡ ἁγ. αὐτοῦ] caritas jus V., His
love, the love which answers to His
nature and with which He has en-
dowed us. Comp, ii 5 note. Man
receives the love of God and makes it
his own. Neither of the two speci-
ally defined senses, ‘the love of God
for man,’ or ‘the love of man for
God,’ suits the context.

τετελ...ἐστίν] The resolved form
(i 45 contrast ο, 17, ii. 5) emphasises
the two elements of the thought :
‘the love of God is in us’; ‘the love
of God is in us in its completest
form’ It is through man that ‘the
love of God’ finds its fulfilment on

earth.
The ideas of the perfection of love

in the believer and of the perfection
of the believer in love are presented
in several different forms in the
epistle. In ο. ii 5 the sign of the
perfection of ‘the love of God’ in man
isfound in the watchful regard which
the believer pays to His revelation
(ὃς ἂν τηρῇ αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον). Here it
is found in the love of Christians for
one another. The two signs explain
and indeed include each other. Love
is the fulfilment of divine obedience.
The commandment of Christ was
love (cf. ο, ili, 23).

In ου, 17, 18 the perfection of love
is presented under another aspect.
The fruit of the possession of ‘love’
is shown in regard to the believer
himself. ‘Love hath been perfected
with us’ to the end that ‘we may
have boldness in the day of judg-
ment.’ And for the present, ‘he that
feareth hath not been made perfect
in love’ Obedience, active love, con-
fidence, these three, point to the
same fact. Where the one is the
other is. The source of all is the full
development of the divine gift of
love.

This characteristic thought of St
John is found in the Thanksgiving
after the Eucharist in the Doctr. App.
10 Μνήσθητι, Κύριε, τῆς ἐκκλησίας σου
τοῦ. τελειῶσαι αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ
13. ἓν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν...] in Λου
intellegimus V., in this, the posses-
sion of the spirit of love, which flows
from God, we perceive, we are seve-
rally conscious of the fact of the
divine indwelling which has been
affirmed generally (ο. 12, God abideth
in us); and that by continuous and
Progressive experience (contrast ἐγνώ-
καμεν, 0. 16).

ἐν αὐτῷ pévoper...] See Additional

IV. 14, 15]

πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

153
"Καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάµεθα

καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν

σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.

13 δέδωκεν NB: ἔδωκεν A.
α5 ὁμολογήση: ὁμολογῦ A.

Note on 0, 15. The believer feels
in the enjoyment of this affection that
the centre of his life is no longer
within himself nor on earth; because
the spirit by which it is inspired, by
which alone it can be inspired, is the
Spirit of God.

ἐκ τοῦ πν.] de spiritu suo V., of
His Spirit, ‘to each according to his
several ability.’ Under different as-
pects it can be said that God gives to
Christians ‘His Spirit? (1 Thess. iv.
8), or ‘of His Spirit,’ For the use of
éx (contrast iii, 24) see John vi. 11, i,
16. In the Holy Trinity we conceive
of the perfect union of the Father
and the 80n as realised through the
Spirit. So too it is through the same
Spirit that the ‘many sons’ are united
in the Son with God,

δέδωκε»] hath gicen, Contrast iii,
23, ἔδωκεν. The difference in tense
corresponds to the difference in the
sense of ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος.

14. Καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθ....] Et nos vidi-
mus V., And we have beheld.... The
emphatic pronoun (ο. 6, i. 4; John i i
16) brings into prominence the ex-
perience of the Christian Society
gathered up in that of its leaders.
The apostle does not speak of himself
personally but as representing the
Church for which he had a special
work to do, His experience (John i.
14) was in another form the experi-
ence of all (John i. 16). The vision
and witness of the im dis-
ciples correepond with the know-
ledge and belief of the disciples in all
ages. Or to express the same truth
otherwise, that vision and witness
remain as an abiding endowment of
the living Body.

580 ἐὰν ὁμολογήση ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς

14 τεθεάµεθα MB: ἀθεασάμεθα A.

Ἰησοῦ: κ: Χριστόν Β.

τεθεάµεθα] Strictly speaking the
immediate objects of νο and
μαρτυροῦμεν are different. ject,
of contemplation was the revelation
of the Lord’s Life: the object of
witness, the declaration of its mean-
ing. In a wider sense spiritual facts
can become the objects of direct
vision (comp. John i. 33, µένον). Here
however the thought is that the sig-
nificance of the Lord’s Mission was
made known to those who carefully
regarded His Life and observed the
necessary tendency of all His actions.
In this respect His Life was the ob-
ject of contemplation (θεᾶσθαι) and
not of vision. Com; John i. 34
(ἑώρακα) with John i, 32 (τεθέαµαι).
See also ο. i 1, 2.

The use of τεθεάµεθα carries the
inind back to v, 12, θεὸν οὐδεὶς τεθέα-
rat, Though God Himeelf had not
been the object of direct human re-
gard, yet Christian faith rests upon 8
historic revelation of His Nature.

τεθεάµεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν] Comp.
i. 2, ἑωράκαμεν καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν, 18. 11,
33, and contrast John i. 34, ἑώρακα καὶ
penapripnea, xix. 35. The continuous
witness was based upon the abiding
experience.

6 πατήρ] Comp. ο. 10 (ὁ θεός) note.

ἀπέσταλκεν] hath sent. The testi-
mony is borne not simply to the his-
toric fact (ο. 10, ἀπέστειλεν), but (as
in ο, 9) to the permanence of Christ's
mission. Of this believers have direct
knowledge. Comp. Additional Note
on ο, iii. 5.

σωτῆρα τοῦ κ.] salvatorem mundi
V. (saculi F.), as Saviour of the
world, The fall title occurs once
again in the N. T. as the confession

154

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[Iv. 16

[Χριστός] ἐστιν 6 vids τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ

4 ry ran 2 ~ -~
μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ θεῷ.

of the Samaritans, John iv. 42; and
the thought which it conveys is ex-
pressed in John iii, 17, St John
nowhere else uses the title σωτήρ,
which in other apostolic writings is
applied both (1) to ‘God’: τ Tim. i.
1 θεὸς σωτὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ Χ. Ἰ; Tit iL 3
ὁ σ. ἡμῶν 6, ii. 1ο, iii. 4; Jude 25
όνος θεὸς σωτήρ ; and more expressly
1 Tim. ii. 3 ὁ σ. ἡ, 6. ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώ-
πους θέλει σωθῆναι, iv. 10 θεὸς tev,
ὅς ἐστι σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, μά
λιστα πιστῶν (comp. Luke i, 47); and
(2) to Christ: Luke ii. 11 ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν
σ. bs ἐστιν χριστὸς κύριος: Acts v. _3t
Γιησοῦν] ὁ beds ἀρχηγὸν καὶ σωτῆρα
ὄψωσιν, xii, 33 ὁ θεός...ἤγαγεν τῷ Ἴσ-
pa}d σωτῆρα Ἰησοῦν 2 Tim. |. 10 ὁ σ.
9. XL; Tit. i 4 Χ.Ἰ. ὁ σ. ἡ. (comp.
σ. 3), ii, 13 ὁ peyas θεὸς καὶ σ. ἡ. Χ. Ἰ.,
iii, 6 Ἰ. Χ. ὁ σ. ἡ.; 2 Pet. i. 11 ὁ κύριος
ἡ, καὶ σ. Ἰ. Χ., ii, 20, iii, 18 (comp. iii,
3 ὁ κ. καὶ σι); and more particularly
Phil. iii. 20 σ. ἀπεκδεχόμεθα κύριον Ἰ.
Χ. (Eph. v. 23 αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώμα-
τος is doubtful). Thus the title is
confined (with the exception of the
writings of St Luke) to the later writ-
ings of the Ν. Τ., and is not found in
the central group of St Paul’s Epi-
stles. The double application in Tit.
i. 3f is very instructive.

The title is applied to God not un-
frequently in the uxx.: Deut. xxxii.
15 θεὸς σ. ANY WY @ Deo salutari
V.); Pa. xxiv. (xxiii) 5; xxv. (xxiv.) 5
(Deus ealoator meus V.); xxvii. (xxvi.)9
(VA DY Deus salutaris meus V.);
Inv. (xiv) 6; Lxxix. (Ixxvili) 9; χοπ.
(xciv.) tl Deut, xxxii. 15; Is. xvii. 10;
xlv. 15 ("AD salvator V.). Comp.
Wiad. xvi. 7 ; Ecclus. li. 1; 1 Mace. iv.
30. It is used also of human deliver-
ers: Jud. ii. 9, 15 (110 salvator V.);
and of the promised salvation (Sa-
viour): 18. Ixii. 11 (53 salvator V.).

Kai ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν

In Classical writers the title is used
of many deities, especially of Zeus ;
and it was given under later Greek
dynasties to princes and benefactors.
Comp. Pearson On the Creed, pp. 72 f.
(136 f£) notes, and Wetstein on Lk.
ii. 11 for numerous examples It
had no Latin equivalent in Cicero’s
time. Cicero commenting on the title
as applied to Verres adds : Hoc quan-
tum est? ita magnum est ut Latine
uno verbo exprimi non possit. Is est
nimirum soter qui salutem dat (in
Verr. ii, 2, 63).

The accus. (σωτῆρα) describes what
Christ is and not simply what He is
designed to be. Compare ii. 2 ἱλασμός
ἐστιν, 0. 10 ἀπέστειλεν ἱλασμόν, That
which is yet partly future in its human
application (Phil. iii. 20 σωτῆρα ἀπεκδε-
χόμεθα) is complete in the divine idea,

It is worthy of notice that the words
σώζειν and σωτηρία are not found in
the Epistles of St John.

15. ὃς édy] See ii 5 note. There
is no limitation in the will of God
(1 Tim. ii. 3).

ὁμολογήση] See ii. 23 note; ο. 2
note. The different forms of the con-
feesion require to be studied together.
He that confesseth the Son hath the
Father also (ii. 23); Every spirit
that confesseth Jesus Christ come in
the flesh is of God (iv. 2); Whosoever
confesseth that Jesus [Christ] is the
Son of God, God abideth in him and
he in God. The exact point of the
confession here prepares for the con-
clusion. ‘The recognition of the reve-
lation of God is the sign of the pre-
sence of God (comp. 1 Cor. xii 3).
The fruit of the confession character-
ised in ο. 2 is now described fully.

6 vlds τοῦ 6.) 899 ο iii 8 note.

6 6. ἐν av...av. ἐν τῷ 6.] God in him
«she in God, See Additional Note.
‘The two clauses mark two aspects

IV. 16]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

155

καὶ πεπιστεύκαµεν τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχει 6 θεὸς ἐν

16 πεπιστεύκαµεν NB (¥g): πιστεύοµεν A me.

of the Christian’s life. The believer
bas a new and invincible power for
the fulfilment of his work on earth:
‘God is in him’ And again he real-
ises that his life is not on earth, that
he belongs essentially to another order:
‘he is in God.’ The divine fellowship
is complete and effective in each di-
rection.

This complementary view of the
fulness of the Christian life, as the
believer lives in God and God in him,
is presented by St John in several
forms, The love of God abideth in
him (iii. 17), and he abideth in love
(iv, 16). Eternal life abides in him
(8, 15); and this life is in the Son
Of God (v.11). The Truth is in him
(i. 8; ii, 4), and he walketh in the
Truth (2 Ep. 3). The word of God
ts and abideth in him (ji. 10; ii. 14;
ef. ii 24), and he abides in the word
(John viii. 31). He is and abides in
the light (ἤ, 9£), and the unction of
God abides in him (ii. 27), and guides
him to all the Truth. Comp. Apoc.
iii, 20,

Viciasim in se habitant qui continet
et qui continetur. Habitas in Deo,
ged ut continearis: habitat in te
Deus, sed ut te contineat ne cadas
(Ang., Bede).

16, Καὶ ἡμεῖς] And we, we who can
speak from the fulness of Christian
experience as confessors of Christ...
The case is taken from supposition
(8s ἐὰν) to fact. For ἡμεῖς 966 0. 14
note,

ἐγνώκ. καὶ πεπιστ. τὴν dy.) cognovi-
mus et credidimus caritati V., cogn.
αἱ credimus quam dilectionem Deus
habet Aug., cogn. ef credidimus in
(caritate] quam habet Deus ¥. The
two verbs form a compound verb, in
which the idea of belief qualifies and
explains what is in this case the pri-
mary and predominant idea, know-

ὁ θώε: -ὁ

ledge. The Vulgate rendering throws
the emphasis wrongly on belief. The
same two verbs occur in John vi. 69
in the reverse order: ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύ-
καμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ὅτι σὺ el ὁ ἅγιος
τοῦ θεοῦ. Under different
knowledge precedes faith and faith
precedes knowledge. We must have
‘a true if limited knowledge of the
object of faith before true faith can
exist; and true faith opens the way
to fuller knowledge. A general faith
in Christ and self-surrender to Him
prepared the disciples for a loftier
apprehension of His character. The
actual experience of love includes the
promise of a larger manifestation of
its treasures. This St John indicates
here: ‘We have perceived the divine
love. To a certain extent we have
realised what it is: but we have not
exhausted its meaning. In knowing
we have believed too; and in the
conscious imperfection of knowledge
we wait without doubt for future re-
velation.

τὴν dy. ἠν ἔχει ὁ 6. ἐν ἡμῖν] For the
phrase ἀγάπ. ew see John xiii. 35
day dy. ἔχητε ἐν ἀλλήλοις; John αν.
13; 1 Pet. iv. 8 τὴν els ἑαυτοὺς dy.
ἐπτενῆ Exovres ; 1 Cor. xiii, 1 ££; Phil.
ii, 2. Tt is clear from the context
that the love here spoken of is the
love which God has and shews to-
wards man. But St John adds a
second thought to that of God’s love
towards man («ls ἡμᾶς). The love of
God becomes a power in the Chris-
tian Body (ἐν ἡμῖλ Believers are
the sphere in which it operates and
makes itself felt in the world (2 Cor.
iv. 1οΓ). Comp. ο. 9 note.

3 The activity of love (16b—21).

In the two preceding sections St
John has shewn what love is in its
essence and origin, and how it neces-

156

ἡμῖν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IV. 16

‘O θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ µένων ἐν

μα νι βες © βλ αρ
τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ µένει καὶ ὁ Beds ἐν αὐτῷ [μένει].

ἐν αὐτῷ μένει ΝΒ me the syrhl: --μένει A vg.

sarily becomes an inspiring power in
the believer, answering to aconfession
of the Incarnation. He now developes
more fully the activity of love; and
this in two relations, as to the be-
liever in himself (16 5—18), and as
tothe believer in his dealings with his
fellow-Christians (19—21). On the
one side, it is by continuance in love
that the divine fellowship is realised
by the believer (16 ὃ), while love is
perfected in the divine fellowship, κο
that the last element of fear is cast
out of the soul of him who loves (17,
18), And on the other side love,
which is of a divine origin (19), must
be falfilled after a divine type, in love
to the brethren (20), according to the
divine commandment (21).

Ambrose has traced in Α famous
passage the progress of love till it
finds its consummation in complete
self-surrender. This he sees shadowed
out in three passages of Canticles (ii.
16 f.; vi. 2; vii. 10), First there is
the quickening of the divine affection
in the soul by the revelation of the
Word ; next, the freedom of mutual
intercourse between the soul and the
Word; and at last the soul offers
itself absolutely to the Word that He
may rest there (Ambr. de Jsaac et
anima, ο. viii. § 68).

God is love, and he that abideth in
love abideth in God and God[abideth]
in him. * In thie love is perfected
with us, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment ; because even
as he ts, 80 are we in the world,
1 There is no fear in love, but per-
Sect love casteth out fear, because fear
hath punishment ; and he that fear-
eth is not perfected in love,

The words of ο. 8 God ts love
are repeated as the subject of a new

development of thought. Before the
idea was of birth and knowledge, now
the idea is of growth and action.
The revelation of the Nature of God
as love calls out a response in answer
to that which is necessarily regarded
as a ‘personal’ call to men, and by
suggesting the idea of unlimited self-
communication as characteristic of
God, it sets a type for human action.
The nature of the believer must be
conformed to the Nature of God.
καὶ ὁ µένω»...] and he that abideth
From the very Nature of God it
follows as a necessary consequence
that the life of self-devotion is a life
in fellowship with Him. By the use
of the conjunction in place of simple
parallelism (he that abideth) the
unity of the complex idea is empha-
sised.

6 µένων ἐν τῇ ἀγ.] he that abideth
tn love 88 the sphere in which his
life is fulfilled. Compare John xv.
Of µ. ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐμῇ, μ. ἐν τῇ dy.
pov. Here the feeling is regarded
absolutely without any further defi-
nition of its object, as God or man.
But the divine ideal made known

+h Christ is present to the mind
of writer and reader.

Under different aspects St John
presents elsewhere ‘the light’ (ο. ii.
1ο), and ‘the word’ (John viii. 31),
as the sphere in which the Christian
‘abides, ‘loving his brother’ and
‘believing’; just as the unbeliever
‘abides in darkness’ (John xii. 46),
and ‘he that loveth not,’ ‘in death’
(ας iii. 14).

dvr. ϐ. µ. καὶ ὁ 6. ἐν ad. [μ.]] abideth
in God and God [abideth] in him.
See ο. 15 Additional Note. He that
80 abideth in love hath risen to the
heavenly order (Col. iii. 3) and found

IV. 17]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

157

Ey τούτῳ τετελείωται ἡ ἀγάπη µεθ ἡμῶν, ἵνα παρ-

17 ἡ ἀγάπη: «τοῦ θεοῦ the (lat).

the power of divine fellowship for the
accomplishment of earthly work.

It has been seen that this twofold
blessing is connected with obedience
(iii. 24) and confession (iv. 15) Aud
love involves obedience (John xiv. 15
τηρήσετε, Rom. xiii. 10), and is the
condition of fuller knowledge (John
xiv. 21 ff).

17. Ἐν τούτφ...] In this...The re-
ference has been variously explained.
Some have connected in this with
what follows, others with what pre-
cedes, In the former case two views
have been held. The words have been
taken closely with the second of the
following clauses, ἐν rourg...éri...in
this...because..., and again with the
first, ἐν rotrg..ba..., in this...that

.. The former construction may be at
once set aside. The intervening clause,
ἵνα...κρίσεως, makes the connexion of

with ὅτι most unnatural. The
connexion of ἐν τούτῳ with ἵνα gives a
true sense and is not foreign to St.
John’s style, though the exact com-
bination does not occur (not John
αγ. 8) in his writings ; for it would not
be strange that he should use a final
particle (wa) in place of a demon-
strative particle (ὅτι), in order to
bring out the idea of effort involved
to the last in the realisation of con-
fidence (comp. John xvii. 3; ο, iii,

11 note). But the context and his
general usage (comp. ii. 3 note) fa-
your the conclusion that the refer-
ence is to that which precedes, The
argument requires the affirmation of
@ fact from which a consequence is
drawn, rather than s further expla-
nation of how love is perfected. The
fellowship of man with God and of
God with man carries with it the
consummation of love. Jn this—
in this double communion—love hath
been perfected already on the divine

μεθ ἡμῶν: +r ἡμῖν .

side; and it is God’s will that men
should make its blessings their own
in view of the close of earthly life.

Jerome has a strange inversion of
the sense of the passage: In hoc per-
fecta est,..caritas, ai fiduciam habe-
amus...ut quomodo ille est sic et nos
νο. (ο, Sovin. i. ο. 40).
τιτελ. μεθ ἡμῶν] perfecta est no-
biscum V., is (hath been) perfected
with us. Therecan benodoubt that pe
ἡμῶν is to be joined with the verb.
The structure of the sentence is de-
cisive against taking ἡ dy. dy. µεθ ἡμῶν
together in the sense ‘the love which
is realised between Christians’ or
‘the love of God shewn among us.’
The unique form of expression ap-
pears to have been chosen in place of
the simple ‘hath been perfected in
us’ in order to place the perfection
clearly in the realised fellowship of
God and man. Love is not simply
perfected in man (ἐν ἡμῖν) by an act
of divine power, but in fulfilling this
issue God works with man (ue ἡμῶν).
Something of the same thought of
cooperation is seen in Acts xv. 4,
ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς per’ αὐτῶν. Comp.
3 John 3 ἔσται μεθ ἡμῶν χάρις...

Philo calls attention to a use of the
preposition not unlike in Gen. fil, 12
(πα. ἡ γυνὴ ἣν ἔδωκας per’ ἐμοῦ):
eb τὸ μὴ φώναι ἡ γυνὴ ἣν ἔδωκας
ἁμοὶ ἀλλὰ per? ἐμοῦ. οὐ γὰρ ἐμοὶ ὡς
κτῆμα...ἔδωκας ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴν ἀφῆκας.
ἄνετον καὶ ἐλευθέραν...(Τερ. Alleg. iii,
§ 18; i. 98 ν.).

τετελείωται] v. 12; ο. fi, 5 note.
The tense presents the perfection as
dependent on a continuous fellowship
between God and the Christian body.
Contrast Clem. ad Cor. i. 50 οἱ ἐν
ἀγάπῃ τελειωθέντες.

ἵνα παρρ. ἔχ.] ut fiduciam habea-
mus V. The fulness of love is given
with a view to an end. The feeling

158

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

{Iv. 17

y ἑ µ ¥
pnoiav ἔχωμεν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ Ths κρίσεως, ὅτι καθως

ἔχωμεν: ἔχομεν δὲ.

which is active now will have its
fullest effect in the supreme trial of
existence. St John, who habitually
regards the eternal aspect of things,
regards the boldness as something
which is possessed absolutely (rere-
λείωται...ἵνα Exoper...). In an earlier
passage (ii 28), he enjoined abiding
in God in Christ as the source of
confidence at Christ’s Presence. He
now points out how the confidence is
established. To abide in God is to
share the character of Christ under
the conditions of earth. The sense
of spiritual harmony with Him which
this abiding brings necessarily in-
-spires boldness in the believer; and
it is the purpose of God that it should
do so, So God fulfils His counsel of
love. Thus the whole train of thought
is brought to a natural conclusion.
“God is love: he that abideth in
love abideth in God...In this com-
munion love finds consummation, in
order that ‘by conscious conformity
with Christ’ the last trial of life may
be overcome, when ‘the last fear is
banished.”

παρ. ἔχωμεν] ο. ii. 28 note.

ἐν τῇ ἡμ. τῆς κρ.] ὧν die judicii V.,
in the day of judgment, when Christ
shall come to execute judgment on
the world (ο, ii 28). The definite
phrase is found here only. The in-
definite phrase, ‘a day of judgment’
im xp.), occurs in Matt. χ. 155 xi.
22, 24; xii. 36; 2 Pet. ii. 9;
Compare also Apo. vi 17 ἡ ἡμ. ἡ
µεγάλη τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτῶν; Rom. ii. 5 ἡμ.
ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως τῆς δικαιοκρι-
σίας τοῦ θεοῦ; 1 Pet, ii. 12 ἡμ. ἐπι-
σκοπῆς. In tho Gospel St John speaks
of ‘the last day’ (j ἐσχάτη ἡμ.) vie
39, 40, 44, 543 xi. 24; xii 48; which
is elsewhere styled simply ‘that day’
(ἐκείνη ἡ ἡμ., ἡ ἡμ. ἐκ.), Matt. vii. 225
Luke vi, 23; x. 12; xxi. 34; 2 Thess.

ἡμέρᾳ: ἀγάπῃ R.

i. 10; 2 Tim. i. 12, 18; iv. 8. The
phrase ‘the judgment’ (ἡ xpicus) is
found Matt. xii 41 £; Luke x 14;
xi 31

It is of interest to notice that the
privilege which is here attributed to
love is, under another aspect, attri-
buted also to faith; John iii. 18; v.
24, The two cannot be separated.

ὅτι καθὼς éxeivos...] because even as
He (Christ, ο. ii, 6 note) ts... The
ground of boldness is present likeness
to Christ. He has‘ passed out of this
world’ (John xii. 1), but His disciples
are still ‘in the world’ (John xvii.
11), and have a work to do there
(John xvii. 18). In fulfilling this
work He is their ideal (ο. ii. 6): oon-
formity to Him is the rule of their
judgment (John xv. 18 ff). And
the likeness of Christians to Christ is
to His character as it is at present
and eternally (καθὼς ἐκ. ἐστιν, comp.
iii. 2, 7) and not to the particular form
in which it was historically manifested
(κ. ἐκ. ἦν).

The reference 18 not to any one
attribute, as love or righteousness,
but to the whole. character of Christ
as it is made known; and His high-
priestly prayer serves as a commen-
tary on the view which St John sug-
gests of the position of Christians in
the world.

Following Augustine (s00 iii. 7 note)
Bede says forcibly: Non semper ad
sequalitatem dicitur sicut, sed dicitur
ad quandam similitudinem... Siergo
facti sumus ad imaginem Dei, quare
non sicut Deus sumus? non ad sequa-
litatem sed pro modo nostro. Inde
ergo nobis datur fiducia in die judicii,
quia sicut ille est et nos sumus in
hoe mundo, imitando videlicet perfeo-
tionem dilectionis in mundo cujus ille
exemplam nobis quotidie presbet de
clo.

IV. 18)

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

159

ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμὲν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ.
"δϕόβος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, αλλ’ ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη
ἔξω Barra τὸν φόβον, ὅτι ὁ φόβος κόλασιν ἔχει, ὁ

ἐσμέν: ἐσόμεθα Ν.

καθὼς...καὶ ἡμεῖς...] The οὕτως in
the second member of the comparison
is sometimes replaced by καὶ: ο. ii. 6,
18; John xvii. 18; xx. 21 (xv. 9 is
doubtful) ; sometimes it is omitted:
ο ii 27; and especially when the
order of the clauses is inverted: John
y. 23; Rom. xv. 7.

καὶ ἡμ. ἆ. ἐν τῷ κ. τι] The likeness is
conditioned by the circumstances of
the present state. ‘This world’ (6
κ. οὗτος), a8 distinguished from ‘tho
world,’ emphasises the idea of trans-
itoriness. The phrase is not found
elsewhere in the Epistles of John.
Bee John i. 10 note.

18, The thought of boldness neces-
sarily calls up that of its opposite, fear.
There is fear in man naturally; but
love ever tends to expel it. Fear
finds no place in love, and it cannot
therefore co-exist with perfect love
which occupies the whole ‘heart,’
The ideas are expressed in a general
form and hold good absolutely, but
they necessarily are specialised men-
tally from the context.

φόβος...ἐν τῇ ἀγ.] Love is the sim-
ple desire for the highest good of
another or of others, and is the ex-
pression of a spirit of self-surrender,
Fear therefore—the shrinking from
another—cannot be an essential ele-
ment in love. Here the reader at
once feels that the abstract principle
has found @ typical embodiment in
the self-sacrifice of Christ, towards
the imitation of which Christians
strive through His Spirit,

The fear of which St John speaks
is, of course, not the reverence of the
son (Hebr. v. 7 ff.), but the dread of
the criminal or of the slave (Rom.
viii. 15).

So Augustine says: Aliud est ti-
mere Deum ne mittat te in gehen-
nam cum diabolo: aliud est timere
Deum ne recedat a ta,

ἀλλ᾽,..] but, so far is it from being
the case that fear has a place in love,
it is of the nature of love to expel
fear. Fear is an instrument of painful
discipline ; and when the end of per-
fect fellowship with God has been
reached, the discipline is no longer
needed. This sentence ἀλλ᾽...ἔχει is
parenthetical.

red. ἀγάπη] perfect love, not ‘per-
fected love’ (ἡ τετελειωµένη ἀγ.. The
thought is of love which is complete
in all its parts, which has reached its
complete development (Hebr. v. 14
note) ; of what it ἐς and not of what
it has become. Comp. James i. 4;
iii. 2; Eph. iv. 13.

The arrangement ἡ τελ. ἆγ., which is
common, for example, in 2 Pet, is
unique in the Epistle (comp. 3 John 4
See ο ii 7 note. It
expresses a shade of meaning, as dis-
tinct from ἡ dy. ἡ τελ., which is evi-
dently appropriate here.

deo βάλλει] foras mittit V., cast-
eth forth from the whole sphere of
life. There is no longer scope for its
operation. St John thus recognises
the provisional presence of fear in
the believer. It is found for a time
with growing love, but mature love
removes it, The phrase βάλλει ἔξω,
which suggests the thought of a de-
fined realm of spiritual activity (Apoc.
xxii. 15), is more vivid than ἐκβάλλει.
Comp. Matt, v.13; xiii 48; Luke xiv.
35 (βάλλειν ἔξω); John vi 37; ix,
34 Εν xii 41 5 xv. 6 (ἐκβόλλεω ἔέω).

ὅτι ὁ φ. κὀλ. ἔχει] Quoniam timor
panam (tormentum Aug.) habet V.,

160

δὲ φοβούμενος οὐ τετελείωται ἐν τῇ ἀγάπη.
ἀγαπώμεν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

19 ἡμεῖε ΝΒ me the syrhl: -« οὖν A vg syrvg.
(αὐτόν and invicem are also added.)

κ (vg) me ασττ.
ὁ θεός A vg.

because fear hath punishment. Fear,
which is the expression of disharmony
and therefore the anticipation of suf-
fering, at the same time must include
suffering. And the suffering which
comes from disharmony with God is
divine punishment which has a sa-
lutary office: Hebr. xii. 11. Such
punishment is not fature only but
present. Comp. John iii. 18.

κόλ. ἔχει] includes, brings with it
punishment. Comp. Hebr. x. 35 (τὴν
παρρησίαν) ἥτις ἔχει peydAny µισθαπο-
δοσίαν. James ii. 17 (i. 4).

The word κόλασις occurs elsewhere
in the N. T. only in Matt. xxv. 46.
The verb κολάζεσθαι is found in Acts
iv. 215 2 Pet. ii.g (not ii. 4). The noun
occurs in the uxx. of Ezekiel (for
Sweinn): xiv. 3, 4, 71 xviii, 30 (aliii.
11); xliv, 12; and both the noun and
verb occur not unfrequently in Wis-
dom: xi. 14, 17; xvi. I, 2, &e.

The familiar classical distinction
between τιμωρία which regarded the
retributive suffering and κόλασις which
regarded the disciplinary chastisement
of the wrong-doer was familiar to the
Alexandrine Greeks: 6.0. Philo, de
confus, ling. 3 34 (i. 431 M.) ἔστι δὲ
καὶ κόλασις ove ἐπιζήμιον ἁμαρτημάτων
οὖσα κώλυσις καὶ ἐπανόρθωσις.

& δὲ φοβούμενον...] and he that
Seareth... This clause goes closely
with the first clause of the sentence :
‘there is no fear in love, but he that
feareth bath not been made perfect
inlove’ That which is stated first as an
abstract principle (‘fear’) is repeated
in a personal form (‘he that feareth’),
St John, while he lays down the full
truth, recognises the facts of life and
deals with them. There are those

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IV. 19, 20

19'Ημεῖς
av

dyorGuer AB: +rbv θεόν
aérés NB me the syrr:

who fear while yet they love: so far
their love though real is incom-
plete.

The second and third clauses of
the verse illustrate well the distinc-
tion of ἀλλά (sed) and δέ (autem). The
second clause (ἀλλ᾽ ή τ. d.) stands in
sharp opposition to the first, while
the third (6 δὲ ¢.) deals with a limita-
tion, or objection.

οὗ τετελείωται dv τῇ dy] This con-
summation of the believer is presented
in two complementary forms. He is
himself the sphere in which love finds
its perfection; and love is the sphere
in which he finds his perfection. Love
is perfected in him (ii 5): and he is
perfected in love. Comp. Additional
Note on 5. 15.

Bengel in one of his unmatched
epigrams gives a history of the soul
through its relations to fear and love:
Varius hominum status: sine timore
et amore; cum timore sine amore ;
cam timore et amore; sine timore
cum amore,

19—21. In the preceding verses
St John has shewn what love brings
to the believer. He now lays open
the obligation which it imposes upon.
him. The love which is inspired by
God must be manifested towards the
brethren according to His command-
ment.

19 We love, because he first loved us.
3ο] any one say I love God, and
hate his brother, he is a liar; for he
that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen cannot love God, whom he
hath not seen. "' And this command-
ment have we from him that he who
loveth God love his brother also,

19. ‘Hyeis dy.) Nos ergo diligamus
invicem V. The absence of any title of

IV. 20]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

161

τις εἴπῃ ὅτι ᾽Ἀγαπῶ τὸν θεόν, καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ
μισῇ, ψεύστης ἐστίν' ὁ γὰρ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν
20 --ὅτι Ν.

address and the addition of the per-

P
from ο. 7 ἀγαπητοί, ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλή-
λους, and seem to shew clearly that
the verb is an indicative (We love),
and not a conjunctive (Let us love).
It is worthy of notice that the Latin
and Pesh. Syriac which give the
hortatory rendering add a connecting
Particle as many Greek authorities
(ody).

The indicative also suits the con-
text better. The fact of love is as-
sumed, and then it is shewn in its
workings, Comp. iii. 16.

According to the true reading the
idea of love is left in ita full breadth
without any definition of the object,
as God (αὐτόν or τὸν Gedy), or man
(invicem V.). This is required by
what follows, where it is falsely urged
that the claims of ‘love’ can be satis-
fied by bare ‘love of God’

ὅτι αὐτὸς mp, tty. ἡμ.] Comp, σ. 10,
The thought here is different from
that in the former context. There
love was regarded in its essence: here
it is regarded in its personal exercise.
Onur love is the light kindled by the
love of God. And the divine origin
of love determines its character and
also assures its stability. Comp. John
xv. 16.

πρῶτος ἡγ] prior dilexit V. Comp.
Rom. v. 8. The priority of the love
of God to all love on man’s part
which is accentuated here, is a ground
for the spontaneous exercise of love
on the part of the believer towards
those who do not seem to invite it.

20, 31. The consequences of the
preceding statement are traced out
in two ways from the natare of the
case (ο. 20), and from the direct com-
mandment of God (v.21). The love
of God, which is assumed to exist at

w.

least in profession, must include love
of the brethren, and so God has Him-
self enjoined. The thought of loving
God is here first discussed (comp. 5.
10).

20. ἐάν τις εἴπῃ] The form of ex-
pression differs slightly from that in
1, 6 (ἂν εἴπωμεν. There a view
was given of the general position of
Christians: here a particular case is
taken, involving personal feeling. Con-
trast also ‘he that [saith]’ and ‘every
one that [saith] ο iii, 3 note;-ii
4 note,

εἴπῃ ὅτι ᾽Αγαπᾶ...] For the use of
the recitative ὅτι see i.6 note. The
claim is like those which have been
noticed in ii. 4, 9; i 6 Β,, by which
the faith is taken out of the sphere of
practical life,

It is worthy of notice that in the
Gospel of Βὲ John ἀγαπᾶν is not used
of the feeling of man for God (the
Father). It is so used in the other
Gospels in a quotation from the Lxx.

μισῇ] hate. St John admits no po-
sition of indifference. See ii. 9 note.

ψεύστης ἐστίν] Comp. ii. 4 ὁ λέγων
ὅτι Ἔγνωκα αὐτὸν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ.
μὴ τηρῶν ψεύστης ἐστίν... The claim
to the knowledge of God without
obedience, and the claim to the love
of God without action, involve not
only the denial of what is known to
be true (ψεύδεσθαι), but falseness of
character, Comp. i 10 note, and v.
1ο. See also John viii, 44, 55; and

το. ii 22.

ὁ γὰρ μὴ ἀγαπῶ»...] for he that
loveth not... The particular statement
(ἐάν τις εἴπῃ) is refuted by a general
principle. Sight is taken as the sign
of that kind of limitation which brings
objects within the range of our pre-
sent powers. It is necessarily easier
to love that which is like ourselves

It

162

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[IV. 21

sean ἂν dat κ dedy ay οὖν ἐν yy
αὐτοῦ ὃν ἑώρακεν, τὸν θεὸν ὃν οὐχ ἑώρακεν οὐ δύναται

ἀγαπῷν.

ary ῃ νο ar zen
καὶ ταύτην την ἐντολην έχοµεν απ αυτου,

ἵνα 6 ἀγαπῶν τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.

οὐ Biv, KB the ayrhl: πῶς div. A vg mo αγεΤβ.

θεοῦ A τβ.

than that which we cannot grasp in
a finite form. And the title ἁ πολ,
brings out the idea of that which is
godlike in man to which love can be
directed. He therefore who fails to

God as He reveals Himself
through Christ in man (Matt. xxv. 40
«νὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν µου τῶν ἔλα-
χίστων) cannot love God. He has
refused the help which God has pro-
vided for the expression of love in

action.

Philo traces the thought through
the natural love of children for pa-
rente: φασί rues ὡς dpa πατὴρ καὶ
μήτηρ ἐμφανεῖς εἰσὶ θεοί...ἀμήχανον δὲ
«ὐσεβεῖσθαι τὸν ἀόρατον ὑπὸ τῶν els
τοὺς ἐμφανεῖς καὶ ἐγγὺς ὄντας ἀσεβούν-
των (de decal. § 23, ii. Ρ. 204 M.). The
love of parents involves the love of

τὸν 6, by οὐχ ἑώρ.] Jobn i. 18 note;
9. 12 (τεθέαται); 1 Tim. vi. 16. The
inverted order in the corresponding
clauses is singularly expressive. There
is also a more solemn pathos in the
direct negative οὐ δύναται than in the
more rhetorical phrase of the com-
mon text πῶς δύναται.

ἑώρακεν... οὐχ ἑώρακεν..] videt...
non videt... V., hath seen,..hath not
seen... 19 might have seemed more
natural to say ‘seeth...cannot seo...’ ;
bat the two perfects mark the fact
that a revelation with abiding conse-
quences has and has not been made
in the two cases, The vision of ‘the
brother’ may in any particular case

a1 dx’ αὐτοῦ: ἀπὸ τοῦ

be clouded but he has been seen, and
the idea of brotherhood abides for
constant use.

21. καὶ ταύτην 1.4] That which is
a spiritual necessity is also an exprees
injunction. The commandment of
love which has been implied in the
preceding verses is now defined.
Comp. ο. iii. 23.

dn’ αὐτοῦ] @ Deo V., ab ipso Lat.
Vet., from Him, from God. The con-
text makes it probable that, though
the Divine Person is not clearly de-
fined, the reference is to the Father
(x. 19), Who by sending His Son
shewed the way of love, The com-
mandment was given in substance by
Christ (John xiii, 34), but it came
from God (ἀπό) as its final source.
Compare i. 5; ii. 27 notes; and con-
trast the use of παρά Apoo, ii, 27;
John viii. 26, 40; x. 18.

toa...] that...’ The final particle
gives more than the simple contents
of the commandment. It marks the
injunction as directed to an sim ; and
implies that the effort to obtain it
can never be relaxed (ἴνα...ἀγαπῇ).
Comp. John xiii. 34 note.

Augustine (on ο. v. 3) uses the
words of the ascended Lord to Saul
to illustrate and enforce the lesson :
Persecutori Saulo [Christus] dixit de-
super: Saule, Saule, quid me perse-
queris? Ascendi in ceelum, sed adhuc
in terra jaceo. Hic ad dexteram pa-
tris sedeo: ibi adhuc esurio, sitio et
peregrinus sum.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 163

Additional Note on the reading of iv. 3.

‘The first clause in this verse is given in several different forms in ex- General

‘isting Greek authorities. These are view of
π. αν, ὃ μὴ ὀμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν AB, the varia.
π. πν. 8 μὴ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Kipur ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα Ν. .
π. αν. ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν Ἄριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα L, &6.
π. αν. ὃ μὴ ὁμολοε ᾿Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα Ἑ, ἄο.

To these variations must be added another, which is represented by the

Vulgate reading :
wmv 8 λύει τὸν Ἰησοῦ».
The main interest centres on the alternatives μὴ ὁμολογεῖ and λύει.
As the direct evidence now stands, μὴ ὁμολογεῖ is read by External
(1) All Greek mas, uncial and cursive, gridence
(2) ΑΙ the versions except the Latin, and by one important Old 8, μὴ ὁμο-
Latin us (Fris.), λογεῖ,
(3) The Greek Fathers who quote the passage with the exception
of Socrates, from Cyril downwards, to whom Polycarp must probably be
added: wis γὰρ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐληλυθέναι ἀντίχριστός
ἐστι (ad Phil. 7).
On the other hand
(1) Socrates gives Ave as having been the reading in ‘the old (ii) for
copies.’ λύει,
(2) All Latin uss, with one exception, read solvit ; and
(3) This reading, with the variant destruit, prevails in the Latin
Fathers, being universal in the later writers.

The evidence of Socrates, the only Greek authority for Ave, is contained The evi-
in a passage which presents several difficulties. Speaking of the error of dence of
Nestorius and of his general self-sufficiency and contempt for accurate Socrates.
learning, he goes on to say : ‘for example he was ignorant of the fact that
in the Catholic Epistle of John it was written in the ancient copies that
every spirit which divideth (Ave) Jesus is not from God. For they that
desired to separate the deity from the man of the dispensation [19. Christ
Jesus] removed this thought [the condemnation of those who ‘divide
Jeaua’] from the ancient copies. Wherefore also the ancient interpreters
noted this very fact, that there were some who had tampered with the
epistle wishing to divide the man from God!”

1 HL Ε. vii. 32, αὐτίκα γοῦν ἠγνόησεν ris οἰκονομίας ἀνθρώπου βουλόµενοι τὴν
i fi Tudo θεύτητα" δὼ καὶ οἱ παλαιοὶ ἁρμηνεῖς αὐτὸ

τοῦτο ἐπεσημήναντο, ὧν τινες cle ῥᾳδιουρ-

ὃ λύει τὸν Tho ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ For. Ὑήσαντει τὴν ἐπιστολήν, λύευ ἀπὸ τοῦ

ταύτην γὰρ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν Geol τὸν ἄνθρωπον θέλοντεν.

ὠντιγράφων περιῖλον οἱ χωρίζει» ἀπὸ τοῦ.

α]---2

164

\ota-
tions in
texts of
Greek

Fathers,

Latin
Patristic
evidence.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

It will be seen that Socrates does not say that the reading was found in
copies which he had himself seen, but only that it once was found in the
text: he writes that it ‘had been written’ (γέγραπτο) and not that ‘it is
written’ (γέγραπται). Again it is a sign that he is not quoting any Greek
wus that he writes ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ for ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, a variant which has no Greek
authority. His language is in fact perfectly satisfied by the supposition
that he was acquainted with the Latin reading and some Latin com-
mentary',

In the Latin translation of InzN&vs 2 John 7 and 1 John iv. 3 are quoted
as from the same epistle (Iren, iii. 16, 8). After the quotation of the former
passage the text continues...Johannes in presdicta epistola fugere eos preo-
cepit dicens...omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum non est ax Deo sed de (60).
Antichristo est. The context shews clearly in what sense Irenseus under-
stood Βὲ John’s words, but it is not decisive as to the reading which he had
in his Greek text.

The Latin translation of CLEMENT’s Outlines (Ὑποτυπώσεις) on 2 John
gives as part of the substance of this Epistle: adstruit in hac epistola...
ut nemo dividat Jesum Christum, sed unum credere Jesum Christum
venisse in carne.

The reading ‘solvit Jesum’ is found in the Latin translation of OntcEN:
Hee autem dicentes non solvimus suscepti corporis hominem, cum sit
scriptum apud Johannem omnis spiritus qui soleit Jesum non est ex Deo,
sed unicuique substantis proprietatem servamus (in Matt, Com. Scr.
§ 6s). But the character of the translation is such as to give no satis-
factory assurance that Origen’s Greek text read Ave.

There is no indication, as far as I am aware, that the reading Ave: was
accepted by or known to any other Greek or Eastern father.

Yet the fact remains that the reading was found at a very early date.
TERTULLIAN uses the phrases ‘solyere Jesum’ (adv. Mare. v. 16) and ‘sol-
vere Jesum Christum’ (de Jejun. 1). In the former passage he appears to
combine the language of 1 John iv. 3 and 2 John 7, as is done in the Latin
translation of Clement: Johannes dicit processisse in mundum preecursores
antichristi epiritus, negantes Christum in carne venisse et solventes Jesum ;
and it may be observed that the close connexion of the two verses in some
of the Latin renderings (which give venisse for ἐρχόμενον in 2 John 7) makes
it difficult to decide to which of the two reference is made in particular
cases, The words of Tertullian de Carne Chr. 24 qui negat Christum in
carne venisse hic antichristus est; de Prescr. her. 33 in epistola sua
[Johannes] eos maxime antichristos vocat qui Christum negarent in carne
venisse et qui non putarent Jesum filium Dei esse (comp. ο. Mare. iii. 8
negantes Christum in carne venisse); and of Cyprian (Testim, ii. 8) qui
autem negat in carne cenisse de Deo non est sed est de antichristi spiritu®,
were probably moulded by the passage in the second epistle.

Avevstine in his explanation of the epistle first quotes the passage at
length with the reading ‘qui non conjitetur Jesum Christum in carne
ventsse, which he explains (referring to ο. ii. 19), and then without any

1 Socrates was soquainted with 2 All. de Deo natus non est sed est
Latin: Η. Ε. i, 12. Antichristus,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 165

remark he passes on to explain ‘solvere’: Adeo ut noveritis quia ad facta
retulit: Et omnis spiritus, ait, gui solvit Jesum; and again afterwards
he unites both phrases: ‘solvis Jesum et negas in carne venisse.

Funezntivs! and ΤΙσΠΟΝΙΟΒΣ combine phrases from the two epistles
with even greater freedom.

It is remarkable that Bepx, who was aware of the substance of Socrates’
criticism, supposes that those who tampered with the epistle left out the
whole clause: In tantum ex Deo non sunt ut quidam...hunc...versiculum
quo dicitur et omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non est, ex hac
epistola eraserint, ne scilicet per auctoritatem beati Joannis convinceretur
error eorum. Denique Nestorius nescire se prodidit hanc authenticis ex-
emplaribus inditam fuisse sententiam...

This strange assertion is repeated by Funpert of CHanrees’, and
Horomar‘. Such a misunderstanding offers a memorable example of the
way in which critical statements are unintelligently perverted and made the
ground of unjust charges.

From this review there can be no question as to the overwhelming weight Internal
of external evidence in favour of μὴ ὁμολογεῖ. To set this aside without the evidence.
clearest necessity is to suspend all laws of textual criticism. Noreading sup-
ported by such authority as Ave: is, 1 believe, more than a very early gloss.
And on careful consideration it seems that the internal evidence is not more
favourable to Ave: Ἰησοῦν than the external. It is scarcely possible that
auch a phrase could be used for separating the divine and human natures
in Christ. The name Ἰησοῦς brings prominently forward the humanity of
the Lord. Socrates evidently felt this, for he defines Avew by the addition
ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ.

The language of Polycarp shews that St John’s teaching upon the sub-
ject was current in various forms. It seems likely that he used two main
phrases λύειν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν and μὴ ὁμολογεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν (answering to
Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Rom. x.9). This being so, the Ave: in the former phrase was
added as a gloss on the phrase μὴ ὁμολογεῖ of the epistle in some early
copies, and 80 passed into the Latin version’, The additions to Ἰησοῦν are

1 Ad Trasim. 1. ο. 5. De qua veri- Antichrist est. Quod audiatis quoniam

tate...ille qui de pectore ipsius sapien-
tim mysterioram celestium meruit
intelligentiam illuminatus haurire fidn-
cialiter dicit: omnis epiritus qui conjt-
tetur Jesum Christum in carne venisse
ex Deoest. Omnis spiritue qui non con-
Altetur Jesum Christum in carne venisse
‘ez Deo non est; et hic est Antichristus.
Ep. xvii, ο. 10 Joannes...testatur quia
omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo
non est, et hic est antichristus,

3 Reg. τν. Buper Joannem multi peeu-
dopropheta prodierunt in hune mundum.
In isto cognoscite spiritus Det. Omnis
spiritus qui solvit Jesum et negat in
carne veniste de Deo non est sed hic de

venit et nune in isto mundo prasens est,
3 Ep. v. (i) Cujas [Απ] auditores
quoniam Spiritum Sanctum Deum esse
negabant de Evangelio eraserunt illud
quod Salvator ait Spiritus est Deus, ot
de epistola Joannis eraserunt et omnis
apiritua qué solvit Jerum ex Deo non
at. Sicut Nestorius.
« Opuse. et Epiat, xviii. (Migne, Patr.
Lat. oxxvi. p. 351) quidam etiam de
epistola Joannis eraserunt et omnis
spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non est.
The whole paragraph is very instruc-
tive.
5A passage of Cyril of Alexandria
will shew how naturally the gloss

166 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

easily intelligible, and the forms in which they occur shew that they are
no part of the original text. At the same time it is not unreasonable to
suppose that the unusual amount of variants indicates the influence of some
traditional form of words upon the text. In 2 John 7 there is no variation
in the corresponding phrase ; nor is the characteristic word of that passage
(ἐρχόμενον) introduced here by any authority.

Additional Note on iv. 8. The revelation of God.

Tenden- Jewish thought in the age of St John represented in striking forms the
cies to- _ two chief tendencies of religious speculation on the Being of God. On the
wards tO one side there was the philosophic, theoretic tendency which leads to
fione br an abstract conception; and on the other the popular, practical tendency
God in the which leads to a concrete conception. The former found an exponent in
Apostolic Philo: the latter was embodied in the current creed of Palestine, which
seo tana more and more reduced the God of the Covenant to the position of the God
concrete, of the Jows.
St John St John unites the truths which gave force to these tendencies, the trans-
unites cendental and the personal truth, in a perfect harmony. He wholly avoids
them. the Alexandrine terms—ri dy, ἐπέκεινα πάσης οὐσίας and the like—and yet
he preserves the thoughts at which they aimed. He recognises most em-
phatically the privileges of Israel, and at the same time he places the ‘One
God? in a living, loving connexion with ‘the world’
His teach- The foundation of his teaching lies in the Monotheism of the Ο. Τ.,
ing rests which is not rigid, sterile, final, like the Monotheism of Islam, but vital and
on the ia. Progressive. The unity which it affirms is not numerical but essential
ment, (John x. 30 ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ & ἐσμεν: comp. xvii. 3; 1 John v. 20).
Opposed _In this sense tho thought of ‘the only God’ (John v. 44) is opposed to
to all forms of Dualism, Polytheism, Pantheism. He is the One source of life
(John τ. 26); and through the Word, ‘the Son? to Whom ‘he gave to have
Dualism, life in himself’ (John Lc.), ‘all things came into being’ (John i. 3). All
notion of coeternal matter or of a coeternal principle of evil, as antagonistic
to or limiting the divine action, is set aside. God ‘loved the world’ (Jobn
iii. 16; comp, 1 John ii 2) not as strange but as His own. All men need
(John iii. 3) and all men are capable of (John xii. 32) union with Him.
‘The devil left his first place ‘in the Truth’ (John viii. 44); and Christ
‘came to undo his works’ (1 John iii 8) by taking ‘fleah, which could
not therefore have been in essential opposition to His Nature.
Poly- The allusions to Polytheism in St John are naturally less prominent than
theism, those in St Paul. Once in general terms he warns against ‘the idols’ which

might be introduced. He quotes the (de recta fide ad reg. Ρ. 99). The Greck
passage: πᾶν πνεῦμα 8 μὴ ὀμολογεῖ τὸν version of Leo's Letter to Flavian (o. v.
ησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστι and then inp. 830) gives way wveiua τὸ διαιροῦ» Ἰη-
his interpretation adds τοίνυν οὐ λέγων σοῦρ Χριστὸν ἀπὸ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστι καὶ οὗτότ
θεὸν εἶναι ἀληθῶν τὸν Χριστὸν διαιρῶν δὲ ἐστω ὁ Αντίχριστοι as the rendering of
καὶ κατασμικρύνων τὴν Star αὐτοῦ τὸ the Latin omnis spiritus qui solvit Jerum
τοῦ ᾿Αντιχρίστον πνεῦμα ἔχων ἁλώσεται ex Deo non est et hic eat Antichristus,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 167

usurp the place of ‘the true God’ (1 John v, 21); and in the Apocalypse he
marks the connexion between the empire and idolatry (xiii. 14 5; and comp.
xxi. 8; xxii. 15). But his teaching is directed rather against the spirit than
against the form of polytheism. ‘The only true God,’ God revealed as
Father in the Son, excludes polytheism of necessity both within and without
the Christian Body.

St John, like 8t Paul, places Creation in close relation with the Creator, Pan-
but he affirms the reality of the relation which the words imply. God is theism.
present in all things but He transcends them. They answered to His will
in their beginning (Apoc. iv. 11), and are supported by His working (John
v.17).

For the most part St John, like the other writers of the Bible, leaves St John’s
the reader to form his conception of God from what is recorded of His
action; but in three phrases he has laid down once for alll the great outlines ments as
within which our thoughts on the Divine Nature must be confined. The to the
first: sentence is in his narrative of the Lord’s words : ‘God is spirit’ (John Divine
iv. 24); the two others are in his first Epistle: ‘God is light’ (1 Johni. 5 note) Nature.
and ‘God is love’ (1 John iv. 8, 16).

To these may be added a fourth, in which he speaks of the revelation of
‘Him that is true’ made in ‘Jesus Christ His Son’: ‘this, he says, ‘is the
trae God and eternal life’ (1 John v. 20). So he passes from the idea of
God to the revelation of God to man.

The three phrases which have been quoted do not simply specify proper-
ties of God (as ‘God is loving’), but, so far as we can apprehend them,
essential aspects of His Nature. The first, if we may venture to distinguish
them, is metaphysical and describes God in Himself, in His Being: He is
Spirit. The second is moral, and describes God in His character towards
all created things: He is Light. The third is personal, and describes God
in His action towards self-conscious creatures: He is Love. In this order
they offer a progress of thought : each statement is taken up and developed
in that which follows.

i. God is spirit (πνεῦμα ὁ θεός). The statement obviously refors to the i. God is
divine nature and not to the divine personality. The parallel phrases are ®Pirit.
a sufficient proof of this. God is not ‘a spirit,’ as one of many, but ‘spirit.’

As spirit, He is absolutely raised above all limitations of succession (time
‘and space) into which finally all thoughts of change and transitoriness are
resolved.

There is no anticipation of this idea in the Ο.Τ. The ‘Spirit of God’ is
constantly spoken of; but the loftiest descriptions of the Divine Majesty are
always relative to space (Is. Ixvi. 1; 1 K. viii. 27; Jer. xxiii. 24).

It follows that God as God is not cognisable by the senses (John i, 18 ;

1 John iv. 12), The Theophanies of the Ο.Τ. were not manifestations of
‘God’ but of the Son of God (John xii. 41; Is, vi. 1; comp, Apoe, iv. 2 ff.).

But while the material vision of God is impossible, there is a spiritual
and a moral vision of God through Christ (John xiv. 9; comp. xii, 45) and
through love, which leads up to the transfiguring contemplation of the
Divine Presence (1 John ii. 2).

ii God is light (6 θεὸς φῶς doriv). Thig statement again is absolute ii. God is
as to the Nature of God, and not as to His action (not ‘a light’ or ‘the light.

168

iii. God is
love.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

light of men’). The phrase expresses unlimited self-communication, diffu-
siveness. Light is by shining: darkness alone bounds, And further, the
communication of light is of that which is pure and glorious. Such is God
towards all finite being, the condition of life and action. He reveals Him-
self through the works of creation which reflect His perfections in a form
answering to the powers of man, and yet God is not to be fully apprehended
by man as He is.

The idea is not distinctly expressed in the O. Τ., though it underlies the
thought of the Divine ‘glory’ (Ex. xxiv. 17; Hab. ili. 34). Compare also
Is. x 17; Ps. xxxvi. 10; civ. 2; Ezek. i. 27. It is indicated in Wisdom
(vii, 26), and Philo uses the very words of St John: de Somn. i. p. 632,
πρῶτον μὲν ὁ Beds φῶς ἐστί...καὶ οὐ µόνον φῶς ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὸς ἑτέρου φωτὸς
ἀρχέτυπον μᾶλλον δὲ ἀρχετύπου πρεσβύτερον, καὶ ἀνώτερον, λόγον ἔχων παρα-
δείγματος, Compare also Philo de nom. mut. i. 579; de sacrif. ii. p. 254/
one remarkable phrase which Philo uses deserves to be quoted: ὁ θεὸς
ἑαυτοῦ φέγγος dv δὲ αὐτοῦ µόνου θεωρεῖται (de prosm. ot porn. ii. 415).

‘The idea of Light, it may be added, passes into that of Fire; but this
thought is not brought out by St John (Hebr. xii. 29: Deut. iv. 24).

iii, God is love (6 θεὸς ἀγάπη éoriv). In this declaration the idea of

‘personality’ is first revealed, and in the case of God necessarily of a self-
sufficing personality (see Additional Note on Υ. 20). The idea of God is not
only that of an unlimited self-communication, but a self-communication
which calls out and receives a response (1 John ‘iv. 7 ff.), which requires the
recognition not only of glory but of goodness. And this love is original,
and not occasioned (1 John iv. 10). It corresponds to the innermost nature
of God, and finds its source in Him and not in man (1 John iv. 19, iii. 1).
It is not like the love which is called out in the finite by the sense of
imperfection (ἔρως Plat. Sympos. pp. 201 ff), but is the expression of per-
fect benevolence. The only earthly image which answers to it is the love of
parents for children (Eph, iii. 15), while that of Christ for the Church is
compared to the love of husband for wife (Eph. v. 25); compare the view
of the relation of Jehovah to Israel in the Old Test. (Jer. ii.; Hoa. ii).

As answering to this love of God, Creation in its essence and destiny
reveals not only the will but also the nature of God. As yet there is con-
flict and disorder, and St John does not, like St Paul (1 Cor. xv. 28),
distinctly contemplate the end. He lays down the eternal truths which
must find fulfilment.

For the same reason the thoughts of judgment and vengeance which are
prominent in the Apocalypse fall into the background in the Gospel and
Epistles, These lie, 80 to speak, rather in the necessity of things so far as
they are apart from God than in the will of God.

In the O. T. love is an attribute of God, one of many exercised in parti-
cular relations: Dent. iv. 37, vii. 8, 13, xi. 15, 18, xxiii. 5; 2 Sam. xii. 24;
Is, xli. 8, xliii. 4, xviii 14; Mali. 2. In the Ν. T. first love can be shewn
to be the very Being of God as answering to the Revelation in Christ ; and
we may see a certain fitness in the fact that this crowning truth is brought
out in the latest of the apostolic writings.

In other passages St John speaks of God as ‘living’ (John vi. 57 ὁ ζῶν
πατήρ), ‘true’ (ἀληθής John viii. 26, iii. 33 ; comp. 1 John i. 1ο), ‘faithful’

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 169

(πιστός 1 John i. 9; Apoc. i. 5, iii. 14, xix. 11), ‘righteous’ (δίκαιος John xvii.
25; 1 Jobn i. 9; comp. Apoc. xvi. 5), ‘holy’ (ἄγιος John xvii. 11; comp.
Apoc. vi. 10). And he records how His character is shewn to us in His
action in Nature (John v. 17), History (ii. 3, xix. 11), and Grace (vi. 44 £).
Comp. John xii. 28, x. 29, xi. 41 {.

Additional Note on iv. 9. The use of the term µονογενής.

The term µονογενής is derived from the vocabulary of theixx. It occurs The use of
there altogether eight times, three times in the Psalms, three times in Tobit, #070ver"7,
once in Judges and once in the book of Wisdom. The use of the word in i
Tobit is quite simple. Tobit and Sarah are two μονογενεῖς, only children
of their parents (vili. 17): Sarah is µονογενής (or pla ii, 10) the one daughter
of her father (iii. 15; cf. vi 11 where the reading is doubtful). In the
book of Wisdom the meaning of the term is less easy to express. It is
said (vii. 22) that in Wisdom there is a spirit intelligent, holy, µονογενές,
manifold, subtle, versatile... The epithet evidently describes the essential
nature and not the derivation of this spirit: it is something absolutely one,

‘unique (unicus in Latt.)

In the three passages of the Psalms, as in Jud. xi. 34, the word repre-
sents the Hebrew Ὅῃ), twice as a significant title of the soul, the one single
irreparable life of man (Ps, xxii. (xxi.) 21 ; xxxv. (xxxiv.) 17, unicam meam
Lat. Vet. ; solitariam meam V.), and once of the sufferer left alone and
solitary in his distress (Ps, xxv. (xxiv.) 16 unicus Lat. Vet.; solus V.;
and so Aquila rightly in Ps Ixviii. (xvii.) 6 [xx. µονοτρόπουε], but in
the three other places he gives yovayés, which is the rendering of Sym.
and Theod. here)

In six other places the same original word (η) is represented by
ἀγαπητός (Gen. xxii. 2, 12, 16; Jer. vi. 26; Amos viii, 10; Zech. xii. 10),
which also carries with it the notion of ‘an only child’; once by ἀγαπώ-
pevos, Prov. iv. 3. In Jud. xi. 34 Cod. A. gives the duplicate rendering
µονογενής, ἀγαπητή.

In the New Testament µονογενής has the same meaning only (Lk. viii. 42 ii. in the
unica), or only child (Lk. vii. 12 unicus; ix. 38 id.; Hebr. xi. 17, unicus Vet. N- T.
Lat. unigenitus V., comp. John i 14, unict Tert., unigeniti most); and

20 the word is used of the Lord (John iii. 16 unicus Vet. Lat.; unigenitus

V.; 1 John iv. 9 unicum Vet. Lat.; unigenitum V.; comp. John i. 14),

and once, according to the most ancient authorities in connexion with the

word ‘God’ (John i. 18 µονογενὴς θεός; unicus filius, Adim. ap. Aug. ; uni-

genitus filius (Deus), rell.).

The one instance of the use of the word in the sub-apostolic writings iii. in later
gives exactly the same sense, Clement speaks of the Phoenix (Ep. i. 25) as Writings.
μονογενὲς ὑπάρχον, a bird ‘absolutely unique, the only one of its kind’

(Comp. Bp. Lightfoot ad Joc.)

The word next appears prominently in the system of Valentinus. The
Mind (Νοῦς) the offepring of the ineffable Depth (Buéés) and Silence
(yf), which alone embraced the greatness of the First Father, itself ‘the
Father and beginning of all things,’ was also called ὁ Μονογενής, the only-

170

of Faith.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

born, And from this Being ‘like and equal’ to its Author, in conjunction
with Truth the other Hons proceeded (ση. i. 1, 2).

These mystical speculations fixed attention upon the term ; but perhaps
at the same time they checked its technical use in the Church. It does
not in fact occur in the earlier types of the Creed, which are found in
Trenseus, Tertullian and Novatian; and in Tertullian the co
Latin term unicus is used of God (the Father): de virg. vel. 1; adv. Praz. 2.
But it is worthy of notice that in the confession of Ignatius | before Trajan,
which follows the great lines of a Baptismal Symbol, the phrase is found : εἷς
ἔστιν θεὸς...καὶ els Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ µονογενής (Ignat. Mart. 2;
comp. Polyc. Mart. 20). And it was apparently from Antioch that the
term spread as an element of the expression of the Catholic Faith.

In the second half of the third century the word appears in the Con-
fessions of Syria and Asia Minor (Syn. Ant. 4.0. 269, Routh, iii. p. 290;
Greg. Thaum. ap. Grog. Nyss. 3, p. 912; Lucian, Socr. 2, 10, 7; Apost.
Const. 7,41; Marcellus, Epiph. Har. 72, p. 836); and from that time it
gradually obtained a permanent place in the Creeds of the East and the
West.

The earliest certain example of the word in this connexion brings out
ite force very plainly. The Synod of Antioch (269), which condemned Paul
of Samosata, in giving the exposition of their ancient belief which they
addressed to him, write: ‘We confess and proclaim the Son as begotten,
‘an only Son (γονητόν, υἱὸν µονογενῆ), the image of the unseen God, the
“firstborn of all creation, the Wisdom and Word and Power of God, who was
‘before the ages not by foreknowledge but by essence and sul
‘God, Son of God, having recognised Him as such both in the Old and New
‘Testament’ (Routh, Rel, Sacr. iii. 290; comp. Alex. Alexandr. ap. Theodor.
EH. Ε. 1. 4. 45, φύσις povoyerjs).

The point which is emphasised by the word here is evidently the abeo-
lute oneness of the Being of the Son. He stands to the Father in a
relation wholly singular. He is the one only Son, the one to whom the
title belongs in a sense completely unique and peculiar. The thought is
centred in the Personal existence of the Son, and not in the Generation of
the Son. That mystery is dealt with in another phrase, Consistently with
this view the earliest Latin forms of the Creed uniformly represent the
word by unicus, the only son, and not by unigenitus the only-begotten son,
and this rendering has maintained its place in the Apostles’ Creed and in
our English version of it. But towards the close of the fourth century in
translations from the Greek unigenitus came to be substituted for unicus,
and this interpretation has passed into our version of the Constantino-
politan Creed (only-begotten).

The sense of only Son is preserved by the Syriac versions of the Nicene
Creed, which go back to the original word which was rendered in the uxx.
povoyenjs and ἀγαπητός following in this the example of the Syriac
translation of tee NT, hore the wore μονής Ἡ 80 rendered uniformly :
Caspari, pp. tor, 116.

The exact phraseology of the true Nicene Creed separates distinctly
these two thoughts of the generation of the Son, and of the unique being of
the Son. ‘ We believe...in one Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 171

an only Son’ (yemblrra ἐκ πατρὸς μονογενῇ)!, where the uniquences of
nature is farther defined by the addition ‘that is to say of the essence of

the Father’ And this proper sense of the word µονογενής, as marking the

oneness of the sonship, preserves a close affinity in idea with ἀγαπητός
twell-beloved, the second translation of '}}. Both words define that which

is essentially singular in filial relationship: ‘Only son and well beloved?
Athanasius writes, ‘are the same’ (Or. ο Ar. iv. 24).

But in the interval which elapsed before the council of Constantinople Later in-
the important distinction between the sonship and the generation of the terpreta-
Son was beginning to be obscured, and µονογενής was treated a8 equivalent #ons.
to µόνος γεννηθείς, 80 a8 to include both the fact of the uniqueness of the
Nature of the Son and the ground (if we may so speak) of His uniqueness*.

In this way the grand simplicity of the original idea of the word was
lost. Other thoughts, true in themselves, were gathered round it, and at
last the sense was given by Gregory of Nazianzus as describing ‘not the
only Son of an only Parent, at one only time, but also that He was (be-
gotten) in a singular way (novorpéres)’ (Orat. xxx. 20). And this conception,
with which no fault can be found except that it is not contained in the
word, became popularly current afterwards and was admirably expressed
by John of Damascus: Μονογενὴς δὲ ὅτι μόνος ἐκ μόνου τοῦ πατρὸς µόνως
ἐγονήθη (De Fid. Orthod. i. 8, 135).

One other use of the word µονογενής, which is at firet strange to our The

ears, remains to be noticed. The true reading in John i. 18 is in all proba- Phrase
bility μονογενὴς θεός (unigenitue Deus), and this phrase oocurs in some of 52707” id
the Confessions of the fourth century. Thus it appears in a copy of the
Nicene Creed addressed by Eustathius to Liberius (ο. 366), (Socr. iv. 12,
14), and in a Creed set forth by the council of Antioch in 341 (πιστεύοµεν
els ἕνα Κύριον Ἰν. Xv. τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ θεόν...τὸν γεννηθέντα...
Bocr. ii, 1ο, 12; Athan, de Syn. 23), which was said in fact to be the
Creed of Lucian the Martyr; and again in the Synodical letter of the
Synod of Ancyra (358) (Sozom. 3, 5,93 Epiph. Har. 73, 8).

The phrase is common in patristic writings both in connexion with the
passage in St John’s Gospel and independently. Didymus sets the phrase
μονογενὴς θεὸς λόγος parallel with εἷς θεός. Alexander, who reads ὁ µονο-
γενὴς υἱός in John i. 18 speaks afterwards of the ‘ineffable subsistence of
God the only Son’ (θεὸς µονογενής Theod. 1, 4, §§ 15, 19). Gregory of
Nyssa, who uses it most frequently, says ‘the sum of the Christian religion
is to believe in God the only Son (τὸν μονογενῇ θεόν) who is the Truth and

. . true Light and the Power of God and the Life’ (ο. Έωποπι. 12, Ρ. 913,
ligne).

On the relation of povoyerjs to mpwrdroxos 88 applied to the Son see
Lightfoot on Col. i. 15; and the typical passage of Athanasius: Orat. ο.

Ar, ii. 21 § 9. In connecting πρωτότοκος with the Incarnate Lord, I

1 There can be no doubt that inthis 3 The word parcyerqris does not
sentence μονογωῆ is (so to spesk) a occur. The instance quoted by Bing-

jeate, and not a fresh ham (3, 359) from Ussher is simply ᾱ
epithet. The clause is so rendered in false conjunction of the ποτᾶν...μονο-
the Byriao version; Caspari, p. tor. yer rév..._ See Heurtley, pp. 79, 82.

172 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

believe that the great Greek fathers wished to guard the truth which
1 have sought to express in the Essay on ‘ The Gospel of Creation’

For the use of the phrase µονογενὴς θεός see Dr Hort’s Two Disserta-
tions, Cambridge, 1876.

Additional Note on iv. 12. On the use of θεός and 6 θεός.

Differ- A careful examination of the passages, relatively few in number, in

ence of __ which θεός is used without the article in St John’s writings leads to the

ὁ 6ebsand conclusion that the difference between ὁ θεός and θεός is such as might

Geés. have been expected antecedently. The former brings before us the Personal
God Who has been revealed to us in a personal relation to ourselves: the
latter fixes our thoughts on the general conception of the Divine Character
and Being.

i, Use in i. Θεός occurs without the article (exclusively of cases where it occurs
Βὲ Ὃ John, with a preposition) in the following passages :

Gel δα John i 1 θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
article. » 13 τέκνα θεοῦ. So 1 John iii. 1, 2.
” 18 θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν. 1 John iv. 12 θεὸν οὐδεὶς πώποτε
τεθέαται.

» Vii 45 διδακτοὶ θεοῦ ως
» Vili. 4 Ἀόγετε ὅτι beds ὑμῶν ἐστίν.
» & ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν.
> jitdee θεοί ἐστε (πα).
» xix. 7 υἱὸν θεοῦ ἑαυτὸν ἐποίησεν.
1 John iii. 1, 2 (above John i. 12).
» ty. 12 (above John ii 18).
2John9 θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει.
Άρου vii. 2 ogpayida θεοῦ ζὥντος (comp. 1 11988. i. 9; 2 Cor. iii.
3, vi. 163 1 Tim. iv. 10; Hebr. ix. 14, x. 31, xii. 22).
» Xx 3 6 Beds με αὐτῶν ἔσται [αὐτῶν θεός].
7 ἔσομαι αὐτῷ θεός.
Τε clear that in these passages ὁ θεός either could not be used, or
could only be used with a serious change of sense.
Use with The use of ὁ θεός and θεός with prepositions presents some marked

Prepo- results.
sitions,

1. ἀπό,
(a) With article:
ρου, xii, 6 τόπον ἠτοιμασμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ 6.
» παὶ, 10 (πόλιν) καταβαίνουσαν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ϐ.
(β) Without article :
John ili, 2 ἀπὸ 6. ἐλήλνθας.
» Xiil, 3 ἀπὸ 0. ἐξῆλθεν.
n Xvi. 30 ἀπὸ 6, ἐξῆλθες.
2 els.
John xiv. 1 πιστεύετε els τὸν 6.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 173

3. ἐκ.

(@ With article :
γωνηθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ 6. 1 John iti, 9, v. 1, 4, 18.
εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ 6. Sohn vii. 17, viii. 47 ; 1 John iii. 10, iv. 1 ff, 6f, v.

19; 3 John 11.

John viii. 42 ἐκ τοῦ 8. ἐξῆλθον.
Apoe, xi 11 πνεῦμα ζωῆς ἐκ τοῦ 6.

(8) Without article :
John i. 13 ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν.

a ὁ.
(a) With article:
1 John iv. 15 αὐτὸς [μένει] ἐν τῷ 6.
» τό ὃν τῷ θ. μένει,
(8) Without article :
John iii, 21 ἐν 4, ἐστὶν εἱργασμένα.
5. παρά.
(α) With article:
John vi, 46 ὁ dy παρὰ [τοῦ] 0.
» Vii, 40 ἦν ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ 6.
(8) Without article :
John i. 6 ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ 6.
ix, 16 οὐκ ἴστω οὗτος παρὰ 6.
» 58 εἰ ἦν παρὰ 6.
2 John 3 εἰρήνη παρὰ 6. πατρός.
6. πρός.
Uniformly with the article:
John i. 1 Jv πρὸς τὸν 6.
» Mii. 3 ὑπάγει πρὸς τὸν 6.
1 Jobn iii. 21 παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν ϐ.
Apoo, xii, 6 ἠρπάσθη πρὸς τὸν 6.
» ΣΠ, 6 βλασφημίας πρὸς τὸν 6.

Throughout it will be seen that in θεός the general conception of divinity
is dominant, and in ὁ θεός that of the One Being in personal relation to
others,

ii, The same general difference is observable in the use of the terms in ij. Use in
the other Books of the N. T. Thus it may be noticed that the article is other
uniformly found Books,

(1) with dvdmov (ἔναντι, κατενώπιον, κατένωτι) (31 times) except δαν,
2 Cor. ii. 17.
(2) with πρός ace. (19 times).
(3) with ὑπό gen. (13 times) except Rom. xiii. 1; Gal. iv. 9.
On the other hand the article is never used with κατά acc. (6 times), while
it is used in the two places where κατά is used with gen.
A few illustrations will servo to make this difference felt : Examples
Acts v. 4 οὐκ ἐψεύσω ἀνθρώποις ἀλλὰ τῷ θεφ. of usage.
» 39 meBapyeiv δεῖ θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις.
» τη, 55 εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ.
n Xv. 15 ἐπιστρέφειν ἐπὶ θεὸν ζῶντα.

174 . THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Acta xv. 19 τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν.
Comp. 1 Tim. iv. 10 and 2 Cor. i. 9.
Acta xx. 21 τὴν els θεὸν µετάνοιαν.
» xxiv. 15 ἐλπίδα ἔχειν εἰς τὸν θεόν.
1 Thess, i. 9 ἐπεστρέψατε πρὸς τὸν Gedy ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδύλων δουλεύειν θεῷ
ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινφ.
» ἂν 19 εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ...ὅτι παραλαβόντες λόγον dos...
τοῦ θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε οὐ λόγον ἀνθρ. ἀλλὰ...λόγον θεοῦ.
1 Cor, fii, 19 µωρία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ἐστίν.
» Vil 14 ἐν τούτῳ µενέτω παρὰ beg.
Rom. ii. 17 καυχᾶσαι ἐν beg.
” 11 καυχώµενοι ἐν τῷ θεφ.

In this connexion also, though other considerations come in here, the
following parallel phrases deserve notice: «ὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ Rom. i. 1; τὸ
elayy. τοῦ 6. Rom. xv. 16; δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ 2 Cor. v.21; ἡ δικ. τοῦ 6. Rom.
x. 33 ὀργὴ θεοῦ Rom. i. 18; 4 ὀργὴ τοῦ 6. John iii. 36, Eph. v.6; ἀλήθεια
Θεοῦ Rom. xv. 8; ἡ ἀλήθ. τοῦ 6. Rom. i. 25, iii. 7.

Additional Note on iv. 15. Divine Fellowship.

The fact of the divine fellowship is presented by St John in different
forma,

1. Sometimes it is set forth in its reciprocal fulness :

ili, 24, he that keepeth (5 τηρῶν) His commandments abideth in Him
(6 θεός) and He in him.

iv, 13, hereby we perceive that we abide in Him and He in us,
because He hath given us of His Spirit.

iv. 15, whosoever shall confess that Jesus [Christ] is the Son of God,
God abideth in him and he in God.

iv. 16, God is love, and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and
God [abideth] in him.

With these passages in which the divine fellowship is described as a
fellowship with ‘God,’ must be compared those in which it is described as a
fellowship with Christ :

John vi. 56, he that eateth (ὁ τρώγων) my flesh and drinketh my blood
abideth in Me and I in him.

John xiv. 20, in that day ye shall know (γνώσεσθε) that I'am in my
Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.

John xy. 5, he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth
much fruit.

It will be observed that, with one exception (ο. iv. 15), the ‘dwelling’
or ‘being’ of man in God is placed first (11. 24, iv. 13, 16; comp.
ii, 24; John vi 56, xiv. 20, xv. 5). The ascension to heaven, if we
may 80 speak, generally precedes the transfiguration of earth.

2. Sometimes again the divine fellowship is regarded in one of its two
aspects:

(ΤΗΕ FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(2) Tho sbiding (being) of man in God (or Christ) :

fi. 5, in this we know (γωώσκομεν) that we are in Him.

ii. 6, he that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk
even as He walked.

iii. 6, every one that abideth in Him sinneth not.

τ. 20, 206 knoto (οἴδαμεν) that the Son of God hath come...and we
are in Him that is true (ἐν τῷ ἀληθινφ).

Compare John xv. 4 (ye cannot bear fruit) except ye abide in Me.

4 26, abide in Him that ¢f He shall be manifosied we may have

(8) The abiding (being) of God (or Christ) in man:

iil, 24, hereby we knotw (γινώσκομεν) that He abideth in us, from
the Spirit which He gave us,

iv. 12, if we love one another God abideth in us...

John xvii. 22f, the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given
unto them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in
them, and Thou in Me...

John xvii. 26, I made known unto them Thy Name...that the love
wherewith Thou lovedst Me may be in them and I in them.

It is of interest to examine these several passages as illustrating the
efficient cause, the conditions, the sign, the results of this fellowship of man
with God.

(a) The efficient cause: the recognition of the revelation of God

in Christ, of the Glory and the Name of the Father: John xvii. 244,

26, xiv. 20; 1 John v. 20.

(8) The conditions: confession, iv. 15 ; obedience, iii. 24, ii. 6; love,

iv. 16, These are summed up in the thought of participation in

Christ's Humanity, John vi. 56.

(y) The sign : the possession of the Spirit of God, iii. 24; which shews

itself as the source of obedience, ii. 5; and of love, iv. 12 f.

(9) The results : fruitfulocss, John xv. 4f.; confidence, 1 John ii. 28;

guilelessness, iii. 6.

The use of the terms ‘abiding’ and ‘being’ is also suggestive:

(a) abide: ii 6, 28, iii. 6, 24, iv. 12 f,15f.; John vi. 56, xv. 4{.
(6) be: ii. 5, v. 20; John xiv. 20, xvii. 23, 26.

In this connexion Basil’s remark is of interest that the Spirit is spoken
of ‘as the place of those that are sanctified.’ ‘The Spirit’ he goes on to
say, ‘is the place of the saints; and the saint is a place appropriate to the
Spirit...’ (de Spir. S. xvi. § 62).

175

176

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Ver

V. "Πᾶς 6 πιστεύων ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐστὶν 6 χριστὸς

Il, ΤΠΕ Powzr or Tau ΟΒΗΙΡΤΙΑΝ
Lire: tae Vicrory anp Wrr-
Ness or ΕΑΙΤΗ (v, I—12).

The whole of this section is closely
connected, but two main thoughts,
‘Faith’ and ‘Witness, respectively
prevail in the opening and closing
verses, Thus it may be divided into
two parte,

1. The victory of Faith (1—5).

2. The Divine Witness (6—12).

1. The victory of Faith (ν. 1—5).

In the last section it has been seen
that the love of ‘the brethren’ is en-
joined as an essential accompaniment
of the love of God. St John now
traces the foundations of spiritual
Kinsmanship, ‘Brethren’ are united
by a common Divine Father. The
human condition of this union is faith
in Jesus as the Christ. This faith is
able to overcome and has potentially
overcome every force of the world.
The succession of thought is clearly
marked, Faith is the sign of a new
life, and the presence of this life in-
volves love for all who share it (1).
The reality of this love is shewn by
active obedience (2, 3). Such obedi-
ence is made possible by the gift of a
Divine life, a truth which is affirmed
in the abstract, and also in regard to
the Life of Christ (4), and in regard to
the experience of the believer (5).

1 Every one that believes that Jesus
is the Christ is begotten of God, and
every one that loveth him that begat
loveth him that is begotten of him.
2 In this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God
and do his commandments ; 3 for this
te the love of God, that we observe his
commandments, and his command-
ments are not grievous; “ because
everything that is begotten of God
overcometh the world ; and this is
the victory that overcame the world,
even our faith. 5[οα,] who is he

that overcometh the world but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1. The transition from the former
section lies in the thought of brother-
hood. Brotherhood is founded on the
vital apprehension of the revelation of
Christ given by God. It is not then
an arbitrary command that he who
loves God love his brother also. He
must doso. For he consciously shares
with every brother the principle of
his new being.

as ὁ πιστεύων] Comp. ο. iii. 3.

The verb πιστεύειν is here used for
the first time in tho epistle in its full
and definite sense. In iv. 16 it de-
scribes a general position with regard
to the Divine purpose. In iii, 23 it
expresses a belief in the truth of the
revelation as to Christ. Here it pre-
sents that belief in a direct and per-
sonal form. ‘He that believeth that
Jesus is the Christ’ not only admits
an intellectual truth but enters into a
direct relation with the powers of a
iri order. ‘The command’ of
23) finds so far an individaal
accomplishment,

In the former chapter (iv. 2, 15;
comp. ii, 23), St John has spoken of
the ‘confession’ of Christ in relation
to society: here he speaks of faith
in relation to the single believer.
The main thought there was of the
recognition, here of the essence of the
children of God. The forms of con-
fession are given in the most explicit
form. The article of faith is given
more simply. A living faith carries
with it more than the exact terms of
specific belief convey (John xi. 27).

Compare op. 5, 10, 13.

Such faith involves the present ac-
tion of a new and Divine life, which
must have a Divine origin. Comp.
1 Cor. xii, 3. Faith here is regarded
simply as the sign of the life which
has been given. Nothing is said of
the relation between the human and

Vv. 2]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

177

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται, καὶ was ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν γεννή-

σαντα ἀγαπᾷ τὸν γεγεννηµένον ἐξ αὐτοῦ.

ἐν τούτῳ

1 dy. τὸν yey, B vg the: ἁγ.4 καὶ τὸν yey. (8) A sym, τὸν yey. τὸ γεγ. Ν.

the Divine—the faith of man, and ‘the
seed of God’ (iii. 9)—in the first quick-
ening of life. Comp. John i, 12 note.
ὅτι Ἰ. ἐστὶν ὁ χριστός] ος
ὅτι Ἰ. ἐστὶν ὁ vide τοῦ θεοῦ. John xx.
31 ὅτι Ἰ. ἐστὶν ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ
Θεοῦ. For the choice of the exact
terms of belief here, see ii. 22.

dx τοῦ 6. γεγ.] See ο. ili. 9 note.

καὶ πᾶς ὁ dy. 7. yor] of omnis qui
ailigit eum qui genuit V., and every
one that loveth Him that begat... It
is assumed that the child will have
love for the Author of his being.
Love follows directly from life. And
in this spiritual connexion love must
be directed to the character, and not
to the Person apart from the charac-
ter. It follows therefore that it will
be extended to all those to whom the
character has been communicated.

ὁ dyanéy) Augustine brings out the
necessary connexion between faith
and love (faith in action): cum dilec-
tione, fides Christiani: sine dilectione,
fides deemonis.

τὸν γενν] The word is used also of
the human agent, Philem. το,

τὸν γεγων. ἐξ αὐτοῦ] cum qui na-
tus est ex 00 V., him that hath been
begotten of Him, the child who draws
from Him the abiding principle of
his life. The singular (contrast ‘the
children’ ο. 2) emphasises the direct
relation of Father and child, and also
of brother and brother. This relation,
as here regarded, is personal and not
social.

Throughout the Epistle St John
individualises: ii. 4 f£, 9 ff, 15, 17,
22 £, 29; iii. 3 ff, 9 {, 15, 17.

The idea of Augustine that the re-
ference is to Christ is foreign to the
context.

2, What then, it may be asked, is
the sign of this spiritual love which

w.

is essentially different from a natural
preference? The love of the children
of God, such is’the answer, is attested
by the love of God, that is, by obe-
dienee to God. At first sight this
answer seems simply to invert the
terms of the statement which has
been made already. The love of God
and the love of the children of God
do in fact include each the other. It
is equally true to say ‘He who loves
God loves the children of God, and
to say ‘He who loves the children of
God loves God’ Kither form of love
may be made the ground or the con-
clusion in the argument. But in re-
ality the test of the love of the bre-
thren given here introduces a new
idea. The will of Christians is essen-
tially the will of God (comp. iii. 23).
The effort to falfil the commandments
of God is consequently the effort to
do that which our ‘brethren’ most
desire to be done: the proof of love.

Bede says well: Ile solus recte
proximum diligere probatur qui et
Conditoris amore flagrare conspicitur.

It will also be further observed that
the passage stands in close connexion
with ο. ii. 3 in this we perceive that
we know Him if we keep His com-
mandments; and with iii, 23 this is
His commandment that wwe believe
the Name...and love one another...
(comp. iv. 20).

Obedience to the manifold com-
mandments of God (αἱ évrodaf), the
active falfilment of Christian duty, is
the sign of a knowledge of God: and
knowledge of God is love of God.

And again, the one commandment
of God (ἡ ἐντολή) is that we believe
the Name of His Son and love one
another.

Here the love of God and obedi-
ence in detail, which is identical with
12

178

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V2

' μ - ἑ
γινώσκοµεν ὅτι ἀγαπώμεν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅταν
τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπώμεν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ποιώμεν"

3 ποιῶμεν B vg (me the syrr): τηρῶμεν & (lat),

it (ο, 3), is given as the sign of the
reality of love for the brethren, who
are the children of God.

This thought that the love of God
is obedience to His commandments
is the uniting thought in the three
passages, It is clearly seen through
this how we can say (now more com-
pletely than before): ‘We love God
and keep His commandments, and
therefore we love the brethren’; or
“We love the brethren, and therefore
we love God and keep His command-
ments’ Whichever proposition is οᾱ-
tablished, the other follows from it.
Comp. ο. i. 3.

At the same time the transference
of the test of the love of the brethren
to a spiritual region enables the be-
liever to discern (γινώσκομεν) the re-
ality of his love in spite of the many
differences which separate him from
the object of it under the conditions
of earthly life.

éy τούτῳ...] in this... The percep-
tion comes not as a conviction drawn
from a state of obedient love (ἐκ
τούτου, from this), but in the very
exercise of the feeling. The ‘this, as
elsewhere, seems to look backward at
once and forward, to the fact and to
the manifestation of the love of God.
Comp. ii. 3 note.

γινώσκομεν] cognoscimus V., we
know, perceive. The conviction is
brought home to us in the present
interpretation of the facts of life,
Compare ii, 3 note, 5, 18; iii. 24 (V.
scimus); iv. 13 (V. ‘intellegimus); and
contrast the use of οἴδαμεν in ii iii. 2, 5,
14 £3 ¥. 15, 18 ff (V. acimus, scitia).
See ο. 18 note, The use of ὅταν brings
into prominence the immediate and
continuous exercise of this power of
knowledge.

ἀγαπώμεν] The love which is spoken

3, 3 Om. ποιῶμεν...αὐτοῦ A.

of is that of Christian for Christian
as Christian, a feeling which has to
be distinguished from human affec-
tion. Of this love, which belongs to
the spiritual sphere, love to God, that
is obedience to God, is necessarily a
final criterion.

τὰ τέκνα τοῦ 6] natos Dei V., the
children of God. Comp. iii. 1 note,
St John does not say ‘brethren’ here,

the argument turns upon the
relation of Christians to God and not
upon their relation to one another.
At the same time the plural follows
naturally on the singular of 0.1. Then
the thought was of the individual
realisation of the divine sonship:
here the thought is of the general,
social, duty.

This is the only place where ὅταν
occurs in the Epistles of 8t John.
With the present conj. it expresses
either an action repeated indefinitely
(John viii. 44, ix. 5, &.), or an Ln
at an indefinite time
actually going on (John vii. 27 ρα,
contrast ο. 31 ἔλθη; xvi. 21 τίκτῃ fol-
lowed by γεννήση). Comp. 1 Cor. xv.

ever we love’ makes the meaning
clear. Each act of love to God, that
is practically, each act of obedience,
carries with it the fresh conviction of
true love to the children of God.
"Edy (ο. ii. 3; John xiii. 35) gives the
general condition: ὅταν, the particu-
lar and repeated fulfilment of it.

The change of order (comp. iii. 4)
in the objects (ἀγαπ. τὰ τέκνα, ὅταν τὸν
6. ἀγαπ. καὶ τὰς évr, ox) corresponds
with a natural change in emphasis:
“We know that we love the brethren,
when God is the end of our affection
and His commands the guide of our

V. 3, 4]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

179

dot, ry coe ορ. y so 5

αυτη yap εστιν n αγαπη του θεοῦ ἵνα τας ἐντολας

αὐτοῦ τηρώμεν, καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖαι οὐκ εἰσίν,
; µ ος ern aa)

48rt πᾶν τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ νικᾷ τὸν κόσμον.

action.’ In other cases where the
object stands before the verb a similar
shade of meaning is seen: ¢g. ii, 20;
iv. 9, 131 γ. 9.

καὶ τὰς ἐντ. αὐτοῦ που] δὲ man-
data cius faciamus V., and do His
commandments, This clause brings
the love of God into the region of
active life. The phrase iteelf is unique
(Apoc. xxii. 14 is a false reading);
and seems to be chosen in order to
express the active energy of obedi-
-ence as positive and not only nega-
tive. Comp. ci. 6 π. τὴν ἀλήθειαν
note.

Augustine follows out his false in-
terpretation of ‘him that is begotten
of Him’ in ο. 1 by a striking applica-
tion here: Filios Dei dixit qui Fili-
am Dei paulo ante dicebat, quia filii
Dei corpus sunt unici Filii Dei; et
cum ille caput nos membra unus est
Filius Dei.

He also adds a wider application of
the principle: Omnes homines, etiam
inimicos vestros, diligatis, non quia
sunt fratres, sed ut fratres sint; ut
semper fraterno amore flagretis sive
in fratrem factum, sive in inimicum
ut frater fiat diligendo,

3. airy γάρ...] for this... The
words give an explanation of the
second clause (and do His command-
ments) in the former verse. Love
of God can only be shown in the
effort to fulfil His will, Comp. John
Xiv, 15, 21, 31.

ἵνα...τηρῶμεν καὶ...] ut custodiamus
V. The love of God is not simply
the keeping (τήρησις, τὸ τηρεν) of
the commandments of God, but rather
a continuous and watchful endeavour
to observe them. Comp. John vi. 29
tba πιστεύητε, xvii. 3 ἵνα γιν.: 2 John 6.
And the natare of the command-
ments is not such as to crush the

freedom and spontaneity of love.
They are not grievous, heavy (βαρεῖαι,
gravia V.), an oppressive and exhaust-
ing burden. Compare Matt. xi, 30
τὸ φορτίο µου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν, and
contrast Matt. xxiii, 4 δεσμεύουσω
φορτία βαρέα.

4. ὅτι...] because... Comp. ii. 19
note. The fact that the divine com-
mandments are not a burden is not
established by a consideration of their
character, In themselves they are
difficult (Acta xiv. 22; John xvi. 33).
To love the brethren is not a light
thing. But with the commandment
comes also the power of fulfilment.
‘Natural taste, feeling, judgment may
check spiritual sympathy; but every
faculty and power which is quickened
by God is essentially stronger than
‘the world’ and realises its victory
at once.

In the development of the thought
St John passes from the abstract way
τὸ yeyer.) to the concrete and per
sonal (ris ἐστιν ὁ νικών), through the
decisive history in which the trath
was once for all absolutely realised
(4 »ίκη ἡ νικήσασα).

πᾶν τὸ γεγ] St John chooses tho
abstract form (contrast ο. τὸν yey.)
in order to convey an universal truth.
The thought is not so much of the
believer in his unity, nor of the
Church, but of each element included
in the individual life and in the life of
the society. Compare John iii 6 τὸ
‘yey. and John iii. 8 πᾶς ὁ yey.

Ῥικῇ τὸν κ] conquers the world—
not ‘hath conquered’ (ο, ii. 13 {., iv. 4),
nor yet ‘will conquer’—in a struggle
which is present and continuous.
Under the title ‘the world’ 8t John
gathers up the sum of all the limited,
transitory powers opposed’ to God
which make obedience difficult. It

12—2

180

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(V.5

καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ νίκη ἡ νικήσασα τὸν κόσμον, ἡ πίστις

ἡμῶν" Στίς ἐστιν [δὲ] ὁ

νικών τὸν κόσμον εἰ

_
μὴ ὁ

πιστεύων ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐστὶν ὁ vids τοῦ θεοῦ :

5 τίς ἐστιν δὲ Ἑ (lat): ris δ dere Νὲ (lat) syrhl me: ris ἐστι A vg.

is by the introduction of the spiritual,
the eternal, that we obtain a true
standard for things, and so can over-
come the temptations which spring
out of 8 narrow, earthly, temporal
estimate. And this holds good not
only of man as a whole but of each
power and faculty with which he is
endowed. Comp, John xvi. 33.

καὶ airy...) The certainty of the
victory of that which partakes of the
Divine is illustrated by a view of the
nature of the victory itself. The
victory which the Christian is ever
winning is the individual appropria-
tion of a victory gained once for all.

ἠνίκ...ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν] the victory
...our faith, The word νίκη occurs here
only in the N.T., and πίστις here
only in St John’s Epistlea Πίστις
is not found in St John’s Gospel.
It occurs in the Apocalypse: ii. 13,
19; xiii. 10; xiv. 12, In ii, 13, xiv.
12 it ay to be used objectively
for ‘the faith of Christ,’ as embodied
in a confession (‘fides que creditur’):
in ii, 19, xiii. το, it is the subjective
spirit of the true believer (‘fides
qua creditur’. Here the sense is
fixed by the context. ‘Our faith’ is
the faith which is summed up in the
confession that Jesus is ‘the Christ,
the Son of God’ The Life represented
by that creed was the victory over
the world as Christ Himself inter-
preted it (John xvi. 33). To hold that
faith, to enter into the meaning and
the power of that conquest through
apparent failure, is to share in its
triumph. Our faith is not merely
victorious: it is the embodiment of
the victory which overcame the world,
‘Thus the aorist (ή νικήσασα, que vin-
cit V., inadequately) receives its full

force. The victory of Christ was gain-
ed upon a narrow field, but it was
world-wide in its effecta. Comp. Ign.
ad Sm. 10 ἡ τελεία πίστις, Ἰησοῦς
Ἄριστός, and Col. ii, 2 εἰς ἐπίγνωσω
τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ.

5. τίς ἐστω...] At length the ques-
tion becomes directly personal. St
John appeals to the experience of
those whom he addresses. The single
believer (ὁ νικῶν) takes the place of
the abstract element (τὸ γεγεννημένον),
and of the absolute force (j πίστις).
The victory of the divine principle is,
as he triumphantly claims, actually
realised in the victory of the Chris-
tian.

τίς,..εἰ py...) Compare ii, 22. The
personal victory is regarded in its
course (6 νικῶν), a8 the representative
victory was regarded in its completion
(i ν. ἡ νικήσασα).

ὅτι Ἰ. ἐστὶν ὁ vl. τοῦ ϐ] Comp. σ. 1.
By the use of the title ‘the Son of
God" in connexion with the human
name, Jesus, the antithesis involved
in the faith is expressed in the sharp-
est form. There isa similar passage
from ‘the Christ’ to ‘the Son’ in ii,
22 ff

2, The Divine Witness (v. 6—12).

The victory of Faith has been
shewn to lie in the confession of Jesus
as the Son of God. St John now goes
on to unfold the character (6—8),
and the effectiveness (y—12), of the
witness by which this confession is
sustained and justified.

6--δ. The character of the witness
to the substance of the Christian
Faith is laid open by @ consideration
of the historical witness which is of-
fered to men in the Life of Christ, and

γ. 6]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

πα. ους ee

181

5Οὗτός ἐστιν 6 ἐλθὼν δι’ ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος, ᾿Ιησοῦς

6 καὶ aluaros B vg syrvg: +xal ανεύµατοι NA (lat) mo the syrhl (others sub-

stitute wy. for αἴμ. and some read καὶ x7. καὶ afu.).
"Is ὁ Xt 5 syrhl. See Additional Note.

in the life of the Church (6 a, b);
of the divine principle of witness
(6c); and of the personal witnesses
(7, 8).

‘This is He that came by water
and Wood, Jesus Christ; not in the
water only, but in the water and
in the blood. And the Spirit is that
which beareth witness, because the
Spirit is the Truth. 1 Because three
are they that bear witness, *the Spirit
and the water and the blood ; and the
three are for the one,

6. The two parts of the historical
witness to Christ are
Dy the different forms in which tte
common outward symbols are used in
corresponding clauses, He came ‘by
water and blood, and again ‘not in
the water only, but in the water and
in the blood.

Οὗτος...] The pronoun goes back to
the subject of the last sentence.
“ This ‘Jesus, who has been affirmed
to be ‘the Son of God, is He that
came...” The compound title at the
end of the clause, Jesus Christ, em-
phasises the truth which is estab-
lished by the manner of the ‘coming’
of ‘Jesus’: ‘This ts He that came...
and whose Divine Office is expressed
by the full name which He bears,
even Jesus Christ.

6 ἐλθώ»...] He that came... The
verb is used with a clear reference to
the technical sense of ‘he that cometh’
46 ἐρχόμενου Matt. xi 3; Luke vii.
19 f.; comp. John i. 15, 27; vi. 14;
a 27; xii. 13; see also John i, 30;
x. 8). Thus ‘He that came’ is equiva-
tent to ‘He that fulfilled the pro-
mises to the fathers, as the Saviour
sent from God’ Comp. ii, 18 note,

δι’ ὕδατος καὶ αἴματος] per aquam et

‘Ts Xs RAB: Xs ‘Is the:

sanguinem V., by (through) water
and blood. The sense of ‘He that
came,’ which distinctly points to a
past historic fact, determines that
these terms also must have a historic
meaning, and refer to definite events
characteristic of the manner in which
the Lord fulfilled His office upon
earth. ‘He came—He was shewn
to be the Christ—by water and blood.’
‘Water’ and ‘blood’ contributed in
some way to reveal the nature and
the fulfilment of His work.

There can be ‘no doubt that the
Death upon the Cross satisfies the
conception of ‘coming by blood.’
By so dying the Lord made known
His work as Redeemer ; and opened
the fountain of His life to men. Comp.
Additional Note on i. 7.

The ‘coming by water,’ which natu-
rally corresponds to this final act of
sacrifice, is the Baptism, whereby
the Lord declared His purpose ‘to
Sulfl all righteousness’ (Matt. iii.
15). The water, by Christ's voluntary
acceptance of the Baptist’s ministry,
became the means through which the
divine purpose was fulfilled (Matt. iii.
17). The Baptist was sent baptizing
in water that Christ might be made
manifest (John i. 31). Even in the
case of the Lord Baptism is shewn to
have been the external condition of
the ‘descent and abiding of the Holy
Spirit’? (John i 33); and by His
Baptism Christ falfilled for the hu-
manity which He took to Himself,
though not for Himself, the condition
of

But we cannot stop at the refer-
ence to the cardinal events in the
Lord’s Life whereby He ‘came by
water and blood’ in the fulfilment of

182

His historic work. While He hung
upon the Cross, dead in regard to
mortal life, but still living (see John
xix. 34 note), He came again ‘by
water and blood.” The issue of
“blood and water’ from His side
evidently indicated that He hence-
forth became for men the source of
blessing symbolised by the twofold

and realised in His own
human life by Baptism and Death
upon the Cross. The one historic
coming was shewn to be the founda-
tion of a continuous spiritual coming ;
and St John saw in this the subject
of the crucial testimony which he had
to give (John xix. 35).

Compare the fragment of Claudius
Apollinaris (Routh, Rell. i. 161) ὁ ἐκ-
χέας ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτοῦ τὰ δύο πά-
dur καθάρσια ὕδωρ καὶ αἷμα, λόγον καὶ
πνεῦμα (the Gospel of the Incarnate
Word and the sanctifying presence of
the Spirit).

This exceptional note of the Evan-
gelist seems to place the reference
here to the significant fact recorded
in the Gospel beyond question. The
readers of the Epistle could not but
be familiar with the incident either
from the oral or from the written
teaching of the Apostle; and conscious
of the stress which he laid upon it,
as the confirmation of Christian faith,
they could not fail to recall it here.

Compare Bede: Nec reticendum
quod in hoc quoque sanguis et aqua
testimonium illi dederunt quod de

mortui vivaciter effluxerunt,
quod erat contra naturam corporum
mortuorum, atque ob id mysteriis
aptum et testimonio veritatis fuit
congruum, videlicet insinuans quia et
ipsum Domini corpus melius post
mortem esset victurum resuscitatum
in gloria et ipsa mors illius nobis vitam
donaret.

Such an extension of the meaning
of ‘water and blood’ appears to be
implied in the words that follow:
not in the water only, but in the
water and in the blood, followed by

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

6

the reference to the present witness
of the Spirit. The change of the
preposition, the use of the article,
and the stress laid on actual experi-
ence, shew that St John is speaking
of a continuation of the first coming
under some new but analogous form.
Further it is to be noticed that what
was before spoken of in its unity
(δὲ ὕ, καὶ aL) is now spoken of in its.
separate parts (ἐν τῷ ὕ. καὶ ἐν τῷ
aiy.). The first proof of the Messiah-
ship of Jesus lay in His complete
historical fulfilment of Messiah’s work
once for all in bringing purification
and salvation : that proof is continued
in the experience of the Church in
ita two separate parts.

Thus we are led to the ideas.
which underlie the two sacraments,
and which are brought home to us in
and through them: the ideas which
in their most general form are laid
open in John iii, vi. It is through
Christ’s ‘ coming by water and blood,
and His Life through Death, that the
life of the Spirit and the cleansing
and support of our human life in all
its fulness are assured. The actual
experience of these blessings is the
abiding witness of the Church to Him.

Bede, probably following Angus-
tine, whose Commentary is not ex-
tant after ο. 3, well combines the
historic and sacramental references :
Qui venit per aquam et sanguinem,
aquam videlicet lavacri et sanguinem
suse passionis: non solum baptizari
propter nostram ablutionem dignatus.
est, ut nobis baptismi sacramentum
consecraret ac traderet, verum etiam
sanguinem suum dedit pro nobis, sua
nos passione redimens, cujus sacra-
mentis semper refecti nutriremur ad
salutem.

διά...ἐν...] The historic Mission of
Christ—the pledge of His Presenco—
was established ‘through’ the car-
dinal events of His Ministry. The
abiding Presence of Christ—the issue
of His Mission—is realised ‘in’ that
which is appointed to perpetuate

V. 6]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

183

ῃ by eat er
Χριστός: οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι µόνον Grr’ ἐν τῷ ἵδατι καὶ
ος ame eh πλ μεριά ν ον

ev τῷ αιματι' καὶ TO πνευμα ἐστιν το µαρτυρου», οτι τὸ

μόνονε μόνῳ Ῥ. αἵματι RB vg me the syrr: ανεύματι A (some add πνεύµατι,

others read αἵματι,..πρεύματι).
(Not Ambr. Falg.)

the power of His work. The one
preposition marks the means by
which Christ’s office was revealed:
the other the sphere in which He
continues to exercise it,

δὲ ὕδατος καὶ αἵμ.] The order is
significantly changed from that in
the Gospel (blood and water). The
order in the Gospel is (so to speak)
the order of the divine gift: the full
power of human life comes first: that
in the Epistle is the order of the
human appropriation of the gift.

The symboliam of ‘blood’ as re-
Presenting the natural buman life
sacrificed and so made available for
others, has been already touched
upon. In contrast with this, ‘water’
represents the power of the spiritual
life: John ili. 5; iv. 14; vii. 38 (Zech.
xiv. 8), Comp. Apoc. xxi 6; xxii. 1,17.

οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὔδ. μ.] not in the water
only. The reference is probably to
such teachers as Irenseus mentions
(i. 26, 1): [Cerinthus docuit] post
baptismum descendisse ineum (Iesum)
ab ea principalitate ques est super
omnia Christum figura columbm ; et
tuno annunciasse incognitum Patrem
et virtutes perfecisse: in fine autem
revolasse iterum Christum de Jesu et
Jesum passum esse et reeurrexisse ;
Christum autem impassibilem perse-
verasse, existentem spiritalem. In
some form or other the same kind of
error is always repeating itself. The
spiritual life is exalted into an undue
supremacy, to the neglect of the re-
demption of the earthly life.

For this reason St John says οὐκ
ἐν τῷ ὕδ. µόνον, and not οὐ δι’ 38. µόνον.
He contradicts a false view of Christ’s
abiding work and not only a false
view of Christ’s Person in Himself.

τὸ ανεῦμα (43): Χριστό vg. Perhaps x0 for ars.

καὶ τὸ πν....] and the Spirit... In
the words which immediately precede
St John has indicated a present action
of Christ. He now shews how the
reality of that action is established.
The Spirit—the Divine Spirit—is
that which witnesseth, not ‘which
witnessed’ (3 John 6), or ‘which hath
witnessed’ (ο. 9). His testimony is
given now and uninterruptedly. Such
‘witness’ is the peculiar office of the
Spirit (John xiv. 26; xv. 26; xvi.
8 ff). By this it is that men are
enabled to pierce beneath the ex-
ternal phenomena and the external
rites to their innermost meaning.
Nothing is said of the substance of
the witaess or of those to whom it is
given. These details are included in
the idea of the Spirit's witness. He
speaks of Divine Truth; and He
speaks to the souls of believers.

Thus there is, as will be seen,
a striking i between the
office of Christ and the office of the
Spirit. Jesus is He that came, once
for all fulfilling the Messiah’s work ;
and the Spirit is that which beareth
witness, ever applying and interpret-
ing His Mission and His gifts.

ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα...] quoniam (quod)
Christus V., because the Spirit... The
conjunction (ὅτι) has been interpreted
both as giving the substance (that)
and as giving the reason (because) of
the testimony. The former translation
gives no tolerable sense unleas the
Latin reading of Christ for the Spirit
is adopted. But the sense thus gained
is foreign to the context. While then
we take the translation because as cer-
tainly right, the meaning of the word
is ambiguous here. It may mean:
The Spirit gives the witness (1) be-

184
πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ἀλήθεια.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V.7,8

Ἰὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶν οἱ µαρτυ-

ροῦντες, δτὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα, καὶ οἱ

7 τρον: οἱ τρεῖε Ν.

cause it is essentially fitted to do 80:
or (2) because by its essential nature
it in constrained to do so. Perhaps
the one ides passes into the other, a0
that it is not necessary to distinguish
them sharply. In that which is Di-
vine, nature and office coincide.

τὸ my. ἐστιν ἡ Gd.) the Spirit ts the
Truth, Just as Christ is the Trath
(John xiv. 6), 80 the Spirit sent in
Ohrist’s name is the Trath. The Spirit
cannot but make known, as men can
bear the revelation, that which is
eternal and absolute in
nomena, That which ‘is’ is in virtue
of the Spirit, in virtue of Christ (Col.
iL 15 ff).

Bede has a vigorous note on the
Latin reading (Christus est veritas):
Quia ergo Spiritus Jesum Christum
esse veritatem testatur, ipse se veri-
tatem cognominat, Baptista illum ve-
ritatem preedicat, Filius tonitrui veri-
tatem evangelizat: taceant blasphemi
qui hunc phantasma esse dogmati-
zant; pereant de terra memoris eo-
ram qui eum vel Deum vel hominem
esse verum denegant.

7,8. ὅτε τρεῖ elolv...] Because
three are they... This clause appears
to give the reason for the main pro-
position in ο, 5, that ‘Jesus is the
Son of God,’ a trath briefly expressed
and affirmed by His full Name, ‘Jesus
Christ.’ What has been said in ο. 6
—this is He that came—prepares
the way for the assertion of this
complete personal testimony, ade-
quate according to the human stand-
ard: Deut. xix 15; comp. John viii.
17 £ The stress laid by the order

upon ‘three’ emphasises this thought
of the fulness of the number of the
witnesses, and the consequent cer-
tainty of that which they affirm. The
faith in Jesus as ‘the Christ, the Son

7, 8 Bee Additional Note.

of God’ is reasonable according to the
ordinary laws of belief.

It seems to be less natural to regard
the clause as a confirmation of the
words which immediately precede.
The ground of the Spirit’s witness
ig given perfectly in the declaration
of His Nature and Office as ‘the
Truth” Yet it is possible that the
ὅτι may simply explain the addition
of the Spirit: “besides ‘the Water’
and ‘the Blood’ there is yet another
witness; because thres are they that
dear witness,”

τρεῖς...οἱ μαρτυροῦντες] The passage
from the neuter τὸ μαρτυροῦν to the
masculine οἱ μαρτυροῦντες marks the

sonal witness, The transition is made
through the Spirit, who is regard-
ed both as a power and as a per-
son: comp. John xiv. 26; xv. 26,
τὸ πνεῦμα...δ...ἐκεῖνο. Just as the
Spirit is found to be personal in His
work with men, so also ‘the water’
and ‘the blood’ speak personally
through those in whom their efficacy
is realised,

οἱ µαρτ.] The participle, as distin-
guished from the noun οἱ pdpropes
(Acts i. 8; ii, 32, διο), expresses the
actual delivery of the witness, and
this as a present, continuous, action.
The witness here is considered mai,
as tho living witness of the Church
and not as the historical witness of
the Gospela. TI believers these
three, ‘the Spirit and the Water
and the Blood, perform a work not
for believers only but for the world
(John xvii. 20 ff).

8, τὸ πνεῦμα] The Spirit has a two-
fold office, one corresponding with
that of Ohrist (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθών...
τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ μαρτυροῦ»...); and

γ.ο]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

185

τρεῖς eis τὸ ἕν elow. %Ei τὴν µαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων
λαμβάνομεν, ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν, ὅτι
airy ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι µεμαρτύρηκεν περὶ

9 τῶν ἀνθρ.: τοῦ θεοῦ R*,

the other coordinate with that of the
power of spiritual life and the
of redemption brought by Christ (τὸ
av, τὸ ὕδωρ, τὸ alua). In this latter
connexion it must be remembered that
the Spirit is the sign of the glory of
the Risen Christ; John vii. 39; xvi.
7; Acts ii 32 £ Thus the Spirit,
with the Water and Blood, completes
the witness to the Incarnation as a
Fact no less than as an open source
of blessing. For the witness of the
Spirit see Acts ν. 32.

οἱ τρεῖο ele τὸ ἔν elow] the three are
JSor the one. The subject is emphati-
cally repeated to mark the unity of
the object. ‘The three personal wit-
nesses are turned to the one abso-
Tate end,’ to establish the one Truth
(τὸ &, the one, not simply one), that
definite Truth which is everywhere
present through the Epistle, The
idea is not that of simple
in the witnesses (els ἐν εἶναι), but that
of their convergence (a0 to speak)
on the one Gospel of ‘Christ come in
the flesh,’ to know which is eternal
life.

With the phrase els τὸ ἐν εἶναι may
be contrasted ἐν εἶναι John x. 30;
xvii. 21 {5 1 Cor. 11. 8; τελειοῦσθαι ele
& Jobn xvii. 23; συνάγευ als &
John xi. 52.

9—12. St John goes on from con-
sidering the character of the witness
to Christ to consider its effectiveness,
It is a divine, witness (9): it is a
humana, internal witness (10): it is a
witness realised in a present life (11),
in fellowship with the Son (12).

9 If we receive the witness of men,
the witness of God is greater, because
this is the witness of God, that He
hath borne witness concerning His

ὅτι (2°) RAB vg me the: ήν 5.

Son. He that believeth on the Son
o God hath the witness in himself:

eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. “He that hath the Son hath

9 El τὴν µ. τ. ἀνθρ, λαμβ.] Si...
accipimus V., If we receive... This is

For papr. λαμβ. see John ifi. 11,
32; ¥. 34.

The form of the argument is irregu-
lar.

186

τοῦ viot αὐτοῦ.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V. 10

rot ρ ῃ vey ο -
ο πιστευων εἰς τον υιον του θεοῦ

ἔχει τὴν µαρτυρίαν ἐν αὐτῷ: ὁ μὴ πιστεύων τῷ θεῷ

10 τὴν µαρτ. NB the syrr: +700 θεοῦ A vg me.

αντω AB: daurg ΔΝ.

τῷ θεῷ XB me syrr: τῷ vig A vg syrhlmg (others read τῷ νἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, τῷ νἱῷ
αὐτοῦ, and Cod. Am. omits by the first hand),

to the world in the general effect of
Christ’s death and the pouring out of
the Spirit: 20 much was unquestion-
able.

The first conjunction (because)
does not give the ground of the
superior authority of the divine wit-
ness, that is taken for granted, but
the ground for appealing to it. Such
α΄ witness has been given, and there-
fore we appeal to it.

The second ὅτι is ambiguous. It
may be (1) parallel with the former

: ‘because this is the witness of
God, I say, He hath borne
witness...” 3 or, it may be (2) ο μας.
tory of the µαρτυρίαν: ‘because this
18 the witness of God, even that He
hath borne witness...’; or again (3)
the word may be the relative (3 τι):
“because this is the witness of God,
even that which He hath witness
ed...”

No one of the explanations is with-
out difficulty. Against (2) it may be
urged that it is strange to insist on
the idea that the witness of God lies
in the fact that He hath witnessed
concerning His Son.

The usage of St John and of the
Apostolic writers generally is against
(3); though perhaps reference may be
made to iii, 20; John viii. 25. [In
Matt. xviii. 28 εἴτι]

The usage of St John (ο i 5; v.
11, 14) is equally against (1).

On the whole it is best to take the
clause as explanatory of airy: ‘because
this is the witness of God, even the
fact that He hath borne witness con-
cerning His Son.’ God has spoken;
and His message is the witness to the
Incarnation. Comp. 5. 11.

μεμαρτύρηκεν] testificatus est V.,

hath witnessed, The form is to be

µεμαρτύρηκα John i. 34; ili. 26; v.

aa sr xix. 35. (Hebr. xi 5; 3 John
2.)

ἐμαρτύρησα John i, 32; iv. 44;
xiii, 21; Acta xv. 8; 1 Cor. xv.
15; 1 Tim. vi. 13; 3 John 6; Apoc.
1-3 Hebr. xi. 2, 4, 39.

It may be added that ov. 6—9
contain a testimony to the Holy
Trinity in the several works of the
Divine Persons: Christ ‘comes,’
the Spirit ‘witnesses, God (the
Father) ‘hath witnessed concerning
His Son’

1ο. The witness is not of external
testimony only, but internal also.
Absolute self-surrender to the Son of
God brings to the believer a direct
consciousness of His Divine Nature
and work. He that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in him-
seif. That which for others is external
is for the believer experimental. The
witness of Spirit and water and blood
becomes an inner conviction of life
and cleansing and redemption. The
title of divine dignity (the Son o
God) points to the assurance of this
effect. Moreover it is to be noticed
that here the condition laid down is
belief in the Person of Christ (mor.
els), and not belief in a fact (mor. ὅτε
ο. 1).

ὁ μὴ mor. τῷ 6] he that believeth
not God. The direct antithesis to
“believing on the Son’ is ‘not believ-
ing God” This follows from the fact
that ‘believing on the Son’ comes from
‘believing God, that is, welcoming
His testimony.

For the phrase μὴ πιστεύευ τῷ θεῷ

γ. 11)

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

187

ψεύστην πεποίηκεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐ πεπίστευκεν eis τὴν
µαρτυρίαν ἣν μεμαρτύρηκεν ὁ θεὸς περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, ὅτι Conv αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν

οὐ πεπίστευκεν SB: οὐκ ἐπίστευσεν A (οὐκ ἐπίστευκεν &).

(as distinguished from μὴ π. εἰς τὸν 6.)
see John v. 24; vi. 29 £; viii. 30 f.
Comp. ο iii, 23 n,

ψεύστην wen. ai] mendacem facit
V., hath made Him a liar, false in
all His dealings with men. See i.
zon, The word marks the general
character and not only falsity in the

particular case. Comp. John viii. 44;,

©. ii, 4, 22; iv. 20, The form of expres-
sion suggests the idea of an inward
conflict. A voice has been heard and
it has been deliberately rejected.

πεπούηκεν...πεπίστευκεν] These two
perfects definitely connect the present.
position of the unbeliever with a past
act, When the crisis of choice came
he refused the message: he made
God a liar: he did not believe on
His testimony : and the result of that
decision entered into him and clings
to him. Compare, for a similar use of
πεπίστευκα, John iii, 18; vi. 69 (ο, iv,
16); xi. 27; xvi. 27; xx. 29; 2 Tim.
12; Tit ii 8.

ὅτι οὐ menior.] The negative ex-
presses the direct fact. Contrast John
fii, 18 ὅτι μὴ πεπίστ. which presents
the conception. See John vi. 64.

οὐ πεπίστ. els τὴν µαρτ.] non cre
didit in testimonium Ὑ hath not
believed on the witness, not simply
‘believed the witness’ The phrase
is unique. Belief in the truth of the
witness (mor. τῇ paprupig, compare
Jobn v. 47) is carried on to mal
belief in the object of the witness,
bry is, the Incarnate Son Him-

The phrase is illustrated by πισ-
τεύειν ds τὸ ὄνομα (ο. 13 n.), in which
the ‘name’ represents the Person
under the particular aspect which it
expresses. In one other case πιστεύ-

Bewapr.: ἐμαρτύρηκεν R.

ew εἰς is used with an object not
directly personal, John xii. 36 morevew
as τὸ gas, but here φώς js used with
immediate reference to John viii. 12;
ix. 5.

Βο it stands out that the ultimate
object of faith is not a fact ora dogma
but @ Person,

4» µεμαρτ....]. It might have seemed
simpler to say ‘the witness of God’
(ο. 9); but St John repeats at length
what he has shewn that witness to be,
a witness concerning His Son.

11, 14. The witness, which has
‘been shewn to be divine and internal,
points also to the presence of a divine
life, which, given once for all, is en-
joyed by fellowship with the Son.

11. καὶ αὕτη...] ‘The witness of God’
(ο. 9) is in part unfolded : the witness
that He hath given concerning His
Son is this, that He gave: us eternal
life. The Mission of His Son, which
He attested, was the gift of life (John
x. 10, 28; xvii. 2), of life in His Son
(John xx. 31, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι).

6 al. ἔδωκεν] gave eternal life, not
hath given. Compare ο. iii, 23 f.
(ἔδωκεν) with ο iii, 1; iv. 13; v. 20
(δέδωκεν). The reference is to the
historic facts by which this life was
communicated to humanity. That
which before Christ's coming was a
great hope, by His coming was real-
ised and given. The gift, as far as
St John here regards it, was made to
Christians (ἡμῖν), who appropriate it.

{ony αἰώνιον] vo. 13, 20; ο. iii, 15.
This form is to be distinguished from
ᾗ { ἡ αἰών. (ο. i. 2, note) and ἡ αἰώνιος
{ which occurs only John xvii, 3.
It simply defines the character of the
life, and does not identify it with the
only true life,

188

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V. 12, 13

6 θεὸς ἡμῖν, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστίν.
P . : μα
"6 ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει τὴν ζωήν 6 μὴ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν

τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ζωὴν οὐκ ἔχει.

απ ὁ 6. ἡμ. B (the) syrhl: ἡμ. ὁ 6. KA vg me syrvg.

& 76 vig) ‘The life ig not separate
from God but in God. Believers uni

wih Chviet oro ἵν Hic: anltad whe
God. Comp. Rom. vi. 23; 2 Tim.
fn.

12. 6 ἔχων...] The variations from
exact parallelism in the two members
of the verse are significant. In the
second member τὸν visv τοῦ θεοῦ
stands for τὸν viév, and the position
of τὴν ζωήν is

6 ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν] He that hath the
Son, in Whom the Father is known.
Comp. ο. ti. 23; 2 John 9; and for
the use of fe, Jobn iif. 29; iv. 17.

ἔχει τὴν C] hath life, or rather
the life which God has given. Con-
trast ο, 13; iii, 15; John v. 26;
X10; xx. 31. Comp. Col. iii. 4.

In the spirit of these words Igna-
tius speaks of Jesus Ohrist as τὸ
ἀδιάκριτον ἡμῶν (Gv ‘our inseparable
life’ (Zph. 3); and τὸ ἀληθωὸν ἡμῶν
iv, ‘our true life’ (Smyrn. 4). Comp.
Magn. 5; Trail. 9.

ὁ μὴ ἔχων τ. υἱ. τοῦ 6.] he that hath
not the Son of God, The fuller title
seems to mark emphatically the πθ-
cessity of failure in such a case. God
is the only source of life.

For the combination of the positive
and negative ee oi 55 ii 4, 275
John i. 3; fii. 16,

111. Tax Aoriviry anp Conripnce
or THE ΟΠΑΙΘΤΙΑΝ Lirx: Epi-
Loaus.

This last section of the Epistle is
symmetrical in structure:
1. The aim restated (13).
3. The

spiritual
knowledge νο

3 Taira ἔγραψα
αὕτη ἐστὺ § f. Α.

4. A final warning (21).

The progress of thought is clear.
Having reached the close of his
writing St John recals the main
parpose of writing it (i 4), which he
has falfilled (ο. 13); and then illus-
trates the confidence of the Christian
life under two aspects (1) as it finds

ion in spiritual action (14—17),
and (2) as it is realised in inward con-
viction (18—20). He concludes by a
warning against everything which
usurps the place of God (21).

1. The aim of the Epistle re-
stated (13).

13 These things have I written, that
ye may know that ye have eternal life,
to you tho believe on the name of the
Son of God.

13. Tatra ἔγραψα] These things
have I written (I wrote)... In re-
viewing his Epistle St John indicates
the fulfilment of his purpose (i. 3, 4).
‘The consciousness of eternal life brings
divine fellowship and completed joy.
Comp. John xx. 30 f,

For the use of ἔγραψα (contrast
γέγραφα John xix. 22) see ο. ii, 12
—14 note. The Apostle looks back
upon his work, and records the aim
which he set before himself.

ἵνα εἰδῆτε] ut sciatis V., that ye
‘may know with a knowledge final and
certain. Compare ii. 29 note; iii. 14
note. The eternal life may be pre-
sent and yet not realised in its inhe-
rent power. The fruits may not be
referred to their source; and again
they may be delayed. But there is a
Imowledge of life which is independ-
ent of external signs; and this St
John seeks to quicken.

‘The order (ωὴν ἔχ. αἰών. is not found

Vv. 14]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF 8ST JOHN.

189

Sty aun vy, ae om /
υμιν (να εἰδῆτε οτι ζωήν Εχετε αἰωνιον, τοῖς πιστευουσιν

κα -
εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.

“eal αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ

παρρησία ἣν ἔχομεν πρὸς αὐτόν, ὅτι ἐάν τι αἰτωμεθα

13 ὑμῶν NAB vg me the syrr: “-τοῖς πιστεύουσω els τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ 65.

ἐχ. αἰών. AB vg syrhl: αἰών. ἔχ. Ν.

ovres ΝΑ. vg me the: καὶ ἵνα πιστεύητε 5.

τοῖς πιστεύουσιν N*B syrr: οἱ πιστεύ-
14 ἔχομεν: ἔχωμεν ΔΑ. ὅτι

day SRB syrhl the: ὅτι ἄν A: ὅτι ὃ dds Vg syrvg.

elsewhere: the epithet comes as an
afterthought : ‘that ye have life—yea,
eternal life.’

τοῖς πιστεύουσιν] to you who believe.
The dative, which is added as a kind
of afterthought, defines the character
of the persons who are addressed : ‘to
you, yea, to you who believe...” Com-
pare John i. 12; 0, 16. The present
activity of faith (πιστεύουσω) is the
aign of life (iii. 23 note).

τοῖς πιστ. els τὸ ὅν....] gui creditis
in nomine...V., who believe in the
name ο]... who believe in Him who
is revealed to us under this title as
being the Son of God. Contrast iii.
23 note (mor. τῷ 3 and compare
John i. 12 note; ii. 23 note; iii, 18.
For similar uses of ὄνομα 999 ο. i, 12
(διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ) note; 3 John 7
(r8 ὄνομα) note.

τοῦ vlod τοῦ θεοῦ] the Son of God,
0, 5, 10, 12, 205 iii, 8 note; iv. 15.
The title is the pledge of the cer-
tainty of the possession of life.

2. The confidence of spiritual action
(14-17).

The consciousness of a divine life
brings to the believer perfect bold-
ness in prayer, that is, in converse
.. God (14, 15); and this boldness

inds characteristic expression in in-
ae ion for the brethren (16, 17).

4 And thie ia the boldness which
we have towards Him, that, if we ask
anything according to His will, He
heareth us, +3 And if we know that
He heareth us whatsoever we ask, we
know that we have the petitions which
we have asked from Him.

14 If any one see his brother sinning
@ sin not unto death, he shall ask, and
He (he) will give him life, even to them
that sin not unto death, There is
sin unto death ; I do not say that he
should pray for that: “all un-
righteousness ts sin, and there is sin
not unto death.

14. καὶ αὕτη...] It is implied that
the knowledge which the Christian
can gain is not for mere passive pos-
session, nor yet for himself alone. It
finds scope in corresponding expres-
sion. The life is fruitful.

9 παρρησία ἣν ἔχομεν...] fiducia
quam habemus... V., the boldness of
speech, utterance, which we hare as
the consequence of our possession of
life. See ο. ii. 28 note. The gift of
eternal life enables the believer to
come directly before God (Hebr. iv.
16) and speak every thought without
reserve. This he has strength to do
in the present trials of life (ο. tii. 21);
and he looks forward to a like open-
ness of trust ‘at the presence of
Christ’ (ii 28), and ‘in the day of
judgment’ (iv. 17).

πρὸς αὐτόν] ad eum V., towards
Him, that is, God, the main subject
of the passage.

airy...drt.,.dxover.,.] this... that
..He heareth] The fact (that He
heareth) and not the conviction of
the fact (‘we know that He heareth’),
ia identified with the feeling. Our
boldness is not simply a belief, but
indeed a certainty, an experience.

édy τι αἰτώμεθα] quodcunque petie-
rimus V., Uf we ask anything. The
distinction between the middle (ai-

190

αρ) ος ee eee
κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἀκούει ἡμῶν.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V. 15, 16

Skat ἐὰν οἴδαμεν

oe gg ϱ ια
ὅτι ἀκούει ἡμῶν ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἔχομεν

τὰ αἰτήματα ἃ ἠτήκαμεν an’ αὐτοῦ.

θέλημα: ὄνομα A.

(89) B syrr (me) the: σὲ scimus vg: om. Ν3Α.

dx! αὐτοῦ NB: rap! αὐτοῦ SA.

τεῖσθαι) and the active (αἰτεῖν) is not
sharply drawn; but generally the
personal reference is suggested by
the middle while the request is left
wholly undefined as to its destination
by the active. Compare John xvi.
24, 26; xiv, 13, 14; xv. 16 with xv.
7; James iv. 2,3. For αἰτεῖσθαι see
Matt. xxvii. 20 (and parallels), 58 (and
parallels); Acts iii. 14.

κατὰ τὸ θέλημα ai.) according to
His will. Comp. 1 Pet. iv. 19; Gal.
i 4; Ephit 5, 11. This will finds
expression in the soul: John xv. 7;
and is the continuous manifestation
of the divine nature through Christ.
Thus asking ‘according to the will of
God’ is equivalent to asking ‘in
Christ’s name’: John xiv. 13 note.

‘The will of God’ regards the
spiritual consummation of man (c. ii.
17; Rom. ii, 18), and all external
things only so far as they are con-
tributory to this.

ἀκούει ἡμῶν] Compare John ix. 31;
xi 41 f. This sense of ‘hearing’ is
peculiar to St John. The ‘hearing’
of God, like the ‘kmowledge’ of God,
carries with it every perfect couse-
quence. For the thought see ο iii. 22.

15, καὶ ἐὰν ofBayev...] Etacimus V.,
si scimus Ἑ., And if we know... The
force of this unusual construction ap-
pears to be to throw the uncertainty
upon the fact of the presence of the
knowledge and not upon the know-
ledge itself, The sense required is
not ‘and should we know,’ but ‘and
should it be that_we know.’

3 ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα] whatsoever we ask,
This universal phrase can be substi-
tuted for the limited phrase which

1ό Εάν τις ἴδη τὸν

15 καὶ diy (ὃν B) οἴδαμεν (ίδωμεν Ν" me) ὅτι dx. ἡ. 5

ἔχομεν: ἔχωμεν δὲ (ἐὰν bx. 3).

‘was used before (édy ri alr, κ.τ. 6.). The
believer would not make his own
μα prayer which is not according
God’s will. And since he has made
ὅσα ral his own will, he has all he
truly seeks in immediate and present
ion (Mark xi. 24) though the
visible fulfilment may be delayed.

τὰ αἰτήματα] petitiones V., the pe-
titions (Phil. iv. 6; Luke xxiii. 24):
the substance of the requests, if not.
necessarily the actual things asked
for (τὰ αἰτηθέντα).

dn’ αὐτοῦ]. οπι Him. These words
go perhaps more naturally with ‘have’
(@. ii. 20) than with ‘asked’ Yet see
Matt. xx. 20 (ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.

16,17. That boldness of access to
God, which finds expression in prayer,
finds its most characteristic expres
sion in intercessory prayer. Fel-
lowship with God involves fellowship
with man (i 3). The energy of
Christian life is from the first social.
Hence St John passes naturally from.
the general thought of prayer to that
of prayer for the brethren. And in
doing this he fixes attention on the
failures of Christians, These are the
sorest trial of faith.

The prevailing power of intercession
corresponds with the Christian revela-
tion of the unity of the Body of Christ.
When this power is exercised for
others it is exercised in a true sense
for ourselves, and not, arbitrarily as
it were, for those apart from us. Apo-
stolic teaching recognises a mysterious
dependence of man upon man in the
spiritual order like that which is now
being shewn to exist in the physical
order; and throughout the Epistle

V. 16]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

19Ι

: yo /͵ : pe ge
ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον,
αἰτήσει, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ

16 αἰτήσει...δώσει: αἰτήσιε (-ήσειν)... δώσεις».

ἁμαρτάν. ἁμαρτίαν µή A.

St John assumes the reality of this
inner fellowship among those whom
he addresses,'and he bases his argu-
ments upon it.

Compare 1 Pet. iv. 8 τὴν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς
ἀγάπην; td. 10 els ἑαυτοὺς αὐτὸ δια-
κονοῦντες; Eph. iv. 32; Col. iii, 13
χαριζόμενοι éavrois ; Col. tii. 16 νουθε-
τοῦντες ἑαντούς.

16. "Edy τις 1p...] If any one see
. The duty, the instinct, is uni-
versal in the Christian Society. At
the same time the character of the
sin towards which the duty is exer-
cised is clear even outwardly. It is
not a matter simply of suspicion or
doubt.

τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ] his brother.
The end of prayer is the perfection of
the whole Christian body. The Chris-
tian prays for himeelf only as a mem-
ber in the society. The sight of sin
in ‘a brother’—a fellow Christian
(ο ii, 9 note)—and it is only with
Christians that St John is dealing—
necessarily stirs to interceasion. Comp.
Clem. ad Cor. i. 2 ἐπὶ τοῖς παρα-
πτώµασι τῶν πλήσιον ἐπενθεῖτε' τὰ
ὑστερήματα αὐτῶν ἴδια ἐκρίνετε.

ἁμαρτ. ἁμαρτ.] peccare
V., sinning a sin. The form of ex-
pression (ἁμαρτάνοντα, inadequately
rendered in the Latin) emphasises
the outward present character of the
act. There is no exact parallel in
Ν. Τ. to the phrase, Comp. oii, 25.
Winer iii. § 32, 2.

μὴ πρὸς θάνατον] not unto death,
Life is fellowship with Christ (ο. 12).
Death is separation from Him. All
sin tends to make the fellowship less
complete. Yet not all equally; nor
all in a fixed and unalterable de-

gree.
The thought is not of the definite

rois ἁμαρτ. pif τοῖς µη

external characteristics of particular
acts, as having an absolute value, but
of acts in relation to the man’s whole
nature and life.

The clause ‘not unto death’ goes
both with fhe participle and with the
noun, as is shewn separately after-
wards,

For the conception of ‘death’ see
ο iii. 14 (the only other place in the
Epistles where the word occurs),
John v. 24 (viii. 51 £; vi. 50; xi. 26;
viii, 24). The thought is evidently
not of physical death as James v. 14
f£ Compare, in another connexion,
Jobn xi, 4 αὕτη ἡ ἀσθένεια οὐκ ἔστι
πρὸς θάνατο. The subjective nega-
tive (μὴ πρὸς 6.) naturally follows
from the supposition (ἐάν τις), It is
otherwise in ο. 17.

αἰτήσει] petit (-at) V., postulabit F.,
6 shall ask. This will be his natural
and spontaneous action. There is no
need of a command.

καὶ δώσει] and he will give. The
subject has been taken to be (1) the
intercessor, or (2) God (dabit ei vitam
Dominus Tert. de Pudic. 19; but
dabitur οἱ, id, 2). In favour of the
first view the continuity of the con-
atruction (αἰτήσει, δώσει) and the pa-
rallel James v. 20 have been urged.

The second view is that which is at
first suggested by the language of
Scripture generally. To ‘give life’
is elsewhere treated as a divine pre-
rogative; John vi. 33; x. 28; xvii. 2;
v.11. But there is nothing unscrip-
tural in the thought that the believer
does that which God does through
him; James v. 20. Still on the whole
it seems more natural to see here
a reference to the direct action of
God.

If ‘God’ be the subject of ‘give’

192

pt
πρὸς θάνατον.

ἐρωτήση: +71 VE ΒΥΤΥΡ.

then αὐτῷ may be the ‘ethical’
dative, and τοῖς πιστ. the direct
object of δώσει; ‘God shall give life
to those that sin not unto death for
him, in answer to his prayers.’ This
however seems to be artificial The
αὐτῷ is most naturally the sinning
brother in any case.

2 (ωήν] give life. The sinner is
not ‘dead, nor yet ‘sinning unto
death; but his life is, as it were, sus-
pended in part. Comp. John x. 1ο.

τοῖς ἁμαρτ.] even to them that...
‘The single case (ἁμαρτάνοντα) is now
generalised. Comp. ο, 13.

The apposition of a personal plural
to an abstract noun is not strictly
parallel; 1 Cor. i. 2.

ἔστιν dp. πρὸς 6] Ext peccatum ad
mortem V., There is sin unto death.
‘The translation ‘# sin’ (ἁμαρτία ris)
is too definite. The thought is not
of specific acts as such, but of acts
which have s certain character:
‘There is that which must be de-
scribed as sin unte death; there is
that which wholly separates from
Christ.’ The phrase, it must be re-
membered, comes in a passage which
deals with the prayer of Christians
for Christians and not for heathen.
See Additional Note.

οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἴνα...] non pro
illo dico ut roget quis V., not con-
corning that do I say that... The
sin unto death is isolated and re-
garded in its terrible distinctness
(éeelm). The words περὶ ἐκείνης
may be connected either with λέγω or
with ἐρωτήσῃ. Perhaps it is best to
connect them with ἐρωτήση. Comp.
John xvi. 26; xvii. 9, 20.

The construction λέγω ἵνα is not
common: Acts xix. 4. Comp. εἰπεῖν
ἵνα Matt, iv. 3, &0.; ἐρρήθη ἵνα Apoc.
vie αν

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V. 17

ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον οὐ περὶ
ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.

Ἡπᾶσα ἀδικία ἁμαρτία
ὀρωτήσην ἔ».

ἐρωτήσῃ] make request. The change
of the verb from αἰτεῖν (V. petere),
(αεῖσθαι), to éporgy (V. rogare),
cannot but be significant. Ἐρωτῷν
is the word which is used of Christ's
prayer to the Father (John xiv. 16;
xvi, 26; xvii. 9, 15,20; comp. 1 Thess,
iv. 1; 2 John 5). It seems to mark
the request which is based upon
fellowship, upon a likeness of posi-
tion. Here then it would naturally
express the prayer of brother for
brother as such, to the common
Father. Such 8 prayer is not en-
joined by the apostle. At the same
time he does not forbid it. It does
not lie within his scope’.

17. πᾶσα ddula...] omnis iniqui-
tas... V., all unrighteousness... The
words are added to shew the wide
scope which is given for the exercise
of Christian sympathy and intercee-
sion, Apart from such ging as are
open manifestations of s character
alien from God, there are other sins
which flow from human imperfection
and infirmity, and in regard to these
Christian intercession has its work.
All unrighteousness (ο. i 9), all failure
to fulfil our duty one to another, is
sin; and in this ample field there is
abundant opportunity for the exercise
of prayer. There is a sin not unto
death, of which the consequences may
be removed by the brother's peti-
tion.

The statement that ‘all unrighte-
ousness is sin’ must be compared

1 18 is interesting to notice that ἐρωτῷ»
is used in this sense of Christian prayer
for Christians in a very early insoription
in the Roman Catacombs: ZHCHC ΕΝ
Κω kal Ερωτὰ Υπερ ΗΜων. (North-
cote and Brownlow, Roma Sotterranea,
ii. 159).

V. 18}

ἐστίν, καὶ ἔστιν ἁμαρτία οὐ πρὸς θάνατον.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

193
8 Oj.

δαµεν ὅτι was 6 γεγενιηµένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρ-

17 οὐ πρόε: om. οὐ vg syrhl the Tert.

with the comprehensive definition of
ain in ©, ifi. 4 lawleseness is sin, and
conversely sin is latoleseness. Sin is
the most general term and is used in
regard to the will of God for man.
By whatever act, internal or external,
man falls short of this will, as it is
spiritually apprehended, he ‘sina’ The
will of God may be conceived of as
embodied in ‘law,’ in respect of the
whole constitution of things, or in
‘right, in respect of the claims made
by others, So it is that all violation
of law and all violation of right is sin
looked at in a special aspect. Un-
righteousness is one manifestation of
sin. Comp. Rem. vi. 13 ὅπλα ἀδικίας
τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ.

3. The certainty of spiritual know-

ledge (18—20).

The thought of sin, of sin among
the brethren, of sin unto death, forces
the Apostle to recal once more the
assurance of faith. In spite of the
sad lessons of daily experience he re-
affirms the truths which the Christian
knows: the privileges of the divine
birth (18); the fact of the divine
kinsmanship (19); the advance in
divine und from
divine fellowship (20).

The threefold repetition of οἴδαμεν,
we know (18, 19, 20), gives a rhythmic
form to the paragraph.

© We know that everyone who is
begotten of God sinneth not, but He
that was begotten of God keepeth him
and the evil one toucheth him not.

9 We know that we are in God
and the whole world lieth in the evil

one.

» We know that the Son of God
hath come and hath given to us un-
derstanding that we may know Him

w.

that is true; and we are in Him that
te true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.

This ts the true God and life eter-
nal.

18. The power of intercession to
overcome the consequences of sin
might seem to encourage a certain
indifference to sin. Therefore St John
reaffirms the elements of Christian
knowledge. From this point of sight
the first truth of which the Christian
is assured is that, in spite of the ab-
normal presence of sin even among
the brethren, the child of God ‘sin-
neth not.’ He has a watchful Pro-
tector stronger than his adversary.

Οἴδαμεν] Scimus V., We know.
St John uses this appeal to absolute
knowledge in two forms; ‘we know,’
and ‘ye know? The former occurs :

iii, 2 οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ ὅμοιοι
αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν
καθώς ἐστι

18, 14 ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι µεταβεβή-
καμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου els τὴν ζωὴν, ὅτι
ἀγαπώμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς.

¥. 18 οἵδαμεν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ γεγωνηµένος
dx τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρτώνει.

Ἡ. 19 οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμέν.

¥. 20 οἴδαμεν ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Bead
ῆκει καὶ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν ἵνα γινώ-
σκοµεν τὸν ἀληθινόν.

In contrast with these appeals to
fundamental knowledge, St John else-
where appeals to the knowledge
brqught by actual experience (γινώ-
oxopey): ο. 2 note.

8t Panl uses the same form (οἴδα-

vii. 14; viii. 22, 28 ;
Οἴδατε is found :
ii, 20 οἴδατε πάντε»...τὴν Ἀλήθειαν,

194

τάνει, ἀλλ᾽

18 ὁ γεννηθεί: generatio vg.

iL 15 οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος
ove ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ µένουσα».

πᾶς ὁ γεγον. ἐκ τοῦ 6.) omnis
qui natus est ex Deo V. Comp. ο
iii, 9 note.

οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει] Comp. iii. 9 note
(ἁμαρτίαν οὐ movi), While St John

states this without reserve he yet

‘the brother’—brother as

son of the one Father—‘

not unto death’ (ο, 16). The paradox
remains unsolved.

ἀλλ᾽ ὁ γεννηθεὶ
tio (nativitas Ἑ.) Dei
V., but He that was Begotten of God
keopeth him. He does not depend
on his own strength or vigilance. He
has an active Enemy (6 πονηρός) but
he has also a Guardian.

Tho phrase ὁ γενηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ
is unique. Standing as it does in close
juxtaposition with 6 γεγεννηµένος ἐκ
τοῦ θεοῦ it is impossible to regard it
as identical in reference, and the men-
tion of the great adversary naturally

bably used to ron ice the
nexion of the Son with those whom
He ‘is not ashamed to call brethren’
(Hebr. ii. 11 ἐξ ἑνὸς πάντες); while
the difference of γωνηθείς from γε-
γεννημένος suggests that difference in
the sonship of the Son from the son-
ship of men which is marked in John v.
26 τῷ υἱῷ ἔδωκεν ζωὴν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ.

Tho remarkable Latin reading ap-
pears to represent the Greek ἡ γέν-
mors τοῦ θεοῦ (Matt. i. 18),

τηρεῖ] The verb is used of persons
Matt, xxvii. 36, 54; (xxviii, 4); John
xvii 11, 15 (note); Apoc. iii 10;
Jude 21 (ἑαυτοὺς τηρήσατε). It ex-
presses a watchful regard from with-
out rather than safe custody.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.
6 γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ
6 πονηρὸς οὐχ ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ.
θεοῦ ἐσμέν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος

EV. 19
θεοῦ τηρεῖ αὐτόν, καὶ
αροἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ
ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται.
αὐτόν ΑΒ vg: ἑαυτόν SRAY*.

ὁ πονηρός] malignus V. See ο ii.
13 note,

ἅπτεται] tangit V. The verb occurs
elsewhere in St John only in John xx.
17. It describes ‘a laying hold on,’
more than a mere superficial touch

21 μὴ ἄψῃ μηδὲ γεύση μηδὲ θίγης.
Oompare Pa. cv. 15 μὴ ἄψησθε
τῶν χριστῶν pov. The ground of
safety is revealed in John xiv. 30 ἐν
ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει ovdéy, As yet the prin-
ciple of evil is without.

19. From the general statement
of the privilege of Sons of God St
John goes on to the affirmation of
the personal relation in which he and
those whom he addresses stand to
Him (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμέν).

‘The atructure of the verse is express-
ive. The absence of the personal pro-
noun (contrast iv. 6) in the first clause
throws all the emphasis upon the
divine source of life: ‘We know that
it is from God we draw our being” In
the second clause the emphasis is
changed. Over against the Christian
Society, only faintly indicated in the
preceding words, stands ‘the whole
world,’ and on this attention is fixed.
The relation of the Church to God
is widely different from that of the
world to the Evil One.

This difference is brought out in
the two corresponding phrases ἐκ τοῦ
Geos εἶναι and ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖσθαι.
The first describes the absolute source
of being: the second the actual (but
not essential) position.

ἐκ τοῦ 6, ¢.] Bee Additional Note
on iii. 1.

καὶ ὁ κ. 8] This clause like the

V. 2ο]

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

195

*oidapev δὲ ὅτι 6 vids τοῦ θεοῦ ἥκει, καὶ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν
διάνοιαν ἵνα γινώσκοµεν τὸν ἀληθινόν' καί ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ

20 οἴδαμεν δέ RB me: καὶ οἴδαμεν A vg syrr the.

xe: +et carnem induit

nostri causa et passus est et resurrexit a mortuis; adsumpsit nos et dedit....(Latt.).

δέδωκεν : ἔδωκεν A.
+e A vg mo (Latt,).

corresponding clauses in oo. 18 (ἀλλὰ
ὁ yer), 20 (καί ἐσμεν), is an inde-
pendent statement and not dependent
on ὅτι The Christian is able to look
upon the saddest facts of life without
being overwhelmed by them.

The order ὁ κόσμος ὅλος suggests a
slightly different conception from ὅλος
ὁ κόσμος (ο, Ἡ. 2): ‘the world, the
organization of society as.alien from
and opposed to God, is wholly, in all
its parts and elements, placed in the
domain of...’ The two thoughts of the
world, and of the entirety of it, are
given’ separately. same form
occurs Matt. xvi 26 and parallels;
and the same order in Matt. xxvi. 59;
Ie. xi. 36; John iv. 53; Acta xxi
30; 1 Cor. xiv. 23; Apoc. iii. 10;
vi 12; xii. 9; xvi. 14. There is a
similar difference of colour given by
the corresponding position of mas:
John τ. 22; xvi. 13; Matt. x. 30; xiii.
56; xxvi. 56; Acts xvi. 33; Rom. xii.
43 xvi. 16; 1 Cor. vil. 17; X13 xv. 7;
Xvi. 20, &e.

ἐν τῷ πον. κ.] in maligno positus
est V., lieth in the evil one, is placed
in the sphere of his influence. There
is no question here of the Evil One
‘laying hold on’ (ἄπτεσθαι) the world,
as from without (ο. 8): it has been
placed ‘in him?’ The phrase answers
to the εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀληθωφ which fol-
lows, and to the characteristic Pauline
ἐν χριστφ. Comp. ο. iii, 24, iv. 15
note. The connexion shews beyond
question that τῷ πονηρῷ is masculine,
and the converse of κεῖσθαι ἐντ.π. is
given in John xvii. 15 ἵνα τηρήσῃς ἐκ
τοῦ πονηροῦ.

A close parallel to the expression is
found in Soph. Gd. Col, 247 ὃν ὑμῖν

γωώσκοµεν RAB*: γωώσκωμεν S.
ἐσμέν: simus vg.

τὸν dda: τὸ dd. ΚΑ the:
ἐν τῷ dds: om, me: in vita the.

ὡς θεῷ κείµεθα τλάµονεε, Comp, Cid.
R. 314; Ale. 279.

20, The third affirmation of know-
ledge is introduced by the adversative
particle (οἵδ. δέ). There is, this seems
to be the line of thought, a startling
antithesis in life of good and evil.
We have been made to feel it in all
its intensity. But at the same time
we can face it in faith. That which
is as yot dark will be made light
There is given to us the power of
ever-advancing knowledge and of pre-
sent divine fellowship. We can wait
even as God waits. The particle δέ
is comparatively unfrequent in St
John’s writings: ο. i. 7; ii. 2, 5, 11,
17; iii. 12, 17; iv. 18; 3 John 14.

ἦκει, καὶ δέδωκεν] come and
hath given, Faith rests on the per-
manence of the fact and not upon
the historic fact only. Oomp. John
viii. 42 note.

δέδωκεν] ο. iii. 1, iv. 13. Contrast
iii, 23, 24; V. 11 (ἔδωκεν) note.

διάνοιαν] sensum V.,
ing. This is the only place in which
the term occurs in St John’s writings;
and generally nouns which express
intellectual powers are rare in them.
Thus St John never uses γνῶσις, nor
is νοῦς found in his Gospel or Epistles.
Ἀιάνοια, 88 compared with voir, repre-
sents the process of rational thought.
Comp. Eph. iv. 18 ἐν µαταιότητι τοῦ
νοὸς αὐτῶν, ἐσκοτωμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ
ὄντες (the first principles of the Gen-
tiles were unsubstantial, and they had
lost the power of right reasoning).
Exclusive of quotations from the Lxx,
διάνοια is found: 1 Pet. i. 13 ἀναζωσά-
µενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς Yavolas; 2 Pet.
HL 1 διεγείρω τὴν εἶλικρωῆ διάνοιαν ;

13—2

196

ἀληθινῷ, ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστῷ.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[V. 20

οὗτός ἐστιν

Ἰ. X.: om. A vg.

and, in a more concrete sense, Le i
51 duavolg καρδίας; Col. i. 21 éx6pods
τῇ διανοίφ; Eph. ii, 3 τὰ θελήµατα τῆς
σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶ».

‘That with which ‘the Son of God’
Incarnate has endowed believers is
4 power of understanding, of inter-
preting, of following out to their right
issues, the complex facts of life; and
the end of the gift is that they may
know, not by one decisive act (a
γνῶσιν) but by a continuous and pro-
greasive apprehension (a γωώσκωσι),
“Him that is true” Thus the object
of knowledge is not abstract but per.
sonal: not the Truth, but Him of
‘Whom all that is true is a partial
revelation.

It is evident that the fact of the
Incarnation (vlés τοῦ 6. ixes) vitally
welcomed carries with it the power
of believing in and seeing little by
little the divine purpose of life under
the perplexing riddles of phenomena.

The language in which Ignatius de-
scribes this gift is remarkable: διὰ τί
οὐ πάντες φρόνιμοι γινόµεθα λαβόντες
Θεοῦ γνῶσιν, ὅ ἐστι ᾿ησοῦς Χριστός;
τί τεμορᾶν ἀπολλύμεθα ἀγνοοῦντες τὸ χά-

ὃ πέποµφεν ἀληθῶς ὁ Κύριος;
(ad | ph. xvii).

ba γινώσκομεν] This clause finds a
remarkable commentary in John xvii,
3. Eternal life is the
effort after this knowledge of God.
Compare John x. 38, ἵνα yore καὶ
γινώσκητε ὅτι ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ ἐν

It seems likely that γινώσκοµεν is
to be regarded as a corrupt pronun-
ciation of ywscxoper. It is remark-
able that in John xvii. 3 many authori-
ties read γινώσκουσιν for -wow. Comp.
Winer, iii. § 41.1

τὸν ἀληθινόν] verum Deum V.
quod ext verum F. (ia, τὸ dd), Hime
that is true, Who in contrast with

all imaginary and imperfect objects
of worship ‘completely satisfies the
idea of Godhead in the mind of man,
even the Father revealed in and by
the Bon (John i. 18, xiv. 9). Obrist
19 also called ὁ ἀληθινός, Apoc. iii. 7 ;
compare also Apoc. iii. 14 (vi. 10). For
ὀληθινός see John i. 9, iv. 23, xv. 1
notes. Comp. 1 Thess. i. 9 θεὸς (av
καὶ ἀληθινός.

καί ἐσμεν...Ἱ. Χρ.] δὲ simvus (aa de-
pending on ut) in vero Alto ciue V.
St John adds a comment on what he
has just said. Christians are not only
enabled to gain a knowledge of God :
they are already in fellowship with
Him, ‘in Him.’ We are in Him
that ts true, even in His Son, Jesus
Christ. The latter clause defines and
confirms the reality of the divine
fellowship. So far as Christians are
united with Christ, they are united
with God, His assumption of humanity
(Jesus Christ) explains how the union
is possible.

οὗτός ἐστω...] As far as the gram-
matical construction of the sentence

V. 21]

ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων.
θεόν: om. (Latt.).

nostra (Latt.),

God as Father is eternal life (John
xvii. 3); and so Obrist has revealed
Him (ᾳ. i. 2).

6 ἆληθ. 6.] Comp, Is. Ixv. 16 (uxx),
Compare the famous words of Igna-
tius: εἷς θεάς ἐστι ὁ φανερώσας ἑαυτὸν
δὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ vio αὐτοῦ, ὅς
ἐστιν αὐτοῦ λόγος ἀῑδιος, ἀπὸ σιγῇς
προελθών, ὃς κατὰ πάντα εὐηρέστησεν

τῷ πέµψαντι | αὐτόν (ad Magn. viii.)

iron ζωὴ αἰών.] The phrase is not
exactly parallel with those which de-
scribe (as far as we can apprehend it)
the essential natare of God (John iv.
24, οἱ. 5, iv. 8). See Additional Note
on iv. 8 It expresses His relation to
men, and so far is parallel with Hebr.
xii, 29 (Deut. iv. 24).

On ‘Eternal life’ see Additional
Note.

4. A final Warning (21).
From the thought of ‘Him that is
true’ St John turns almost of neceasity
to the thought of the vain shadows
which usurp His place. In them the
world asserted its power. They forced
themselves into notice on every side
in innumerable shapes, and tempted
believers to fall away from the perfect,
simplicity of faith. One sharp warning
therefore closes the Epistle of which
the main scope has been to deepen
the fellowship of man with God and
God with man.
% Little children, guard yourselves
idols.

21, Τεκνία] Once again the anxiety
of the Apostle ¢alls up the title of
affection which has not been used
since iv. 4. See ii. 1 note,

Φυλάβατε ἑαυτά] custodite cos V.,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

6 ἀληθινὸς θεὸς καὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος.

197
™ Texvia, φυλάξατε

{ωὴ al. RAB: ff αἰ. 5: ἡ ἕ- ἡ αἰ. all: +et resurrectio
a1 ἁαυτά ΝΒ: ἑαυτούς BPA,

εἰδώλων: α-ἁμὴν 5.

guard yourselves, The exact phrase
fs not found again in the N. T. Com-
pare τηρεῖν ἑαυτόν Jude 21; and with
an adj. James i, 27; 2 Oor. xi.9; 1
Tim. v. 22. This ‘guarding’ of the
Christian answers to the ‘keeping’ of
Christ (ο. 8. The use of the active
with the reflexive pronoun as dis-
tinguished from the middle (Le. xii. 15
Φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ π. πλεονεξίαι) om-
phasises the duty of personal effort.
‘The use of the neuter (ἑαυτά) in direct
agreement with τεκνία seems to be
unique. For the use of ἑαυτά with
the second person see 1. 8n. The
aorist imp. (φυλάξατε) is remarkable :
compare 1 Pet. ii 17 for ite exact
force. Elsewhere in the Epistle (ex-
cept fii. 1) St John always uses the
present. .

ἀπὸ τῶν εἶδ.] α simulacris V. The
word εἴδωλον is comparatively in-
frequent in the Ν. Τ., and elsewhere
it is always used literally (4.9. 1 Thess.
1.9). But ‘idolatry’ (Col. iii, 5) and
‘idolater’ (Eph. v. 5) have a wider
sense in St Paul; and the context
here seems to require a corresponding
extension of the meaning of the term.
An ‘idol’ is anything which occupies
the place due to God. The use of the
definite article calls up all the familiar
objects which fall under the title.
The command to Christians is not
generally to keep themselves from
such things as idols (ἀπὸ εἰδ) but
from the well-known objects of a false
devotion. Compare 2 Oor. vi. 16 μετὰ
εἶδώλων with Rom. ii. 22 6 βδελυσσ.
τὰ εἴδωλα.

This comprehensive warning is pro-
bably the latest voice of Scripture.

198 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN,

Additional Note on v. 1. The use of the term ‘the Christ.”

8
g

The history of the title ‘Messiah? ‘Christ’ (TWD, ὁ xpirés, ‘the
Anointed One’) is very remarkable. It is not a characteristic title of the
promised Saviour in the Ο. T. It is not even specifically applied to Him,
unless perhaps in Dan. ix. 25 £, 8 passage of which the interpretation is
very doubtful. And still in the apostolic age it was generally current
among the Jews in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and in the Dispersion; and
it was applied by them to the object of their religious and national hope
ment, (Matt. ii 4, xvi. 16, xxii. 42; John i. 20, 41, iv. 25, xii. 34; Acta ix. 23,
xvii. 3, xviii. 28, xxvi. 23). The Hebrew word had been clothed in a
Greek dress, and was current side by side with the Greek equivalent
(Μεσσίας John i. 42, iv. 25).

The word ΠΒ, ‘anointed, occurs several times in the Book of
Leviticus in the phrase DVT 1097: Lev. iv. 3 (ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ὁ κεχρισμένου),
τ. 16; vi. 15 (6 ἀρχ. 6 χριστός). Comp. 2 Mace, i 10 (ἀπὸ τοῦ τῶν χριστῶν
Ἱερέων γένους).

In the Historical Books the word is used of the representative kings of
the theocratic nation: Of Saul :

1 Bam. xii. 3, 5 INV, ὁ χριστὸς αὐτοῦ.

1 Sam. xxiv. 6, 11; xxvi, 16; 2 Sam. i. 14, 16 MYM NYY, LEX. 6
ιστὸς κυρίου.

1 Bam, μαμα. 11, 23 MYM OP, LXX. χριστὸς κυρίου.

Comp. 2 Sam. i. 21 YD DVD "PP, LEX. οὐκ ἐχρίσθη ἐν ἑλαίφ.

Of David :

1 Sam, xvi. 6 NY, LEX. ὁ χριστὸς αὐτοῦ.
2 Sam. xix. 21 MYM! DD, LXX. ὁ χριστὸς κυρίου.
2 Sam, xxiii, 1 3py oe WP, LX. χριστος θεοῦ Ἰακώβ.
2 Sam. xxii. 51.
Pa. xviii. 50.
Of Solomon:
2 Obron. vi 42 WO'YY, LEX. ὁ xpiorés σου.
Of Jehu:
2 Obron. xxii. 7 LXX. πρὸς Ἰηοὺ...χριστὸν κυρίου, ΤΠ) inp WH.
Compare the wider use in:
1 Sam. ii, 10 IPP NB 81]... ΠΠ), LAK ὑψώσει κέρας χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.
mi 35 PD NDP, LEX. ἐνώπιον χριστῶν (χριστοῦ) pov.
1 Ohron. xvi, 22,
Pa. ev. 15.
(2) the In the Prophets the word is used of Cyrus:
In xlv. 1 OPI? wryp Aymy wy NB, LXX. οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ
θεὸς τῷ χριστῷ µου Κύρφ.

geigegys
οι

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 199

In the second passage where it occurs it is doubtfal whether it is used
in a personal or national sense:
Hab. iti. 13 WP OTN WH, LEX. τοῦ σῶσαι τοὺς χριστούς σου.
It occurs twice in a difficult passage of the Book of Daniel: +

Dan. ix. 25 TDD, Theod. χριστὸς ἡγούμενος.
» 268 NB, ‘Theod. ἐξολεθρεύσεται xplopa.
Compare also:
‘Amos i 13 LXX. ἀπαγγέλλων τὸν χριστὸν αὐτοῦ.
Hebr. ἱπί'πρ... 199.

In the Psalms the Divine King who is the type of ‘the Christ’ is spoken (iv) the
of as ‘the anointed of the Lord’; and there can be no doubt that it was Hagio-
from the Psalms, and especially from Ps, ii, that the word passed into &l
common use in the special technical sense,

Pa, il, 2 Sv om rim oy, LXX. κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ
Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ,

Pa, xviii. 50 1179 Wed, LEX. τῷ χριστῷ αὐτοῦ τῷ Aaveld

Pa. xx. 6 INH, LEX. (ἔσωσεν κύριος) τὸν χριστὸν αὐτοῦ.

Pa. xxviii 8 NIT IMD NIWA NY, LEX. ὑπερασπιστὴς τῶν σωτη-
play τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ doriy,

So Pa. Ixxxix. 38, 51, cxxxii. 10, 17.

Compare Ps, Ixxxiv, 10 HR, DTK, LEX. 6 θεός...τὸν χριστόν σου.

It occurs in the plural:

Pa. ev. 15, 1 Chron. xvi. 22 "YD, LEX. οἱ χριστοί µου.

The fall phrase is found :

Lam. iv. 20 TN) YH, LEX. χριστὸς κύριος.

Compare Luke ii. 11.

It will be observed that in all these passages, with the exception of
those in Leviticus, 2 Sam. i. 21, Dan. ix. 25 f,, the Anointed One is always
spoken of as the Anointed of the Lord or of God.

The title χριστός occurs in connexion with κύριος Ecclus. xlvi. 19 The use of
ἐπεμαρτύρατο ἔνατι κυρίου καὶ χριστοῦ. fhe term

It occurs several times also in the Psalms of Solomon: books.

xvii 36 (there shall be no unrighteousness, because) πάντες ἅγιοι Psalms of
καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν χριστὸς κύριος. Solomon.
xviii, 8 (happy are they who are) ὑπὸ ῥάβδον παιδείας χριστοῦ κυ-
ρίου ἐν φόβφ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ πνεύματος καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ
Ισχύος.
ας 6 . dle ἡμέραν ἐκλογῆς ἐν ἀνάξει χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ (τοῦ θεοῦ).
It is found in the Book of Henoch: Henoch.
ο 48, 10...they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed.
ο 52, 4 All these things which thou hast seen minister to the rule
of His Anointed that he may be strong and mighty upon the earth.
And it occurs twice in the Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch: Targums.
Gen. alix. 1ο RMD WH MONT RMD NM WY, until Messiah
come, whose is the kingdom.

200 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF 81 JOHN.

Num. xxiv. 17 ΟΚ Ὀ NNW KIN apo Nd DPI, when
aking shall arise from Jacob, and a Christ from Israel shall
rule,

and commonly in the Targum of Jonathan. Comp. Buxtorf Lez. κ. v.

It may be added that it is found also in 4 Eedras vii. 28 £ my Son
Christ (comp. xii. 32).
And in the Apocalypse of Baruch: co. xxiv, xxx, xxxix, x, lxx, σσ.
The useof From this general view of the use of the word it appears that the
the term limited application of the ‘title to the Divine King and. Saviour of Israel
‘Testament i8, With the possible exception of the passage of Daniel, post-Biblical. And
a result of it is likely that the combination of the ideas of a coming of the Lord to
the study judgment and of the establishment of a Divine Kingdom i in Daniel served
wou ‘to concentrate attention on the scriptural language in regard to ‘the
ment. Anointed of the Lord’ (Luke ii. 26) which was seen to transcend any past.
application. Thus it could not but be felt that every one anointed to a
special function in the divine economy pointed to One greater in whom all
that he foreshadowed should find a final accomplishment. The offices of
king and priest and prophet were concentrated upon ‘the Christ’; and
now one office and now the other became predominant according to the
tempers of men.
Use of the With regard to the usage of St John it may be observed that ὁ χριστός
term by is without question uniformly an appellative (‘the Christ, ‘the Anointed’)
St John. in the Gospel: i. 20, 25, iii, 28, iv. 29, vii. 26 f, 31, 41 £, x. 24, xi. 27, xii.
34, XX. 31 (compare algo the use of χριστός: i. 41, iv. 25, ix. 22). So it is
also in the first epistle: ii. 22, v. 1. This large collection of examples seems
to decide that the same sense must{be adopted in 2 John 9; Apoc, xx. 4, 6,
where otherwise the title might have seemed to be a proper name.

Additional Note on v.6. References to the facts of the Gospel.

Reference The Epistles of Βὲ John are permeated with the thoughts of the Person
fo thefack and work of Christ but direct references to the facts of the Gospel are
& the, singolarly rare in them. In the third Epistle there is nothing in the lan-
frtke guage which is distinctively Christian except the pregnant reference to ‘the
Epistles of Name’ (ο, 7). The Baptism is not spoken of plainly ; nor yet any one of the
crucial events of the Life of the Lord which were included in the earliest
Confessions of faith, the Birth of the Virgin Mary, the Crucifixion, the
Resurrection, the Ascension, the Session at the right hand of the Father,

the Coming to Judgment.

But though these facts are not expressly mentioned they are all implied,
and interpreted. Without them the arguments and language of St John
are unintelligible.

(1) The Birth of the Virgin Mary : iv. 2 Jesus Christ came in flesh.
(2) The Baptism : v. 6 This is He that came by water.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 201

(3) The Passion: iii. 16 He laid down His life for us—y. 6 This is
He that came...by blood.

(4) The Resurrection, Ascension and Session at the right hand of
the Father: ii. 1 «06 have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.
Comp. 2 John 7...confess that Jesus Christ cometh in flesh ; 1 John i. 3.

(6) The coming to Judgment: fi. 28 that we may have boldness and
not be ashamed before Him at His presence ; iii. 2 If He should be mani-
Seated we shall be like Him, for we shall 996 Him as Hots. 2 John 7.

In addition to these allusions to articles of the Baptismal Creed the
first Epistle assumes a general knowledge of the Life and Teaching of
Christ: ii 6 He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk
even as He walked; iii. 1 The world knoweth us not because it knew Him
not; ii, 25 the promise which He promised; iii. 23 as He gave us com-
mandment. Compare also i. 1 note.

The revelation of the purpose and issue of Christ’s work is made with
singular falness :

11, 5 He was manifested to take away sins,

— 8 The Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works -

Oo the devil.
iv. 9 [God] hath sent His Son, His only Son, that we may live through
Him.

— 10 [God] sent His Son, as a propitiation for our sins. Comp. ii. 2.

— 14 The Father hath sent the Son as Saviour of the world,

v.20 The Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that

we may know Him that is true,

Comp. i. 7; v. 18.

Additional Note on the readings in v. 6 f.

The variations of the three chief Greek mes in the passage οὗτος...µαρ-
τυροῦντες deserve to be studied in detail. Happily in this case the com-
mon text follows in the main that of B

B κ. A.
οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθὼν οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθὼν οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθὼν
δὲ ὕδατον καὶ alparos διὰ ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος δὲ ὕδατος καὶ αἵματον

καὶ πνεύματος gal πνεύματος
Ἰησοῦς Χριστός" wots Χριστός:
οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὅδατι pony Ranney λος μόνον Je ἐν τφ ὅδατι µόνον
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ON ἐντῷ ὕδατι ἀλλὰ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι
καὶ ἐν τῷ αἵματι καὶ σφι αἵματι καὶ ἐν τῷ πνεύματι
καὶ τὸ ανεῦμα... καὶ τὸ ανεῦ] καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα...
ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶν δι οἱ τρεῖς εἰσὶν ὅτι rpeis εἰσὶν
οἱ μαρτυροῦντεν... οἱ μαρτυροῦντεν. οἱ μαρτυροῦντες...

For τὸ πνεῦμα the Latin Valgate gives Christus,

202 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Additional Note on the readings in v. 7, 8.

The inter- © The words which are interpolated in the common Greek text in this
polated passage (ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ ἅγιον wveipa’ καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς
& dow καὶ τρεῖς elow οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ yi) offer an instructive illustra-
tion of the formation and introduction of a gloss into the apostolic text
without any signs of bad faith. Happily the gloss was confined within
narrow limits till the age of printing. If it had been known in the East in
the sixth or seventh century, it is not rash to suppose that it would have
found wide acceptance just as it did in the printed editions of the Greek
text, and the evidence would have been complicated though essentially
unchanged. In this respect the history of the Vulgate reading is of singa-
lar importance. The mass of later Latin copies which contain the inter-
polation obviously add nothing to the evidence in favour of the autheati-
city of the words, and do not even tend to shew that they formed part of
Jerome's text.
The state of the external evidence can be summed up very briefly.
Summary The words are not found .
oferternal (1) In any independent Greek ΜΕ (more than 180 Mas and 6ο
* lectionaries are quoted). Both the late uss which contain it have un-
questionably been modified by the Latin Vulgate’.
(2) In any independent Greek writer. The very few Greek writers
who make use of the words derived their knowledge of them from the
Latin (not in Ir OLA! Orig Did Athan Bas Greg.Nas Cyr.Al)*.
(3) In any Latin Father earlier than Victor Vitensis or Vigilius
Tapeensis (not in Tert Cypr Hil Ambr Hier Aug Leo 13.
(4) In any ancient version except the Latin; and it was not found
(a) in the Old Latin in its early form (Tert Cypr Ang), or (6) in the Vul-
gate as issued by Jerome (Codd. am fuld) or (ο) as revised by Alcuin (Cod.
vallicell*)',
On tho other hand the gloss is found from the sixth century in Latin
Fathers ; and it is found also in two copies which give an old Latin text, in
gome early copies of the Vulgate and in the great mass of the later copies
and in the Clementine text.
It becomes of interest therefore to observe how the words originally

1 The Codez Ravianus which was
formerly quoted as a us authority
has been shewn to be a copy made
from printed texts, chiefly from the
Complutensian, which it follows in
this passage. Comp. Griesbach, N.T.
Lii. App. 4f. The clause is also written
on the margin of a Naples us 173
‘mana reoenti, unius ut mihi vide-
tor ex bibliothesariis, smo, fine 17’

(Tiechat.).
3 The gloss of Claudius Apollinaris,
quoted in the note on the text, shews

that he connected ‘the word’ and ‘the
spirit’ with ο, 8 in a different sense.

3 Compare Griesbach 1. ο. 13 Π.

4 The words are found in the Theo-
dulfian Recension (Paris Bibl. Nat.
Lat. 9380) in the following form: quia
tres sunt qui testimonium dant in
terra spiritus aqua et sanguis et του
unum sunt; et tres sunt qui testimo-
nium dicunt in oslo pater et filius, et
spiritus sanctus οἱ hi tres unum sunt
(Prof, Wordsworth).

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

found a place in the Latin texts, and were carried from that source into
the Greek text, and into the printed editions of other versions.

The words are not, as has been already stated, found in any early Latin The origin
Father; but a passage of Cyprian, which shows that he was not acquainted of the
with them as part of the apostolic text, shews at the same time how fitms,
natural it was to form a distinct gloss on ». 7 according to their tenor:
Dicit dominus: Ego et Pater unum sumus; et iterum dé Patre ot Filio et
Spirita Sancto scriptum est; σὲ tres unum sunt (de Eccles, unit. ο. 6;
comp. auct. de rebapt. cc. 15, 19). The force of this application of ‘the
spirit and the water and the blood’ with the false reading ‘unum sunt’ for
‘in unum sunt? (els τὸ ἕν elow) is made clear by a later reference to it
in Facundus:...De Patre et Filio et Spiritu Sancto sic dicit: Tres sunt gui
testimonium dant in terra, spiritus, aqua et sanguis, et hi tres unum
sunt; in spirita significans Patrem, sicut Dominus mulieri Samaritane...
loquitur...in aqua vero Spiritum Sanctum significans sicut in eodem
Evangelio exponit (John vii. 37)...in sanguine vero Filium...Quod...
Johannis apostoli testimonium beatus Cyprianus...in epistola sive libro
quem de Unitate scripsit de Patre Filio et Spiritu Sancto dictum intelligit
(Pro daf. tr. Cap. i. 3). Tho same mystical interpretation is found in
Augustine (ο Maxim. ii, 22), and Eucherius (Instruc, i. ad loc, Migne,
Patr. Lat. Ἱ. 810); and Augustine supplies the word ‘Verbum,’ which
18 required to complete the gloss: Deus itaque summus et verus cum
Verbo suo et Spiritu Sancto, ques tria unum sunt, Deus unus et omnipotens
(do Oto. ν. 111),

The gloss which had thus become an established interpretation of St The gloss
John’s words is first quoted as part of the Epistle in a group of writings inserted in
which come from Africa in the last quarter of the fifth century :

(1) Ut adhue luce clarius unius divinitatis esse cum Patre et Filio
Spiritum Sanctum doceamus, Joannis Evangelists testimonio comprobatur.
Ait namque Tres sunt qui testimonium perhibent in calo, Pater,
Verbum et Spiritus Sanctus, αἱ hi tres unum sunt (Prof. Fid. ap.
Vict. Vit. de Persec. Vand, iii. 11%).

(2) Pater est ingenitus, filius vero sine initio genitus a patre est,
spiritus autem sanctus proceasit (asp. procedit{) a patre et accipit de filio

203

2 It is by no means unlikely that the
mystical interpretation of ο. 8 may
have taken 4 definite shape in Afrioa
from a very early time. The language
of Tertullian, which shews conclusively
that he was not acquainted with the
words tres unum sunt as a scriptural
phrase, indicates the beginning of its
growth: ado. Praz. 25...connexus pa-

tres unum sunt non unas; quomodo
dictum est ego et pater unum sumus
(John x, 30) ad substentis unitatem,
non ad numeri singularitatem. It is

possible that the gloss may have found
place in copies of the Latin Version
6 soon as it was definitely shaped; but
there is no evidence that it was found
in the text of S¢ John before the latter
part of the sth century.

* ‘The authorship of this ‘Exposition
of the Faith’ is uncertain. It is per-
haps a later addition to the history of
‘Victor (Papencordt, Gesch. d. Vand.
Herrach. 369 n.); bat in no 9890 does it
Prove more than that the words were
found in the copy of the Epistle used
by the writer,

204

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

sicut evangelista testatur, quia scriptum est: Tres sunt qui dicunt
testimonium in cao, pater, verbum et spiritus, et hac tria unum sunt, in
Cheisto Jesu. Non tamen dixit: unus est in Christo Jesu’.

‘It was not unnataral that in the stress of the Arian persecution words
which were held to give the plain meaning of 8t John’s words as they were
read should find their way from the margin into the text, or if they
had already obtained a place in the text of any copies should gain
wider currency. But still the form is fluent:

(3) (Johannes Evangelista] ad Parthos: Ίγοι sunt, inquit, qui testi-
monium perhibent in terra, aqua -sanguis et caro, ot tres in nobis
sunt; et tres sunt qui testimonium perhibent in colo, Pater Verbum
et Spiritus...et hi (8) tres unum sunt (ο. Varim. 5). And again:
(4)...dicente Joanne Evangelista in epistola sua: Tres sunt qui testi-
monium dicunt in calo, Pater et Verbum et Spiritus; et in Christo
Jesu unum sunt, non tamen unus est, quia non est in his una persona (de
Trin. i. p. 206; Migne, Patr. Lat. ΙΧ. 243).

From this time the words seem to have maintained partially their
position in the text, They are quoted by Falgentias (ο, 550) as St John’s
in the form: Tres sunt qui testimonium perhibent in colo, Pater, Ver-
bum et Spiritus; et tres unum sunt (Resp. ο. Arian. Ρ. 68, Migne, Patr.
Lat. ixv, 224); though the same writer in another place (ο, Fabian. fragm.)
speaks of the application of the clause ef tres unum sunt to ‘the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ as established by argument, a process wholly
unnecessary if the gloss had been admitted as part of the text.

On the other hand the language of Cassiodorus (ο, 550) seems to me to
shew that he did not find the gloss in his text of St John, though he
accepted it as a true interpretation of the apostle’s words. Cui rei [quia
Jesus est Christus], he writes, testificantur in terra tria mysteria, aqua
sanguis et spiritus, que in passione Domini leguntur impleta; in calo
autem Pater et Filius οὐ Spiritus Sanctus ; et hi tres unus est Deus (Com-
plex. in Epp. ad loc. Migne, Patr. Lat. \xx. pp. 1372 401.

Not long afterwards the addition was expressly defended in ‘a Prologue
to the seven canonical Epistles’ issued under the name of Jerome, which
seems to have been written with this express purpose: [In prima Johannis
Epistola) ab infidelibus translatoribus multum erratum esse a fidei veritate
comperimus, trium tantum vocabula, hoc est, aque sanguinis et spiritus,
in ipea sua editione ponentibus et Patris, Verbique ac Spiritus testimonium
omittentibus ; in quo maxime et fides catholica roboratur et Patris ac ΕΠΗ
ac Spiritus Sancti una divinitatis substantia comprobatur (Migne, Patrol.
Lat. xxix. 829 f.).

This Prologue is found in one of the earliest copies of the Vulgate
(Codex Fuldensis) written in 546, though the gloss itself is not found in
the text of the Epistle.

1 This remarkable form of the glows hist. Anecdota, pp. xttv. 305 and
has been printed by Caspari in an Ez- notes).
positio fidei preserved in the Ambro- 3 The passage of Cassiodorus is well
sian wa which contains also the Mura- discussed by Bp Turton in his Vindt-
torian fragment on the Canon (Kirchen- tation of Porson, pp. 279 ft.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 205

But the gloss is found in early uss both of the Old Latin and of the The
Vulgate, and in substantially the same form, 9ο that it must have beon earliest
introduced into both from the same source, These are (a) (of the old Latin) ¥8 #0-
a Speculum (a classified series of Scriptural passages) m (asec. viii. or ix.) fori’

and a Munich fragment ᾳ (cod, Fris.

the Spanish (Visigothic) uss Cod. Cav.

seec. vi. or vii.); (0) of the Vulgate,
(see, ix.) and Cod. Tol. (sec. x.).

The whole passage appears in these authorities in the following form:

Cod. Fris) Spec. (πα). Codd, Cav. Tol.
quoniam tr quoniam tres sunt qui quia tres sunt qui
testimonium dicount testimonium dant
in terra in terra in terra
spiritus δέ aqua et sa spiritus aqua et san- spiritus e¢ aqua et san-
is 5
ot hi tres enum sunt ot hi tres unum sunt
in Christo Jesu, in Christo Jesu.

. Et tres sunt et (om Tol) tres sunt
tifcantur quitestimoniumdicunt qui testimonium dicunt
in caelo in caelo in caelo
pater ¢ Pater verbum et spiri- Pater verbum et spiri-
‘tres unum sunt. thi tree unam sant, et hi tres unum sunt.

Here, it will be observed, the testimony on earth is placed first, so that

the heavenly testimony retains its position as an interpretative gloss®,

And

there is also a second similar though shorter gloss in Christo Jeeu which
is even older than that which follows; for it is indicated in the Latin transla-
tion of the Outlines of Clement of Alexandria: of hi tres unum sunt: in
salvatore quippe istex sunt virtutes salutifere, et vita ipsa in ipso Filio

ejus existit (p. 1011 P.).
After a time the second gloss in

Christo Jesu was omitted ; and the Modifica-
two clauses were transposed ; so that the passage aerumed the form which ton ofthe

was generally current in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and was ἵς
finally pronounced authentic in the Sixtine and Clementine editions of the
Vulgate. The main forms in which the passage appears in the Latin texts

are given in the following table :

1 The us is unfortunately mutilated.
About half of each line is lost. Tho
lines of the ms so far as they aro pre-
served ran thus: _

quisspsestuerites qmtr
in terra . spsetaquactes
tificanturincaclop tere
tresunumennt sitestim

‘There is room in each line for about 21
more letters. Itis not possible therefore
that the words et Ai tres unum sunt in
Christo Jesu could have formed part of
the text. It is farther to be noticed
that this ws reads spiritue in ν. 6 for
Christus,

3 Another form of the reading pre-
served in the St Gall us: Quia tres
sant qui testimonium dant spiritus οἱ
aqua et sanguis, et tres unum sunt.
Sicut in oslo tres sunt, Pater Verbum
et Spiritus, et tres unum sunt (Dobbin,
Code Montfort. p. 45), pointe clearly
to the original gloss-form of the ad-
dition. This reading is given in 9 us
in the British Museum (Add. 11,852.
See Dict. of Bible, Vulgate, p. 1713 0.4).
A Greek ua has notes in v. 8 τουτέστι
τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ αὐτὸς
ἑαυτοῦ and on & ee: τουτέστι µία
θεύτη, els θεόν (Tischdf, ad loc.).

206

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Cod. Cav. Cod, Vallicell.** Common Text.
quia tres sunt qui quoniam tres sunt qui iam tres sunt qui
testimonium dant testimonium dant testimonium dant 3
in terra, in in
spit us ot aqua ct san- apiritus aqua et san- pater verbum et spiri-

guis Fy sanctus ;
ot hi tres unum sunt et tres unum sunt et Ai tres unum sunt.
in Christo Jesu
et tres sunt qui sicut tres sunt qui ot tres sunt qui
testimonium dicunt testimonium dant testimonium dant
in ο, in terra,
pater vérbum «ερ. pater verbum et spiri- spiritus οἱ aqua et ean-
tus sanctus; guis;
ot hi fee unum sunt, et tres unum sunt, et hi tres unum sunt},

Here the history of the Latin interpolation ends: we have to notice
how it passed into the Greek text. It appears first in a Greek version of
the Acts of the Council of Lateran held in 1215, coeval with the Council.
The Latin text is: Quemadmodum in canonica Johannis epistola legitur :
Quia tres sunt qui testimonium dant in clo, Pater, Verbum et Spiritus
Sanctus; et hi tres unum sunt. Statimque subjungitur : οἱ tres sunt
qui testimonium dant in terra, spiritus aqua οἱ sanguis; δὲ tres unum
sunt, sicut in quibusdam codicibus legitur?. For this the corresponding
Greek, as far as it has been preserved, is: ὃν τρόπον ἐν τῇ κανονικῇ τοῦ
Ἰωάννου ἐπιστολῇ ἀναγινώσκεται ὅτι τρεῖε elow οἱ μαρτυροῦντες -ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὁ
πατὴρ, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον' καὶ τοῦτοι (6ἱ0) οἱ τρεῖς ἕν elow. ibis τε
προστίθησι *** καθὼς ἔν τισι κώδηξιν εὑρίσκεται.

‘The clause was quoted afterwards incompletely by Manuel Calecas (see.
xiy.), and perhaps by Jos. Bryennius (sec. xv.), who both wrote under
Latin influence; and at last it found a place in a Greeco-Latin us of the
Epistle (Cod. Vat. Οµοῦ. 162) of the fifteenth century, and in a Greek us
of the sixteenth century (Cod. Montfort. Dubl. 34, the Codex Britannicus
of Erasmus). The Greek text in both these uss has been adapted in other
places to the Latin Vulgate; and in this passage both follow a late Latin
text in omitting the els τὸ é εἰσι after the earthly witness, The
of both, especially that of Cod. Monjfort., shews decisively that the Greek
18 a translation of the Latin’,

‘The passage is thus given in the two mas:

α This last clause is omitted in many
late xes. Some account of the Latin
uss known up to his time is given by
Bp Turton, l. ο. pp. 141 f. Gries-
bach 1. ο, 12 calculates that the gloss is
omitted by ῥο--6ο uas of the Vulgate,
In collections which he mentions it is
omitted by 18 mas out of an aggregate
of 234.

2 "This remark refers to the last

words et tres unum sunt which wore
omitted by many late uss of the Val-

3 It bas been shewn by Dr Dobbin
that Cod. Montf. ia ‘a transoript with
arbitrary and fanciful variations’ of
the ms in Linooln College, Oxford 39,
in which the gloss is not found (Codex
Montfortianus, p. 57).

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

207

Cod, Mont/. (34). Cod. Vat. Ottob. (162).
ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶν. quis tres sunt ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶν
οἱ μαρτυροῦντες testimoninm dant οἱ ores
ἐν τῷ οὐρωνφῷ, cael ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ,
πατὴρ λόγος καὶ πνεῦµα. pater verbum ot spiri- πατὴρ λόγον καὶ πνεῦμα
ἅγιον" tus sanctus: wow"
καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς et hi tres καὶ οἱ τρεῖς
& dow unum sunt. εἰς τὸ & elov
καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν ot tres sunt καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν
οἱ μαρτυροῦντες qui testimonium dant οἱ μαρτυροῦντες
ἐν τῇ yp in te ἐπὶ ris γῆς,
πνμαΜδωρκααἷμα spirits’ aqua et sam- τὸ σημα τὸ δω ea
gus τὸ αἷμα"
al τὴν μαρτυρίας... si testimonium. el τὴν μαρτυρία»...

‘The Complutensian editors introduced another translation of the Vul- The intro-
gate similar to that in Cod. 162, into their text}. Meanwhile Erasmus dustion of
had published his first edition giving the whole passage as he found it in {76,8108
his Greek us with the note: In Greeco codice tantum hoe reperio de testi- printed
monio triplici ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ Crock
αἷμα; and on the clause of Ai tres unum sunt, which he retained in his *+
translation, he writes: Hi redundat: Neque est unum sed in unum, els
τὸ αὐτό. i. sive in idem. In his third edition, in fulfilment of a promise
which he had made to insert the clause if it could be shewn to exist in 8
single Greek us, he inserted the words on the authority of the Cod.
Monifort, retaining however the words καὶ οἱ τρεῖς εἰς τὸ ἕν elow.

‘The words were afterwards brought into a more correct shape without
any manuscript authority; and at last the passage assumed the form which
is given in the texta of Stephanus in 1550 and Elzevir of 1633 (‘text. τος),
and from them has assumed general currency.

The chief forms in which the whole passage appears in early printed
texts are given in the following table:

Erasm, Ed. 1, 1516. “Erasm. Ed. 3, 1522, Erasm. Ed. 4, 1527.

ὅτι speis εἰσὶν. διτρᾶι do δει τρᾶν dole
of ores ol μαρτυροῦντες of papropeivres
me inte olpard, dy vg obparg,
+ πατὴρ όλοι καὶ ὁπατὴρ όλόγου, καὶ
rena ὄγιον' τὸ vena ἆγιον
.. καὶ οὗτοι οἱ rpeis κάὶ οὗτοι οἳ τρεῖς
++ ἓν low ial
+ ral rpeis elo»! καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν
+ ol μαρτυροῦντες ol μαρτυροῦντες
a ἐν τῇ γῇῦ ἐν τῇ γῆν
τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ Gap πρεῦµα καὶ ὕδωρκαὶ πνώμα καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ
eal r αἷμα tna ala
καὶ ol τρᾶς eal οἱτραῖς καὶ οἱ τρεῖς
tle ο ἅ εἶσω, ds τὸ ὃν εἶσο, tls τὸ below,
al τὴν μαρτυρία... dey l rip paproplan...

1 The ἀτὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ in the Greck clause, and that the translator in-
text of Cod. 162 is very peculiar. Is it tended ἐπὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ to answer ex-
possible that ἐπί has been misread actly to ἐπὶ τῆς yi?

ἀπό, as was done in the corresponding

208

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Ed. Compl. 1514 (Cod. Erasm. Ed. 3, 1522. Ed. 81 . 1550; Elz.
Rao). 1633 (text rec,).
ὄτιτρεῖς εἰσὶν ὅτι τρεῖς elo ὅτι rpeis dow
a μαρτυροῦντες οἱ of naprapotrrer of μα
lv τῷ οὐι
$ marip καὶ ὁ λόγον καὶ Srp oneent λόγος nal ved ὁ merip ὁ 3 λόγον καλτὸ

τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα

als ἅγιον
τοι οἱ τρεῖε

ἅγιον πνεῦμα

καὶ οἱ τρεῖς sa οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς
εἰς τὸ ev elon & εἶσι,
καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν καὶ τρεῖν εἰσὶν eal rpdis εἰσὶν
οἱ 5 οἱ ores μαρτυροῦντες
ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν τῇ γ ἐν τῇ ya
τὸ πνεύμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ πνεύμα καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ πνεῦµα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ
καὶ τὸ αἷμαὶ. αἷμα. καὶ τὸ
ia καὶ οἱ τρεῖς καὶ οἱ τρεῖς
.. εἰς τὸ ἕν εἶσι», εἰς τὸ ἕν εἶσε.
εἶτὴν μαρτυρία»... el τὴν μαρτυρία»... el τὴν µαρτυρίαν...

‘When the gloss had gained a place in the Greek text it naturally influ-

enced the texts of other versiona, Gutbir and Schaaf introduced with very
slight modifications a translation which had been made by Tremellius into
their printed texts of the Peshito’. It was introduced into editions of the
Armenian and Slavonic Versions ; and into the modern European versions.

The supposed dogmatic importance of the gloss bas given a value to
the evidence in its favour out of all proportion to ita critical weight. The
us authority, for example, for the spurious Zpistle to the Laodicenes is
essentially the same, This also is supported by m, and by the Za Cava and
Toledo uss and by a multitude of later ues of the Vulgate. In the pre-
ceding verse (ο. 6) of the Epistle almost all Latin authorities read Christus

1 A note is added which seems to
shew that the editors found the fol-
lowing clause καὶ---εἰσίν in their Greek
uss: Sanctus Thomas in expositions
seounds decretalis de sermone Trini-
tate et Fide Catholica tractans istum
passum contra Abbatem Joachim viz.
Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in calo,
pater verbum et spiritus sanctus, dicit
‘ad litteram verbs sequentia, Et ad
insinnandam unitatem trium per-
sonarum subditur, et hii tres unum
sunt. Quod quidem dicitur propter
essentim unitatem, Sed hoc Joachim
perverse trahere volens ad unitatem
charitatis et consensus inducebat con-
sequentem suctoritatem. Nam sub-
ditar ibidem: et tres sunt qui testi-
monium dant in terra 8. spiritus aqua
et sanguis. Et in quibusdam libris
additur: et hii tres unum sunt. Sed
hoo in veris exemplaribus non ha-
betur: sed dicitur esse appositum ab
heereticis Arrianis ad pervertendum

intellestum sanum anotoritatis pre-
miese de unitate essenti= trium per-
sonarum, Heo beatus Thomas ubi
supra,

This ie, as far as I have observed,
the only note of the kind in the New
Testament. The treatment of the pas-
sage ia wholly exceptional ; for else-
where the Edition marks prominently
in the Greek text the absence of Latin
additions: e.g, Acts viii. 37, ix. 5, 6,
x. 6, xiv. 7, xv. 413 1 John ii, 23; 2
John 11; and conversely the absence
of words found in the Greek text
from the Latin: eg. Acts x. 21, 32,
wait Pet. ili. 12, iv. 145 1 John
για

*Guthir’s note is worth quoting:
Cum notum sit Arrianos nec ipai Greco
Textai neo Versionibus Orientalibus
hio pepercisso, ex Notis Tremellii απο
versum in aliis E. E. desideratum
adscripsimus. Schaaf’s note is to the
same effect.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 209

for Spiritus (τὸ πνεῦμα). A remarkable group of ancient authorities of the
same type including Cod. Tol. add to ο. ii. 17 quomodo Deus manet in
a@ternum. In ο τ. 20, m and Cod. Tol, with Hilary substantially, add
a clause very similar in character to the gloss on 0, 8; and in the same
verse m Cod. Monif, with the Lat vg (Hil Ambr Vigil Fulg Leo) read
simus (Sper).

It will alo have been observed that the gloss itself sprang from a false
reading unum for in unum, a change due to an omission which was equally
easy in Greek (rpeis εἰς) and in Latin.

Additional Note on v. 16. Sin unto death.

The phrase ‘sin unto death’ is introduced as one which was familiar to The
the readers of the Epistle and is evidently borrowed from current language. P to
‘And so in fact the distinction of ‘sins unto death’ and ‘sins not unto death ’ ρω
is common among Rabbinic writers (Schoettgen ad loc.) and represents, it σος ise among
cannot be doubted, an old traditional view.

1. In the first and simplest sense a ‘sin unto death’ weld be nA
requiring the punishment of natural death: comp. Num. xviii. 22 duapria ο,
θανατηφόροεὶ. Death in such a caso was final exclusion from the Divine Goa aby
Society.

2. It was a natural extension of this meaning when the phrase was A sin of
used for an offence which was reckoned by moral judgment to belong to the same
the same class. Words very closely resembling those of St John are used
Test. wii. Patr. lesach. 7 οὐκ ἔγνων ἐν ἐμοὶ (ale ἐπ᾿ éué) ἁμαρτίαν els (for
πρὸς) θάνατον. Comp. 1 Cor. τι 11,

3. If nowthe same line of thought is extended to the Christian Society, A sin
it will appear that a sin which in its very nature excludes from fellowship ip carrying
with Christians would be rightly spoken of as a ‘sin unto death’ Such α fom the
sin may be seen in hatred of the brethren (ο. iii. 15), or in the selfishness Christian
which excludes repentance, the condition of forgiveness (i. 7), or in the society if
faithloseness which denies Christ, the One Advocate (ο. 21; iv. 2). But in persisted
each case the character of the sin is determined by the effect which it has”
on the relation of the doer to God through Christ in the Divine Society.

We are not to think of specific acts, defined absolutely, but of acts as the
revelation of moral life.

4. It must be noticed farther that St John speaks of the sin as ‘tend- Death the
ing to death’ (πρὸς θάνατον) and not as necessarily involving death. Death tendency
is, 20 to speak, its natural consequence, if it continue, and not its inevitable 3 not the

1 Origen identifies the two phrases: piation of the orime for which it —
ἐπὶ ἁμαρτήμασι rots μὴ πρὸ: θάνατον 4 inflicted: Absolvitur peceatum per ρῶ-
ds ὠνόμασεν ἐν "ApOuots ὁ νόμοι τοῖς nam mortis, neo superest aliquid quod
μὴ θανατηφόροι: (in Matt. T. x. § 30). pro hoo orimine judicii dies et pana
In another passage he treats the in- sterni ignis inveniat (Hom. in Lev, xiv.
fliction of death as the complete ex- § 4).
w. 14

210

The mode

of dealing
with such
asin,

Patristio
commenta.

CLEMENT
ors ral

Έκλτσι-

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

issue as a matter of fact. Its character is assumed to be unquestionable,
and its presence open and notorious.

5. The question then could not but arise, How is such flagrant sin in a
brother—a fellow Christian—to be dealt with? For it must be remember-
ed that the words of the apostle are directed to those who are members of
the Christian Church, sharing in the privileges of the common life. The
answer follows naturally from a view of the normal efficacy of Ohristian
intercession. The power of prayer avails for those who belong to the
Body (comp. John xiii. 10). But for those who are separated from the
Body for a time or not yet included in it the ordinary exercise of the
energy of spiritual sympathy has, so far as we are taught directly, no pro-
mise of salutary influence. The use of common prayer in such cases is not
enjoined ; though it must be observed that it is not forbidden. St John
does not command intercession when the sin is seen, recognised by the
brother, in its fatal intensity ; but on the other hand he does not expressly
exclude it. Even if the tenour of his words may seem to dissuade such
prayer, it is because the offender lies without the Christian Body, excluded
from its life but yet not beyond the creative, vivifying power of God.

6. We can understand in some degree how such sins, either in men or in
nations, must be left to God. Chastisement and not forgiveness is the one
way to restoration’. The book of the prophet Jeremiah is a divine lesson
of the necessity of purification through death for a faithless people. And
the fortunes of Israel seem to illustrate the character of God’s dealings
with men.

7. The patristic comments upon the passage offer an instructive
subject for study,

Cumment of Alexandria in discussing the different kinds of voluntary
and wrong action (Strom. ii. 15, § 66) refers to the language of St John as
shewing that he recognised differences in sin (φαίνεται...τὰς διαφορὰς τῶν
ἁμαρτιῶν ἐκδιδάσκων), and quotes as illustrating the kind of distinction to
which he refers Pa. i. 1, but he gives no classification of specific offences,

TxETULLIAN naturally lays down a clear and definite interpretation:
* Who, he asks, can escape from the sin of rash anger...of breaking engage-

1 The truth finds a noble expression _visible:
in Browning’s The Ring and the Book: Thar ay the ety thik and plain with
‘The Pope, 3116.

and i Uke ὁ ghost disshrouded, white
For the main criminal I see no hope

Except in such a suddenness of fate.

1 stood at Naples once, a night so dark

1 could have scarce conjectured there
was earth

Anywhere, sky or sea or world at all:

But the night’s black was burst through
by a blazo—

‘Thunder struck blow on blow, earth
groaned and bore,

‘Through her wholelength of mountains

gem may the trath be flashed out by
one blow,

And Guido see, one instant, and be
saved.

‘With this compare Guido’s last words,
‘Abate—Cardinal—Christ—Maria—
Goa—
Pompitia, will you let them murder
me?

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 211
‘ments, of speaking falsely through shame or neceasity...so that if there
“were no pardon for such acta, no one could be saved. Of these then there
‘will be pardon through Christ, our Advocate with the Father. There are
“however offences of a different character, heavier and deadly, such as admit
“no pardon, murder, idolatry, fraud, denial [of Christ], blasphemy, and
‘assuredly also adultery and fornication, and every other violation of the
‘temple of God. For these Christ will no longer plead: these he who has
“been born of God will absolutely not commit, as he will not be a son of
‘God, if he has committed them’

OnicEn speaks with wise reserve ; after referring to 1 Cor. iii. 15, Matt. Oxtozn.
xvii 26, hé continues, ‘There are some sins which are to loss (ad damnum)...
‘some to destruction (ad interitum)...What kind of sins however are sins
‘to death, what not to death but to loss, cannot, I think, easily be deter-
‘mined by any man’ (Hom. in Ez. x. § 33.

Ἡπιλατ brings out an important aspect of the truth. ‘There is? he Hmany.
saya, ‘a limit to mercy (misericordia), and justice must be used in shewing
‘pity. We can feel sorrow for those whose crimes are great, but there is
‘no room for mercy. For mercy turns to ask pardon of God for that which
‘is done; but to give pardon to wrong deeds is not to shew mercy but not
“to observe justice in mercy. This consideration the apostle John observed
“most carefully saying: Si guis scit fratrem suum delinquere sed non ad
‘mortem, petat et dabit ili Deus vitam, Est enim peccatum ad mortem
‘sed non pro 60 dico’ (in cxl. Psalm. § 8).

ΑΜΡΒΟΒΗ regards the direction of St John as applying to the general Ausnosz.
action of the Church but not as excluding absolutely all intercession. ‘He
‘did not speak to a Moses (Ex. xxxii, 31 f.) or a Jeremiah (Jer. xiv. 11; vii
16; Baruch iii. r£; v. 1), but to the people, who required to employ
‘another to pray for their own sins; for whom it is enough if they pray

1 De pudic, 19, Oui enim non se- structive. In an earlier chapter (0. 2)

cidit aut irasci inique et ultra solis

rare, aut fidem pecti destrucre, aut
verecundia ant necessitate mentiri;
in negotiis, in officiis, in questa, in
viota, in visu, in euditu, quanta
tentamur; ut si nulls ait venia isto-
ram nemini salus competeret. Horum
ergo erit venia per exoratorem pairis
Christum. Sunt autem et contraria
istis, ut graviora et exitioss, que ve-
niam non capiant, homicidinm, idolo-
latria, fraus, negatio,-blasphemia, uti-
que et moschia et fornicatio....Horam
ultra exorator non erit Christus. Hmo
non admittet omnino qui natus ex
Deo fuerit, non futurus Dei filius αἱ
admiserit, The classification is in-

he divides sins into ‘remissible’ and
‘irremissible’: the former are fit sub-
jects of intercession, the latter not,
and he concludes: Βοοππάπτα hano
differentiam delictoram pomitentia
quoque conditio discriminatur, Alia
erit que veniam consequi possit, in
delicto scilicet remissibili; alia que
consequi nullo modo possit, in delicto
soilioet irremiasibili.

* Comp. én Joh, Tom. nm. (rv. p. 62
R.). In Hom. in Lev. τε. § § Origen
compares with 1 John ¥. 16 the words
in 1 Sam. ii, 25; and in the treatise
On Prayer (§ 28) he follows out the
comparison, implying that sins of
idolatry, adultery and fornication are
not to be remitted by the prayer and
offerings of the Churoh.

14—2

212 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

‘God for lighter faults, and think that the pardon of graver must be re-
‘served for the prayers of the just’ (de pamnit. i. 10).

Junomr. JxRoue combines the language of 1 Sam. ii. 25 with that of St John,
when he is insisting on the different degrees of the heinousness of sins.
‘Qui scit fratrem suum peccare peccatum non ad mortem, petat, et dabit
‘ei vitam peccanti non ad mortem. Qui vero peccaverit ad mortem quis
‘orabit pro οο f’ ‘You see,’ he continues, ‘that if we pray for smaller sins we
‘obtain pardon; if for greater, the obtaining pardon is difficult; and that
“there is a great interval between eome sins and others’ (ade. Jovin. ii. § 30).

Avaus- The interpretation of AvausTiNe is of great interest. His commentary

TINE, on the verse of St John’s Epistle is not preserved, but in his treatise on the
Sermon on the Mount (c. a. D. 393) he treats of the passage, and says:
Aperte ostendit esse quosdam fratres pro quibus orare non nobis preecipi-
tur, cum Dominus etiam pro peccatoribus nostris orare jubeat...Peccatum
ergo fratris ad mortem puto esse cum post agnitionem Dei per gratiam
Domini nostri Jesu Christi quisque oppugnat fraternitatem et adversus
ipsam gratiam qua reconciliatus est Deo invidentis facibus agitatur (de
Serm. Dom. i.22,73). In reviewing this passage afterwards in his Retrac-
tationes (ο. 4. D. 426---7) he writes: Quod quidem non confirmavi, quoniam
hoc putare me dixi: sed tamen addendum fuit, si in hac tam scelerata
mentis perversitate finierit hanc vitam; quoniam de quocunque pessimo in
hac vita constituto non est utique desperandum, nec pro illo imprudenter
oratur de quo non desperatur (Retract. 1. 19, 7).

He developes this idea of deliberate persistence in evil in treating of
the sin against the Holy Spirit:

Hoc [peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum] est duritia cordis usque ad finem
huius vite qua homo recusat in unitate corporis Christi, quod vivificat
Spiritus Sanctus, remissionem accipere peccatorum....Huic ergo dono
gratise Dei quicunque restiterit et repugnaverit vel quoquo modo fuerit ab
eo alienus usque in finem vites non remittetur ei neque in hoc seculo
neque in faturo ; hoc scilicet tam grande peccatum ut eo teneantur cuncta
peccata quod non probatur ab aliquo esse commissum nisi cum de corpore
exierit (Zpist. clxxx. v (1), xi. § 49). No one can be pronounced guilty of it
while life still continues: Ἠερο blasphemia Spiritus, cui nunquam est ulla
remissio,... non potest in quoquam, ut diximus, dum in hac adhue vita est
deprehendi (Serm, xxi. 3, 21).

The fatal consequences of the sin are, he points out, involved in its
essential character :

119 peccat in Spiritam Sanctum qui, desperans vel irridens atque con-
temnens presdicationem gratie per quam peccata diluuntur et pacis per
quam reconciliamur Deo, detrectat agere poenitentiam de peccatis suis et

1 Bede silently quotes this interpre. quia scilicet peocatum quod in hac vita
tation in his Commentary; and after. non corrigitar οἶα venia frastra post
wards a singular alternative: Potest mortem postulatur. But he prefers
etiam peocatum usque ad mortem ac- Augustine's view.
cipi, pro quo rogare quempiam vetat,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 213

in eorum impia atque mortifera quadam suavitate perdurandum sibi esse
decernit et in finem usque perdurat (in Ep. ad Rom, § 14; comp. § 22).

Quiequis igitur reus fuerit impcenitentise contra Spiritum in quo unitas
et societas communionis congregatur Eeclesise nunquam illi remittetur ;
quia hoc sibi clausit ubi remittitar...(Sermo Ixxi. 21, 34).

For chastisement is the way to restoration: Plane si in tantas ieris
iniquitates ut repellas a te virgam verberantis, si repellas manum flagellantis
et de disciplina Dei indigneris et fugias a Patre cedente et nolis eum
Patrem pati quia non parcit peccanti, tu te alienasti ab heoreditate, ipse te
non abjecit; nam si maneres flagellatus non remaneres exhwreditatus (in
Psalm. \xxxviii. Serm. ii. § 3).

ΟΠΒΣΒΟΒΤΟΝ, like several earlier writers, connects the passage in St ΟΠΑΣΡΟ-
John with the words of Eli (1 Sam. ii. 25), and finds the description of the 3108.
sin in Ps, xlix. 18 f£ The fatal consequences which it brings are due to
the accompanying wilful impenitence. ‘How,’ he adds, ‘can (God) forgive
‘one who does not allow that he has sinned, and does not repent? For
‘when we ask medicine from the physician we shew him the wound’ (in
Ps, xlix. § 7).

In a letter attributed to Gutasrvs the issue of the sin in death is Grusarus.
made to lie wholly in impenitence. He has spoken of the sin of here-
tics against the Holy Spirit which was incapable of forgiveness as long as
they persisted in it; and then he goes on: ‘As the passage of the apostle
‘John rans in like sense: Est peccatum ad mortem, non dico ut oretur
‘pro 8ο; οἱ est peccatum non ad mortem, dico ut oretur pro eo. There is
‘a sin unto death when men abide in the same sin: there is a sin not
‘unto death when men abandon the same sin. There is no ain for the
‘remission of which the Church does not pray, or which it cannot absolve
‘when men cease from it in virtue of the power given to it from God’...
(Cod. Can. Eccles. xivii. § 5; Migne, Patrol. Lat, lvi. p. 622).

Ccumenrvs, in the same spirit, when commenting upon the passage cums.
sees the ground of the apostle’s instruction in the absence of all signs of 3155.
repentance in him ‘ who sins a sin unto death’ The brother is not to pray
for such an one, he saya, ‘for he will not be heard, because he asks amiss,
‘speaking for one who shews no intention of return (περὶ τοῦ µηδεµίαν
‘érevuprou ἐπιστροφήν. For this sin is alone unto death that has no
‘regard to repentance (ἡ μὴ πρὸς µετάνοιαν ἀφορῶσα), from which Judas
‘suffered and was brought under the eternal death’ (ad Joc.)

8. The language of St John gave occasion to the current distinction of Distino-
sins as ‘mortal’ and ‘venial.’ In Augustine this distinction oocurs fre- tion of |
quently under the contrast of ‘crimina’ (in Joh, xli. 9 crimen est peceatam οσα αν
gravi accusatione et damnatione dignissimum) and ‘peccata’: ο. duas Epp. ‘mortal
Pel. i. § 28; in Ρε. cxviil. 3, 2; de perfec. Just. Hom. ix. 20; Enchirid, sins.

1 In the Council of Troyes 4.0, 879 is said, est parseverantia in peccato
it was forbidden to mention the names usque ad morons (Cone, Trie. πε. § 3).
of those who had died under exoom- This widespread interpretation came
munication on the ground of this pas- from the ambiguity of the Latin prepo-
sage. Peooatum enim ad mortem, it sition, See Bede above,

214

The
Father
the source
of life.

‘living? in
Bt John.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

¢. lriv. So he writes: Non peccata sola sunt illa quee crimina nominantur,
adulteria, fornicationes, sacrilegia, furta, raping, falsa testimonia: non ipsa
sola peccata sunt. Attendere aliquid quod non debebas peccatum est;
audire aliquid libenter quod audiendum non fuit peccatum est ; cogitare
aliquid quod non fuit cogitandum peccatum est (Serm. cclxxi. 9, 9).

The later technical distinction is well summed up by Ricuasp of St Victor
who discussed the difference in a brief tract : Mortale peccatum, quantum
mihi videtur, triplici recte ratione distinguitur. Mortale est quod a quovis
non potest committi sine grandi corruptione sui. Item mortale est quod
non potest committi sine gravi lmsione proximi. Mortale nihilominus quod
non potest committi sine magno contemptu Dei. Cetera vero omnia videntur
mihi venialia (Migne, Patrol. Lat, 196, p. 1193).

Additional Note (1) on v. 20. The idea of Life.

The idea of ‘Life’ in St John has been already touched upon in the
note on i. 1; but it requires to be discussed somewhat more in detail For
the characteristic measage which St John gives is of a life through which
fellowship with man and God—the end of human existence—is perfectly
realised.

i The Source of Life.

Of the Father alone it is said that He ‘hath life in Himself’ as the
absolute final source of all life. This is the last limit of thought: John v.
26 ὁ πατὴρ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, the Father hath life in Himself (comp.
1 Tim. vi 16). .

At the same time it is made known that the Father communicated to
the Son the absolute possession of life: in this is expressed the idea of
Sonship. The Son ‘hath life in Himself,” but not as the final source of
life. John v. 26 ὥσπερ ὁ πατὴρ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν daurg, οὕτως καὶ τῷ υἱῷ ἔδωκεν
Lay ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, as the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave
He to the Son also to have life in Himself. Compare John vi. 57 (a διὰ
τὸν πατέρα, and Apoc.i.17, But men have not ‘life in themselves,’ either
originally or by divine gift. Their‘life is a life of necessary, continuous,
essential dependence (ἐν Χριστῷ ‘in Christ, according to St Paul's phrase).
This must remain so to the end. Even when they participate in the virtue
of Christ's humanity, they have life through Him and not in themselves :
John vi. 57 (6 τρώγων), xiv. 19.

ii, The Nature of Life.

Three terms are used by St John to describe ‘life’ under different.

(1) ἡ ζωή (the life), ‘ life which is truly life’: ος iii. 14 note.

(2) (ai) αἰώνιος, ‘eternal life’ (not in Apoc.): ο i. 2 note,

For the shade of difference between ζωή and ζωὴ αἰώνιος see John iii. 36
(« John iii, 14 .; John ν. 24).

(3) ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή (John xvi. 3; comp, Acts xili, 46; 1 Tim. vi. 12);
ἡ ζωὴ ἡ αἰώνιος (1 John i. 2, ii, 25), ‘the eternal life’: ο i 2 note.

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 215

In connexion with those terms the following verbal phrases must also
be noticed :

(1) qv to live: John v. 25, vi. 57, xi. 25, xiv. 19; 1 John iv. 9 (Apoc.
xx. 5). Comp. 1 Pet. iv. 6; 1 Theaa, v. 10; 2 Cor, xiii 4; Rom. viii. 13;
Hebr. xii. 9.

(2) gi» els τὸν αἰῶνα, ‘to live for ever’: John vi. 51, 58. Comp. Apoc,
iv. 9, 10, XV. 7 6 {ay els τοὺς αἰώνας τῶν αἰώνων (peculiar to St John in N. T.),

(3). ἔχειν ζωήν, ‘to have life’: John x. 10, xx. 31; 1 John v. 12 (τὴν ¢.)
(peculiar to St John in Ν. 19).

(4) ἔχειν ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ‘to have eternal life’: John iii. 15 £, 36, v. 24,

vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John v. 13 (iii. 15). Comp. Matt. xix. 16.

In considering these phrases it is necessary to premise that in spiritual Eternal
things we must guard against all conclusions which rest upon the notions of essentially
suocession and duration. ‘Eternal life’ is that which St Panl speaks of as @rolndes
ἡ ὄντως ζωή, ‘the life which is life indeed’ (1 Tim, vi. 19), and ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ
Θεοῦ, the life of God’ (Eph. iv. 18). It is not an endless duration of being
in time, but being of which time is not a measure. We have indeed no
powers to grasp the idea except through forms and images of sense. These
moust be used; but we must not transfer them as realities to another order.

Life for a finite creature is union with God (comp. Col. i 16, 17 ἐν αὐτῷ Life lies

ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα...τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν; Acta xvii. 28 ἐν αὐτῷ {Gpev), in know-
Such union is for a rational being involved in a real and progressive know- ledge ο of,
ledge of God in Christ. For spiritual knowledge is not external but fates ohi
sympathetic ; and necessarily carries with it growing conformity to God. with, God.
Hence ‘the eternal life,’ which Christ is and gave, is described as lying in the
continuous effort to gain a fuller knowledge of God and Christ (John xvii. 3
ἵνα γινώσκωσιν) ; oF, 88 the apostle writes out the Lord’s words more fully :
‘the Son of God hath come and hath given us understanding that we may
‘ know (iva γινώσκωμεν) Him that is true ;-and we are in Him that is true,
‘in His Son Jesus Christ’ (1 Jobn v. 20). So it is that Christ’s words are
‘words of life’ (John vi. 68; comp. vi. 63; viii 51; xii 50; James i. 18;
Acts v. 20 is different). Real knowledge rests on fellowship and iasues in
fellowship.

Under this aspect all being is a revelation of life to man (John i. 4), Universal
which may become intelligible to him. The thought is one which is life.
especially needed in an age of scientific analysis. We are tempted on all
sides to substitute the mechanism, or the part, for the whole: the physical
conditions or accompaniments for the vital force. The life is not in us only
but in the world.

Under another aspect it can be said that the Gospel is ‘the revelation Individual
of life’ and that in the Incarnation ‘the life was made manifest.’ By life.
the personal coming of the Word in flesh the worth of individual life is
shewn. He who ‘lives’ is conscious of power and office, and so far as he
lives uses his power and fulfils his office.

This view of life corresponds with and completes the former. All power The two
is finally the gift of God: all office is for the accomplishment of His will. lives one,
Life therefore is {the use of the gifts of God according to the will of God.

216

The life
of the
believer
isthe
possession
of the Liv-
ing Son.

yealization

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Or, to combine both notions, we are brought back to the original idea: life
is fellowship with God, which includes fellowship with man, and this
fellowship is realised in Christ.

iii, Christ the Life.

Christ is ‘the life’ and that both in regard to the individual (John xi. 25
ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή 1 απι the Resurrection and the Life) and in
regard to the whole sum of being (John xiv. 6 ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια
καὶ ἡ ζωή, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life). Even before His
Coming in flesh, the Creation which He sustained by His presence was a

. divine revelation (John i. 4); and by His Coming ‘the life was manifested’

and men recognised it (1 John i. 2).

He came that men may have life and the fulness of all that life needs
(John x. 10 ζωὴν πέρισσον ἔχει). The life which He gives is not and
cannot be separated from Himself. Therefore, as things are, His Coming
was crowned by His Passion and Exaltation (John iii, 15), whereby His
Life was made available for others through Death (John xii. 32 (24)).

His offer of Life is universal (John vi. 51 6 ἄρτος ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω ἡ σάρξ µου
ἐστὶν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς, the bread which I will give is my flesh for
the life of the world). And the offer is made of the pure love of God (John
iii 16; 1 John iv. 10). The new creation is a work of spontaneous divine
love even as the first creation, while it answered, necessarily answered, to
the fulfilment of the divine idea (John i. 17 ἐγένετο).

In one sense the gift of life is made and complete (1 John v. 11 ζ. αἱ.
ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν); bat under another aspect it is still offered, promised, given
(John x. 28 δίδωµι αὐτοῖς ς. al; xvii 2 ἵνα...δώσει ¢. al.; 1 John ii. 25 ἐπαγ-
γελία). The spiritaally sick, if living in one sense, require ‘life’ (r John v.
16 δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον: comp. John iv, 50).
Comp. § v.

iv. The Life of the Believer,

The universal gift of life offered by Christ has to be personally appropri-
ated (John vi 35, 50f, 58). In this process it comes through Christ, as the
agent (1 John iv. 9 ἵνα ζήσωμεν δι) αὐτοῦ, V. per eum: comp. John v. 40) ;
and it comes for the sake of Christ, as the ground of quickening (John vi. 57
ζήσει δὲ ἐμέ, V. propter me), because He is what He is (1 John ii. 12).
In other words the life of the believer follows from the life of Christ
(John xiv. 19 ὅτι ἐγὼ (6 καὶ ὑμεῖς ζήσεσθε, where the future is used in
regard to the completer fulness of Christ’s working; comp. 2 Cor. iv. 10 f.;
Col iii. 4; Eph. ii 5), and is realised in (that is, by union with) Him
(John iii. 15; 1 John ν. 11: comp. Rom. vi. 23; 2 Tim, i 1), as He has
been made known (Jobn xx. 31 ¢. ἐχ. ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ). For the life is
in the Living Son (1 John y. 11) and not in the letter of the Law (John v.
39); 80 that the possession of the Son is the possession of life (1 John v. 12,
comp. Rom. ¥, 10 κατηλλάγηµε...δὰ τοῦ θανάτον...σωθησύµεθα é τῇ ζωῇ

rith Christ is one with God (John xvii. 21 ἵνα
ἐν ἡμῖν dow: comp. 1 John if. 24 f.; John vi. 56 Ελ

For the believer the transition from death to life has been made
(John γ. 24; 1 John iii, 14 µεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου els τὴν ζωήν:

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 217

comp. 1 John v. 12). But the consequences of the transition are realised, of life

as the transition itself is conditioned, by the activity of faith (John iii. 16, 36, onites
vie 47, xx. 31; 1 John ¥. 13 [6 πιστεύων, of πιστεύοντεε]; John vi. 40 ὁ wit God
θεωρῶν καὶ πιστεύωνλ. So man in a true sense works with God; and in by faith.
John i. 12 the human and divine elements in the beginning, the growth

and the issue of life are set side by side in » striking parallelism (έγεν-

νήθησαν, ἐξουσίαν, τέκνα- ἔλαβον, πιστεύουσω, γενέσθαι). By this energy of

faith the believer finds union with Christ’s humanity (John vi. 51, 54, 58:

comp. vi. 35, 56, 58, x. 10).

v. Life present and future.

The life which lies in fellowship with God in Christ is, as has been Eternal

seen already, spoken of as ‘eternal’ life in order to distinguish it from the life,
life of sense and time under which true human existence is veiled at
present. Such a life of phenomena may be ‘death’ (1 John iii, 14: comp.
τ. 16). But ‘eternal life’ is beyond the limitations of time: it belongs to
the being of God (1 John i. 2 ἦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα), and finds its con-
summation in the transforming vision of the Son seen as He is (1 John iii. 2;
John xiv, 23,2 8). For us now therefore it is spoken of as both present
and future,

1. The ‘life eternal’ is essentially present, so far as it is the potential Present
fulfilment of the idea of humanity (John iii, 36, v. 24, vi. 47, 54, xx. 31; 974
1 John v. 12); and the possession of life may become a matter of actual
knowledge (1 John v. 13: comp. 1 John iii. 15).

This thought of the present reality of ‘eternal life’ is characteristic of
‘St John, and in its full development is peculiar to him (but comp. Gal. ii 20),

2. At the same time the life is regarded as future in its complete future,
realisation, so far as it is the falfilment of Messianic promises (John iv. 14, 36,

vi. 27, xii. 25, v. 25, vi. 57, xi. 25, xiv. 19, vi 54: compare 1 John ii, 25,
iii, 2; and also Mark x. 30; Gal. vi. 8).

Hence it is intelligible how ‘eternal life’ is spoken of as ‘the com-
mandment’ of the Father (John xii. 50); and again as the progressive
knowledge of the Father in the Son (1 John y. 20). For the command-
ment of God is represented to us in the work of Christ; and to embrace
this in faithful obedience is to ‘have life in His name’ (Johp xx. 31), on
which we believe (1 John v. 13) with growing intelligence.

If now we endeavour to bring together the different traits of ‘the
eternal life’ we see that it is a life which with all its fulness and all its
potencies is now: a life which extends beyond the limite of the individual,
and preserves, completes, crowns individuality by placing the part in con-
nexion with the whole: a life which satisfies while it quickens aspiration :
life which is seen, as we regard it patiently, to be capable of conquering,
reconciling, uniting the rebellious, discordant, broken elements of being on

1 In all these places the force of the Acts iv. 32, xi. 21, xix. 41 2 Thees.
present participle is conspicuous, St i. το, ii, 12; Eph. £ 13; Hebr. iv. 3;
John uses the aor. partic. once only: Jude 5; and again with the perfect:
John xx. 29. The force of the present Acts Xv. 5, xvi. 34; [xvili. 27, xix.
can be seen by contrast with thesorist: 183] xxi. 20, 253 Tit. iii. 8.

[Mark] xvi. 16f.; Lake i. 45, viii. 12;

218

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

which we look and which we bear about with us: a life which gives unity
to the constituent parts and to the complex whole, which brings together
heaven and earth, which offers the sum of existence in one thought. As
we reach forth to grasp it, the revelation of God is seen to have been
unfolded in its parts in Creation; and the parts are seen to have been
brought together again by the Incarnation.

Additional Note (2) on v.20. ‘The true God.

When St John speaks of God as ‘He that is true’ (ὁ ἀληθινός), He who
alone (John xvii. 3 6 µόνος ἀληθωὸς θεός) and absolutely fulfils the idea
of God which man is constituted to form, and then in significant and
mysterious words identifies union with ‘Him that is true,’ with union ‘ with
His Son Jesus Christ,’ he explains in the terms of historical revelation that
which is involved in the statement ‘God is love’ He indicates in what
way the ‘personality’ of God is to be held and guarded from false con-
clusions. St Jobn, as all the biblical writers, everywhere uses language of
God which sssigns to Him ‘action’ and ‘will’? But, as far as our human
observation reaches, ‘will’ implies resistance, and ‘action’ implios suc-
cession. Such limitations can find no place in the idea of God. The con-
ception of ‘personality’ which we can form therefore expresses only a
fragment of the truth, that side of it which assures us of the possibility of
approach to God on our part as to One Who loves and may be loved.

But we cannot rest here. When we endeavour to think of God Himself
we are necessarily led to inquire whether Scripture does not help us to
rise to a thought in which we can see represented from the divine side
that which is in the Divine Being the analogue of sole-personality in a finite
being. This thought we find in the words ‘God is love.’ The phrase, as we
have seen, describes the essence and not an attribute of God. It presents
to us, as far as we can apprehend the truth, something of God in Himself.
It must hold good of God in His innermost Being, if we may so speak,
apart from creation. Now love involves a subject and an object, and that
which unites both. We are taught then to conceive of God as having in
Himself the perfect object of love and the perfect response of love, com-
pletely self-sufficing and self-complete. We thus gain, however imperfect
language may be, the idea of a tri-personality in an Infinite Being as cor-
relative to a sole-personality in a finite being. In the Unity of Him Who
is One we acknowledge the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the
interaction of Whom we can see love falfilled.

The language in John i. 1, where we have opened a unique view of the
Divine Being without any regard to a revelation to man, indicates the
same thought. The relation of ‘the Word’ to ‘God’ is described as a
relation of active love: ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, the personal energy of
the Word was directed towards, and (so to speak) regulated by ‘God,’
while the Word Himself ‘was God.’ In the Epistle the thought is pre-
sented differently. There it is ‘the Life’ and not ‘the Word’ which is

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 219

spoken of, The conception of ‘the Life’ is wider in its range than that of
‘the Word, though it is through ‘the Word’ that ‘the Life’ is revealed.
This life is ‘the life eternal.’ It is not of this temporal order though it is
made known in it, under its limitations. It is a life which essentially finds
its original in the Godhead: ἦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, it was realised in the
intercommunion of the Divine Persons, when time was not. Thus we have
in this twofold revelation of an activity of ‘the Word’ towards ‘God,’ of a
fulfilment of ‘Life’ towards ‘the Father, beyond time, such a vision as we
can look upon of the fulness of the Being of God in Himeelf. And when
‘the Word’ and ‘the Life’ are brought within the sphere of human
existence, this action is characteristically described: ‘the Life was mani-
fested’ { ‘the Word became flesh.’

Nothing is said in either passage directly of the Holy Spirit. But His
action is involved in the phrase ἦν πρός in such a connexion. He is, so to
seek a definite expression for the idea, the Mediating Power through Whom
the love that goes forth is perfectly united with the love that answers.

He gives unity to the Life, which we can only conceive of in fragments.

It will be evident that this view of the nature of God prepares the way This tri-
for revelation. The Word, Who is God (θεός and not ὁ θεός as in Sabellian Person-
teaching), has a personal Being and can make the Father known (1 John ii, ity opens
22 ff), The Spirit, Who is God, has a personal Being, and can make the for revo
Son known (John xiv. 26, xvi. 14). At the same time, while this fulness of lation.
life fulfilled in God Himself is disclosed to us, the divine unity is main-
tained as essential and not numerical. The Word and the Spirit are both
spoken of in personal relations to ‘God’ (John i 1; 32 8). That is when
the Persons in the Godhead are recognised, the unity of God is simul-
taneously affirmed.

Such glimpses are opened to us of the absolute tri-personality of God as Elsewhere
preparatory to the account of the historical Gospel by St John, but else- St John

" where, like the other apostolic writers, he deals with the Trinity revealed Speaks of
in the work of Redemption (the ‘Economic Trinity’), The Father is spoken nomic
of in His relation to the Incarnate Son, and through Him to men. The Trinity.’
Son is spoken of as manifested to men through the Incarnation in the
union of the two natures (yet comp. John v. 26). The Holy Spirit is spoken
of as ‘proceeding’ on His Mission to the Church (John xv. 26 note), sent
by the Father and by the Son; and taking of that which is the Son’s to
declare to men (John xiv. 26, xv. 26, xvi. 14; 1 John ii 20 f., 27). The
truths are stated side by side in connexion with our creation, redemption,
sanctification; and we are enabled to see that they answer in some way,
which we have no power to determine adequately, to the very Being of
God as He is in Himself.

The maintenance of the supreme Sovereignty of One God (μοναρχία) in Two errors
this tri-personality has to be guarded against a twofold tendency to error : to be
(1) towards & distinction in essence between God and Christ (the Father 4vided:
and the Son); and (2) towards a confusion of the Persons of the Father gabellian.
and the Son and the Spirit. The first error found its typical expression
in Arianism: the second in Sabellianism. The first has affinities with
Polytheism by introducing the idea of a subordinate Divinity, The second
has affinities with Pantheism, as seeing in things transitory manifestations

220

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

of the Person of God. Both rest upon a false Neo-Judaic conception of
Monotheism.

The authority of St John has been brought forward in support of each
of theee views : for the first John xiv. 28 (see note, and compare Athanas.
de Syn. § 28); and for the second John x. 30 (see note, and compare
Tertull. ade. Prax. cc. xx. xxii.) It must however be noticed that the

doaliom of great Greek Fathers understood the first passage of the Personal Subor-

the sub-
ordination
of the Son
in Person
not in
essence,

dination of the Son as Son to the Father in the one equal and absolute
Godhead. And this view, which has been obscured in the West by the
teaching of Augustine, is of the highest importance; for it leads to the
apprehension of the fitness of the mediatorial and consummative work of
the Son. The assumption of humanity and the laying aside of the divine
conditions of existence by the Son are everywhere spoken of by St John as
voluntary acts, They correspond therefore to the Being of the Son as
Son, for we cannot conceive of the Father or of the Spirit as Incarnate.
In other words the unchanged and unchangeable ‘I’ of the Word, the Son,
includes either the potentiality or the fact of the Incarnation, the union
with the finite,

1ΩΑΝΟΥ B

ορ GOOTE

IQANOY B

O ΠΡΕΕΒΥΤΕΡΟς ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκ-

The structure of the letter is simple
and natural. It consists of (1) the
salutation (I—3); (2) the counsel and
warning (4—11); (3) the conclusion
(12, 13). Whatever may be the
interpretation of the individual ad-
dress in op, 5, 13, the main part of
the letter is addressed to more read-
ers than one (5, 6 ἠκούσατε, περιπατῆτε,
08 βλέπετε ἑαυτούς, 0. 10 πρὸς ἡμᾶς,
9. 12 ὑμῖν, πρὸς ὑμᾶε, ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν).

1. The Salutation (1—3).

‘The salutationis framed on the usual
type: ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ...

«.χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη παρὰ θεοῦ πατρός,
καὶ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ...Βπὲ this out-
line is filled up by successive amplifi-
cations as the apostle dwells on each
word which he writes in relation to
the circumstances of the case. In
this respect the Salutation may be
compared with that in the Epistle to
the Galatians, where in like manner
‘St Paul expands his usual formula in
view of the peculiar condition of the
Churches which he is addressing.

+ The Elder to one who is an elect
lady and her children, whom I love
in truth ; and not I only but also all
they that know the truth ; *for the
truth’s sake which abideth in us—and
it shall be with us for ever : 3grace,
mercy, peace, shall be with us from

God the Father, and from Jesus

Christ the Son of the Father, in truth
and love.

I. 6 πρεσβύτερος] Senior V. The
elder, The definite form of the title _
marks the writer as completely iden-
tified by it. In this connexion there
can be little doubt that it describes
not age simply but official position.’
‘The writer was recognised by the
receiver of the Epistle as ‘the Elder.’

The title ‘elder’ appears to have
had currency in the Asiatic
Churches, where it was used of a

i class (Papias ap. Euseb.
H. E. iii. £.; Iren. v. 33. 3; 36. 2);
yet not without a recognition of the
Apostles as ‘the elders’ in point of
time (Papias, i. c.). It is easy to see
why St John would choose such a title,
which, while it described official posi-
tion, suggested also a fatherly relation,
and perhaps even pointed to inter-
course with Christ (1 Pet. v. 1). For
the history of the word πρεσβύτερος
see Lightfoot, Philippians, pp. 228 f.

ἀκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ] elect domina V.
‘The rendering of the phrase is beset
by the greatest difficulties, No in-
terpretation can be accepted as satis-
factory.

The difficulty seems to have been
felt from a very early time. Two dis-
tinct views have found support, that
the title describes a person, ‘and that
it describes a society.

224

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [

vos αὐτῆς, οὓς ἐγω ἀγαπώ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ

1 καὶ οὐκ ἐγώ ΝΒ vg me the eyrhl: οὐκ ἐγὼ δέ A.

The first view has been held in
several different forma The Latin
fragments of the Hypotyposes of
Clement of Alexandria represent the
letter as written ‘to a certain Baby-
lonian (comp. 1 Pet. v. 13) Electa by
name’ (ad quandam Babyloniam E-
ectam nomine); ‘it signifies how.
ever’ (that is, this pi Proper nam
Electa), Clement adds, ‘the ‘election
of the holy Church’

Others again (9ο the [late] Syrian
version) have regarded Κυρία 88 a
proper name (‘to the elect Kyria’).
Such a name is found (see Licke,
444n.); but if Kupia were so used here
it is in the highest degree unlikely
that St John would have written ἐκ-
λεκτῇ Κνρίᾳ, and not Κυρίᾳ τῇ ἐκλεκτῇ
850, 13; 3 John 1; Rom. xvi. 13.

It has also been supposed that the
two words form a compound proper
name (‘to Electa Εστία). This view
removes the difficulty of the con-
struction ; but the combination is at
least very Βὶ

On the other hand it is not easy to
suppose that the letter was addressed
to an unnamed person, » single Chris-
tian ‘lady’ (‘To an elect lady,’ 5ο
Vulg.); though this is the most
natural rendering of the text (comp.
1 Pet. i. 1).

All these notions of a personal
address moreover are unsupported
by such allusions in the letter as
might be expected to mark an indi-
vidual relationship.

Feeling these difficulties many from
the time of Jerome (Ep. cxxiii. (xi)
§ 12 ad Ageruchiam) have taken the
title, the ‘elect lady,’ to be applied
to some particular Christian society
(Bchol. ap. Matt. ἐκλεκτὴν Κυρίαν λέγει
τὴν ἐν τινὶ τόπῳ ἐκκλησίαν ois τὴν τοῦ
Κυρίου διδασκαλίαν ἀκριβῆ φυλάττου-
σαν...), or even to the whole Church:
‘to her who is a chosen Lady, a

Bride of Him who is the Lord’ But
of such a use of Κυρία no example is
quoted.

On the whole it is best to recog-
nise that the problem of the address
is insoluble with our present know-
ledge. It is not unlikely that it con-
tains some allusion, intelligible under
the original circumstances, to which
we have lost the key. But the gene-
ral tenour of the letter favours the
opinion that it was sent to a com-
munity and not to one believer.

τοῖς τέκνοις av.] natis eius V., her
children. The phrase can be under-
stood either literally, 1 Tim. iii, 4;
or spiritually, 1 Tim. i 2; Gal. iv. 25.
Comp. Apoc. ii, 23. The context here
and the use of the term in vv, 4, 13
(comp. 3 John 4) favour the spiri-
tual sense.

οὓς ἐγὼ dy.) whom, mother alike
and children, J love, It seems better
to take this comprehensive sense than
to refer the relative to the children
only.

‘The emphasis which is laid upon
the apostle’s feeling (ἐγὼ dy.) points
to some unknown facts (compare 3
John 5). Both the shorter letters
imply the existence of divisions in the
societies to which they were directed ;
and St John brings his authority to
bear against those from whom the per-
sons addressed may have suffered.

κ) de Dabs) in truth, that is with

feeling which rightly deserves the
name; see John xvii. 19 note; Col.
16.

καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ µόνος...] απά not Ι αἶοπο
(solus V.), @ single person, but also
all that have come to know the truth.
The love is directed to a character.
Wherever the character exists, the
love exists, This is made clear by the
words which follow. The love felt by
St John and by those whom he de-
scribes is felt ‘for the truth’s sake...’

2,3) THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 225

μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν, "διὰ
τὴν ἀλήθειαν τὴν µένουσαν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ pel’ ἡμῶν ἔσται
εἰς τὸν αἰώνα' 3ἔσται μεθ ἡμῶν χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη παρὰ

2 µένουσαν: ἐνοικοῦσαν A.
6.1 ἀπὸ θ. R*.

μόνος] Luke xxiv. 18; Hebr. ix. 7.
Contrast 2 Tim. iv. 8 οὐ µόνον ἐμοί
(1 John ii, 2); Rom. iii, 29.

ἐγνωκότες] 1 John ii, 3 note. John
viii. 32, Contrast 1 John ii, 21 οὐκ
οἴδατε τὴν ah.

τὴν ἀλ.] the truth, which is identical
with Christ's message (John i. 17),
and with Christ’s Person (John xiv. 7).
Comp. 1 John i. 6, 8, notes.

2. The common acknowledgment
of the eternal Truth is the certain
foundation of love.

διὰ τὴν ἀλ.] The words recal ἐν dd.
The Truth makes true love possible,
This Truth is not said to abide ‘in
you’ or ‘in them, but ‘in us’ The
apostle at once identifies himself with
the whole society of the faithful,
Compare ο. § ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν, 1 John i,
4 (ἡμῶν).

τὴν µένουσαν ἐν ἡ.] See 1 John iii. 15

καὶ μεθ 4. ἔσται] and with us it
shall be, The position of μεθ ἡ, em-
phasisos the peculiar privileges of
those whom St John identifies with
himself. The change of construction
from the participle to the finite verb
(ωήνουσαν...ἔσται) answers to Α pause
during which the writer contemplates
the fact which he has affirmed, and
then solemnly confirms the fulness of
his faith in it. Compare 1 John iii
1 καὶ ἐσμέν, i. 2 note.

μεθ ἡμῶν] with us and not only
in us, The Truth itself has through
Christ a personal power. Comp. 1
John iv. 17. The different relations
of the Paraclete to believers are de-
scribed in John xiv. 16 f. by pera,
παρᾶ, ἐν.

es τὸν αἰώνα] Seo 1 John ii, 17
note.

Ww.

3 ἔσ. uel? ἡμῶν (ὑμῶν me): om, A.

παρὰ

4. ἔσται pe? ἡμῶν...] There shall
be with us... This unique form of
salutation seems to have boen deter-
mined by the preceding clause (ue?
ἡμῶν ἔσται): ‘with us trath ahall be
«398, there shall be with us...’ The
wish passes into assurance. In the
Epistles of St Paul no verb is express-
ed in the salutation (¢g. 1 Thess. i.
1, χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη). In 1, 2
Poter, Jude πληθυνθείη is added (1
Pet. i. 1 χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ ε’ἰρήνη πληθ).

μεθ ἡμῶν] ο. 2. The readers are
identified with the writer.

χάρ. 2. alp.] The succession ‘grace,
‘mercy, peace’ marks the order from
the first motion of God to the final
satisfaction of man. ‘Mercy’ defines
as it were the manifestation of the
divine ‘grace’ and prepares for the
restoration of ‘peace’ to man’s disor-
dered life.

The same combination occurs in
salutations in 1 Tim, j. 2; 2 Tim. i. 2
(Ign. ad Smyrn, 12). Χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη
is found in Άρου i. 4; 1 Pet. i. 2;
2 Pet. i, 2, and in all the other
Epistles of St Paul. In St Jude 2
the salutation is ἔλεος καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ
ἀγάπη. (Comp. Mart. Pol. Inscr.)

χάρις ἕλεον...] The word χάρι 0c-
curs elsewhere in St John only in
3 John 4; John i. 14, 16, 17: Apoc.
i, 4; xxii. 21; and the absence of the
cognate forms (χαρίζοµαι, χάρισμα) from
his writings is worthy of notice. Ἔλεος
is not found elsewhere in his writings
nor yet ἐλεεῖν.

In regard to the divine action
‘grace’ points to the absolute free-
dom of God’s love in relation to man’s
helplessness to win it; and ‘mercy’ to
His tenderness towards man’s mizery.

εἰρήνη] John xiv. 27; xvi. 33; xx.

15

226

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [5

θεοῦ πατρός, καὶ παρὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ
πατρός, ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπη.

om. παρά (2°) Κ'.
π.ῖ αὐτοῦ τοῦ π. ΝΑ.

19, 21, 26. The ‘peace which is the
gift of ‘the God of peace’ (1 Thess, v.
23; Rom. xv. 33; xvi. 20; Phil. iv.9;
Heb. xiii. 20) answers to all the dis-
harmonies of being in man himself, in
his relation to his fellow-men and to
God, and in creation generally. Com-
pare especially Rom. viii 6; Eph. ii.
14

παρά...παρά...] The repetition of
the preposition in such a form is
unique. It serves to bring out dis-
tinctly the twofold personal relation
of man to the Father and to the Son.
Elsewhere in parallel cases the pre-
position used is always ἀπό: e.g. Rom.
τει Cor. i 3, & Comp. 2 Tim.
i, 18.

Θεοῦ πατρός] God the Father : more
commonly Gud our Father (6. π.
ἡμῶν), ag. Rom. i.7; 1 Cor. i 3 &e.
Comp. 1 Tim. i, 2; 2 Tim. i, 2; Tit. 1.
4; Eph. vi. 23; Col. iii, 17. Special
stress is laid upon the revelation of
God in this absolute character, Comp.
2.9.

Ἰ. Xp. roi υἱοῦ τοῦ π.] The phrase
is unique. It seoms to have becn
chosen to connect the revelation of
the Father as definitely as possible
with the Son. Comp. 1 John ii. 22f.;
and 1 John i, 3; Col. i. 13.

It may be noticed that the title
“Lord? (κυρίου Ἐ), which is added by
some early authorities, is not found
in the Epistles of St John, though it
occurs in every other book of the N.T.
except the Epistle to Titus.

ἐν ὁλ. καὶ dy.) The threefold divine
gift is realised perfectly both in regard
to thought and in regard to action.
Truth and love describe an intellec-
tual harmony and a moral harmony ;
and the two correspond with each

Ἰησοῦ AB vg the: +avplov’ Ἰ. ϱΝ me syrhl.

τοῦ

other according to their subject-
matter. Love is truth in human action;
and truth is love in regard to the
order of things.

The combination is not found else-
where.

2. Counsel and warning (4—11).

The rise of false teachers, who seem
to have affected ‘superior knowledge
(ο. 9 προάγων), and neglected moral
duties (comp. 1 John ii, 4), leads St
John to emphasise the duty of active
love, which is the sum of the divine
‘commandments (4—7); and then to
insist upon the necessity of guarding
inviolate ‘the teaching of Christ,’ the
historic Gospel which conveys the re-
‘velation of ‘tle Father and the Son’
(811).

4—7. Past faithfulness is nade the
foundation for the apostle’s counsel
(ο 4). He enjoins practical love be-
cause deceivers have atisen who by
denying the coming of Jesus Christ
in flesh deprive earthly life of its
divine significance (5—7).

4I rejoice greatly that I have
Sound of thy children walking in
truth, even as we received command-
ment from the Father. 5 And now
I pray thee, Lady, not as writing
@ new commandment to thee, but
that which we had from the begin-
ning, that we love one another. ὁ Απᾶ
thie ts love, that we should walk ac-
cording to His commandments, This
is the commandment ecen as ye heard
from the beginning, that ye should
walk in it (love). 7 Because many
deceiers are gone out (went out) into
the world, even they that confess not
Jesus Christ coming in flesh: this ts
the deceiver and the antichrist.

4,5] THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 227

. G a πο 2 - a
«Ἔχαρην λίαν ὅτι εὕρηκα ἐκ τῶν τέκνων σου περι-
~ ae / vos ey \
πατοῦντας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ
~ ῃ ών. ῃ pris β
τοῦ πατρός. Skat viv ἐρωτῶ σε, κυρία, οὐχ. ὡς ἐντολὴν
, Voy Αν κ} αν ας,
γράφων σοι καινήν ἄλλα ἦν εἴχαμεν am’ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα

4 ἐλάβομεν : ἔλαβον R.

(+n old commandment syrhl).

4 ᾿Ἐχόρην...ὅτι «ὕρηκα] I rejoiced
«that I have found.... The joy is
referred to ita initial moment: the
ground of it still continues.

For the precedence given to the
expression of joy compare St Paul’s
thankegivings: 1 Thess. i. 2; 2 Thess.
i. 3; 1 Cor. i 4; Rom, i, 8; Phil. i,
3f.; Eph. i. 16; Col. i. 3; Philem. 4.

«ὕρηκα] Comp. 3 John 3; and John
1, 44, note.

ἑκτῶν τ. σ:] V. do filits tuis. Some
of thy children. For ἐκ see John xvi.

17.

The words appear to refer to an
experience of the writer in some other
place than that to which the ‘Lady’
belonged.

mepur. ἐν Ad. καθώς...] walking in
truth even as... The phrase (περιπ.
ἐν ad. 3 John 3) is not identical with
walking in the truth (περιπ. ἐν τῇ
dd, 3 John 4). Comp. John xvii. 17,
1ο. It describes the general cha-
racter of the life as conducted ‘in
truth,’ really and in very deed in a
certain fashion, even after the com-
mandment of God.

dvr, ἐλάβ.] John x. 18; Acts xvii.
15; Cul. iv. 10,

παρὰ τοῦ π.] from the Father in
the Person of Christ. The preposition
(. 3) marks the directness of the
divine injunction: Apoe. ii. 27.

5. καὶ νῦν] and ποιο, looking back
upon that former feeling (ο. 4) of joy...
The words may mark simply a logical
connexion: 1 John ii, 28.

ἑρωτώ] I pray thee, in the exer-
cise of the full privilege of Christian
fellowship. Comp. 1 John y, 16, note.

παρά: ἀπό A.
5 γράφων σοι καινήν B the: καυὴρ γρ. σοι ΚΑ. YE me.

του π.: om. τοῦ Β.
ἀλλά: Ι«ὁτολή κ

The request is directly personal and
not a general exhortation (παρακαλώ).
It is remarkable that the words παρα-
καλεῖν, παράκλησις, do not occur in the
writings of St John. The singular
address (σέ) occurs again in ο. 13.
In the intermediate verses the plural
is used.

οὐχ oe évr....] not aseoriting @ new

ent... The order is signi-

ficant (vr. γράφων σ. x). ‘The prayer
is first distinguished from a command
generally: ‘I pray thee, not as writing
@ command to thee ;’ and then the
command is more exactly described ;
which is indeed the substance of the
prayer. Comp. 1 John ii. 7.

εἴχαμεν] we had, Contrast 1 John
ii. 7 ye had, Throughout the apostle
identifies himeelf with those to whom
he is writing, Christian with Chris-
tians.

tba ἀγαπῶμεν...] that we love... The
words seem to depend upon J pray
thes (John xvii. 15), the intervening
clause being parenthetical. The apo-
stle includes himself in the object of
his prayer (that we, not that ye). It
is possible that the form in which the
request is thus shaped is occasioned
by the reference to ‘the command
which we had.’

épordae...ba... | pray thee...that...
The infinitive and a final particle are
both used by St John after ἐρωτῇν:
(1) infin, John iv, 40 || Luke v. 3 ; viii.
373 Acts 1Η. 3; x. 48; xvi. 39; xviii.
20; xxiii, 18; 1 Th. v. 12. (2) ἵνα
John iv. 47; xix. 31, 38 || Mk. vii. 26;
Luke vii. 36 (vii. 3; xi. 37 ὅπως); xvi.
27 (Acts xxiii. 20 ὅπως).

15—2

228 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [6,7

ἀγαπώμεν ἀλλήλους. «καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἵνα
περιπατώμεν κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ" αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή
ἐστιν, καθως ἠκούσατε dx’ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπα-
Tite. Ἰδτι πολλοὶ πλάνοι ἐξῆλθαν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οἱ

6 αὐτοὺς 4 ἵνα καθώτ' N* (by the omission of a line of the archetype in

copying).

4 er. & AB (vg) syrhl: ὁ. 4 ἐντ. Sw me the.

ἡ arr: «αὐτοῦ Ν.

καθώχ...ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ... Ἑ syrhl: ἵνα καθών...ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ... RA: ἵνα καθώτ...ἐν αὐτῇ

(vg) (me) (the).

6. The two thoughts of ‘command-
ment’ and ‘love’ are taken up in the
inverse order: ‘this is love’, ‘this is
the commandment,’ In treating them
St John appears to reason in a circle.
‘Love,’ he says, ‘is tho effort to walk
according to the divine command-
ments’; and again, ‘The divine com-
mandment is that we endeavour to
walk in love’ The key to this diffi-
culty lies in the difference between
‘commandments’ and ‘commandment.’
Love strives to realise in detail every
separate expression of the will of
God. The summary expression of the
will of God is that men should walk
in love, the spirit of sons (1 John
iii. 1).

καὶ αὕτη ¢. dy.] And this is love...
The description of love is simply
joined to the request to realise it:
1 John v. 4, 11. ‘Love’ is left com-
pletely undefined. Love to God and
love to man are not finally disti
guished. Comp. 1 John iii. 16; iv.
1ο, 16—18,

avry...iva...] See 1 Jobn γ. 3, note.

περιπ. κατὰ τὰς ἑ. av.) walk accord-
Compare Mk. vii. 5 περιπ.
mapadoow...; 2 Cor. x. 2;
Rom. viii. 4 κατὰ σάρκα (πνεῦμα) repens
Rom. xiv. 15 κατὰ ἀγάπην περιπ.; 1
Cor, iii. 3 κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπ. Elee-
where the construction is περιπ. ἐν (1
John i, 6, note). The two construc-
tions stand side by side 2 Cor. x. 2 f.

αὕτη ἡ evr. ¢....] this is thecommand-
ment which gathers up in one the
many commandments, Compare 1
Jobn iii. 22, 23. The change of order

περιπατῆτε: περιπατήσητε €.

7 ἐξῆλθαν: εἰσῆλθον 5-.

from the first clause is significant
(αὕτη ἐστ. ἡ ἀγ., αὕτη ἡ ἐντ. ἐ).

ἠκούσατε.. περιπατῆτε...] ye heard
«116 walk... The second person is re-
quired by the definite reference to the
first teaching of the Church: 1 John
ii. 7, note.

ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπ.] that ye walk in
tt, that is in love, which is the main
subject of the sentence (comp. Eph.
¥. 2). No adequate sense is gained by
supplying in the commandment (in
eo V., sc, mandato). The complete
identification of the life of love with
the fulfilment of all the command-
ments of God is characteristic of St
John: 1 John v. 2, 3.

7. The peril which arises from
false teachers moves St John to stir
believers to the active exercise of love
one with the other. Love so realised
is 8 safeguard against error. On the
other hand the failure to realise the
Lord’s trae humanity in the present
imperils the love of man for man.
There is a passage here from ‘love’ to
‘truth’ (ο. 3 ἐν GA. καὶ ἀγ.).

πλάνοι] seductores V., seducers, de-
ceivers, who lead to wrong action,
and not only to wrong opinion. Comp.
1 John ii 26 of wAavavres, 1 Tim.
iv. 1 πνεύµασι πλάνοις. 2 Cor. vi. 8 os
πλάνοι; Matt, xxvii. 63.

ἐξῆλθαν] went out. The tenso (1
John ii, 19) appears to mark a parti-
cular crisis, They sent out from the
bosom of the Christian society to fulfil
their work.

πολλοί...οἱ μὴ ὁμολ.] The partici-
pial clause does not only assert a

8] THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

229

ve - ae oe : ,
μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί:

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος.

βλέπετε

ἑαυτούς, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε ἃ ἠργασάμεθα, ἀλλὰ μισθὸν

8 ἀντίχρ.: om. ὁ .
ἀπολέσητα ἃ εἰργάσανθε ...
σάμεθα...ἀπολάβωμεν 5.

definite fact as to these deceivers (οὐχ.
ὁμολογοῦντες), but marks the character
of the class (comp. r John iv. 3):
‘even they that confess not.’ See Mk.
XV. 41 ἄλλαι πολλαὶ αἱ συναναβᾶσαι.

οἱ μὴ du) they who confess not...
The frank and open confession of the
truth is required. Not to make con-
fession, even when this does not take
the form of denial, becomes practically
identieal with it. Comp, John i. 20;
1 John iv. 2, 3.

Ἰ. Xp. ὁρχ. & σ.] Jesus Christ com-
ing in flesh. The thought centres
upon the present perfection of the
Lord’s Manhood which ἐς still, and is
to be manifested, and not upon the
past fact of His coming, 1 Jobn iv. 2
(ἐληλυθότα): 1 John v. 6 (ὁ ἐλθών).
Comp. John xiv. 3, note; i 9 he
ἐρχόμενον. Apoc, xxii. 20. Cf. ἡ
ὀργὴ ἡ ἐρχ. 1 Thees. i. 10 ; Col. fi. 6.

bs ἐστω...] this is... The general
description is individualised, Het that
offers this character is the deceiver—
the typical decoiver—end the anti-
christ. We might perhaps look for
other marks: these are decisive.
Comp. ο. 9; 1 John ii, 22; v. 6, 20.

ὁ ἀντίχρι] the antichrist, of whom
the readers had already heard. 1 John
ii. 18, note.

The idea of the ‘deceiver’ is mainly
relative to men: that of ‘antichrist’
to the Lord.

8,9. The action of false teachers
imposes upon believers the duty of
self-examination. The danger which
they embody is internal as well as ox-
ternal, There must be a careful watch
within; and this necessity is shewn to
be more urgent by the consideration

8 ἀπολέσητε & ἠργασάμεθα...ἀπολάβητε B the (eyrhl):
ἀπολάβητε (Ν) A vg me (eyrhl): ἀπολέσαμεν ἆ elpya-
ἀπόλησθε RP.

that what seems and claims to be pro-
gress may be fatal error.

*Look to yourselves, that ye may
not lose (destroy) the things which
we wrought, but may receive a full
reward. »Every one that goeth for-
ward and abideth not in the teaching
of Christ hath not God: he that
abideth in the teaching, the same
hath both the Father and the Son.
w°If any one cometh unto you, and
beareth not this teaching, receive him
not into your house, and give him no
greeting; “for he that giveth him
greeting hath fellowship with his evit
works.

8. Βλέπετε έαυτ.] Videte vosmet ip-

sos V., Look to yourselves that... Mark
xiii. 9; 1 Cor. xvi. 10.
ta μὴ drrod....] ne perdatis...V., that

ye may not lose (or destroy) what we
wrought, the manifold results of our
labours among you, which were as
talents entrusted to your charge for

use.

For the confidence of the apostle
see 1 John iv. 6; but the word ἠργα-
capeba appears to refer to the apo-
stolic teachers generally.

adX4...dwoh.JaccipiamusV but may
receive, receive back, from the Great
Judge... Comp. Luke vi. 34; xv. 275
xvi. 25; xxiii. 41) Rom. i. 27; Gal. iv.
5 (non accipiamus sed recipiamus,
Aug.)

μισθ. πλ.] mercedem plenam V., a
full reward, in which no one element
is wanting (Ruth ii, 12, xx, &c.).
Comp. Mk. iv, 28 πλ. giros; 2 Chron.
αν. 17 καρδία πλ. (29%). For the idea
of µισθύς see Apoc. xi. 18; xxii. 125

230 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [9, 10

πλήρη ἀπολάβητε. Yas ὁ προάγων καὶ μὴ µένων ἐν
τῇ διδαχῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει, 6 pene ἐν τῇ
διδαχῇν οὗτος καὶ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει, τος
τις ἔρχεται πρὸς ὑμᾶν καὶ ταύτην τὴν διδαχὴν οὐ φέρει,
μ λαμβάνετε αὐτὸν cis οἰκίαν καὶ χαίρει αὐτῷ μὴ

9 προάγων RAB vg me the: χαραβαίνων σ-.
copyist looked back three lines in the archetype to προάγων).
τὸν π. καὶ τὸν υἱ. NB me the syrhl: τὸν vi, καὶ

+700 χριστοῦ 6 me,
τὸν π. A τα.

John iv. 36; Matt. ν. 12 and parallels;
1 Cor. i

9. πᾶς 6 προάγων καὶ p. μ.] omnis
qui pracedit et non τη. V., Every one
that goeth forward and abideth not...
every one that advances in bold confi-
dence beyond the limits set to the
Christian Faith, Troe progress in-
cludes the past, These false teachers
proposed to enter on new regions of
truth leaving the old. The two cha-
racteristics are taken together (6 πρ.
καὶ pi} μ.λ.

μένων ἐν] abideth in...Jobn viii. 31;
2 Tim. iii. 14.

ἐν τῇ διδ. τοῦ xp.] in the doctrine of
Christ, the doctrine which Christ
brought, and which He brought first
in His own person, and then through
His followers (Hebr. ii. 3). This sense
seems better than the doctrine of
(concerning) the Christ, and the usage
of the N.T. is uniformly in favour of
it: Apoc. ii. 14, 15; John xviii, 19;
Acts ii, 42. ‘H 8:8, is used absolutely
(as below) in Tit. i. 9 (Rom. xvi. 17),

6. οὐκ ἔχει] hath not God, Whom he
claims to know more perfectly. Comp.
1 John ii. 23 (οὐδθ) note,

6 µένων...οὗτος...] The pronoun em-
phasises the definition given. Comp.
John vi. 46; vii. 18; xv. 5. Faithful
continuance in ‘the doctrine’ brings a
living possession of God as He is re-
vealed in the fulness of His Fatherly
relation in ‘the Father and the Son.’
The change from the abstract title

μένων (2°): 4: (καὶ μή” 8 (as the
διδαχΏ:

‘God’ in the former clause is signi-
ficant. Comp. 1 John ii. 22 £

10, 11, Not only is there danger
within, but false teaching may come
from without under a friendly guise.
The confession of the revelation in ‘the
Father and the Son’ is the indis-
pensable test of fellowship.

10. ef τις ἔρχεται...] Jf any one
cometh... The form of expression is
not found elsewhere in the Epistles
or Gospel of St John. It assumes the
case, and does not simply regard it ae
possible (¢dy ris). By ‘cometh’ is to
be understood an official ‘coming?
St John is not dealing with the casual
visit of a stranger but with that of a
teacher who claims authority.

The picture of the itinerating ‘pro-
phet? in the Διδαχή is a vivid illustra
tion of the scene present to St John’s
mind (§§ 11 ϱ).

πρὸς ὑμᾶς] ‘the lady and her chil-
dren’ ov. 1, 12.

ratr. τ. δ. οὐ Φ.] and beareth not
as his message, this doctrine of Christ
which declares the Father and the
Son, the decisive revelation of the
Gospel. For Φέριν compare Jobn
xviii. 29; Acte xxv. 18; 2 Pet. ii, 11.
See also 2 Pet. i. 17, 18, 21; 1 Pet. i.
13. The negative is not affected by
«i, because it goes closely with the
verb.

μὴ λαμβ....] nolite recipers...nec ave
ei dizeritis V., receive him not...and
give him no greeting... These words

11, 12] THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 231

λέγετε" ™S λέγων γὰρ αὐτῷ yalpew κοινωνεῖ τοῖς
ἔργοις αὐτοῦ τοῖς πονηροῖς.

5 Πολλὰ ἔχων ὑμῖν γράφειν οὐκ ἐβουλήθην διὰ
χάρτου καὶ µέλανος, ἀλλὰ ἐλπίζω γενέσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς
καὶ στόµα πρὸς στόµα λαλῆσαι, ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν

11 8 λέγων γάρ: ὁ γὰρ λ. 6..
στόμα (1°): τε R*-

are to be interpreted with the limita-
tion suggested by the character of the
‘coming’: ‘Do not receive such a
teacher as one who can justly claim
the privilege of Christian hospitality
asa brother; and do not even welcome
him with a greeting of sympathy” In
the Ν. Τ. χαίρει is always used of the
greeting of first address (Acts xv. 23;
xxiii. 26; James i. 1); otherwise the
context would perhaps suggest that
the thought here is uf the greeting of
farewell: ‘Do not entertain such a
one : do not send him on his way with
good wishes’ Clement adds: arbi-
tror autem quia et orare cum talibus
non oportet, quoniam in oratione que
fit in domo postquam ab orando sur-
gitur salutatio gaudii est et pacis in-
dicium (Fragm. Hypotyp. p. ort P.).
Whatever may be thought of the ap-
plication the picture of family devo-
tion is of singular interest.

It, κομωνεῖ τ. &...] communicat
operibus illius malignis V. Comp.
1 Tim. v. 22, The word κοινωνεῖν
implies more than participation in the
dofinite acts. It suggests fellowship
with the character of which they are
the outcome.

τοῖς @....rois wor] Comp. 1 Jobn ii,
7 note, John iii, 19; 1 John iii, 12;
Col. i. 21; 2 Tim. iv. 18.

3- The conclusion (12, 13).

The main request and the main

warning have been spoken. Other
subjects St John reserves for a per-

xa ἔχωνι ἔχω BAS.
ἀλλὰ ἐλτί(ω NB the syrbl: ax. γάρ A vg me.
ὑμῶν AB vg me: ἡμῶν ® syrbl (my the).

γράφευ: γράψαι A.
γενέσθαι: ἐλθεῖν S the.

sonal interview. A general saluta-
tion closes the letter. Comp. 3 John
13—15.

"Though I have many things
to write to you, I would not write
them with paper and ink; but I
hope to be present with you, and to
speak face to face, that your joy may
be fulfilled.

13 The children of thine elect sister
salute thee.

13. Ἡ. & ὑμῖν yp.] The pronoun (ο.
1ο) atands in a position of emphasis
(contrast 3 John 13): the special cir-
camstances of those addressed sug-
gested topics to the apostlo.

οὐκ ἐβουλ.] nolui V., I would not
communicate them.... The aoriat re-
gards the letter as complete: the de-
cision is made. Comp.1 John ii. 14
note. Some general word such as
‘communicate’ must be supplied from
‘write’

διὰ x. καὶ μέλ.] per chartam et atra-
mentum V. Jer. xxxvi. 18.

ἀλλὰ ἐπ. y. πρ. ὑ.] spero enim me
Suturum apud το V., but I hope to
be present with you. The delay in
the communication was to be but
brief. For γεν. mp. v. see 1 Cor. ii. 35
xvi. 10.

στόμα πρὸς στόμα] face to face,
ney np (Nom. xi, 8, uxx. στόµα
κατὰ στόμα). Comp. 1 Cor. xiii, 12.

ἵνα x. & wend. {] that your joy
may be fulfilled. Comp. 1 John i. 4
note.

232

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[13

πεπληρωμένη 7. 'Ασπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἆδελ-

iis σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς.
werd. § (8) Β: ᾗ werd. Α.

13. "Aow. σε] ο. 5. The singular
pronoun answers to τῆς ἀδελφῆς.

τῆς ἀδ....τῆς ἐκλ.] 1 John ii, 7 note,
‘The adj. ἀκλεκτός is found in 8t John’s
writings elsewhere only in v. 1 and
Apoc, xvii. 14. The verb ἐκλέγεσθαι
occurs in the Gospel: vi. 70; xiii. 18 ;
XY. 16, 19.

fo BP.

13 ἐελεκτῆε: +duiy © syehl.

No sure argument as to the indi-
vidual or corporate interpretation of
κυρία (ο. 1) can be drawn from the oc-
currence of τὰ τέκνα τῆς dd. without ἡ
ἀδελφή. On the whole however the
general tenour of 0, 13 seems to favour
the corporate view.

ΙΩΑΝΟΥ Γ

IQANOY TY

O MPECBYTEPOC Γαίῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, dv ἐγὼ

αγαπώ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.

The letter is marked throughout by
pereonal circumstances, and is broken
up into short paragraphs which are
severally suggested by these. After
the salutation (5, 1) St John (1) ex-
presses in general terms his joy at the
tidings of Gaius which he hears (2---
4); and (2) specially approves his
hospitality towards missionary bre-
thren (5—8). In contrast with this
generosity (3) he condemns the ambi-
tious self-assertion of Diotrephes (ο,
10); and then (4) gives his witness in
favour of Demetrius (11, 12); and 80
(5) concludes (13—15).

1, The salutation,

‘The salutation stands in contrast by
its brevity with the salutations in the
other personal letters of the New Tes-
tament, The wish of blessing is trans-
posed in another form to the following
verse.

*The Elder to Gaius the beloved,
whom I love in truth.

1. 6 πρεσβύτερος] 2 John 1 note,

Taiy τῷ dy.) The name ‘Gaius’
(Caius) occurs Acts xix. 29 (a ‘Mace-
donian’); xx. 4 (‘of Derbe’); 1 Cor.
i. 14 (@ Corinthian); Rom. xvi. 23 (6
Corinthian). There is nothing to
identify this Gaius with any one of
these. Another is mentioned as
having been made bishop of Per-
gamum by St John (Const. Ap. vii.

46). The position which Gaius oc-
cupied in the church to which he
belonged is not shown by the letter.
The epithet ‘beloved’ is afterwards
used as a title of address (vv. 2, 5, 11).
It occurs several times in salutations
of St Paul: Rom. xvi. 12; Philem. 1
(‘the beloved’); Rom. xvi. 5, 8,9, (‘my
beloved’); 2 Tim. i 2 (‘my beloved
child’).

ὃν ἐγὼ dy.] The emphatio personal
pronoun (2 John 1) seems to point to
some gainsayers with whom the
apostle contrasts himself, Compare
‘thon’ (σύ) in ο. 3.

ἐν ἀληθ.] Comp. 2 John 1 note.
dy ἀληθείᾳ ἀγακῷ 6 κατὰ Κύριον ἀγαπῶν
(Gcumen.).

2. The teacher's joy (2—4).

Βί John, having much ground for
sorrow and disappointment, begins
with the expression of joy (comp. 2
John 4). Some of his own children
(comp. 2 John éc.), Gaius among them,
were loyal to the Truth. He could wish
him nothing better than that all his
circumstances should correspond to
his spiritual progress.

The salutation is completed, after
the common model, in ο. 1. The se-
cond verse adds what corresponds to
the faller Christian greeting (2 John

3).
3 Beloved, I pray that in all things

236

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[2,34

5'Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ

saat herrea: κ ͵
ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή.

δἐχάρην γὰρ

λίαν ἐρχομένων αδελφών καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἁλη-

θεία, καθως σὺ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ περιπατεῖς.

ἀμειζοτέραν

8 ἐχάρην Ὑάρ ABC me syr.: om Ὑάρ 8 vg the. µαρτυρούντων: µαρτυρουν B

(at the end of line).

thou mayest prosper and be in good
health even as thy soul prospereth.
3For I rejoiced (rejoice) greatly when
brethren came (come) and bore (bear)
witness to thy truth, even as thou
toalkest in truth. +I have no greater
grace than these tidings, that I may
hear of mine own children walking
in the truth,

2. *Ayasnré]carissime V. (v0. 5, 11).
For the use of the plural see 1 John
ii. 7 note.

περὶ π. εὔχ. σε etod....] de omnibus
orationem facio prospere te ingredi
V. In all things I pray that thou
mayest be prosperous... The phrase
περὶ πάντων is remarkable. It may
go with εὐοδοῦσθαι or with the sen-
tence generally (comp. 1 Cor. xvi.
1). The sense ‘above all things’ is
not justified by any parallel in the
N. T. or uxx.; and the context points
{ο 8 contrast between ‘the soul’ and
other things The thought appears
to be of the public and social work of
Gaius as distinguished from his per-
sonal progress, though ὑγιαίνειν may
point to some illness,

εὔχομαι] The word is rare in N.T.:
2 Cor. xiii. 7,9; Acts xxvi. 29; xxvii.
2

«ὐοδ. καὶ ὑγιαίνειν] The elements of
progress and vigour are combined.
For εὐοδοῦσθαι see 1 Cor. xvi. 2;
Rom. ii 1a In 8t Paul ὑγιαίνειν is
always used metaphorically of sound
doctrine; bat it occurs in the literal
sense of sound health in 8t Luke: v.
31, Vii 1ο, xv. 27.

καθώς... ψυχή] sicut prospere agit
anima tua Ὑ. Ψυχή expresses here
the principle of the higher life (‘soul’)

καθὼε σύ: om, σύ A.

(Hebr. vi. 19, x. 39, xii. 17; 1 Pet if.
11, iv, 19). The nearest approach to
this sense elsewhere in St John’s
writings is John xii. 27 (x. 24). In
other places he uses it only of the
principle of the ‘natural’ life.

34 ἐχάρην γάρ...] Comp. 2 John 4.
The joy which the apostle felt at the
tidings of the action of Gaius is given
in explanation of his far-reaching wish
for his welfare, and not only as an
assurance of his spiritual well-being.
The words evidently point to some
difficulties from false teaching which
Gains had boldly met, though as yet
the issue of his work was un

ἐρχομ. ἀδ.] when brethren came not
‘on one occasion only (ἐλθύντων) but
from time to time, though all these
visits belonged definitely to the past
(ἐχάρην) when the apostle wrote. The
words give a vivid picture of con-
tinued troubles even in the apostolic
church,

ἀδελφών] vv. 5, 1ο. Comp. 1 John
iii, 14 addit. note.

µαρτ. σ. τῇ dd.] testimonium per-
hibentibus veritati tum V., bore wit-
ness to thy truth, attested the perfect
‘and sincere loyalty with which you
maintain the fulness of the Christian
faith in life. Christian thought and
Christian action are inseparable.

καθὼς σύ...] eren as thou walkest
in truth, truly. Comp. 2 Jobn 4.
The emphatic pronoun (σύ) suggests
a contrast with others as (for exam-
ple) Diotrephes, Gaius walked not
only in word but really (ἐν dAn@. 1
John iii, 18) according to the standard
of the Christian revelation (ἐν τῇ dd.
‘in the Truth’). The clause seems to

ο] | THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

237

τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χάριν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν

τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα.

4 τούτων οὐκ & x, RAB: τούτων x. οὖς & 0.

B vg me: χαρώ SRAC the.

be one of those personal comments
in which St John pausing on what is
written, as it were, thinks aloud:
“They witnessed to thy truth; yes,
and when the vision of vain profes-
sions rises before me I know that
thou at least livest indeed as thou
teachest.’

4- µειζοτέραν...χάρῳ, 1 majo-
rem horum non habeo gratiam quam
ut...V. I have no greater grace
—favour from God—than these ti-
dings, that I may hear... The plural
τούτων ‘these things’ does not refer
to what follows (‘that I may hear’)
but to what precedes, the manifold
testimonies which St John received of
the courageous resolution with which
Gaius maintained the Truth in the
face of difficulties, The end assured
by such tidings was the open acknow-
ledgment of the fidelity of disciples
(‘that so I may hear’). Even if St
John had himself no doubt of the
fact, it would be a joy to know that it
was also observed by others. For the
construction see John xv. 13 note.

For the form µειζότερος compare
«λαχιστότερος Eph. iii, 8.

ἔχω χάριν] The use of χάρις is re-
markable; but χάρις makes the ‘joy’
(Χαρά) of the common text itself a
divine gift. The word is very rare
in St John (2 John 3 note). Here
it expresses the divine favour in a
concrete form. So it is used of the
gracious gift of men: 1 Cor. xvi. 3.
«Το have grace’ (or ‘a grace’) here
corresponds with ‘giving’ (Rom. xii.
6, &c.) and ‘receiving’ grace (Rom. 1.
5). “Exew χάρω is used elsewhere in
different constructions and senses:
ἔχευ χάριν rot Luke xvii. 9; 1 Tim. Ἱ.
125 & x. πρός τινα Acts ii. 47.

πὰ ἐμὰ τ.] mine own children

Αγαπητέ, πιστὸν

xe: ἔχων BY, χάριν

τῇ ἀλ. ABC*: om τῇ SR.

(Philem, 1ο), not simply τὰ τέκνα pov.
Those Christians to whom the apostle
had been the human author of spi-
ritual life: 1 Cor. iv. 14,17; 1 Timi.
2, &e.; 2 John 1,13. Τεκνία, the title
of affection, would be used of all to
whom he at present stood in the po-
sition of father : 1 John ii. 1, note.

ἐν τῇ dd. περιπ.] The phrase is not
found elsewhere in N. Τ. Comp. ἐν τῷ
ox. (ἐν τῇ σκ.)π. 1 John i. 6; ii. 115
ἐντῷ φωτὶ π. 1 John i. 7; ἐν αὐτῇ (τῇ
ἀγάπῃ) π. 3 John 6& For the image
see 1 John i, 6, note,

3. The duty of generosity to the

brethren (5—8). '

Gaius appears to have incurred the
displeasure of some in his Church
by entertaining strange brethren. St
John emphatically approves what he
had done, and enforces such hospi-
tality as a Christian duty.

In this brief notice we have a vivid
eketch of the work and of the difficul-
ties of the first ‘Evangelists’: Eph.
iv. 11. Compare Doctr. of App. 11 ff.

s Beloved, thou makest sure whatso-
ever thou doest unto the brethren and
strangers withal, who bore witness
to thy love before the church ; whom
thou wilt do well to help forward
on their journey worthily of God ;
1for they sent out for the Name's
sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.
5 We therefore ought to welcome such
that we may be fellow workers with
the truth.

5. πιστὸν n.] fideliter facie V. Tho
phrase is commonly interpreted : ‘thou
doest a faithful work,’ a work which
answers to thy faith: so Clcum. ἄξιον
πιστοῦ ἀνδρός, No parallel is quoted
in support of such a sense of πιστός.
The more natural rendering is rather

238

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[6,7

ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένου»,
Sot ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, οὓς
καλώς ποιήσεις προπέµψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ: Ἰὐπὲρ γὰρ

5 ἐργάσῃ: ἐργάῇη A.

6 οὔε: ου Β",

‘thou makest sure’; that is, such an
act will not be lost, will not fail of its
due issue and reward (Apoc. xxi. 5).
‘This sense falls in well with thecontext
(comp. Apoc. xiv. 13), and explains
the use of the two verbs, ποιεῖν, ἐργά-
ζεσθαι, which are combined also in
Col iii. 23.

ὁ ἐὰν ἐργ.] The indefinite form (6
ἐάν as contrasted with ὅ) marks the
variety of service. For ἐργάξομαι see
John vi. 28, ix. 4; and for épy. «ls,
Matt. xxvi. 1ο.

καὶ τοῦτο &) et hoc in...V., and
strangers withal, The fact that this
detail is emphasised in the commenda-
tion of the hospitality of Gaius ‘seems
to imply that it had been made the
occasion of unjust blame. For καὶ
τοῦτο compare 1 Cor. vi. 6; Phil i
28; Eph. ii, 8 Viewed rightly the
fact that these brethren were stran-
gers gave them a more ing claim
‘upon the common ties of brotherhood.
Comp. Hebr. xiii. 2 note.

6. of ¢uapr....] Those who in one par-
ticular case oxperienced the habitual
hospitality of Gaius bore open testi-
mony to his character in @ public as-
sembly of the church where the writer
‘was, gathered together, as it may seem,
to receive their report: comp. Acts
xiv, 26 ff. For ἐνώπιον dead. (not τῆς
éxed.) compare ἐν ἐκκλ. 1 Cor. αἰν. 19,
35: ἐν συναγωγῇ John vi 59, xviii.
20. ουν. Ap. iv. 14 ἐν dechaolg
ἐξομολογήσῃ τὰ παραπτώµατά

obs κ. πι. προπέμψας] quos ones
ciens deduces (benefacies ducens) V.
Those who had before found help
from Gaius now again required it for
a special work. The fature implies a
wish which, it is assumed, will at once

καὶ τοῦτο ΝΑΒΟ vg me the syrr: καὶ els τούν 6.
ποήσεα xpomtuyas: ποιήσαι προπέµψειε Ο (Int).

be fulfilled. Comp. Rom. vi. 14. For
προπέμψας 509 Acta xv. 3; Tit. iii. 13.
The latter passage suggests that the
word includes some provision for the
journey as well as sympathetic attend-
ance; Acts xxi. 3. St John regards
the act fm its completeness (προπέµ-
as) and not in process (προπέµπων).
This makes the combination of the
aor, and fut, natural For προπ.
compare Polyc. Phil. Ἱ ovvexdpqy
ὑμῖν. προπέµψασιν obs ἐπέβαλεν ὑμῖν
τοὺς ἐνειλημμένους τοῖς ἁγιοπρέπεσι
δεσμοῖς.

καλῶς wo.) Acts x. 33; Jamesii. 8
(19); 2 Pet. i 19; 1 Cor. vii. 3478:
Phil. iv. 14.

Compare Ign. Smyrn, 10 Φίλωνα
καὶ Ῥέον ᾽Αγαθόπουν, οἱ ἐπηκολούθησάν
μοι els λόγον θεοῦ, καλῶς ἐποιήσατε
ὑποδεξάμενοι obs διακόνους Χριστοῦ θεοῦ.

ag. τ. 6.) worthily of their dedica-
tion to the service of God: John xiii.
20. Comp. 1 Thess, fi. 12; Col. i. 10
ag. τοῦ κυρίου.

7. ὑπὲρ γὰρ τ. dv) pro nomine
enim V., for the Name’s sake, that is,
to make the Name better known:
Rom. i 5.

‘The Name’ is used absolutely Acts
v.41 (comp. 0. 40 ἐπὶ τῷ dy. Ἰησοῦ).
Comp. James ii. 7. It is also found
in the letters of Ignatius : ad Eph. 776
ὄνομαπεριφέρειν: ad Philad. 1οδοξάσαι
τὸ ὄνομα. Comp, ad Eph, 1 δέδεµαι
ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ ἐλπίδος:
id, 3 εἰ.. δέδαεμαι ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι οὔπω
ἀπήρτισμαι ἐν Ἰησοῦ Χριστφ, From
the contexts it is evident that ‘the
Name’ is ‘Jesus Christ’ (‘the Lord
Jesus’), or, as it is written at length,
‘Jesus Christ, the Son of God’ (John
xx, 31; 1 John iv. 15). This ‘Name’

5] THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

239

ποῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθαν μηδὲν λαμβάνοντε ἀπὸ τῶν

ἐθνικών.

δἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβανειν τοὺς τοι-

ούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώµεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ.

7 ὀνόματοι: +atrod Elz.

ὑπολαμβάνευ: ἀπολαμβώευ 5.
ἐκελησίᾳ Α.Α.

is in essence the sum of the Christian
Creed (comp. 1 Cor. xii. 3; Rom. x.9).

When analysed it reveals the triune
‘Name’ into which the Christian is
baptized, Matt. xxviii. 19. Compare
also 1 Pet. iv. 16 ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι rourp
19. Christian,

With the absolute use of ‘the
Name’ may be compared the abso-
lute use of ‘the Way’; Acts ix. 2, xix.
9, 23, xxiv. 22.

See Additional Note.

«Εῆλθαν] profecti sunt V., they went
Sorth from some Church, well known
to the apostle and Gaius, on a mission
of Truth, as others went forth on a
mission of error (2 John’7; 1 John ii,
19). Comp. Acts xv. 40.

μηδὲν λαμβ...] taking nothing as
their habitual rule. This trait is given
not 88 8 simple fact (οὐδὲν λαμβ.), but
asa mark of character. These teachers
refused to receive hospitality from
Gentiles who were unconverted. Many
reasons may have recommended such
arule. St Paul alludes frequently to
difficulties which arose even from that
reasonable provision by the Church
which St John here claims: 1 Thess.
ii. 6 fE ; 1 Cor. ix. 14f. ; 2 Cor. xii, 16 8.
For λαμβ. ἀπὸ see Matt. xvii. 25.

ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικ.] α gentilibus (genti-
bus) V., from the Gentiles to whom
they carried the Gospel. The form
used (ἐθνικός) describes character ra-
ther than mere position: Matt. v. 47,
vi. 7, xviii. 17. It does not seem ta
be found in the uxx.

& ἡμες ody...) We therefore, as
fellow Christians, owght (are bound,
1 John ii. 6 note) to receive (support)
auch. The word vrodapBdvew (sus-

ἀπὸ τῶν: om. τῶν C.

γωώμεθα: Ὑωόμεθα Ο.

ἐθνικῶν: ror S. ϐ
ἀληθέᾳ RBC vg:

cipere V.) gives the notion of wel-
coming with hospitable support.

ἵνα συ». γω, τῇ ἀλ.] ut cooperato-
rea simus veritatis V. The phrase is
ambiguous, The fellowship may be
either with the teachers: ‘that we
may be fellow-workers with them in
support of the truth’; or with the
truth, the substance of their teaching :
“that we may help the trath which is
effective through them.’ The word
συνεργός is not used elsewhere in the
Ν. T. or uxx with the dat. It is
used with the gen. of the person with
whom the worker cooperates (4g.
Rom. xvi. 21 ὁ συ», µου, 1 Cor. iii. 9
Θεοῦ συνεργοί), and with the gen. of
the object, 1 Cor. ii, 9 συνεργοὶ τῆς
χαρᾶς, 1 Mace. xiv. 5. It is also used
with εἰς (Col. iv. 11 συν. eis τὴν βασι-
λείαν) and πρός (2 Mace. viii 7 πρὸς
ras...dmBovhas συν) of the object.
The verb is used with the dat. of that
which is helped, James ii. 22 συνήργει
τοῖς ἔργοις, 1 Mace. xii, 1; and this
construction is sufficient to support
the connexion of συν. with τῇ dA.

4. The temporary triumph of
ambition (9, 10).

As yet St John had not succeeded in
removing tho opposition from which
Gaius suffered ; but he makes it clear
that the issue cannot be doubtful.

51 wrote a few words to the
Church; but he that loveth to have
the preeminence among them, Dio-
trephes, doth not receive us. °° For
thie cause, if I come I will call to
remembrance his works which he
doeth, prating of us with evil words ;
and, since he is not content therewith,

240

.THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

[ρ, 10

"Εγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ: GAN’ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων
ος / μα φ pears a
αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. "διὰ τοῦτο,
ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ἃ ποιεῖ λόγοι

πονηροῖς Φλυαρών ἡμᾶς, καὶ

9 ἔγραψα R*AC: ἔγραψα dy Nt vg syrr:
το duds: els ἡμᾶς Ο.

neither doth he receive the brethren
himself and them that would he
hindereth and casteth out of the
Church.

9. "Εγραψάτι] scripsissem forsitan
Τ., I wrote afew words. The use of
τι to ex] ‘something of import-
ance’ is foreign to the Ν. T. and un-
suitable to the context, St John
treata his letter lightly. The letter,
which may be regarded as the type of
a class, has not been preserved. To
escape from the difficulty supposed to
be involved in the loss of an apostolic
letter several early authorities intro-
duced ἄν (as V.).

τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ] (ο the Church to which
Gaius belonged, as well as now to
Gaius himself. St John had by this
time heard that his letter had for the
present failed. This is the only pas-
sage in his Epistles (ο. 6 is different)
in which St John speaks of ‘a Church.’
The word ἐκκλησία does not occur
in his Gospel. In the Apocalypse (as
here) ‘the Church’ is always used of
the special society in a particular
place (comp. Apoc. xxii. 16 ἐπὶ ταῖς
ἐκκλησίαις): 80 that St John nowhere
gives a distinct expression to the
thought worked out in Eph. i. 22, v.
23 ff.; though he records the gift of
its new life, John xx. 21 f£

ὁ φιλοπρ....Δ.] is gui amat prima-
tum gerere in iis D. V., he that loveth
to have the preeminence among (or
over) them... The word φιλόπρωτος
occurs in late Greek (Polyb. Plut.), but
Φιλοπρωτεύειν is not quoted from any
other passage. The idea of πρωτεύειν
governs the gen. αὐτῶν, which answers

μὴ ἁρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις

Expayas B. ἔγρ. τιῖ om, τι 63» vg ογττ.

to ἡ ἐκκλησία (comp. 1 Cor. i 3 τῇ
ἐκκλ., ἡγιασμένοις). It is of interest
to compare the two sources of failure
noticed in the two Epistles, προάγει»
(2 John 9) and φιλοπρωτεύεω, the un-
duo claims to intellectual progress
and to personal authority. There is
nothing to indicate that Diotrephes
held false opinions: his ambition only
19 blamed. Comp. Herm. Tim, viii.
7, 4 ἔχοντες (Πλόν τινα ἐν ἀλλήλοις περὶ
πρωτείων καὶ περὶ δόξης τινός: id. 7.

οὐκ ἐπιδέχ. ἡ.] In ο. 10 the word
used of the literal welcome of visitors:
here it is naturally understood of the
recognition of the apostle’s wish as
authoritative. Comp. 1 Mace. x. 1
ἐπεδέξαντο αὐτόν (a8 sovereign); xii.
8, 43; x 46 ἐπεδ. λόγους; Eoclus,
26 ἐπεδ. παιδείαν. By tho use of ἡμᾶς
(contrast Zypaya ο. 1 ἐγώ) St John
removes the question from a personal
issue. He identifies himself with the
society (02. 8, 12 ἡμεῖο, 1 Sohn iv.6; ν.
14f).

10. διὰ τοῦτο...] St John implies
that his personal presence will be de-
cisive. By using the form ἐὰν ἔλθω
there is no doubt thrown on the main
fact of his coming (v. 14). Comp. 1
John ii. 28.

ὑπομν. adr. τ. &] commoneam ¢jus
opera V., I will call to remembrance
his works, I will bring them to his
notice and to the notice of others.
Ὑπομιμνήσκειν is used with the acc.
of the person (2 Pet. i. 12) and of the
thing (2 Tim. ii, 14), and of both
(John xiv. 26).

λ. πον. PA. ἡ.] verbis malignis gar-
riens in nos V., prating of us with

ται τα]

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

24

οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοὺς βουλο-
͵ ͵ μα ος Ας.
µένους κωλύει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει.
a3? am ολ Αλ λΑ ον ͵
Αγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν.
ὁ ἀγαθοποιών ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν' 6 κακοποιῶν οὐχ

, Sed
ἑωώρακεν τὸν θεόν.

βουλομένονε: ἐπιδεχομένουτ C the,
ὁ δὲ κακοπ. S me,

evil words (Matt. v. 11; Acts xxviii.
21). The adj. φλύαρος occurs 1 Tim.
¥. 13.

μὴ dpe. ἐπὶ τ.] quasi non οἱ iste
suficiant V., and since he does not
rest content "therewith... ᾿Αρκεῖσθαι is
used with the simple dat. Luke iii
14; Hebr. xiii. 5; 1 Tim. vi. 8.

obre...xal...] nec...ét...V. John iv.
11.

κωλύει...ἐκβάλλει] The verbs do not
necessarily express more than the

and effort: comp. John x.
32 (Matt. iii, 14). It is difficult to
the ci

Diotrephes regarded the reception of
the brethren as an invasion of his
suthority.

ἐ«βάλλαι] Luke vi. 22; John ix. 34.

5. The witness to the faithful dis-

ciple (11, 12).

Self-seeking may have its tempting
successes, but they rest on no secure
foundation. The faithful are supported
by many converging testimonies.

1 Beloved, imitate not that which
48 evil but that which is good. He
that doeth good is of God; he that
doeth evil hath not seen God. ''ο-
metrius hath witness borne to him
by all and by the truth itself: yea
we also bear witness; and thou
Anowest that our witness is true,

11. *Ayamyré...] The transition lies
in the thought of the power which
Diotrephes had won by wrong means.

μὸ μιμοῦ] noli imitari V. Comp.
2 Thess, iii. 7, 9; Hebr. xiii. 7. The

w.

ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλ.: om, ἐκ BR.

”.Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάν-

αχ ὁ κακοπ.:

noun µιµητής occurs several times : 6.7.
1 Oor. iv. 16; Eph. v. 1.

τὸ κ...τὸ dy...) malum,..quod bo-
num est V. Rom. xii. 21.

ἀγαθ....κακοπ....] Mk. iii. 4; Luke
vi. 9; 1 Pet. iii. 17.

dx τοῦ -θ. ὁ....οὐχ ἑώρ. 1. 6...) The
two stages of divine relationship cor-
respond with the two characters. He
who does good proves by his action
that his life springs from God as its
source (εἶναι ἐκ τ. 6. Addit. Note on
1 John iii, 1): he who does evil has not
made the first step towards partici-
pation in the Divine Nature (1 John
iii. 6 note). In one sense the vision of
God (the Father) in Christ (John xiv.
9) is the condition of fellowship with
Him: in another sense the vision of
God as God lies beyond the power of
man (John i. 18).

It is likely that here, as elsewhere,
St John points to men who professed
to have deeper insight into truth and
disparaged the importance of virtuous
action.

12. Δημητρίφ pepapr.] From the
unfaithful St John tarns to the faith-
fal: from the ‘evil’ to the ‘good.’ It is
likely from the context that Demetrius
was the bearer of the letter. For µαρτ.
roi see John iii. 26; Luke iv. 22;
Acts xv. 8; and in pass. Acts vi. 3; x.
22; xvi, 2; xxii. 12; 1 Tim. v. 10, &.

St John appeals to a threefold wit-
neas given in favour of Demetrius (1)
ὑπὸ π. by all, that is the general wit-
ness of men arising out of the ex-
perience of life ; (2) ὑπ' adr. τ. dd. by
the Truth itself, so far as the ideal of
Christianity was seen to be realised by

16

242

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

(r2—15

των καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας" καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ µαρτυ-
= ) ve, Poem as oy
ροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν αληθής ἐστιν.
.Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θέλω διὰ µέ-
λανος καὶ καλάµου σοι γράφειν' "ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε
tee αλ ρωσ, ι , ͵ sens
ἰδεῖν, καὶ στόµα πρὸς στόµα λαλήσομεν. "ΣΕἰρήνη σοι.

ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι.
ὄνομα.

12 τῆς ἀληθείας: τῆς ἀκκλησίας καὶ τῆς Gd. Ο: τῆς ἐκκλησίαν A® ()).
5. ἡμαρ. ἡ, ad. ἐστι: ἁλ. 4. dor. ἡ µαρτ. Ο.

οὐ θέλω: οὐκ ἀβουλήθην A (2 John 12).
γράφου: γράψαι S.
15 οἱ φίλοι: οἱ ἀδελφοί A.

him; (3) καὶ jp. δὲ µαρτ. yea and we
also bear witness: 8t John and those
with him spoke with the authority of
the Church.

For the combination peyapr., µαρ-
τυροῦµεν see John v. 33, 36. The
witness given in the past was still
effective while it was also complete:
the witness of St John came with
present fresh force.

ὑπὸ π.] by all. Tt is possible that
these words are to be taken quite
generally: 1 Tim. iff. 7; though it is
not necessary to extend them beyond
the circle of Christians.

καί...δέ...] See 1 John i. 3.

καὶ οἶδας] The words in John xxi.
24 sound like an echo of this sentence.

This verse serves the purpose of ‘a
commendatory letter’ (συστατικὴ ἐπι-
στολή 2 Cor. iii. 1).

6 The conclusion (13—15).

141 had many things to write to
thee, howbeit I will not write to thee
with ink and pen; “but I hope to
see thes shortly, and we will speak
Sace to face.

1s Peace be to thee: the friends

14 c¢ ἰδεῖν ABC vg: Beir σε S me,
dewdtov: ἄσπασαι δὲ.

ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους Kat’

οἶδας: οἴδατε
13 γράψαισοι: γράφει 5.
σοὶ γρ. RBC: γρ. σοι A vg me the eyrr.
pis: wpb BY.

salute thee: salute the friends by
name.

13, εἶχον] The writer goes hack to
the time when the letter was begun.
See 2 John 12. The variations in
form are worth notice: ἔχων οὐκ
ἐβουλήθην, εἶχον ἀλλ’ οὐ θέλω- ὑμῖν
γράφει», γράψαι σοι---διὰ χάρτου κα μέ.
Άσνος, διὰ µέλανος καὶ
σθαι πρὸς ἡὦ, εὖθ. σε Ἰδεῖν λαλῆσας,
λαλήσομεν. If the second Epistle was
addressed to a Church it would not
be difficult to shew that there is a
fitness in the subtle differences in
tone.

15. εἰρήνη σοι] Peace be to thee:
1 Pet. v.14. Asa formula of greeting:
Luke x. 5; xxiv. 36; John xx. 19, 21,
26, And so (in combination with
other words) in epistolary salutations :
2 John 3 note.

οἱ φίλοι] our friends, The word
does not occur again in the Epistles in
this connexion. Comp. Acts xxvii. 3.
It gives a faint glimpse of personal
relationships. Comp. John xv. 13 ff.

rar’ ὄνομα] per nomen V. Comp.
John x. 3 (xx. 16). Ῥο]γο. Phi. 13
ἀσπάζομαι...πάντας κατ’ ὄνομα.

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 243

Additional Note on v. 7. The Divine Name.

The idea of the ‘Name’ (DY, ὄνομα) has a far deeper significance in
. Biblical language than in our own. As applied to God it expresses that The
which has been made known of Him; or, more exactly to distinguish the Divine
two factors in the revelation, that which He has made known of Himself, the 0, T,
and which man can apprehend as addressed to him. Thus the Name of
God does not represent His Essence as He is in Himself but the manifesta- |
tion of Himself which He has been pleased to give: that view of His
Being and Character by which it is His will to be known, and under which
‘He anthorises man to address Him (comp. Gen. xvi. 13, xxxii. 29; Ex. vi. 3).
And as applied to men the new name symbolises a new state, a new work
and new powers for its falfilment (Apoe. ii. 17, iii. 12, xxii. 4).

Under this aspect the Name of God is used in two ways. It may
express some particular revelation, expressed by one definite title (Zi-
Shaddai, Jehovah, Father), or the whole sum of these manifold revelations
taken together as one supreme revelation (6 θεός, God).

Hence it comes to pass that the ‘Name’ often stands for God Himself
so far as it brings Him before man: Ex. xxiii. 21 (my Name is in Him, ¢.¢.
the Angel of the Covenant); 1 K. viii. 29 (the place of which Thou hast
said: My Name shall be there) ; Ia, xxx. 27 (Behold the Name of the Lord
cometh from far).

‘To blaspheme the Name’ was the same as ‘blaspheming the Name of
the Lord’ (Lev. xxiv. 11, 16), that is blaspheming God as He had revealed
Himself through Moses to His people (comp. Ex. vi. 3). And in the Acts
(di. 13, 16) it is said that the Name of ‘Jesus, the Servant of the God of
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob’ gave strength to the lame man (comp. Acts
iv. 30, 12).

15 follows as a natural consequence that the Divine Names in the Bible
give in a broad outline the course of revelation.

There is firat the general name Zi, Elohim, which expresses man’s
feeling after God, apart from any special revelation.

‘Then follows the patriarchal title ZlShaddai, which indicates the
exercise of the sovereign might of God for the fulfilment of His counsel.

Then the covenant name Jehovah, which is developed in the titles
‘the Holy One,’ ‘the Lord of Hosts.’

Then follows a silence, when the Divine Name is unspoken.

At last the revelation of the Father is given: ‘é πατὴρ µου καὶ πατὴρ
ἡμῶν καὶ θεός µου καὶ θεὸς ὑμῶν) (John xx. 17).

Two names present the two main views of God in the Ο. Τ., Zlohim
and Jehovah. The former, the generic name, gathers up what St Paul
speaks of a8 τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ...ἡ ἀῑδιος αὐτοῦ δύναµις καὶ θειότης (Rom. i.
19f.), all that man is made to recognise little by little from the study of his
own constitution and the world without. The latter, the proper name,
gathers up all that God made known of Himself in His dealings with His
people during the discipline of the first Covenant. Speaking generally

16—2

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN.

Elohim describes the God of Nature, Jehovah the God of revelation. Tho
former includes the ideas of the creation, preservation, and general fixed
government of finite things: the latter, the idea of living, progressive
intercourse with men, of whom Israel were for the time the representa-
tives, The great confession of the chosen people was to declare that the
God of revelation is the God for Whom man’s goul craves, One in His
infinite perfections: Deut. vi. 4 ‘Jehovah our Elohim (or is our Elohim),
Jehovah is One’ (comp. 1 John y. 20).

Not to dwell in detail here upon the Divine Names in the Ο. T. it must
be noticed that the idea of ‘the Name’ is no less prominent in the N.T.
‘Thus the Lord characterises His own Mission as a ‘Coming in the Name of
His Father’ (John v. 43); and the Mission of the Holy Spirit as a Mission in
His Name (John xiv. 26 ὁ πέµψει ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί µου). He glorified
His Father and manifested His Father’s Name to men (John xvii. 4, 6);
and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to glorify Him, and to take of His
and declare it to His disciples (John xvi. 14). In the one case, if we may
so speak, the Name of the Father was completely shown: God was made
known perfectly in this relation by the fact of the Incarnation. In the
other case the Church is learning little by little the Name of the Son.

The most complete expression of the Divine Name is that given in,
Matt. xxviii. 19 τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος,
but the essence of this Name so written at length is the simple Name
‘Jesus Christ’ or ‘the Lord Jesus, or even ‘ Jesus’ alone, when the context
determines the office attached to it : ὄν. Ἰ. Χρ. (Acts ii. 38, iii. 6, iv. το, viii.
12, x. 48, xvi. 18; 3». τοῦ κυρίου Ἰ. Acts viii. 16 (ix. 14) (αν. 26), xix. 5, 13,
17, xxi. 13; ὄν. Ἰ. iv. 18 (30), V. 20, ix. 27, xvi. 9).

In the Epistles the Name of revelation, the Lord’s Name, occurs in
several forms: ‘the Name of Christ’: 1 Pet. iv. 14 (16); ‘the Name of the
Lord’: James v. 14 (? contrast 2. 10); ‘the Name of our Lord Jesus’: 2
‘Thess. i. 12; ‘the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ’: 1 Cor. i. 2, 10; (v. 4,
vi. 3) Rom. i. 5; Eph. v. 20; (Cal i, 173) ‘the Name of Jesus",
Phil. ii 10. Compare Additional Note on 1 John iii. 23.

The phrase ‘the Name of God’ is found in the Epistles only in 1 Tim.
vi. 1, besides quotations from the uxx. (Hebr. vi. 10, xiii. 15), and the
context explains its use. In the Apocalypse it occurs xvi. 9 (comp. iii. 12).

The characteristic Name of God in the N.T. is ‘the Father’ (Matt. vi. 9;
John xii. 28; comp. Additional Note on i. 2).

From what has been said the full force of the phrases ‘to believe in the
name’ (πιστεύειν els τὸ dv. 1 John v. 13 note), ‘to ask in the name’ (John
xiv. 13 note), ‘to be gathered in (into els) the name’ (Matt. xviii. 20), ‘to
have life in the name’ (John xx. 31) becomes evident. In every case the
Name brings before the mind that aspect of the Divine Person which is
realised by faith in each action of the spiritual life.

In close connexion with the idea of the Divine Namo is that of the
Divine Glory (Introd. to Gosp. of St John pp. xlvii. ff.). The Name expresses
the revelation as it is apprehended and used by man. Man is called by the
Name and employs it. The Glory expresses rather the manifestation of the
Divine as Divine, as a partial disclosure of the Divine Majesty not directly

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 245

intelligible by man (comp. Ex. xxxiii 18ff). In this relation it is of
interest to notice that while St John’s Gospel is, in one aspect, a record of
the unfolding of the Divine Glory in Christ, there is no mention of Glory
in his Epistles. This is the more remarkable since the idea of Glory is
found in the Apocalypse and in all the other Epistles except that to
Philemon.

THE TWO EMPIRES:

THE.CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

ὁ Kdcmoc πδράγεται, Kal καὶ ἐπιθγμίὰ ayroy.

THE TWO EMPIRES.

1, Taam foundation of the two Empires contemporsneous.
The idea of the kingdom of God in the New Testament.

in the subapostolio ago.
The contrast of the two Empires.

IL The Christian Charch a necessary objest of persecution.
The necessity, though not realised at first, lies in the claims of Christianity.
1. Christianity universal.
‘Roman religion national.
Boman religious policy.
View of Celsus.
Corresponding ides of toleration.
No toleration for personal conviction.
Ancient idea of s national religion.
2. Obristianity absolute.
Contrast with polytheiam.
No compromise possible.
3+ Christianity aggressive.
Patristio view of idolatry.
SS
4 Obristianity spirit
Heathen ῥ έν of temporal and spiritual powers.

ΠΠ. The Christian idea of the World embodied in the Emperor.
Emperor-worship the climax of the imperial system.
Growth of hero-worship.

‘Two elements in emperor-worship.

The worship of the Genius.

‘The worship of power.
Consecration of Julius Caesar,

Rites of consecration.
Worship of Augustus st Rome.

» in the Provinoee.

Later consoarations.

1. The effect of the Apotheosis,

a, The effect of the worship of the Genius,
3. The law of treason,

THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE
WORLD.

The two ‘Tue coincidence of the establishment of the Roman Empire with
Empires the rise of Christianity has always attracted the attention of modern
oem historians. Even the early apologists saw a certain significance in
the fact. Melito addressing Marcus Aurelius describes the Christian
faith as a blessing of good omen (αἴσιον ἀγαθόν) to the reign of
Augustus, ‘And as his successor,’ he adds, ‘thou wast welcomed by
‘the prayers of the people, and wilt be welcomed if thou protectest
“the religious system (φιλοσοφία) which like α foster-sister grew with
‘the Empire and commenced with him’. The view thus given is
however essentially false in its estimate of the relation of the two
systems. Christianity was destined by its very nature not to save
but to destroy the Empire: at the same time their outward cor-
respondence was not leas full of meaning. All that was progressive
in the old world was united under one supreme head at the time
when the new faith was revealed which should bind the universe
together in a sovereign unity. Peace won by arms ushered in Him
who revealed the peace of life in God. So it was that the only
two powers which have claimed absolute dominion over mankind
appeared together. For three centuries each followed the necessary
law of ita development, Then at last the Empire was seen to have

1 Melito ap. Eusob. H. F. iv. 26, 8.

THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 251

failed; and the Church was seen to contain the forees which could
regenerate and rule the world. Diocletian when he finally organised
the old power of the State with the greatest political genius gave
the occasion for the concentration of the power of the Church and
” prepared the way for its victory.

The coincidence becomes more striking when account is taken of Chris-
the form under which Christianity was first presented to men. The pro”
message of the Gospel was essentially the proclamation of a Kingdom, “isimed
‘a Kingdom of heaven,’ ‘s Kingdom of God,’ ‘a Kingdom of the Son of Singdom.
‘Man.’ The coming of the Kingdom was the keynote of the preaching Matt.iii.
of John the Baptist and of Christ Himself, The disciples were the Matt, xi,
‘sons of the Kingdom.’ Asa King Christ died. During the great 3°; ,.
forty days He spoke of ‘the things pertaining to the Kingdom.’ When Acts vill.
the faith was first carried beyond the limits of Judea Philip an-

nounced in Samaria ‘the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.’ The Acts xvii.
τι

burden of St Pauls first teaching in Europe was that there was
‘another King than Cesar, even Jesus.’ The same apostle when he Acte xx.
sums up his work describes himself as having gone about ‘ preaching 5)
“the Kingdom of God’; and the last glimpse which is given of his
labours at Rome shews him there still preaching the Kingdom. ει gee
Everywhere the same idea is prominent in the history of the This idea
Acta and in the Apostolic letters. At one time it excites the the New
hostility of unbelievers; at another time it gives occasion to mis pont”
taken hopes in Christians. But however the truth was misrepre- though
sented and misunderstood, however much it gave occasion to unjust familiar
attacks and visionary expectations, it was still held firmly. The
idea may have grown somewhat unfamiliar to us now, but it is
clearly impressed upon the New Testament. The distinctness with
which we have learnt to realise our personal responsibility and
personal relationship to God in this last age of the Church has
brought with it some drawbacks, and this is one of them, that
the sense of a visible Kingdom of God on earth established in
righteousness and embracing all the fulness of humanity has been
deadened.
Still the two aspects of the Faith—the individual and social—

252

THE TWO EMPIRES :

are not only reconcilable: they are complementary. ach is neces-
sary to the completeness of the other. The individual view tends to
selfishness and isolation, when the larger scope of redemption is
neglected; the social view tends to enthusiastic dreams, when the
need of the transfiguration of every power of man is forgotten. So
it was that the early millenarian extravagancies gained currency.

7 But not to notice these, one or two illustrations will shew how the

faith in Obrist’s Kingdom in various shapes was a leading thought
in the subapostolic age. It was natural that this belief should be
most vivid in Palestine. Not long after the destruction of Jerusalem
the kinsmen of Christ being of the race of David were brought before
Domitian. He asked them, it is said, about Christ and His Kingdom,
its character, and the place and time of its appearance, and when he
heard that it was heavenly and spiritual and to be established at the
consummation of the age he released them as poor and contemptible
enthusiasts’, A generation later the belief in Christ’s Kingdom
became more formidable. The Jewish zealota found the Christian
teachers formidable opponents of their spurious patriotism. The
Roman governors confounded both as forming a dangerous and
disloyal body ; and Symeon the son of Clopas, being accused by
certain heretical teachers before the Roman Governor as a Christian
and of the race of David, was crucified’. To descend only one step
further, Justin Martyr writing to Antoninus Pius says ‘when you
‘hear that we look for a Kingdom you inconsiderately suppose that we
‘mean a human Kingdom, while we mean a Kingdom with God, as is
‘evident from the fact that when we are examined by you we confess
‘that we are Christians, though we know that death is the penalty
‘of confession. For if it had been a human Kingdom for which we
‘look, we ahould have denied in order to save our lives and have
‘endeavoured to remain undetected that we might obtain what we
‘look for ; but since our hopes do not rest upon the present order, we
‘do not heed those who take our lives, since in any case we must
‘die’?

1 Hegesippus, αρ. Ἐπκοῦ, H. E., ? Hegesippus, ap. Euseb., H.E. iii. 32.
iii, 20. 2 Just. M. Apol. i. rr.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 253

Even in this latest expression of the belief, the faith in ‘Christ a Chris.
«King’—the terms are practically synonymous—is still retained, and “nity
20 it must always be. The Christian creed cannot stop short of a social
social realisation. It deals with men not as isolated units but as ment.
members of a commonwealth. Opinions may differ as to the form
in which the society will be revealed, but the fact that Christianity
must issue in the perfection of social life, and must manifest its
power in dealings with social relations, cannot be lost sight of without
peril to the dignity and essence of the Faith.

It is, then, quite true to say that two Empires, two social organi- The con-
zations, designed to embrace the whole world, started together in the the two
first century. The one appeared in the completeness of its form: the Empires.
other only in the first embodiment of the vital principle which
included all after-growth. But the two Empires had nothing in
common except their point of departure and their claim to univer-
sality, In principle, in mode of action, in sanctions, in scope, in
history they offer an absolute contrast, The Roman Empire was
essentially based on positive law; it was maintained by force; it
appealed to outward well-doing; it aimed at producing external
cooperation or conformity. The Christian empire was no less essen-
tially based on faith: it was propagated and upheld by conviction:
it lifted the thoughts and working of men to that which was spiritual
and eternal: it strove towards the manifold exhibition of one
common life, The history of the Roman Empire is from the first
the history of a decline and fall, checked by many noble efforts
and many wise counsels, but still inevitable. The history of the
Christian Empire is from the first the history of a victorious
progress, stayed and saddened by frequent faithlessness and self-
seeking, but still certain and assured though never completed.

IL

It is in the reality of this contrast, though it was but seldom christian-
consciously apprehended, that the final necessity of the persecution ree.
which was directed by the Empire against the Church must be rected.

254

The ne-
cossity not
realised at
first,

and dis-
sembled.

THE TWO EMPIRES:

found. For Α time the waxing power might not seem sufficiently
great to awaken the jealousy of that which was upon the wane.
But sooner or later a conflict for existence was unavoidable ; and for
this supreme struggle the earlier encounters were a preparation,
revealing the character of the rival forces and shewing what interests
were substantially at stake.

At first, however, the nature of the contrast was not fully under-
stood. The apologists constantly ask why a freedom of life and
worship should be refused to the Christians which was granted to
others, ‘We say the same as the Greeks,’ Justin Martyr writes,
‘and yet we alone are hated for the name of Christ, and while we do
‘no wrong are put to death as sinners, though men in different
‘places worship trees and rivers and mice and cats and crocodiles...”
‘In the Roman Empire,’ Athenagoras writes to Marcus Aurelius,
‘men observe various customs and laws, and no one is prevented by
‘law and fear of punishment from devotion to his national obser-
‘vances even if they be absurd...But for us Christians you have
“taken no care, and you allow us though we are guilty of no crime...
‘to be harassed and plundered and persecuted...*’ ‘Yet it is great
‘folly to plead that we do not approach and admit the same gods as
‘our several cities do. In fact the men who accuse us of not
“believing in any gods, because we do not hold the same as they
‘acknowledge, do not agree amongst themselves about the gods...
«If then we are impious because we do not share their religion, all
‘cities and all nations are impious; for they do not all admit the
“same gods’?

The same kind of argument has been used with a different
purpose by other authors. It is argued that some strange change
must have come over ‘the mild indifference of antiquity’ if we are to
receive the popular accounts of the persecutions. Appeal is made
to ‘the universal toleration of polytheism’ as if that would have
naturally admitted Christianity at least to the privilege of conni-
vance. Insinuations are thrown out that if the Ohristians suffered
they were themselves to blame.

1 Justin M, Apol, i. 24. Athenagoras, Leg. pro Christ, 0,1. * ido. 14.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 255

There is certainly a sense in which these statements are true. The
The policy of heathenism was changed, because it had to deal with pernrA
an antagonistic and not with a co-ordinate belief. The martyrs might unique | A
have escaped tortures and death by the affectation or semblance of Chris-
conformity to popular customs, but such conformity would have Sanity.
involved a complete sacrifice of their faith. Christians were not
contented with permission to exercise their personal religion without
molestation: they demanded freedom for expansion and conquest.

If indeed a distinct conception be formed of what Christianity is, it
will be evident that a sincere and zealous pagan could not but perse-
cute it, The Christian Faith is universal: it is absolute: it is ag-
gressive; and once more it is spiritual and not only temporal. On all
these grounds it necessarily came into collision with the Roman laws,

1. Christianity is universal. This characteristic places it at 1. Chris-
once in opposition with every form of polytheism. Polytheism is SAMY
distinctively national. The gods which receive the honour of any
state are connected with it by special ties. Among the Romans this Nationa.
belief was bound up with the whole history of their empire, The Lt of
pledge of their dominion was the venerable monument of their Tligion.
ancient faith. The permanence of traditional rites was held to be
the condition of the prosperity of the family and of the State.

‘Sacra privata perpetuo manento’’ was the principle which underlay
the continuity of domestic life. ‘Sacra majorum perire nefas’* was
the comprehensive rule which animated and controlled civil policy.
In these two maxims that ‘natural piety’ which gave coherence and
unity to the growing commonwealth found a natural and effec-
tive expression, Victory was the gift of the national gods: disaster
was the retribution for neglecting them. ‘I have found that some,’
writes Arnobius, ‘who believe that their conclusions are very wise
‘affect the airs and language of inspiration, and say, as if they were
‘quoting an oracle, that since the race of Christians has come into the
‘world the whole earth has been ruined, that mankind has been visited

1 Cio. de Legg. ii. 9. 3 Serv. Aen, iii, 104.

256

Roman
policyasto
religion,

THE TWO EMPIRES:

‘with manifold disasters, that the very gods have abandoned their
‘customary functions, wherein they once used to bestow care on our
‘ affairs, and haye been banished from the realms of earth....Nay more,
“exasperated by the wrongs and insults of Christians they send, it is
‘said, pestilences and droughts, wars, dearth, locusta, mice and hail
‘and other noxious pests by which the conduct of life is plagued’.’? A
hundred and fifty years of Christian supremacy could not eradicate
the feeling which survived the faith out of which it had grown; and
in the last and, in some respecta, the greatest of the Apologies
Augustine laboured to shew that the desolation of Italy was not due
to the abandonment of the old national worship’.

The conviction which was thus inwrought into the popular mind
was adopted and used by statesmen. The language which Mscenas
is said to have addressed to Augustus when he set before him his
views on the right administration of the Empire exactly expresses
what a thoughtful Roman would feel on the claims of religion :
«Everywhere and in every way show reverence for the divine power
‘ (x0 θεῖον) yourself according to the rites of your fathers (κατὰ τὰ πάτρια)
‘and compel all others to honour it. Those who introduce any
‘strange opinion on the subject (τοὺς ξενίζοντάς [αξ. Acts xvii. 20] τι
‘rept αὐτό) visit at once with hatred and chastisement, not only for
«the sake of the gods, though he who despises them would not re-
‘gard anything else, but because such men by introducing strange
‘divinities (καινά τινα δαιμόνια) in place of the old persuade many
«men to adopt foreign laws, and from this cause conspiracies and
‘combinations and societies are formed, which are by no means ex-
‘pedient for a monarchy. Do not tolerate then anyone who dis-
‘believes in the gods (ἄθεος) or practises superstitious arts (yons)*.’

The form of the words, which Dion uses, seems to have an oblique
reference to what he had heard of the Christians of his own time, but

1 Arnob. adv. Nat. i. 13. bueret si temporibus Christianis vide-
3 For example, after enumerating ret? Et tamen diis suis non ista tri-
some of the disasters of the Empi buunt; quorum ideo cultum requirant
in pre-Christian times, Augustine asks: ne ista vel minora patiantar cam ea
Talis itaque vanitas quslem ferimus majora pertulerint a quibus antes cole-

eique respondere compellimur, quid bantar (Aug. de Civ. ifi. 31).
horum non Christianae relligioni tri- 3 Dion Cass, lii, 36.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

their spirit is perfectly consonant with that of the Augustan age.
National usage was the criterion of worship. The sanctity which
age brings to ceremonies and temples is exactly proportioned to their
antiquity’. ᾿ ‘Religious respect,’ to use the words of a later writer,
‘is not lessened but increased by time.’

Such views were eminently characteristic of Roman policy, but
they were not peculiar to it. The same thoughts were emphatically
set forth as a general principle by Celsus in his work against Christi-
anity. ‘Each nation,’ he says, ‘observes its national rites whatever
‘they may happen to be. And this custom is advantageous, not only
‘in so far as different people have conceived the idea of different
‘institutions, and men ought to keep what has been ratified for
‘common use ; but also because, in all probability, the different parts
‘of the earth were originally assigned to different presiding powers
‘(érorrai) and distributed according to certain sovereignties, and are
‘so administered. Consequently the observances in each nation
‘will be rightly conducted if they are directed according to their
‘several views ; and it is impious (οὐχ ὅσιον) to abrogate what has
“been originally instituted in each particular place’.” A universal
religion, he says elsewhere, is absolutely inconceivable. ‘If anyone
‘supposes that it is possible that the inhabitants of Asia and Europe
‘and Africa, Greeks and barbarians, should agree to follow one law,
‘he is hopelessly ignorant*.”

From these passages it is easy to see what was the corresponding
idea of toleration. It was toleration based upon the mutual recog-
nition of partial claims. Its symbol and monument was the Pan-
theon. As nation after nation was incorporated in the victorious
body, new forms of worship received a limited sanction for the pro-
tection of those who are already devoted to them. The conquerors
accepted together with the province the duty of reverence to the
unseen powers under whose guardianship it had been placed. In
the striking words of a pagan advocate ‘they did homage to the
‘vanquished deities while still inflamed with the wild passion of

1 Minue. Fel. Oct. 6. 2 Celsus ap. Orig. ο. Cels. v. 25,

3 id, ap. Orig. 1. ο. viii. 72.
w. 17

257

The same

by Coleus.

Corre-
nding

idea of

toleration,

258 THE TWO EMPIRES :

‘victory : they sought for strange gods and made them their own...
‘They took upon themselves the religious services of every nation in
‘the world, and so deserved and won the sovereignty of all (dum
‘universarum gentium sacra suscipiunt etiam regna meruerunt)’.’
But this manifold worship was based upon the co-ordination and not
upon the confusion of rites. It recognised a variety of obligations
and not a freedom of choice: fixity and not indifference of form. No
individual Roman could claim the personal right of adopting the
tolerated ritual. The venerable law of the Twelve Tables remained
unrepealed : ‘No one shall have gods for himself alone at his own
‘pleasure, and men shall not worship in private new or foreign gods
“unless they be adopted by the State* (separatim nemo habescit deos,
‘neve novos sive advenas nisi publice adscitos privatim colunto).?
Nor did it remain unenforced. When from time to time under the
Republic great calamities drove the people to look for help in strange
ceremonies, the government vindicated the purity of the national
religion and forbade the worship of foreign gods or of Roman gods in
a novel manner’. Under the Empire, when the confusion of ritual
was more widespread, the same principle was not unfrequently
asserted and general restrictions were placed upon the celebration of
strange ceremonies. Augustus would not allow ‘Egyptian rites’ to
be performed within the pomerium, and when the rule was broken
removed them a mile further from the city‘. Tiberius acted with
greater severity when, as we may suppose, the forbidden worship
was spreading among the Roman population. He suppressed ‘the
‘Egyptian and Jewish rites’ throughout Italy by a decree of the
senate, banished four thousand of the class of freedmen who were
‘infected with that superstition’ and required all who held it to
abjure before a certain day on pain of banishment from Italy’, A
definite penalty was attached to the crime of proselytising. ‘If any
‘one,’ it was enacted, ‘introduces new rites (relligiones) unknown in
1 Minuc. Fel. Oct. c.6. Macrobius
(iii. 9) gives the formula of invocation 3
addressed to the deities of a besieged , 23 liv. 6.
city. 5 Tac. Ann. ii, 85. Comp. Suet.
2 Cic, de Legg. ii. 9. Tid. 36; Josephus, Ant. xviii. 5 (4).

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 259

use or principle (usu vel ratione), if he be of a higher station he
‘is banished (honestiores deportantur): if of a lower he is put to
‘death’

There were exceptional circumstances under which the State
sanctioned the worship of atrange deities, in which case any citizen
might practise the foreign rites without reproach. Even Isis and
Serapis found at last an acknowledged place in the public service’;
and it was the popular belief among Christians at the end of the
seoond century that Tiberius and perhaps Hadrian, like Alex-
ander Severus at a later date, had designed to extend this recog-
nition to Christ’. But this coordination of new deities with the
old brought no relief from the original obligations of the Roman.

He could no more legally divest himself of his religion than of his
country, To refuse homage to the gods of the State was essentially
treason.

I in obvious that Christianity could not under any circumstances No tole-
claim protection from toleration, if it can be so called, based on “ion till
such principles as these, It came forward as a universal religion, times for
It could not take a place as one among many; and this was the gonvie-
utmost which ancient modes of thought could concede to it. The
idea of toleration as expressing a respect for personal conviction was
utterly unknown to the statesmen of the old world. It found no
clear expression in the new world till the seventeenth century.

The toleration of the Empire was in effect not unlike toleration in
Russia now : it accepted diversities which had established themselves
by actual existence, but it allowed no change away from the national
faith. And yet more than this at its first appearance Christianity
could receive no benefit which such toleration as this could confer.
It was a rebellion against the principle on which the toleration was
founded. It was a new faith and therefore absolutely to be con-
demned, Judaism had at least the attribute of antiquity. But no
crime could be greater in the eye of a Roman legislator than to call
again into question what had once been settled and gained general cur-

1 Jul. Paul. Sent, Rec. v.a1,§2. ‘Lamprid. Commodus, 9.
3 Spartian. Caracalla, 9. Comp, 3 Enseb. H.E. ii, 2.

17-2

260

The an

επί idea
Sfaational
religion.

THE TWO EMPIRES :

rency’. As time went on, however, the Christian Faith was gradually
delivered from this accusation of novelty, though the rise of various
forms of heresy frequently exposed the orthodox to the charge of
innovation and fresh unsettling of the minds of men. The arguments
of the apologists may have produced some effect by shewing that it
answered to the earliest instincts of humanity. They could plead
that in the consideration of eternity nothing is to be called late: that
when there is no beginning and no end, nothing is before its time or
behind 16: that the divine counsels are one and fixed, manifested in a
definite order and liable to no change*. But even when Christianity
had won by heroic endurance some consideration for age, when it was.
no longer condernned without ϱ hearing for the fatal defect of recent
origin, it stood none the less necessarily in antagonism with the
spirit of the Empire. It maintained, as we have seen, one universal
form of religion against many national forms. And the consequences
of the antagonism will be found. to be more far reaching, if we con-
sider a little more in detail what the Roman theory of a national
religion was.

According to this the national religion was a part of the his-
torical development and habits of the nation, a mode of expressing
certain thoughts and convictions which could no more be changed
than language. The augurs might not believe their own art:
generals might despise it, but still Cicero adds: ‘Those who put to
‘sea against the auspices deserve any punishment. They were bound
‘to obey the claims of religion: they ought not to have set aside by
‘arbitrary self-will the custom of their ancestors®.’ ‘No man’s spirit,”
says Cotta in another place‘, ‘be he learned or unlearned, will ever
‘move me from the opinion which I have received from my ancestors.
‘about the worship of the immortal gods.’ Varro in treating of the

1 Dioolet. ed. adv. Manich: Dii im-
mortales providentia sua ordinare et
disponere dignati sunt, que bona et
vera sunt, ut multoram et bonorum
et egregiorum virorum et sapientissi-
morum consilio et tractatu illibata
probarentur et statuerentur: quibus
neo obviam ire neo resistere fas est,
neque reprehendi a nova vetus religio

debet. Maximi enim criminis est re-
tractare que semel ab antiquis statute
οἱ definita suum statum et cursum
tenent a0 possident (Cod. Greg. Lib.
xiv. [yit. iv.]; Haenel, pp. 45 ff.).

3 Arnob. adv. ale, ii. 75.

3 Cio. de Div. ii.

4 Gio. de Nat. Dear. ii 2, 6.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 261

Roman mythology admitted, according to Augustine, that his own
judgment did not approve it, but said that ‘since it existed in an old
‘people he ought to maintain it as it was received from the ancients,
and that his writings and investigations were directed to that end
“that the common people might be more willing to worship the gods
‘than to despise them'.’ Nor is Augustine unjustly severe when he
-sums up the teaching of Seneca on the popular belief in the following
words: ‘The man whom philosophy in some sense had made free,
‘still because he was a dignified senator of the Roman people,
“worshipped that which he blamed, did that which he arraigned,
“adored that with which he found fault, Philosophy, we must con-
‘clude, had taught him a famous lesson, not to be superstitious in
‘the world, but for the sake of the laws of the State and the
«manners of men to recognise the duty of imitating an actor in the
“temple though he was not to perform his part upon the stage; and
“yet he was exposed to more just condemnation in that he played
“his false part so that the people thought he was in earnest, while
‘the player rather gives pleasure by illusion than leads astray by
“deceit*.’

2. Here then lies the second difference between imperial pa- 2; Chris
ganism and Christianity which made persecution inevitable. Christi- absolute.
anity is absolute. It can admit no compromise. It is essentially
grounded upon personal conviction and not accepted as an accident of
descent, It is embodied in a Church which is held together by unity
of faith ; and not in a Nation which represents at least unity of race.

Nothing struck the apologists with more amazement than the
first natural consequence which followed from this difference between
the Christian and heathen conceptions of religion. They saw the
popular gods held up to mockery upon the stage, degraded in the
works of poets, ridiculed by philosophers", and they could ποὺ recon-

-cile such license and sarcasm with resolute devotion. But to the

1 Varro, ap. Aug. de Civ. iv. 31, 1. + Just. M. Apol. i. 43 Theoph. ad
2 Ang. de Civ. vi. 10, 3. Autol. iii, 3, 8; Tertull. Apol. 46.

262

THE TWO EMPIRES:

polytheist of the empire—and to all later polytheists—the offices of
worship were an act of public duty and not of private confession.
Outward conformity in act was owed to the State, complete freedom
in opinion and word was allowed to the worshipper. There was no-
complete and necessary correspondence between the form and the:
thought. With the Christian it was otherwise. His religion in
every detail was the expression of his soul. So it was that the
Christian confessor would make no compromise. This phenomenon
was 8 novel one; and we can see in the records of the martyrdoms.
how utterly the magistrates were incapable of understanding the
difficulty which Christians felt in official conformity. In their judg-
ment it was perfectly consistent with religious faith to drop the
morsel of incense on the fire, and still retain allegiance to Christ.
All that they required was the appearance of obedience and not the
distinct expression of conviction. ‘Have regard for thy gray hairs’
or, ‘for thy tender youth’ was the common appeal of a merciful
judge, who failed to apprehend that the faith of the Christian like his.
own being was one, “What harm is it to say ‘O Lord Owsar’ and to
“sacrifice and be saved,” was the well-meant expostulation which
was addressed to Polycarp on his way to trial’. When Dionysius.
of Alexandria was brought before the magistrate he was urgently
preased to do honour to the gods who were the saviours of the
Empire. ‘We believe in one God and Maker of all things,’ was his.
reply, ‘who gave the empire into the hands of Valerian and Gallienus .
‘Him we reverence and worship; and to Him we pray constantly
‘that their empire may remain undisturbed.’ ‘Who prevents you.
‘then,’ was the answer, ‘from worshipping Him also if indeed he is a
“god together with the natural gods"??

We have passed now into a region of religious thought so different
from that of polytheism, that it is perhaps difficult for us to feel the
sincerity of such words, Still undoubtedly they were sincere ; and to
refuse to listen to them was held to be, as Pliny said, criminal obstinacy.
But the concession which seemed reasonable to the polytheist was.
impossible to the Christian, because his faith was personal. Το

1 Euseb. H. E. iv. 15, 13. 3 Buseb. Η. Ε. vii. 11, 6.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

abandon wilfully the least fragment of it was to abandon all. When
the father of Perpetua, an African martyr, sought to turn her from
confession by consideration for his own sorrow, ‘My father,’ she said,
‘do you see this vessel lying here, a flagon or the like?’ ‘I see it,’ he
said. ‘Can it then be called by any other name than what it is?’ And
he said, ‘No.’ ‘So I,’ she continued, ‘cannot say that I am anything
“but what I am, a Christian’.’ Thus the acceptance of the faith was
personal, and the faith itself was personal. It sprang from the
devotion of the whole soul : it was directed to one who was known
to be a loving Lord. ‘Do you suppose,’ said the prefect Rusticus to
Justin, ‘that you will ascend up to heaven to receive some recom-
‘pense there?’ ‘I do not suppose,’ was the martyr’s ready correction,
“but I know it (οὐχ ὑπονοῶ ἀλλ ἐπίσταμαι καὶ πεπληροφόρηµαι)".
When the proconsul urged Polycarp to reproach Christ he could but
make one answer : ‘Eighty and six years have I continued to serve
‘Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I speak evil
‘of my King who saved me*’? Even a young boy could declare when
the offer of pardon and favour was made to him on the condition
of renouncing Ohrist, ‘I am Christ’s servant. I confess Him with
‘my mouth. I bear Him in my heart. I worship Him without
‘ceasing*.’ Out of this personality of faith, consecrated by the opera-
tions and ordinances of one Spirit, grew a body greater and nobler
than a nation. ‘There was a time,’ Tertullian says to his heathen
readers, ‘when we also laughed at the doctrines which we now teach,
‘We come from among your number. Christians are made Chris-
‘tians and not born Christians (fiunt non nascuntur Christiani)*’
The words which are true now in a spiritual sense were true to a
large measure literally in the first centuries, In this way the con-
ception of the grandest visible communion of men was gradually
defined. If lineage has no authoritative power to impose a creed,
there must be a society beyond the state answering to the free
harmony of spiritual fellowship. At present it is sufficient simply

1 Acta 88. Perpet. et Felic.§i.2. v.15, 16.
3 Acta 8. Justini, § 5. «deta 8. Felic. § 3.
3 Mart. Ῥοΐψο. § 6. Euseb. H.E. 5 Tertull. Apol. 18.

263

264

THE TWO EMPIRES:

to notice the necessity of this last antagonism of the Church and the
Empire. We shall have to consider afterwards the form in which it
was manifested.

3. Since Christianity claimed in this way to be a universal and

absolute religion, it was necessarily aggressive. Not only was the

Christian unable to admit that the old faiths ought to receive any
respect from himself: he felt also that they were positively false and
pernicious, They must be assailed and not tolerated. ‘We affirm,’
writes Justin Martyr, ‘that the spirits (δαίµονας) who did [what is
‘recorded in the heathen mythologies] not only were not gods but
‘were evil and unholy spirits whose actions are not like those even
“of men whose heart is set on virtue. For that cause we are called
‘atheists; and we confess that we are atheists in respect of such gods
‘as are popularly received, but not in respect of Him who is the
* most true God, the Father of justice and temperance and every other
‘virtue, untouched by evil’.’ So it was that one of the first popular
cries against the Christians was ‘Away with the atheists’ ‘We
‘are guilty,’ Tertullian pleads, ‘if you can prove that your gods are
‘gods, But we appeal from yourselves to your own conscience. I am
‘content for that to judge us, to condemn us, if it can deny that all
‘your vaunted gods were men,’

But, as we have already seen, while the Christian affirmed that
the heathen gods were no gods, he attributed to them and to their
worship a malignant spiritual power. It was in this way, he held,
that the evil spirits—demons—tried to thwart the counsels of God,
enslaving men to themselves, deceiving them by false prodigies,
diverting them from the sources of truth, bringing discredit on the
faith, stirring up persecution, and that with the greatest success
because they knew much of the divine scheme‘. These, it was
argued, invested with a semblance of life the worship of the dead,

1 Just. Apol. i. ῃ fora GpOots read 3 Tertull. Apol. 10. Comp. Athenag.
μὴ θεού. Comp. § Leg. pro Christ. 4 ff.

3 Mart. Ῥοΐψο. ή 3 Euseb. H.E. — * Just. M. Apol. i. 14, 141 Apol. ii,
iv. 15, 15+ 19, 8.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 265

and the worship of idols, striving to keep men from searching for the
true God. ‘It is not men who persecute us of themselves,’ Lactantius
writes, ‘for they have no cause of anger against the innocent; but
‘those stained and lost spirits, who know the truth and hate it,
“introduce themselves into their minds and goad them unwittingly
*to madness... ..seeking either to diminish through suffering the
‘faith of those who believe, or to remove them wholly from the
‘earth......7'.

This conviction gave a stern reality to the conflicts of the The

martyrs, Their struggle was not against mere phantoms and me Tiea
names, but against actual powers of darkness ‘Who art thou,’ MD
‘Trajan is reported to have said to Ignatius, ‘that strivest to trans- Powers of
+ gress our ordinances, thou man of an evil spirit (κακοδαίµων) 1’ ‘No
one,’ Ignatius replies, ‘misnames the man who bears God within
“him a man of an evil spirit: for the spirits depart from the ser-
*vants of God. But if thou callest me evil towards the spirits
“because 1 vex them, I accept the title; for since I possess Christ
‘the heavenly King, I destroy their devices*’ ‘I have already told
‘you,’ said Symphorian to the judge before whom he was accused
of dishonouring the statue of Cybele, ‘I am a Christian. I worship
‘the true God who reigns in heaven. The image of a demon I
‘not only do not worship, but if you allow me at my own risk I
+ will dash it to pieces”.

The intensity of this belief could not but manifest itself in Constant
‘all the details of life. The pagan temples were to Christians like Sat”
unclean sepulchres, of which they were tempted to shew their it social
loathing openly‘. ‘How long,’ said a bishop when he passed by
9 temple erected to the Genius of the emperor whom he had just
left, ‘ how long shall this tomb stand‘?’ ‘A Christian,’ Celsus says,
“argues, Lo I stand by the statue of Zeus, or Apollo or whatever
‘God it may be, and revile it and smite it and it takes no vengeance
‘on me®.’ And though Origen condemns such conduct as lawless and

1 Lactant. Instit. v.22. Comp.ii.17. Oct. 8.
3 Mart. Ign. § 2. 5 Amm. Marvell. xxii. rr.

3 Acta S. Symphor. § 2. © Orig. ο. Cels. viii. 38.
4 Tertall, de idol. 13. Minue. Fel.

266

in domes-
tie life.

THE TWO EMPIRES:

rude, it is eaay to see that zeal would often be carried beyond the
limits of reason and good order. Heathenism indeed was so mixed
up with the ordinary routine of society and home that the believer
would be forced to stand in a position of continual protest. The
Proceedings of the courts, the public ceremonies, the ordinary
amusements were more or less connected with idolatrous forms
or observances. The smoking altar constantly called for some
sign of abhorrence’. The universal presence of the images of the
gods made watchful caution a necessity for the believer. The
common language of familiar conversation often required a dis-
claimer of the superstition on which it was framed’.

Thus it was that in the ordinary conduct of social intercourse,
and in the closer relationships of life, collisions between Christian
conviction and heathen practice were necessarily more frequent
and more perilous. Tertullian has left a lively and well-known
picture of the difficulties which from hour to hour beset a Christian
wife married to a heathen. ‘She certainly cannot,’ he writes,
‘satisfy the Lord when she has beside her a slave of the devil,
‘an agent of his master to hinder the objects and duties of the
‘faithful ; so that if she has a station to keep, her husband makes
‘an appointment early to meet her at the baths: if a fast is to
‘be observed, her husband on the same day has a feast: if she
‘has to go out, then above all other times engagements with her
‘household interfere...’ ‘Will you be unobserved,’ he continues
addressing the woman, ‘when you sign [ie. with the cross] your
‘couch, your person, when you express outwardly your abhorrence
*(flatu explodis) of something unclean, when you rise up even by
‘night to pray? and will you not seem to be engaged in some rite
‘of magic? Your husband will not know what you taste in secret
“before every meal ; and if he learns that it is bread, he does not
‘believe that it is that which it is said to be. And while he is
‘ignorant on this, will be in each case be ready simply to admit
‘your explanation, without an expression of sorrow, without a sus-
“picious question whether it be bread or poison’?

1 Tertull, de idol. 11. 2 Ida. 5 Tertull. ad uzor. ii. 4, 5.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 267

Under such circumstances the Christian could not but be ring
brought frequently into direct opposition to the popular faith, how- kept alive
ever carefully he might avoid positions of danger, and however O70 a)
liberally he might interpret the law of charity. The canes might %*
be rare where the conscript refused to serve in the army or accept
the badge of his enlistment’, where the soldier refused to imitate
his comrades in wearing the crown which he interpreted as the
symbol of slavery to a heathen power’, where the yearly banquet
on the emperor's birthday stirred the conscience of the centurion
and moved him to cast off the symbol of his profession’; but
these kept the idea of the conflict present to the minds of men,
und invested the smaller divergences in thought and conduct with
their real importance,

4 In this way Ohristianity challenged persecution. It was 4, Chris
universal and therefore it could not acquiesce in a place beside spiritual.
national religions: it was absolute and therefore it could not yield
the tribute of conformity to the state worship : it was aggressive,
because it was universal and absolute, and therefore it could not
in the end fail to come into conflict with the civil power. These
characteristics are all consequences or special forms of one funda-
mental characteristic, Christianity was spiritual and not temporal.

For the Ohristian the state was not the highest power. He owed
allegiance to a greater Sovereign than the Emperor.

This essential difference between the two Kingdoms may be Confusion
expressed in another form. In the Empire the spiritual and tem. ανα,
porel powers, the ideas of worship and law, of progress and order, Pm. in
were completely confused: in Christianity they are distinctly ο ee ve.
parated. Just as all the various functions of government were con-
centrated in the Emperor, so also the traditional reverence for
natural ties, for all that in which the ancestral ‘pietas’ found
scope, was directed to him. As the gods were removed further

1 Acta 8. Mazimiliant, Buinart, p. 3 Tertall. de cor. mil. 1.
300. 3 Acta 8. Marcelli, Buinart, p. 302.

268

‘The World
embodied
in the
Emperor.

Emperor-
worship
the climax
of the
imperial
system.

THE TWO EMPIRES :

from the affairs and thoughts of men, the state became the symbol
of that which was permanent and sovereign; and in the Emperor
the state was personified, The principle was laid down from the
first but it was only realised by degrees. It was natural that
Augustus should refuse the title of ‘Lord':’ it was hardly less
natural that Domitian should claim to be styled ‘Our Lord and
God*.’

TL.

The claim of Domitian is a startling illustration of a fact which
has an important bearing on apostolic thought and language. The posi-
tion assumed by the Roman Emperor gave a distinctness to the con-
ception of ‘the world’ in the first age which it is very difficult for
us now to realise. ‘The world’ was not then an abstraction but, to
take an obvious illustration, the most definite power which received
worship at Ephesus in the time of St John. The inscriptions which
decorated the places of public resort could not fail to keep before the
inhabitants of that city this clear and intelligible service in which
that which is earthly obtained consecration in its earthlinesa. In
the Emperor ‘the world’ found 8 personal embodiment and claimed
divine honour. ι

The growth of the worship of earthly sovereignty is a singular
episode in the history of the Empire, or rather it is the essential
moral of it. As the faith which was founded upon sacrifice
grew to be a supreme power, 6ο on the other side men found in
triumphant force that which could command their immediate

1 Buet. Oct. 53.

1 Suet. Domit. 13. There are two
coins of Aurelian which bear the in-
scriptions: Deo et domino nato (comp.
Bullet. di Arch. Christ. x. 8. 1883 ΡΡ.
6rf.) and Deo et domino nostro. The
head of the Emperor is rayed and on
the reverse is the inscription: Restitut .
orbis, Eckhel, vii. 482. There are three
types of coins of Carus with the inscrip-
tion: Deo et Domino Caro. Eckhel,
vii. 508. ‘These coins seem to have

been struck during the lifetime of the
Emperors. Eckhel, 1.ο. There is a oon-
secration ocin of the latter Emperor
with the inscription: @ew Κδρω ceB
and on the reverse agiepwcic : Eok-
hel, vii. sog.

On the use of the titles Dominus
and Deus on coins see Spanheim, De
Prast. et usu nummorum, ii. 482 8.:
4895. Compare also Tert, Apol. 34
and on the other hand Dion Cass, lv.
12 (δεσπότην).

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 269

homage. On a selfish view of life, where the visible is the measure
of hope and aspiration, this is indeed the necessary end to which
worship comes. That which may have been the worship of heroes
degenerates into the worship of conquerors. The idolatry of service
passes into the idolatry of success,

The later period of Grecian history shews the transition from The
the adoration of the unseen to the adoration of the seen, from the fom oF
conception of gods to the conception of divine men, whose divinity ¥o™biP-
was recognised first in true nobleness and then in mere strength’,

The certain symptoms of the change are found in the time of the
Peloponnesian War, but as yet the feeling which guided it was
generous. The honours which the people of Amphipolis paid to
Brasidas were at least given to one who had died for the inde-
pendence of their city*; and Lysander to whom first religious
honours were paid while still living had crowned his country with
a decisive victory®. Even in the next stage the magnificent exploits
of Alexander might seem to offer some excuse for the assumption
of more than human dignity; but with his successors in Syria

and Egypt simple selfishness was consecrated‘

1 It is said that Darius the father of
Xerxes first recéived from the Egyp-
tians the title of ‘God’ in hie life-
time. Diod. Sia, i. 95.

3 Τηπογᾶ.
gave to Dion
Diod. Bic. xvi. 20. Herodotus gives
an earlier example of hero-worship,
which he says was unprecedented, in
the case of Philippus of Crotona, a
vietor at Olympia, and the hand-
somest man of his time. After his
death, he says, the Egestmans, διὰ
τὸ ἑωῦτοῦ κάλλοε ἐπὶ τοῦ τάφου αὐτοῦ
ἠἡρῷον ἱδρυσάμενοι θυσίῃσι αὐτὸν [λάσκον-
ται (Herod. v. 47).

3 Plat. Lysander, 18. Comp. Athe-
nag. Leg. 14, who gives other examples.
Honours similar to those paid to Ly-
sander were paid to T. Quinct. Flami-
ninus at Chalcis in the time of Plutarch
(x1 καὶ καθ ἡμᾶν). This was the close
of the Pman sung at the sacrifice in his
honour:

The old beliefs

µάλπετε, κοῦραι,

Ἰῆνα µέγαν Ῥώμαν τε Tirov ϐ aya

"Ῥωμαίων τε πίστιν.
“Tue Παιάν, ὦ Tire σῶτερ.
Plat. Titus, ο. 16.

Suetonins speaks of the erection of
temples in honour of proconsuls as
an ordinary honour: Templa quamvis
sciret [Augustus] etiam proconsulibus
decerni solere, in nulla tamen provin-
cia nisi communi suo Romeque no-
mine recepit (Oct. ο. 52). So Cicero
takes credit to himeelf for having de-
clined the compliment : Ep. ad Att. x.
a1. 73 ad Quint. fri. 1, 26. But in
such cases the temple was not erected
to the officer, but in honour of him,
though the transition from the one
thought to the other became easy a-
mong degenerate races.

4 For the worship of the Ptolemies
see Theoer. Id. xvii.

It was with better reason that Deme-
trius obtained divine honours at Si-

270

Extendsto
Rome.

THE TWO EMPIRES:

had died out. Euhemerus had Isboured to shew that the persons
of the popular mythology were mortal heroes, and there was no
longer any faith behind, which such beings could embody and repre-
sent. It was then only » step to substitute a power present at
least and real for that which was not different in kind and obscured
Great sovereigns were felt to be more powerful than the
ancient gods; and the language in which Tertullian describes the
popular feeling of his own time in Africa was already true three or
four centuries earlier in the kingdoms of Alexander's successors.
Atheism was a less serious charge than disloyalty. The majesty of a
god was less august than that of a monarch ; ‘for,’ he adds, saying
of his countrymen what was equally applicable to the subjects of an
Antiochus or a Ptolemy, ‘you regard the Emperor with a greater
‘dread, and more calculating fearfulness than Olympian Jove himself
«...you would sooner forswear yourselves by all the gods than by the
single genius of Cesar'.’

The general unbelief in spiritual powers which thus grew up in
the Greek kingdoms of the East after the conquest of Alexander soon
spread to the West. The speculations of Euhemerus found an
advocate at Rome in the poet Ennius*. At the same time however
the national Italian faith in the gods of the family—the Lares,
the Manes, the Genius—modified the results which they were
calculated to produce. Such a faith declared that in man there is
something more than what is called human. The life of the family,
of the clan, of the state was acknowledged to be Divine, and to have
‘Roma’ was already worshipped
asa goddess, and assumed before long the figure and attributes of
Pallas’. If the belief in the ancient divi

by time.

a connexion with an unseen order.

ities was gone, some con-

oyon: τιμῶν ἰσοθέων ἔτυχε παρὰ τοῖς eB
παβοῦσι (Diod. Sio. xx. 102).

inscription on an altar found at ‘Ro-
‘chester in Rhedesdaile’ which bears

1 Τοπία]. Apol. 18. Minuo. Fel. Oct.
49. Compare the song in Athen. vi. 63.

3 Cio, de Nat. Deor. i. 42, 119.

3 The Smyrnmans claimed to be the
first who erected a temple to Rome
2.ο. 195 (Tac. Ann. iv. 66). The wor-
ship spread even to Britain. In the
Librasy of Trinity College there is an

at the head the letters p. x. . (D{em)
Bfomm] Sfacrum]). Comp. Mommeen,
Iserr. Latt. vii. 179, No. 1037.

Some interesting representations of
Rome on coins are given in the The-
saurus Morellianus: sea Havercamp’s
Indez ο. ο. (θὰ. 1734). How soon Rome
appeared as Pallas is disputed.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

ception of the Divine still lingered. ‘For a mortal to help a mortal,’
writes the elder Pliny, ‘is the essence of deity (Deus est mortali
«Ίανατο mortalem), and this is the way to eternal glory. By this
‘path it was the chiefs of Rome advanced: by this it is’—so he
adds coming to his own time—‘ Vespasian, the greatest ruler of any
‘age, is now proceeding with his children, in a heavenly course,
“succouring the exhausted Empire. And the oldest form of return-
‘ing gratitude to benefactors, is that such men should be enrolled
“among the deities '.’

271

Thus in the consecration of the Emperors’ two distinct elements Two 3 a
were combined, the national faith in the Genius and the eastern the ies of
adoration of power. The homage which one citizen might yield PmPsor
in servile adulation to a supreme lord, might be rendered by
another to that which he looked upon as a spirit of the state.

Such a combination of thoughts was present to the mind of the first
emperors, Augustus during his lifetime would not allow any temple
to be erected to himself alone, but only to ‘ Rome and Augustus *?

‘Yet even so there were some men left in the republic who felt .. ..
that the first assumption of divine prerogatives by Cresar justified his οἳ ίνα
death‘. But Cxsar had himself measured more accurately the true °®**-

1 Plin, Hist, Nat. ii. 7. The same 8 at Mylasa: ὁ δήμοι αὐτοκράτορι Kal-

kind of feeling rans through the frag-
ment of Cicero's treatise De consola-
tione (ap. Lactant. Inetit. i. 15) in
which he proposes to render divine
honours to Tullia: te omnium opti-
mam doctissimamque, approbantibus
diis immortalibus ipsis, in eorum octa
locatam ad opinionem omnium mor-
talium consesrabo.

3 ‘The subject of Apothcoris has been
treated at length by J. D. Schoopf-
lin in s special dissertation (De apo-
theosi... Argentor. 1729). References
to later literature are given in Pauly,
Real-Encykl. 8. v.

Boissier discusses the Apotheosis of
the Roman Emperors with special re-
ference to that of Julius Cesar and
‘Augustus in considerable detail (La
Religion Romaine, i. 122208).

3 Inscriptions of this form are found

σαρι θεοῦ υἱῷ Σεβαστῷ ἀρχιερεῖ weylory
καὶ θεᾷ Ῥώμῃ (Boockh, Inscr. Gr. No.
2696); at Cyme in Mysia: ἐπὶ ἱερέωι
rds Ῥώμαι καὶ αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος
θέω Sw, θέω Σεβάστω...Παλάμωνος (id.
No. 3524); and at Athens: θεᾷ 'Ῥώμῃ
ral Σεβαστῷ Καΐσαρι (id. No. 478).

Elsewhere the name of Augustus
stands alone, as at Malta: ἀμφιπολεύ-
cas θεῷ Αὐγούστῳ (id. No. 5754); and
Tlium: αὐτοκράτορα Καίσαρα 6¢00 υἱόν,
Ged» Σεβαστό»... (id. No. 3604). Comp.
id. No. 4474, ψήφισμα ris πόλεως πεµ-
φδὲν θιῷ Αὐγούστῳ (Syria). See also
Nos. 2087, 3285, 4238; and Appian,
Bell. Civ. ν. 132, καὶ i 6 Καῖσαρ ἑτῶν
és τότε ὄκτω καὶ εἴκοσι, καὶ αὐτὸν al πὀ-
Deis τοῖς σφετόροιε Beats συν[δρυον.

4 Suet. Jul. Cesar, ο. 76. Non enim
honores modo nimios recepit...sed et
ampliora etiam humano fastigio de-

272

Worshipof
co

THE TWO EMPIRES:

spirit of his age, though he fell a victim to the few.

No sooner

was he dead than the Senate decreed to him ‘every honour divine
‘at once and human';’ and he was placed in the number of the gods.
not only ‘by the word of those who passed the decree, but also by

‘the conviction of the people.

A comet appeared for seven days in

‘succeasion at the first celebration of the games which Augustus
‘exhibited in his honour, and it was believed that it was the soul of

‘Cesar admitted into heaven’.’

When the beginning was’ once made the descent was rapid’,

cerni sibi passus est : sedem auream in
ουσία et pro tribunali, thensam οἱ fer-
culum Cirvensi pompe, templa, aras,
simulacra juxta deos, pulvinar, flami-
nem, Inpercos, appellationem mensis ο
suo nomine. Comp. ο. 88 in deorum
numerum relatus est non ore modo
decernentium sed et persuasione valgi.

1 Id. ο. 84. Comp. Dion Cass. xlvii.

19.

2 Id, ο, 88. The language of the
poets is well known and not without
deep significance, before it had become
conventional. Comp. Ovid, Met. xv.
840 ff., and Burmann’s note; Fasti
iii. yor Π.; Lucan, Phare. i. 45 ᾱ.

The language used in an inscrip-
tion at Ephesus in honour of Jul.
Cassar (4.0.c. 706—7), which St John
may have read, is worth quoting:
...Pdior "Toior, Tatov υἱὸν Καίσαρα,
τὸν ἀρχιερέα καὶ αὐτοκράτορα καὶ τὸ δεύ-
τερον ὕπατον, τον ἀπὸ "Άρεως καὶ ᾿Αφρο-
δείτηε θεὸν ἐπιφανῆ καὶ κουὸν τοῦ ἄν-
Θρωπίνου βίου σωτῆρα... Boeckh, Inscr.
Gr. No. 2957.

2 The rite was variously described
by Latin writers as dicari caelo, con-
secrari, inter divos referri, in deorum
numerumreferri (Buet.), divus appellari.
Thus Eutropius says of Claudius:
post mortem consecratue est divusque
appellatus (vii. 13), and of Antoninus
Pius: inter divos relatus est et merito
consecratus (viii. 8). His notice of the
consecration of Diocletian is remark-
able: Contigit igitur ei, quod nulli
post natos homines, ut cum privatus
obisset inter divos tamen referretur.

at Rome, Augustus resolutely refused to receive divine honours publicly at

The Greek historians use the terme.
ἀποθέωσι (Tertull. Apol. 34) and ἐκ-
θειάζων.

Herodian has given a detailed de-
scription of the ceremony in connexion
with the consecration of Septimins
Severus (Herodian, iv. 2). The last
sentence is worth quoting. The struo-
ture on which the figure of the de-
ceased was placed in order to be con-
sumed is built, he says, ‘like a Pharos”
in diminishing stages. When the pile
is lighted an eagle is let loose from
the highest and amallest, ‘as from a
“battlement, to ascend with the fire
‘to the sky. This is believed by the
«Romans to carry the soul of the Em-
“peror from earth to heaven ; and from
‘that time he is worshipped (Opnoxeve-
“ra1) with the rest of the gods.’ How-
ever difficult it may be to believe that
such an exhibition was made in the
first age of the empire, Dion relates
that this ceremony was performed at
the burning of Augustus: ἡ μὲν [πυρὰ]
ἀνηλίσκετο, ἀετὸς 84 rus ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀφεθεὶτ
ἀνίατατο ὧν καὶ δὲ τὴν ψυχἠν αὐτοῦ és
τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναφέρων (Ivi. 42); and Sue-
tonius relates that one was found, a
man of pretorian rank, who swore
that he saw his form (effigiem) ascend
from the pyre to heaven: Oct. 100.
Compare also Dion Cass. (Kiphil.)
Ixxiv. 5 (an eagle rose from the pyre
of Pertinax).

The Apotheosis is represented on
two important works of art, on the
“Tiberian Agate,’ and on the base of
the column of Antoninus Pius. There

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

Rome’ though he accepted the title (Augustus, Ἄεβαστό) which
seemed to challenge them’; but at his death his feeling, at least, was
sufficiently notorious to be made a ground of reproach®. In this
respect the description which Ovid gives of the private worship
which he paid to the members of the imperial family at his place
of exile on the Euxine may probably serve as a type of the popular
practice even during the emperor’s lifetime :
‘Neo pietas ignota mea est: videt hospita tellus
In nostra sacrum Ceesarie esse domo.
Btant pariter natusque Ρίτα, conjuxque sacerdos,
Numina jam facto non leviora Deo...
His ego do toties cum ture precantia verba
Eoo quoties surgit ab orbe dies*.’

After the death of Augustus divine honours were solemnly de-
creed and paid to him in the capital. The Senate decreed to him
‘a temple and divine rights (caclestes relligiones)'*. A sacred college
{sodales Augustales) was established afterwards to provide for the due
performance of the ceremonies connected with his worship. And the
crowning rite of the ‘apotheosis’ sanctioned and defined the religious
honours which he had received and which were yet due to him’.

In the provinces the enthusiasm of the devotees of the Empire in the

was allowed free scope. The only limit placed upon it was that
which has been already mentioned: Augustus required that the
name of Rome should be joined with his own. In obedience to this
command temples were dedicated at Athens® and Pols’ to Rome and

are good outiines on a small scale and
descriptions of both in Millin’s Galerie
Mythologique, pil. olxxix, olxxx, and
also in Schoepflin, Tab. 1. A large
engraving of the sculpture on the base
of the column of Antoninus is given
in the Museo Pio Clement. V., tav.
xaix; and of the ‘Tiberian Agate’ in
Montfancon, L'Antiquité expliquée, v.
153. The Apotheosis of Faustina is
represented on abas-relief from the Arch
of M, Aurelius. Parker, Phot. 1686.
To these works may be added a
group at Madrid symbolising the Apo-
theosis of Claudius, in which an eagle
is represented bearing the bust of the
Emperor, who has a rayed crown

w.

and nimbus: Montfauoon, lc. p. 161:
Schoepfiin, Tab. ii,

1 Buet. Oct. 52.

3 Bee below, Ρ. 280, m. 1.

3 Tac. Ann. i. το.

4 Ovid, Ep. ex Pont. iv. 9, 105 3.
Other passages of the Augustan poets
are worth study: Virg. Eel. i. 6 ff.;
id. Georg. i. 14 3.1 13, 168.: Hor. Od.
18, 255 iv. 5, 32.

5 Tao. Ann.i. 11; Dion Cass. lvi. 46.

4 Tao. Ann. i. 545 Hist. ii. 95.

7 Dion Cass. vi. 34, 42.

® Comp. Suet. Oct. 6ο. Boeckh,
Inser. Gr. No. 478,

9 Stuart and Revett, Athens... iv.
(ed. 1816).

18

‘Later con-

274

THE TWO EMPIRES :

Augustus; and Herod the Great placed two images to these kindred
powers in the temple which he built at his new Cmsarea'. The
cities of Asia Minor vied with one another in paying him the same

kind of honour.

He was celebrated in temples at Pergamum’, at

Nicomedia, at Mylasa’, at Cyrene, in his lifetime. At Sparta he
seems to have had a temple alone like Julius Cesar which was seen
by Pausanias‘. There were temples to him also at Oyzicus, Nysa,
Apollonia in Pisidia, and Assos. The Augusteum at Ancyra has
preserved the famous record of his achievements which was inscribed
upon its walls*. The Augusteum at Alexandria was one of the most
splendid buildings in the city®. In the West temples were raised to
him at Tarragona in Spain’, at Narbonne, Vienne and Lyons in

Gaul’.

And Philo could say that the whole world decreed honours

to Augustus equal to those paid to the Olympian gods®,

Tt is unnecessary to trace at length the repetition of similar
searations. bonours in the case of the following Emperors, The example once

given was steadily followed with such variations as were due to the
individual character of those who claimed or gave them. Tiberius
imitated the reserve of Augustus. He only allowed a single temple

1 Jos. Ant. xv. το (13); td. Β. Ji.
a1 (16). He placed in it a statue of
Augustus ‘as large es that of Zeus at
Olympia, of which it was an imitation,
and another of Rome equal to that of
Hero at Argos’ (Jos. loc. post.).

Augustus, under the form of Jupiter
and Livia, with the attributes of Rome,
are represented on a famous cameo at
‘Vienna: Millin, Galerie Mythologique,
αἰστεῖ. 676; compare id. alxxvili. 661.

4 Pausan. iii, 11, 4. This may have
been erected after his death like that
at Nola: Suet. Tib. 40.

On this Augusteum compare E.
Guillaume, Rerue Archéologique, 1871,

. ii, p. 567.
. i. 78. Comp. Spartian.

Guillaume, Rev.

“Archéol. 1871, Ῥ. 348+

5 Philo, l.c. ii. pp. 567 {.

At Tentyra he was called Zels édev-
θέρωτ. Booskh, Inser. Gr. No. 4715.

Ephesus claimed to be νεωκόρο of
the Augusti and of Artemis: Inserr.
Nos. 3, 7, 13, 15 from the Great Theatre,
No. 15 from the site of the Temple,
No. x2, 15 from the city and suburbs,
in Wood's Discoveries at Ephesus, 1877.

On the Temples of Augustus see
Guillaume, 1. ¢.

On Roman consecration ooins he is
styled generally Dious, but once on a
coin of Gallienus Deus ; and this title
is found on provincial pieces (πο
avovato) : Eckhel, vi. 125.

The following insgriptions are taken
almost at random: at Perugia, NvsxNt
avavert sack. (Orelli, 608): at Verona,
Eo avo...(id. 609): at Herculaneum,
DIVO AVGVETO AVOVATALES (id. 610): at
Fano, Divo ΑΥΟΥΒΣΟ...ΡΙΟ PATRI Ῥουα-
NORV.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.

to be erected to himself in connexion with the Senate in Asia; and
refused to sanction a like honour in Spain'. It is said that Oaius
when he was warned that he had gone beyond the dignity of emperors
and kings, immediately claimed the majesty of the gods, replacing
by his own likeness the heads of famous statues, and offering him-
self for the adoration of the citizens between the figures of Castor
and Pollux’. A temple erected to Claudius at Camulodunum, to
enforce, as it appeared, an endless dominion over the Britons, is given
as one of the causes of the revolt of Boadicea*. . Nero after the con-
spiracy of Piso went further than his predecessors and allowed a
temple to be decreed to himself at Rome with the epithet ‘ Divus’
though some at the time regarded the assumption of euch a title as
an omen of speedy death‘.

When the chiefs of the state were thus invested with a divine
character, it was natural to extend celestial honours to the prin-
cipal members of the imperial family. Accordingly wives and
children of the emperors received the stamp of divinity’ Caius
consecrated his sister* and Trajan his father’. The license of such
power was not exhausted, till Hadrian carried the profanation of
worship to the furthest limit, and offered his unworthy favourite,
Antinous, who was not even a Roman, as a new Bacchus or Apollo

275

or Pan, for the adoration of the world.

1 Tao. Ann, iv. 15, 66 1.1 37 1.

3 Buet, Cal. 22.

3 Tec, Ann, xiv. 31. Comp. id. Ann.
xii, 695 xiii, 2.

4 Tac. Ann. xv. 74 Comp. Tert.
Apol. 34.

On contemporary coins he bears the
titles of Zeus, Apollo and Hercules;
and one coin in his honour is inseril
τῷ σωτῆρι THs οἰκουμένης: Eckhel, vi.

1781.

5 ‘Thus the wives of Augustus (Livia),
Vespasian (Domitilla), Trajan (Plo-
tina), Hadrian (Sabina), Antoninus
Pius (Faustina), ΜΜ. Aurelins (Faustina
Pia), Septimius Severus (Julia Au-
gusta), Maximinus (Paulina), Valerian

iniana), received divine honours.

‘And all men,’ in the in-

See Schoepflin, pp. 54 ff. The first lady
of the imperial family who was con-
seorated was Drusilla, the sister of
Caius: Suet. Calig. 24.

Nero gave divine honours to his
daughter Claudia Poppea who died
an infant: Teo. Ann, xv. 23.

‘Those who had been consecrated
were often represented under the form
of the old deities, Livia, for example,
as Juno, Julia as Ceres, Faustina as
Cybele (Βαιοσρβίη, pp. go f.).

In the Mus. Pio Clement, V., Tav.
xxvi, there is 9 striking representation
of Hadrian in the character of Jupiter.

4 Comp. Suet, Calig. 24.

7 Plin. Paneg. ro f.

18—2

276

THE TWO EMPIRES:

dignant words of Justin, ‘were eager to reverence him as a god
through fear, though they knew who he was and whence he sprung’.”

These details, a few only out of many which are preserved on
coins and inscriptions as well as in the scattered notices of historians,
will indicate how deeply the belief in the superhuman character of
the Emperor was inwrought into the popular mind in the first and
second centuries, and how welcome it was to the mass of men, as
offering them at least a definite object for worship, though the more
thoughtful might shrink from some of the consequences which such
an opinion carried with it. If'we now endeavour to look at the
belief more closely we shall see that as it was based upon two ideas
originally, so it was manifested in two forms. We have to distingnish
the position of the Emperor during his lifetime, and his position
after death: the apotheosis and the inherent sacredness of the head of
the state. These two elements are by no means necessarily connect-
ed. Many emperors like Caius and Nero and Domitian who had
claimed and received while living divine honours were not reckoned
among the gods after their death. The apotheosis was a deliberate
act of the state performed through the Senate: the sacredness of the
Emperor followed from the simple possession of power. Practically
it was the latter which made a stumblingblock to the Christian.
The recognition of the divinity of the Emperor found expression in
many of the acts of daily life. The apotheosis once accomplished

1 Just. Μ. Apol. i. a9. Orig. ο. Cels.
fii, ο, 36.

Eckhel (Doctr. Numm. viii. 463) gives
a list of members of the imperial
family whose consecration is witnessed
by coins, 48 in all, including 15 females,
Compare also Schospflin, pp. 15—57.

The divine worship paid to Anti-
nous may serve as a striking example
of popular fanaticism or profanity,
Among the inscriptions on coins struck
in his honour by Greek cities—‘none
‘were struck at Rome or in Roman
‘colonies’—are the following: ἀντι-
Nooc 1aKxxoc (Adramyttium), New

laxxw and New ΠΎθιω (Tarsus),
ocTiAioc Μάρκελλοο περεγο TOY
ANTINOOY (Corinth), ΔΝΤΙΝΟΟΝ BEON
(Hierapolis, Nicopolis), Η TraTpic aN-
TINOON θεον (Bithynium), Trani ἂν-
TINow (Arcadia?) One inscription
may be added: aNTINOWw! ΟΥΝΘΡΟ-
NO! των ΕΝ ΔΙΓΥπΤωΙ θεων ΑΜ.
OYATHIO’ ΑΠΟλΛωΝΙΟοΟ ΠΡΟΦΗτηο
(Grater, p. 86. 1).

These examples are taken from
Eckhel, Doct, Numm, vi. 528 ff.

The worship of Antinous was still
continued in Egypt in the time of
Clement (Proty. iv. p. 14?.).

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 277

only added one more to the list of deities who had no strong hold
even upon the thoughts of the heathen.

1. The essential divinity of the sovereign power was the The wide
main religious thought of the Empire, but at the same time the ὤν ἆμν.
ceremony of the apotheosis gave distinctness to the conception ‘heats.
of divinity in the living Emperors. The various emblems proper
in the gods which were attributed to the deceased on works of
art—the rayed crown, the pure wand, the nimbus, the sacred
car, the eagle—appealed to the imagination and brought the idea
of deity nearer to the earth. Moreover the apotheosis was not
necessarily the reward of signal virtues, If it had been so the
vite might have lessened the respect which was rendered to a
vicious sovereign. But as it was the exceptions were not sufficient
to disturb the belief that apotheosis was the natural issue of an
ordinary reign’. The language of Pliny is undoubtedly rhetorical,
but still there is some truth in his contemptuous explanation of the
motives which had led to earlier apotheoses in order to extol the
wisdom of Trajan. ‘Tiberius consecrated Augustus, but he did so in
‘order that he might introduce the charge of treason: Nero conse-
‘crated Claudius, but that he might mock [the ceremony], Titus
‘consecrated Vespasian, and Domitian, Titus, but the former that he
‘might appear to be the son, the latter that he might appear to be
‘the brother of a god. You have raised your father to heaven not to
‘inspire fear into the citizens, not to insult the deities, not to gain

. ‘honour for yourself, but because you believe him to be a god”.
Such a belief however was not required even from the noblest
Emperors. It is reckoned among the most distinguished merits of
M. Aurelius that he dissembled or defended the profligacy of his
colleague Verus, though it was most repulsive to him, and procured
for him all the honours of consecration’, On the other hand it is
said that the consecration of Marcus himself was something more

1 Plin, Paneg. 11. Preterquam consecrationis honore dig-

3 Comp. Spart, Hadr. 27. Suet, natus,..carpsit...cdictis.
Domét. 2 [Titum] defunstum...nullo 3 Capitol. M. Aur. 15.

278

THE TWO EMPIRES:

than a pageant. No one thought that he should be lamented as one
who was lost, Death had simply restored him to the gods who had
lent him for a time to men. Not to have his statue in the house, if
@ person’s position allowed or required it, was sacrilege ; and some
believed that he continued to care for his people and revealed to

them the future in dreams’.

But such cases on either side were

rare and the mocking words with which Vespasian recognised the
progress of his fatal illness sufficiently describe the general feeling.
‘Woe is me: I suppose I am on the point of becoming a god*.’

1 Capitol. M. Aur. 18 parum sane
fait quod ili honores divinos omnis
etas omnis sexus omnis conditio ac
dignitas dedit, nisi quod etiam sacri-
legus judicatas est qui eius imaginem
in sus domo non habuit, qui per for-
tunam vel potuit habere vel debuit.
Comp. id. Ant. P. 13.

3 Buet. Vesp. 23.

It is said by Eutropius (x. 15, 17)
that Constantius and Jovian were oon-
secrated (inter divos relati); and the
title Divus was given to the deceased
Emperors in formal documents to the
close of the Western Empire (Schoepf-
lin, pp. sof.) The title was trans-
ferred to later sovereigns even during
their lifetime; and John of Salisbury,
in 8 passage referred to by Schoepfiin,
remarks on the misuse of the word in
his time: Suos quoque imperatores
quos de more Romanus populus fide-
liter jugulabat, deificavit fidelius inani
solatio...cosque mentiebantur in sor-
tem transiisse numinum ac si caelo
suo mundoque regendo, nisi tyrannis
ascitis, omnipotentis non sufficiat ma-
nus. Facti sunt ergo divi indigetes
aut, ut aliis placet, heroes, quos nec
etiam humana sorte dignos Romano-
ram perfidia reputavit, Tractum est
hine nomen quo principes virtutam
titnlis et vere fidei luce presignes se
divos audeant nedum gaudeant appel-
lari, veteri quidem consuetudine etiam
in vitio et adversus fidem catholicam
obtinente (Polyor. iii. 10; Migne, Pa-
trol. Lat. crcix. 496). Charles the
Great had already condemned the ens-
tom. After reproving Constantine and

Irene for their assumption of the title
and for the use of the corresponding
word divalia in regard to their decrees,
he says: Cossst igitur, ccssot falsi
nominis ambitio, destitustur antiqui
erroris vestigium, facesoat cmos super-
stitionis vocabulum, abdicatur proca-
cis nominis supercilium, pellatur
fidelibus in divos transferendoram
hominum gentile mendacium (Libr.
Carol. cap. de imag. i. 4).

The Consecration Coins form an
interesting study. The mode in which
the old idea is translated into a Bib-
Tical form in the consecration ooin
of Constantine is of singular interest.
The head of the Emperor is covered
with the usual veil, but on the reverse
the eagle which before symbolised the
removal of the soul above no longer
appears. In its place the Emperor is
represented in a chariot drawn by
four horses with uplifted head and out-
stretehed hands, and from heaven the
Divine Hand is stretched to raise the
believer.

In this connexion an earlier coin
may be mentioned, which seems to ex-
press simply the Christian thought of
‘consecration.’ This is one struck by
Gallienus in honour of his wife Salo-
nina. It bears the empress seated
with an olive-branch in her hand and
the legend avavar . mt race, The last
two words can scarcely have a dif-
ferent meaning from that which they
bear on monuments, They shew al-
most beyond question that Salonina
was α΄ Obristian, and that the ooin
‘was struck by the Emperor in memory

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 279

2. The apotheosis gave definitenees to the idea of the imperial Thegenius
divinity by the consequent array of priests and sacrifices and temples ; αμα,
‘but it was, as has been said, the practical belief in the essential
sacredness of the Emperor as such which forced the Christian into
direct antagonism with the state’. Hoe could not, like his fellow-
citizens, acknowledge the ‘Genius’ of the Emperor: he could not give
divine honour to the Emperor himself, The Genius or Fortune of the
Emperor symbolised the spiritual energy which through him was sup-
posed to direct the whole system of the commonwealth. To swear
by this was to recognise the reality of a power which the Christian
either denied to exist or held to be malignant’, And it was equally
impossible for him to attribute to a man any of the prerogatives which
he held to belong to God. ‘We render honour to the Emperor,’ writes
Tertullian’, ‘in such a way as is lawful for us and expedient for him,

‘as to a man who stands next to God, and who has obtained what.
‘ever he is from God, and is less than God only... And so we. offer
‘sacrifices for the safety of the Emperor, but to our God and his, and,
‘as God has enjoined, with simple prayer.’ And however extravagant

of his wife after her death. Comp.
King, Early Christian Numismatics,
PP. 444; and on the whole subject of
Gonseoration Coins Eckhel, Doctr.
Numm, viii. 456 8.

1 The representation of the Genius
is found sparingly on the coins of the
early Emperors: ¢.g. GENI0 avavert
(Nero: Eokhel, vi. 272); oxuro Σ. 8.
(Augustus: id. vi. ϱ7 19); oxNTUs κ. κ.
(Vitellins: id. vii 317). Towards the
close of the third century the Genius

appears much more commonly and in _

different forms. It is significantly cha-
racteristic of the reign of Diocletian.
‘The following types of inscription are
given in Bandurius: oxxrvs avovsri,
, AUGUETORUM, @. AUGG. BT ο088., ᾱ-
cman, and GENIUS EXEROITUS, α.
EXERCITUS ILLYRICUNI, 0, ILYRICI, 6.
IMPERATORIS, G. POPULI RowaNT. The
GENTS AUGUSTI, ο. IMPERATORIB, a.
POPULI ROMANI appears on coins of
Constantine. The only later example
which I have observed is on a ooin of

Julian: ozo armiocmENT.
Insoriptions in honour of the Genius
of @ particular place, or society or

examples of dedications: GEwro cEN-
TURLE, G. TURMM, G. SANCTO CASTRO
BUM, ᾱ, HORREOBUM, G. DROURLE, 0,
uxxzorros, &0. (Inserr. Latt. vi. 1,
208 ff.), In Britain inscriptions are
found GENIO Locr, G. CENTURLE, 0.
CoHORTIS, G. VALLI, G, TERRE BRITAN-
wi, &. id. vii. The
phrases ΤΥΧΗ ceBacToy and oe
πολεωο are found on Greek coins
Eckhel, iv. 60; ii. 455. It would be of
deep interest to compare the ideas of
ΤΥΧΗ and GENrus.

‘There is an impressive figure’ of the
Genius of Augustus in the Mus. Pio
Clement. iii, Ταν. 11.

280

ος
to the idea
of Ohris-
tianity.

THE TWO EMPIRES:

the pretensions may appear which Tertullian here sets aside they were
& necessary consequence of the conception of the Empire. The very
title ‘Augustus’ was rightly felt from the first to separate him to
whom it was assigned from other men, and, so to speak, to conse-
crate him while still on earth’. So Ovid rightly contrasts the name
with the most glorious titles which the heroes of Roman history
had won, and adds:
‘Sed tamen humanis oelebrantur honoribus omnes:
Hic socium summo cum Jove nomen habet.

Sancta vooant angusta patres: augusta vocantur
Templa, sscerdotum rite dicata manu?,’

If the Empire was one and had one life, if the centre of life was in
the sovereign, if the many deities of polytheism were supposed to
exercise local and circumscribed authority it is evident that the
Emperor alone could offer to all his subjects a common object for
adoration. In him all that affected their outward well-being was
visibly gathered up. No member of the popular Pantheon presented
asimilar point of convergence for hope. If unity could be gained
under polytheiam it could exist only through an actual, temporal
head. And this unity it was, constructed artificially and set forth
for the acceptance of men in the person of an Emperor, that the
Roman system expressed.

In such a view of humanity the Christian found the complete
antithesis to that which had been revealed to him. He held indeed
most firmly the unity of humanity, but this was assured to him in
the Incarnation. Unity resting on that which is outward seemed to
him necessarily to be partial and worthless, He reached forward to
another order for the resolution of all the discords of life, He could
not acknowledge in the Emperor the centre of that larger being
which he had found in all its fulness in Christ. He could not invoke
the Genius—the demon—the spiritual essence of a power which

1 On the title compare Eckhel, Doctr.
Numm. viii. pp. 355 ff. The words of
Dion Cassius (lili. 16) state the case
plainly: Αὔγουστοι de καὶ πλεῖον ἡ
κατὰ ἀνθρώχουτ ὢν ἐπεκλήθη, πάντα γὰρ.

«τὰ ἐντιμότατα καὶ τὰ ἱερώτατα αὔγουστα

προσαγορεύεται" ἐξ οὗτερ καὶ Σεβαστὸν

αὐτὸν καὶ ἀλληνί[ωτές wus ὥσπερ των.
σεττὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ σεβά[εσθαι προσεῖτον.

3 Ovid, Fasti,i. 607 ff. Comp. Suet.
Octav. 73 Floras, ii. 34. On the Ephe-
sine inscriptions φιλοσέβαστοι οὐσατᾶ
not unfrequently ss 8 regalar official
epithet.

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 281

stood forth as α rival of that to which he was devoted. He could
not admit any of the prerogatives of absolute and irresponsible
power in the person of one who represented the principles and
authority of the visible order. Thus the opposition of Christianity
and Imperialism was complete and irrevocable. The two Empires,
when regarded in their principles, were seen to be utterly irrecon-
cilable.

3. One practical consequence of momentous importance followed The effect
from the concentration of all the dignity of the state in the single law of
supreme head. An offence against the Emperor was not an offence ‘Treason,
against a man but against the commonwealth. Pliny, as we have
seen, does not scruple to affirm that Tiberius procured the consecra-
tion of Augustus, that he might introduce the law of treason
(majestas, ἀσέβεια). The statement may be an exaggeration, but it
is evident that the two ideas closely correspond; and no one can
study the early history of the Empire without feeling that the novel
conception of the law of treason expresses in a most striking form
the change which had passed over the constitution of the state,

Even to a Roman this application of an old law—based on the
exceptional position of the Emperor—often seemed to be intolerably
vexatious. To shew that a man had been condemned for treason
was held in the next reign to be, as Tacitus implies, a presumption
of his innocence’. On the other hand Pliny remarks that it was a
crime which a tyrant could plead against those who were free from
every other’, At one time the sale of a statue of the reigning Em-
peror was supposed to furnish ground for an impeachment: at another
the conversion of such a statue into vessels for ordinary use. It was
treason to speak evil of Augustus: it was treason to call Cassius the
last of the Romans*. Oasius, it is said, put men to death because
they expressed a poor opinion of his shows, or never swore by his

<

genius‘,

1 Tao. Hist. i. 77. 5” Tao. Ann. i. 73; ii. 50; ili. 70; iv. 34.
7 Flin ‘Panag. 42. Comp. Tao, Ann. «4 Βηθί, Calig. 27. Comp. id. Claud.
iii, 38. α..

282 THE TWO EMPIRES,

In such a state of things it will be evident how liable Christians
would become to the charge of treason, and how impossible it was
for them to render the homage to the Emperor which was the test
of loyalty. They could not offer sacrifices for his'safety: they could
not invoke his genius: they could not give him titles which seemed
to trench upon the majesty of the one Lord. And while this was
so it was vain for them to appeal to their secret prayers for his
well-being: to pledge their wishes for his safety: to call him ‘a man
second to god',’ They did not dissemble that they owed supreme
allegiance to another Master : that they waited for the establishment
of another Kingdom: that they must fix for themselves the limits of
their obedience. They were forced to stand as witnesses to the
reality of an unseen world. They felt, it may have been indistinctly
as yet, that in a firm hold on that they had a pledge of a nobler
freedom than had ever been realised among men : that the belief in
God, as made known to them in Christ, was the one safeguard against
utter slavery. And because they believed in His Kingdom as more
sure than all things, they knew that the faith which was committed
to them was for all men, and not for Jew or Greek or Roman: they
knew that it covered the whole area of life and could not leave any
fragment of it to be occupied by a strange power: they knew that
their work was not one of silence only but of might: and in that
knowledge they were armed for the final conflict for life or death.

1 Tert. Apol, 28 ἄ., 32.

THE GOSPEL OF OREATION.

6 θεὸο ἁγάπη ἐοτίν.
ὁ tin ἀπ ἀρχῆο...περὶ τοῦ λόΓοΥ THe Ζωμο.

1.

THE GOSPEL OF OREATION.

‘Humanity created for union with God.
Conception of the normal progress towards union, apart from sin.

‘Tho subject belongs to 8 late period in the history of Theology
Prominent in scholastic discussions,
‘Tlustrations of its treatment
Bopert of Deutz.
Movements in the xth Cent.
Alexander of Hales.
Albert the Great.
‘Thomas Aquinas,
Bonaventura.
Duns Scotus.
Gabriel Biel.
John Wessel.

IIL. Right mode of approaching the question.

‘Two main questions
1. The relation of man to God and the world.
2. ‘The consequent aspect of the Incarnation.

1. Man as created.
i, In the image of God.
(a) The individual.
Need of Mediation.
(0) The race.
Need of unity.
Relation of Christ to the Church.
ii. The representative of Creation.
Differentiation the law of progress.
Reunion.
a. The necessities of man and men independent of the Fall.
Consummation answers to Oreation.
‘The Gospel of Creation not an arbitrary speculation.
‘The general silence of Scripture natural.
‘The trath practical, and helpful for our needs.

Conditions
under
which the

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION,

1.

'N attempting to speak of such a mystery as the Gospel of Creation,
that is of the promise of the Incarnation which was included in

inquiry is the Creation of man, it is evident that we have need of watchful and

sible,

reverent care lest we should strive to go beyond the limits which
bound the proper field of our powers, It is necessary also that we
should guard ourselves against the danger of using human language,
not only (as we must do) to represent as clearly as possible our con-
ceptions of the divine, but as the legitimate foundation for secondary
conclusions. If however we do devoutly recognise that in such
speculations we are entering on holy ground ; if we steadily refuse to
admit deductions as absolute which are derived from the conditions
under which we apprehend the Truth made known to us; then it is
well for us to look for a time towards the loftiest heights and the
deepest foundations of faith. If we essay something without ‘pre-
‘sumption and in submission to the judgment of the Church’—to
borrow words spoken on the subject three hundred years ago—‘and
‘supported by the light of the divine word give expression to our
‘thoughts humbly to the best of our power with stammering lips,
‘not only do we not offend God, but we do Him reverence, and not
‘unfrequently profit the weaker members of the Church'.’

1 Et ai Divine mentis arcana in nostris, mirum non est si nobis, dam
patria pertingemus illustrius, ubi in io agimus, magna sunt ex parte reoon-
lumine β]οτίοο lumen nostre videbimus dita; attamen oum sine presumptione

felicitatis; immo cum cogitationes Dei subque censura, prout facimus, sacro-
longe divers sunt a cogitationibus sancte coolesim aliquid attentamus ot

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 287

In this spirit then we must attempt to define our meaning when Goncep: “<p ite
we express the belief that the true Protevangelium is to be found in progress of
the revelation of Creation, or in other words that the Incaynation was eee ity
independent of the Fall, All our present ideas of human life neces- towards
sarily involve thoughts of pain and suffering and weakness, Such God.
thoughts however are wholly excluded from the conception of that
manhood which we regard as predestined in the eternal and absolute

counsel of God for union with the Word, or (to look at it from the

other side) as answering to Him of whom it was, in some sense

which we cannot strictly define, the image, related as a copy to the
archetype. In order to gain, however imperfectly and transiently,

this conception, we endeavour to present to ourselves humanity

made in God’s image and advancing in harmonious cooperation with

‘His Grace towards His likeness. We look upon men and man, upon

the race as well as upon the individual, as far as we can, growing

perfect as God is perfect, holy as God is holy. We follow this progress

to its consummation; and then having so gained a conception of man-

hood, answering to what is made known of the divine idea of man, we

go on to say that it is most consonant to what God has revealed to

believe that it was His pleasure that humanity, so consummated in

its proper development in many parts, should find its true personality

by union with His Son. According to this view man’s self-will by

which he fell was not the occasion of the supreme manifestation of

the love of God in ‘the taking of manhood unto God.’ That was

the end of Creation from the beginning. The Fall, and here lies the

greatest mystery of divine love, did not frustrate this end which it

might seem to ‘have made unattainable consistently with that truth

and justice which define omnipotence.

There is no question on any side that everything of suffering and {ilies of
shame connected with the Incarnation was due to the Fall: there is tion ex-
πο question that in our imagination the voluntary endurance of these {rnt“tuch
by the Son of God makes His love appear greater. But indeed * "0".

luce Divini verbi suffulti illud pro veneramaur et ecclesim imbecillioribus
nostro capta humiliter balbutimus, membris non raro proficimus (Naclan-
non eolum Deum non offendimus sed, tus, Opera, p. 37).

288

_ idea
of a Gospel
of Crea-
tion not
discussed
in the first
of the
arch.

8
the
of the

question.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION,

nothing finite can appreciably alter the love manifested in the Incar-
nation which is essentially infinite ; and it can be fairly maintained
that we are led by Scripture to regard the circumstances of the
Incarnation as separable from the idea of the Incarnation, and to
hold that the circumstances of the Incarnation were due to sin, while
the idea of the Incarnation was due to the primal and absolute
purpose of love foreshadowed in Creation, apart from sin which was
contingent,

IL

The subject as it is thus presented belongs properly to the later
ages of the Church. It may perhaps be truly said that the thought
of an Incarnation independent of the Fall harmonizes with the
general tenor of Greek Theology’. Some patristic phrases seem to
imply that the thought was distinctly realised here and there, and
perhaps discussed. But the question was not formally raised, at
least not so 88 to come into prominence, till the x1th or xmth century.
The circumstances of the primitive church adequately explain this
silence on a point of speculation, which was not suggested and was
even put out of sight by the work to be done in the first ages. The
intensity of the conflict with heathenism was a necessary hindrance
to the realisation of the unity of humanity ; and physical research
had not within its own sphere forced the thought of such a unity
upon men’s minds, Under such circumstances it was natural that
Christian teachers should concentrate their efforta upon bringing out
the truth of the redemption of a Church from fallen humanity
rather than enter upon the theoretical investigation of the original
relation of man and humanity to God.

There is indeed a divine order in the progressive apprehension of
the fulness of truth by the Christian consciousness, So the first work
of conquest, the conquest of the old world, was accomplished by the
Church in due time. And when the controversies of the fourth century
were decided, a period of mainly traditional theology followed during

1 Bee below, pp. 306 ff.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 289

the conquest of the northern nations (590-1050). Then at length
Α fresh energy of life was quickened in the West in the eleventh
century, and scholars began to venture on independent lines of
thought in many directions. Among other subjects the absolute
idea and motive of the Incarnation appears then first to have
received attention, The topic is handled by Rupert of Deutz (t 1135),
but in such a way as to indicate that he is dealing with it tenta-
tively and without having either received or gained a firm and
consistent opinion on the subject’.

From the beginning of the thirteenth century the question
‘whether Christ would have been incarnate if Adam had not sinned,’
became one of the recognised questions of the schools. In the period
of the Reformation it was debated by representatives of the chief
parties of Christendom ; and now again in quite recent times, after
falling out of sight, the subject has been, and is likely to be, keenly
discussed,

The course of the controversy, the arguments used on the The sub
different sides, the grounds of decision and of doubt alleged by the Srinte””
great teachers, afford e most instructive study in theology, the more κράτος
instructive perhaps because the subject itself is not complicated with this scho-
considerations of orthodoxy, for it has been generally allowed that method.
both decisions on the point in dispute are allowable. If it were
only for the purpose of examining in one detail the method of the
schoolmen, it would be well worth while to consider what they have
written upon a subject not uncongenial to their spirit, and one in
which they are brought near to ourselves. Many of the arguments
which they use appear to us frivolous and pointless. It requires a
serious effort to enter into them with a sympathetic intelligence.

But the effort is worth making. Conclusions which rest upon.
arbitrary assumptions as to the symmetries of things witness in an

1 In the attempt to trace the outline Thomassin (L.), De dogmatibus: De
of the history of the doctrine, I have Incarn. ii. 17, 7 ff. There is » slight
derived great assistance from the re- _ review of the history in Dorner’s Doc-
ferences in Gerhard (Joh.) Uberidr ex- rine of the Person of Christ, ii. vol. 1.
plicatio, loo. rv. cap. vii. §§142ff.; Quen- pp. 461 ff. (Eng. Transl).
stedt (J. A.) Syst. Theol, ux. 109 ff.;

w. 19

290 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

imperfect fashion to a deep sense of a divine order in creation ; and
we do injustice to those who draw them if we allow even the
greatest errors of expression and form to blind us to the nobility of
the conception which they embody most inadequately.

The first writer however whom we have to notice, RUPERT OF
Deutz, was not either in spirit or in form a schoolman. The con-
temporary of Bernard of Clairvaux, he gave himself even more com-
pletely than Bernard to the study of Holy Scripture and looked to
the immediate guidance of the Spirit for the understanding of it. His
early years were spent at Liége. In 1120 he was called to be Abbat
of Deutz, and died there in 1135. His numerous works rest almost
exclusively on interpretations of books or passages of the Bible; and
even where he gives way to a license of allegorising he preserves and
enforces the conviction that the Word of God is still directly
addressed to man through the writings of prophets and apostles.

It is very startling that the main argument of Rupert in favour
of the absolute divine purpose of the Incarnation is based upon a
false reading of the Latin text of Hebr. ii. 10. This he quotes with
the passive consummari for conswmmare', and thus obtains the sense
that it was fitting that He for Whom were all things and through
‘Whom were all things—even the Son of God—in bringing many sons
to glory, should Himself be made perfect through suffering. ‘The
‘first thing to inquire here,’ he goes on to say, ‘is whether the Son
‘of God spoken of in this place would have become man or not even
‘if sin, for which we all die, had not intervened.’ All are agreed,
he continues, that in that case He would not have become a mortal
man. ‘The question is whether God would have become man as the
‘Head and King of all as He now is, and whether this was in some

Rurert oF
Derorz.

Matt. Lib. xiii. p. 696 (Migne, Patrol.
Lat. clxviii. p, 1628). The Comment-

1 Deoebat enim eum propter quem
omnia et per quem omnia, qui multos

filios in gloriam adduxerat, auctorem
salutis eorum per passionem consam-
mari, 80 also Ambrose, Rufinus,
Sedulius, Vigilius Tapsensia. Comp.
Sabatier ad loc. Bupert, Comm, in

ary is referred to the year 1126. In
the treatise De glorif, Trin. i. § 6 the
text gives consummare, but the line of
argument requires consummari,

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 291

“sense necessary for the human race.’ The elect saints would cer-
tainly have been born, if man had not fallen, as Augustine shews
{De civ. Dei xiv. 23), in accordance with the blessing at creation
(Gen. i. 28 Increase and multiply). It is then absurd to suppose that
sin, which was not necessary for their birth, was necessary for the
Head and King of all elect angels and men, in order that He should
become man, who was destined to have ‘the delights of His love with
‘the sons of men’ (Prov. viii. 31)...‘It is marvellous,’ he concludes,
‘and worthy of devout gratitude (adoratione) that sin coming in the
‘way did not make of none effect (evacuarit) that purpose of so
‘great love,’ in which God had purposed that the Word of God
should take delight with the sons of man, by having 6 form limited
according to human nature in the midst of angels and men; ‘nay,
‘then came to pass the saying... Where sin abounded grace did much
“more abound (Rom. v. 20)...seeing that the Son became without sin
“such as we had become for sin; that is, not only did He not shrink
‘from our nature which He had purposed to assume, but for our
‘sake descended even unto death...as the Apostle says, For it became
+ Him...to be made perfect through suffering (Hebr. ii. 10).’

In another work written not long after Rupert, in answer to the
opinion that man was created to fill up the gap made in the angelic
orders by a Fall, says’: ‘It is more right to sey not that man was
‘made for the sake of angels, but that the angels, as every thing
“else, were made for a particular man, according to the witness of the
“Apostle: For it Became Him [1.ο. Christ, the Son of man] for Whom
‘are all things and through Whom are all things.’ And after referring
to John i. 3 £ (with the Latin reading quod factum est in ipso vita erat)
he goes on to Prov. viii. 31, and asks ‘what else is this than if he had
‘said: “Before God made anything from the beginning, and when He
‘was making this or that, this was His purpose that I the Word of
“God, the Word God (verbum Deus) should become flesh, and dwell
“among men with great love and great humility, which are true
“<delighta.” ‘Therefore we say that it is not so likely that man was
‘made to fill up the number of angels as that both angels and men

1 De glorif. Trin. iii. 68 20 . (Migne Patrol. Lat. olxix. pp. 71 4).

19—2

292

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

‘were made for the sake of one man Jesus Christ ; that as He, one
‘and the same, was both God, born of God, and destined to be born
‘man, He might have a family prepared on both sides, of angels
‘and of men, and might Himself, God and man, rise aloft Lord and
‘Creator of angels, Lord and Creator and Saviour of the saints, Lord,
‘I say, among them as in His own house, King in His own nation,
‘God in His own majesty, because, as has been already said, all
‘ things are both for Him and through Him.

Thus Rupert regards the Incarmation as essentially independent
of Sin and the Fall, and still he argues that the Fall did in fact
redound to this glory of Christ. The humiliation of love which it
called out was followed by a more exceeding glory (Phil. ii.9). And
thus, he says', when the trembling sinner looks to Christ in His
majesty, he may fancy that he hears Him answer: ‘I should not
‘have been such as I am and so great, except for thy sake for
‘the sins of the human race (causa tui propter peccata generis
‘humani).... We see, the Apostle says, the Lord Jesus Christ for
‘suffering crowned with glory and honour (Hebr. ii. 9). Therefore
‘the godless and the wicked were the cause that He is crowned and
‘seated at the right hand of God, crowned with the glory of the
‘kingdom, with the honour of the priesthood. He therefore owes
‘much to the godless who are turned through faith in Him to godli-
‘ness : He owes much to enemies who through Him were reconciled
‘to God.’

In a later work the same thought is expressed if possible in a
bolder paradox’. ‘ Let believing sinners, penitent sinners,’ he writes,
‘reply in answer to the accusations of their Judge: “If we owe much
“to Thee, O God Christ, because Thou wast made man, yet Thou on
“the other hand owest much to us, O man Christ, because for us
“Thou wert taken into God. For unless we had been sinners there
“would have been no reason why Thou shouldest have been taken
“into God.”’ The penitent sinner must look therefore, he argues,
not at Christ’s sufferings only, but at His exaltation. ‘Unless the

1 Comm. in Matt. xii. 697 (Migne, 3 De medit. mortis ii. p. 249 (Migne,
Patrol. Lat. elxviii.). Patrol, Lat. clax. p. 387).

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 293

“alaves had sinned the nature of the slave would not have been taken
‘into the Lord God. For the Lord did not receive more outrages
‘for the rebellious and wicked slaves than glory for the same.’

The two views thus expressed are inconsistent only in appearance.
The Incarnation as absolute in idea is in some way contrasted with
the Incarnation as conditioned by sin in fact. Christ by taking upon
Himself man’s nature, when man had fallen, and bearing all the
consequences of sin was more highly exalted, it is argued, than if the
union of man and God had been otherwise made. The circumstances
of the Incarnation have actually made the issue of it more glorious
for Christ. The thoughts are evidently written down without
careful guarding against misconception. New lights flash across the
thinker’s soul and he hardly pauses till they have settled into the
calm of the perfect day.

It is difficult to trace the history of the question during the ceu- The
tury which followed the death of Rupert. It docs not appear to have Schtanty
been discussed in the school of St Victor at Paris, where it might “=
have been expected to attract attention. The teaching of Hugh of
St Victor (¢ 1141) and Richard of St Victor (+ 1173) seems to
connect the Incarnation exclusively with the Fall’, Meanwhile the
system of scholastic theology was being reduced to a definite shape.
Anselm (+ 1109) had proved in controversy and in original specula-
tion the power of a logical method, The recovery of the direct Latin
translation of Aristotle stimulated and guided independent thought. -
The translation of the treatise of John of Damascus, On the Orthodox
Faith into Latin (c. 1146), gave a model to the West for the con-
struction of a general view of Christian doctrine. Several ‘Systems’
(Summe Theologia) were compiled, one by our own Stephen Langton
(ο. 1205), and Books of Sentences. But supreme among these by
its masterly completeness of form and lasting influence was the great

1 Ecclesia fidelium cum omni fiducia a0 tantum meruit habere redemptorem.
canat: O certe necessarium Adm pec- Ric, a 8, Victore, de Verbo Inc. 8 (Migne,

catum et nostram quod morte Christi Patrol. Lat. excvi. p. 1003).
deletum est. Ο felix culpa ques talem

294

Outline of
Booke
of Sen-
tences of
Peres
Lomparp.

ALEXAN-
DEE OOF
Huuzs.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

work of Peter Lombard of Novara, the scholar of Abélard, and
afterwards Bishop of Paris (} 1164), Sententiarum Libri iv., which
practically determined once for all the outlines of the various
medieval systems of doctrine, and through them has influenced the
direction of the currents of thought over to the present day.

The jfiret book of the Sentences treats of the questions which
concern the mystery of the Godhead: of the Trinity and Unity: of
the Divine Persons: of the Divine attributes and will.

The second book treats of finite being: of Creation and creatures:
of angels: of the work of the six days: of the fall: of free-will and
grace: of sin and sins.

The third book treats of the Incarnation: of the Human nature
of Christ and its relation to the Divine: of the nature and necessity
of redemption: of Faith, Hope and Charity: of the four cardinal
virtues (Justice, Courage, Prudence, Temperance): of the seven
gifts of the Holy Spirit: of the ten commandments.

The fourth book treats of the Sacraments and Eschatology : of
Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction,
Orders, Marriage: of the Resurrection, the Last Judgment, the
Future State’.

The question of the absolute motive of the Incarnation is not
raised by Peter Lombard, but when it appears next it has evidently
been already made the subject of careful inquiry from many sides.

. About the year 1243 Innocent IV, commissioned Alexander of Hales

(Alexander Alensis, Alesius), a Franciscan, who had won for himself
the titles of ‘ Fountain of Life ’ and ‘ Doctor irrefragabilis,’ to compose
‘a Body of Theology” This he did on the general lines of the

1 The history of scholasticism is
commonly divided into three periods.
The first extends to about 1250; the
second to about 1330; the third to the
close of the rsth century. I have
taken AURIANDER oF HAuEs as the re-
presentative of the first: ALBERT THE
Gazar, Tuomas Aquinas, BONAvENTORA,
and Dus Scorus, as the representa-

tives of the second, the heroic age of
the schoolmen; and Gapnre, Burt, as
the representative of the last age, the
age of the decline and dissolution of
their system.

3 Alexander cannot have been edu-
cated as is universally stated in the
Cistercian [not Franciscan] Abbey of
Hailes in Gloucestershire. This was

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 295

Sentences in four parts; and the work, which was approved by a
Bull of Alexander IV. in accordance with the eolemn judgment of
seventy Theologians, is a marvellous monument of learning and
thought.

The third Part treats of the Incarnation. The first two questions
discussed are ‘On the Necessity of the Incarnation’ and ‘On the
‘fitness (convenientia) of the Incarnation.’ The last topic (membrum)
which is considered under the second head (and the twelve preceding
topics shew singular fertility and subtlety of thought), is ‘ whether if
‘human nature had not fallen through sin there would still have
* been reason and fitness for the Incarnation of Christ ? (an si humana
‘natura per peccatum lapsa non esset adhuc fuisset ratio et conve-
‘ nientia ad Christi Incarnationem ?)’

This Alexander affirms (sine prajudicio concedendum est); and
he brings forward four reasons in support of his view :

1. The highest good is necessarily diffusive and perfectly diffused.
It must therefore be extended to the creature; for otherwise we
could imagine a more complete diffusion. And this diffusion would
not be complete unless He who is the highest good were united with
the creature, that is, with man the representative of creation.

2. All blessedness is in God; and the creature is capable of
blessedness in all its parts. A man therefore, a rational creature
made up of body and mind, is capable of being blessed in sense as
well as in understanding.

He must then be blessed in God in both (secundum sensum et
secundum intellectum).

But he cannot be blessed in God in Himself as far as sense,
Therefore God must assume a corporeal nature to bring this blessed-
ness to him, and, if so, a human nature.

not founded till 1246, the year after
his death. Rudder, in his History of
Gloucestershire, suggests that he was
educated at Hales Owen in Shropshire,
which was commonly called Hales,
where there was a convent of Premon-
stratensian Monks founded in the reign

of John, It is said that Alexander
reckoned among his pupils Bonaven-
tura and Thomas Aquinas. Zealous
Dominicans deny that Thomes heard
him, but the tradition is supported
with strong evidence by Wadding, An-
nales, iii, pp. 133 ff.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

3- There are three Persons in unity of substance (in the Holy
Trinity) : there are three persons in three substances (as three angels
or three men).

Hence to complete the possible combinations, that there may be
perfection in the universe, we conclude that there will be three
substances in one Person.

This can only be realised by the union of the divine nature with
the twofold human nature (spiritual and corporeal).

4- We find unity of Nature in three Persons (in God) ; we find
also unity of Person in two natures (in man): if this plurality of
natures belongs to the perfection of persons it must be possible for
God. ‘We must suppose therefore that one divine Person (and if so
the Son) was destined absolutely to be united in time to human

nature’,

1 Alex. Alensis Summa Theol. Pars
Βλ, Quest. iii., Membr. xiil.,....dicit
Dionysius Bonum est difusivum sui
eue......Ergosi summum bonum exist-
ente creatura non se diffundit in crea-
turam, adhue erat cowitare majorem
diffusionem......8ed hme diffusio non
potest intelligi summa nisi ipse [Deus]
uniatur creature; ergo convenit quod
Deus uniatur creature, et maxime
humane...Ergo posito quod ipsa non
esset lapses, adhuo ei uniretur sum-
mum bonum.

Trex, non est beatitudo nisi in Deo;
οἱ oreatura rationalis tota est beatifi-
cabilis...ergo οἱ secundum sensum et
secundum intellestum; ergo oporteret
quod in Deo bestificaretar quantum
ad utromque...Bed in Deo secundum
se considerando et in propria natura
non potest beatificari sensus sed solum
intellectus...8i ergo totus homo debet
Deatificari in Deo, oportet Deum esse
corporalem οἱ sensibilem. Sed non
est conveniens, ut assumet quamlibet
corporalem naturam, sed solum huma-
nam, ut dictum est.

Ίταχς, contingit intelligere tres per-
sonas in unitate substantia; et ex
opposito tres substantias in unitate
persons; et inter hmo duo tres per-
sonas in tribus substantiis. Si ergo
‘unum extremorum est in rerum natura

...c¢ medium,..contingit ponere ter-
tium, videlicet unam personam in
tribus substantiis; sed hoc non po-
test fleri nisi per unionem divine
nature ad humanam, quia in nulla
alia creatura est ponere duas substan-
πα quam in homine, scilicet spiritu-
alem et corporalem...Convenit ergo
quod sit unio divine naturm ad huma-
nam in unitate persone; ut sit in

rerum universitate perfectio; ut sicut
tres persons in una natura, et tres

Trey, nos invenimus unitatem na-
ture in pluribus pergonis...ut in Deo:
Ttem...unitatem persone in pluribus

‘is, ut in homine. Si erga de
perfectione nature est quod est in
plaribus personis ergo et de perfectione
erit quod potest esse in pluribus na-
taris. Si ergo semper quod est per-
fectius Deo tribuendum quantum ed
naturam et quantum sd personam..
convenit...quod uniatur divina na-
tura naturm create in persona divina,

. d solam hu-
mang; nec etiam euilibet persons in
Trinitate nisi filio...Relinquitur ergo
quod cirenmscripto lapsu humane
nature adhuc est convenientis unionis
in persona filii.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 297

+ In support of this view Alexander quotes a passage ascribed to
Bernard, in which it is said that envy at the prospect of man’s
destined union with the Son of God led to the fall of Lucifer; and
that he planned the temptation to hinder the union which he fore-
saw’; and another passage from [a work falsely ascribed to] Augus-
tine. ‘God was therefore made man to bless the whole of man in
‘Himself, that whether man went within by intellect, or went
‘without by sense, he might find pasture in his Creator, pasture
‘within in the knowledge of the Godhead, pasture without in the
‘flesh of the Saviour’ This reason, he adds, remains even if the
fall of human nature be excluded.

On the other side he brings forward ‘the authority of the
‘Church’ ‘in the preface to the [Easter] candle’ (nihil nasci profuit
nisi redimi profuisset). This objection he removes by shewing that
the words refer to man as fallen, and not to man absolutely.

Α1ΠΕΗΤ THE Great, who was a Dominican, of a noble German Ausrar
family and at last Bishop of Ratisbon, approached the question from Gnuaz,
a different side. In commenting upon the section of the Sentences (6 --
in which Peter Lombard” shews ‘that God could have freed man 1159.
‘otherwise than He did,’ and then points out ‘ why He chose to free
‘him in that particular way,’ he comes to speak of the words: ‘ What
“so much rouses our minds and frees them from despair of immor-
‘tality as that God esteemed us so highly that the Son of God
‘remaining in Himself what He was, unchangeably good, and re-
‘ceiving from us that which He was not, deigned to enter into
‘fellowship with us and bear our ills by dying.’ On this view,
he says, it appears that if man had not sinned [God] would not have
challenged us so powerfully to His love as He does now. This, he
continues, is implied in the words of the sequence :

Ο culpa nimium beata
Qua redempta est natura:

Deus qui creavit omnia
Nascitur ex femina‘;

1 The passage is referred to Hom. Alcher, a monk of Clairvanx. The
super Jon. 2, and it is probably a free passage in De Civ. x. 27 is quite dif-
adaptation of part of it. ferent in tone.

3 De an. et spir. § 9 (quoted freely). 3 βοπέ, ili. Dist. xx. Art. 4.

The treatise was probably written by ‘ Daniel, Thesaurus Hymmol. ii, 3.

298

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

which as much as say that because the guilt was incurred God was
made man. And further, he adds, in some Churches a hymn is used
at the blessing of the Easter Candle which contains the phrase,
Ο feliz culpa qua tantum ac talem meruit habere redemptorem', in
which the Incarnation is distinctly made to depend upon the Fall.
The same conclusion, he continues, is drawn from Rom. viii. 28
(all things work together for good). For the only good which sin can
be said to have wrought is in the Incarnation, which must therefore
be supposed to have depended upon it. And further, if there had
been no sin we should not have needed a teacher, or liberator, or
redeemer.

These are the arguments which Albert gives in support of the
common opinion that the Incarnation was dependent on the Fall.
On the other side he alleges the following arguments :

1. Good is diffused (see above, p. 295).

2. There are four conceivable modes of birth, and if any one of
them, as the birth from a virgin, hed been wanting, the order of
production would not have been perfect.

4. The Incarnation was foreseen from eternity, and so must
have taken place under any circumstances.

4. Man was created capable of being united to God, and this
capability must have been satisfied.

5. Sin in point of fact did not make man more fitted to be
united to God, but less fitted.

6. The perfection of the universe consists in a circular figure.
It was fitting therefore that the two extremes of being, God and man,
should be united.

7. The greatest love is shewn in union. Since God therefore
has the greatest love for man, His union with man cannot have been
contingent.

‘We must allow,’ he says in summing up, ‘that the solution of
‘this question is uncertain, but as far as I can form an opinion

1 Daniel, l.c. 303, and notes, The est’ is omitted generally in German
clause, together with the words which and French uss, while it is found in

precede ‘Ocerte necessarium Adm pec- Italian mss. See p. 293, n.
catum, quod Christi morte deletum

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 299
‘I believe that the Son of God would have been made man even if
‘sin had never been. Still I say nothing positively on this point,
“but I believe this which I have said to accord better with the piety

‘of faith [than the contrary opinion].’ He then examines in detail

the answers which can be made to the arguments on both sides, and
rightly remarking that the language of the Hymn is ‘ very inexact’
(locutiones valde impropria), in the end reaffirms his judgment.

The great pupil of Albert, Tuomas, Count or Aquinum (Doctor .

angelicus), who declined the Archbishopric of Naples, himself :224—
also of noble birth, treats the question with singular reverence ‘?’+
and moderation. In his early commentary on the Sentences
(ο, 1255) he proposes four questions on the Incarnation (Sent.
iii, Dist. i, Quest. 1): (1) Whether it was possible for God to be
incarnate; (2) Whether it was suitable (congruwm); (3) Whether
the Incarnation would have taken place if man had not sinned ;
(4) On the time of the Incarnation. In discussing the third of these
Points he states at length-the main arguments on both sides, and
then concludes that ‘He alone can know the truth of this ques-
‘tion Who was Born and Offered because He willed...Since the
‘redemption of man from the slavery of sin is assigned in Holy
‘Scripture as the sole cause of the Incarnation many say with good
‘reagon (probabilitas) that if man had not sinned, the Son of God
‘would not have been man...Others however say that since by the
‘Incarnation of the Son of God there was accomplished not only the
‘liberation from sin, but also the exaltation of human nature, and
‘the consummation of the whole universe, for these reasons even if
‘sin had not existed the Incarnation would have taken place. And
‘this also can be maintained with good reason.’

As time went on Thomas appears to have yielded more and more
to what he held to be the teaching of Scripture on a great mystery ;

1 In his commentary on 1 Tim. i 15
(Lect. iv.) he says: Sed αἱ nullus fais-
set peocator numquid incarnatus non
fniseot? Videtur quod non: quia venit
Peocatores salvos facere. Non ergo
fuisset necessaria incarnatio. Item

Glossa: Tolle morbum, et medicine
non opus erit.

‘Respondeo. Dicendum est quod ex
verbis sanctorum satis (?) hoo patet.
Bed hwe qumstio non est magnm auc-
toritatis: quia Deus ordinavit fiends

300 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

and in his latest work (the Summa, c. 1270) he speaks with tolerable
distinctness on the main issue, yet so as to recognise the validity of
some (at least) of the grounds on which the contrary opinion had
been maintained.

The first Question in the Third Part of his Swmma is on
‘the Fitness (convenientia) of the Incarnation.’ The first three
Articles, under which it is discussed, deal with the following topics :
(1) Whether it was fitting (conveniens) that God should be incarnate ;
(2) Whether it was necessary for the reparation of the human race
that the Word of God should be incarnate ; (3) Whether if man had
not sinned, God would have been incarnate.

His conclusion on the first point is that ‘since the nature of God
‘is the essence of goodness, and it pertains to the character (rationem)
‘of good that it communicates itself to others; it is clear that it
‘became God in the highest degree to communicate Himself to His
“creatures, which was fulfilled in the work of the Incarnation.’

The force of this argument (as we have'seen before) is evidently
wholly independent of the consequences of the Fall. So far therefore
it might seem that Thomas was inclined to hold that this divine
fitness would have been realised in the Incarnation apart from sin.
But the discussion of the second Article brings into prominence the
adaptation of the Incarnation to the wants of fallen man. And thus
when he reaches the third Article he decides that ‘Although God
‘might have been incarnate if sin had not existed, yet it is said more
‘fittingly that if man had not sinned God would not have been

secundum quod res fiends erant. Et
nescimus quid ordinasset si non pre-
scivisset peccatum. Nihilominus tamen
auctoritates videntur expresse sonare
quod non faisset incarnatus si non
Peccasset homo in quam partem ego
magia declino,

Comp. Quast. de Ver, xxix. 3, 4.
(if we admit that Christ would not
have been Incarnate if man had not
sinned, He would have been Head of
the Church in His Divine Nature only.)
‘The passage is characteristic: Sup-
Posita illa opinione quod Christus non
faisset incarnatus si homo non peo-

casset, Christus ante peccatum fuisset
caput ecclesis secundum divinsm na-
turam solum ; sed post pecoatum opor-
tet quod sit ecclesio caput etiam
secundum humanam. Nam per pec-
catum natura humana vulnerata est
οἱ ad sensibilia demersa, ut ad invisi-
bilem Verbi gubernationem non sit
sufficienter idonea. Unde oportuit
medicinam vulneri adhiberi per huma-
nitatem Christi per quam Christus
satisfecit, οἱ oportuit quod visibilem
naturam sssumeret ut per visibilem
gubernationem od invisibilia homo
revocaretur.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 301

‘incarnate, since in Holy Scripture the ground (ratio) of the Incar-
‘nation is everywhere set down as springing from the sin of the first
‘man (ex peccato...assignetur).’

This opinion he holds to be more probable because we can know
that which depends on the will of God from Scripture only; and
Scripture presents the Incarnation as the Divine remedy for sin.
Sin, he goes on to say, may have been the occasion for the greater
elevation of the human race; for God permits evil to happen that
He may bring a greater good out of it And thus he quotes without
disapprobation the sequence, which his master Albert had criticised,
‘0 feliz culpa.’

Giovanni 51 ἘΙΡΕΝΖΑ, who is known by the name of ΒΟΝΑΥΕΝ- Boraven-
una from the exclamation of Francis of Assisi on the occasion of μμ
his restoration to health when a child, combined the schoolman and
the mystic in a character of singular beauty. His master, Alexander
of Hales, is said to have remarked that ‘Adam did not sin in Bona-
‘ventura.’ Even Luther gave him special praise; and the popular
judgment was expressed in his title ‘doctor seraphicus.’ Bonaven-
tura entered the order of the Franciscans (1248), and he became
doctor on the same day and died in the same year as his Dominican
contemporary Thomas Aquinas. He deals with the subject of the
absolute motive of the Incarnation more fully and (if possible) more
reverently than his more famous rival. Indeed it was said that the
third Book of the Sentences, the Doctrine of the Incarnation, was
his peculiar field’.

In treating of the whole subject he first examines’ the question of
the possibility of the union of the divine and human natures: he
then examines the question of the suitableness (congruitas) of the

1 Compare: Non itaque sbeque causa
tantam admiratus est in operibus ejus
doctrinam et eruditionem Β. Thomas
Aquinas ut petiorit a Bonaventura sibi
ostendi libros ex quibus tam multipli-
eem atque adeo magnam eruditionia
ubertatem hauriret. Is vero Christi
Domini Cruoj affixi imaginem demon-
stravit, e quo fonte uberrimo se acci-

pere professus ost quiequid vel legeret
vel sentiret (Wading, Annales, rv.

139)-

ο an. Dist. i. Quest. 2. There are
considerable variations in the texts
of Bonaventura which I have used,
but they do not affect the general scope
of his arguments.

302 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

union. Under the latter head he raises four points. ‘1. Whether
‘it was suitable that God should become incarnate. 2. Whether
‘the cause of the Son of God coming into the world was the restora-
‘tion (reparatio) of the human race; whether, that is, if man had not
‘sinned Christ would have been Incarnate. 3. Whether it was
‘suitable that of the three Persons the Son should be Incarnate.
‘4. Whether the Son of God was Incarnate at a suitable time.’

He approaches the second point as Thomas also did, from the side
of Scripture, and gives the negative arguments first. The general
language of the Bible and the current glosses, so he states the argu-
ment, represent the coming of Christ as being for the redemption of
man (Gal. iv. 4; Hobr. ii 14; Ps. Ixix. (Ixviii.) 2).

Farther, Christ assumed human nature either for its dignity or
its necessity. But it could not have been for the former seeing that
the nature of angels is nobler. And man’s necessity came from
sin.

Further, the Incarnation is a work of grace; but the grace is
greater as the object of it is more unworthy.

Having thus given summarily the arguments in favour of the
current opinion, Bonaventura states the reasoning on the opposite
side at greater length,

1. He first gives the argument from the Pseudo-Augustine
which was urged by Alexander of Hales. ‘Man required to be
‘made wholly blessed (debebat totus beatificari), and that as fully if
‘he had not fallen as after he had fallen.

2. ‘The union with a Divine Person is not given to the nature
‘of angels (Hebr. ii. 16). If therefore...nothing bas been given to
‘human nature in vain, such a dignity would not have remained
‘unfulfilled (vacua), but it would still have been united with the
‘Divine nature.’

3. ‘It became God as much to manifest His infinity and per-
‘fection and bountiful love (liberalitas) if man had stood as if he
‘had fallen...”

4 ‘It is a work of as great difficulty and nobility to lay claim
‘to and gain (vindicare et acquirere) an infinite good, as to make

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 303

‘satisfaction for an offence against an infinite good. If therefore
‘man could not by himself make satisfaction for the offence com-
‘ mitted against God, neither could he by himself earn the possession
“of God (mereri habere Deum). Therefore as it was seasonable
“(opportunum) that the Son of God should be incarnate on the fall of
“man, to make satisfaction for man, so it seems seasonable that the
‘Son of God should be incarnate, if man had remained unfallen
‘(homine stante), that man through Him might earn [the divine
“union].’

5. ‘If the Incarnation took place primarily (principaliter) for
‘the expiation of sin, then the soul of Christ’ was made not of
‘primary purpose (principali intentione) but contingently (quadam
‘occasione); if therefore it is incongruous (inconveniens) that the
‘noblest object of creation should have been brought into being con-
‘tingently (occasionaliter esse introductum), while an agent primarily
‘purposes the noblest works, it seems to be incongruous to say that
‘the Incarnation took place only for the restoration (reparationem)
‘of man.’

6. ‘In the Incarnation of the Son of God human nature is most
‘highly exalted. If therefore God was Incarnate because human
‘nature sinned; it appears that man gains an advantage from his
‘ wickedness...’

7. ‘Christ is the Head of the Church not only in His Divine
‘Nature, but also in His human Nature ..But if man had not sinned
‘the Body of the Church would still have existed. Either therefore
‘the Son of God would have become Incarnate or the Church would
‘have remained without a Head.’

8. ‘If man had not fallen the sacrament of marriage would have
“existed....If therefore man had remained unfallen, either the sacra-
‘ment of marriage would have been a false sign (Eph. v. 32) or the
“Son of God would have been Incarnate. But the first supposition
‘is impossible.”

ο. There are four ways in which we can conceive of man being
produced: (1) of man and woman, (2) without man or woman

1 Comp. p. 291.

304

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

(Adam), (3) of man without woman (Eve), (4) of woman without
man (Christ). Unless this fourth possibility had been realised the
universe would not have been perfect.

πο. Yet further Bonaventura goes on to consider the assump-
tion of human nature, as distinguished from the assumption of
mortality by the Son of God, as belonging to the perfection of man,
and by consequence to the perfection of the universe, both in regard
to nature, and grace, and glory.

Having thus set out both views, he concludes: ‘ Which of these
‘two modes [of regarding the question] is the better, He knows
‘Who was Incarnate for us. Which of them is to be preferred
‘it is difficult to see, inasmuch as each is in accordance with
‘the catholic faith and is supported by catholic men, Moreover
‘each excites the soul to devotion on different grounds, The first
‘view however seems to be more consonant with the judgment of
‘reason : the second, as it appears, is more consonant with the piety
‘of faith. First because it is in closer agreement with [the letter of]
‘Holy Scripture, the authority of Saints...and secondly because it
‘gives greater honour to God...since the other view makes God in
‘some sense dependent on the universe... Thirdly...because an excep-
‘tional cause is assigned for an exceptional mystery...Fourthly
“because it kindles the affection of faith more ardently...’

Having thus stated his general conclusion he suggests answers to
the arguments which he had given in favour of the view which he
finally sets aside. They deserve to be indicated in outline:

1. The beatitude of man which comes through the Incarna-
tion, and from the corporeal vision of Christ, is accidental and not
essential.

2. There are many potencies in creation which are not brought
to act; but these are not in vain.

3- These attributes of God are adequately manifested in crea-
tion.

4. Even allowing the premiss, the blessing of divine fellowship
might have been secured by the mission of the Holy Spirit into the
soul without the mission of the Son into the flesh.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

5. God foreknew the fall and provided for it from eternity.

6. The Incarnation was not from (ex) man’s wickedness, but
from God’s goodness, The obedience of Christ pleased Him more
than the disobedience of Adam displeased Him.

7. The Church would not have been without a Head. As God
is the Head of man, so He would have been the Head of the Ohurch
of men, as He is the Head of the Church of angels,

& The sign of marriage would still have marked the union of
Christ with the Church by love.

g. The fourth mode of production is beyond the perfection of
the universe (Jer. xxxi.) ; moreover the man so produced need not
have been also the Son of God,

After this reply he concludes: ‘These statements I desire to be
‘made (dicta sint) without prejudice, For I do not wish to confine
‘the goodness of God, but to commend the excess of His love
‘towards fallen man, that our affections may be roused to love Him
‘while we mark the extremity of His exceeding love.’

The transition from the calm and eloquent tenderness of Bona-
ventura to the stern roughness of Duns Soorus is most abrupt,
Duns Scotus (doctor subtilis) is simply the dialectician, without
grace, without sympathy, inexhaustible in ingenuity, and unhesi-
tating in decision. He is the master without the softening experi~
ences of the ecclesiastic. In affirming that the Incarnation was
independent of the Fall, he dwells mainly on the conceivable order
of thoughts in the divine counsel, a form of argument which was
only lightly touched before,

‘The Incarnation of Christ was not foreseen as a contingent event
‘(occasionaliter proevisa), but was seen by God directly (immediate)
‘as an end from eternity : so Christ, in His human Nature, since He
‘is nearer to the end than other things, was predestined before
‘them...’

And again: ‘If the Fall was the cause of the Incarnation of
‘Christ, it would follow that the greatest work of God was con-
‘tingent only (occasionatum tantum), because the glory of all things

1 Opus Oxoniense, iii. Dist. xxx.; Wadding, vii. 1, p. 415.
Ww. 20

305

Dons Sco-

‘TuB,t1308,

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.
‘will not be so great (intensive) as that of Christ, and it seems to be
‘very irrational to suppose that God would have left undone (dimt-
‘ sisset) so great a work because of Adam’s right action, that is, if he
‘had not sinned’,’

The thought is set out more fully in the following passage :

‘[God] wills grace and glory to any other being soever before He
‘foresees the opposites of those habits...that is sin and condemnation.
‘Therefore from the first He wills the glory of the soul of Christ
‘before He foresees that Adam will fall...Redemption, we allow,
‘would not have required to be made if man had not sinned. But it
‘was not for this reason only that God seems to have predestined
‘that soul to so great glory, seeing that redemption, or the glory of
‘redeeming the soul is not so great a good as is that glory of the soul
‘of Christ, nor is it likely that the sovereign good in being (tam
‘summum bonwm in entibus) was only contingent, that is dependent
‘on a less good...%.”

No fresh arguments appear to have been added on either side
after Duns Scotus, Gaspret Bret, ‘the last of the schoolmen’ who
assisted in the foundation of the Gymnasium at Tubingen (1477),
in his lectures on ‘the Sentences’ which were delivered there gives

306

Gasp
Bren.

opposita istorum habituum...scilicet

1 Opus Parisiense, iii. Dist, vii.
; pecoatum et damnationem. Ergo a

Quast, 4; Wadding, xi. p. 451: Si

lapsus esset causa predestinationis
Christi sequeretur quod summum opus
Dei esset occasionatum tantum, quia
gloria omnium non erit tanta intensive
quanta erit Christi; et quod tantum
opus dimisisset Deus per bonum fao-
tum Adm, puta, si non peocasset, vide-
tur valde irrationabile.

Divo igitar sic: Primo Deus diligit
se: seoundo diligit se aliis (2), et iste
amor est castus; tertio vult se diligi
ab slio qui potest eam summe dili-
gere, loquendo de amore alicujus ex-
trinseci: et quarto previdit unionem
illine nature que debet eum summe
diligere etsi nullus cecidisset.

* Opus Osoniense, iti. Dist. vil.
Quest. 3; Wadding, vii. 1, p. 202
.-[Deus] prius cuilibet alteri valt
gratiam et gloriam quam prevideat

primo prius vult anime Christi glo-
riam quam prevideat Adam casuram
...Sed neo redemptio faisset facienda
nisi homo pecossset. Sed non propter
solam istam csusam videtur Deus
predestinavisse illam animam ad tan-
tum gloriam. Cum illa redemptio sive
gloria anime redimendm non sit tan-
fam bonum quantum est illa gloria
anime Obristi; neo est verisimile tam
summum bonum in entibus esse tan-
tum cccasionatum, soilicet propter
minus bonum... Compare Dist. xix (p.
405) Incarnatio Christi non fait ocoa-
sionaliter previes sed sicut finis imme-
diate videbatur 8 Deo ab mterno, ita
Christus in natura humana, oum sit
propinguior fini, ceteris prius predes-
tinabatur loquendo de his que predes-
tinantur...

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 307

a general review of opinion upon the subject, and leaves the decision
in suspense. He starts from the teaching of Thomas Aquinas, which
he quotes at length, and gives in the course of his lecture an account
of the opinions of Alexander of Hales, and Duns Scotus, justly
remarking in reply to his argument from the priority of the pre-
destination of Ohrist to glory in relation to the Fall, that in such
questions we cannot speak of ‘before’ and ‘after.’ This criticism he
supports by the authority of Occam. ‘The problem therefore remains
‘doubtful’—this is his conclusion—‘..,until the Lord shall deem it
‘right to make a revelation’,’

Still one other writer, Jon WesskL, must be noticed before Jom
πο leave the 15th century. Weasel was born at Gréningen about ren”
1419 and died in the same place in 1489. In spirit and pursuits and 1489.
doctrine he belongs to s period of transition. Like Rupert of Deutz,

the first medieval writer whom he noticed, he expresses the striving
after a new and direct approach to the source of truth. Like Rupert

he also based his doctrine with absolute devotion upon Holy Scrip-
ture; and he is described in his epitaph as justifying his claim to
teach by a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. His relation to Rupert

is still closer than that of a kindred character. Hardenberg, his
early biographer, relates that while studying at Oologne he grew
weary of the mere repetition of the teaching of Thomas Aquinas and
Albert the Great, and often crossed the Rhine to the Abbey of
Deutz, where he found in the works of Rupert fresher and more
congenial thoughts, From these writings he transcribed many
passages, to which he added other extracts and comments of his
own. This collection of notes and fragments he afterwards arranged

and called his ‘Mare magnum.’ The collection itself has perished ;

but the two essays de causis Incarnationis and de magnitudine
Passionis Domini, with which we are chiefly concerned, are said to
have been derived in great part from it; and it is not difficult to see

2 ili, Dist. ii, Quests αν
20—2

308

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

how the speculations of Rupert have influenced the views which
Weasel maintains in them.

‘Weasel approaches the subject of the Incarnation characteristically
from a comparison of two passages of the Old Testament’, ‘J am
‘God, I change not’ (Mal, iii. 6), and ‘I am he that I am’ (Ex. iii.
14). The latter translation is, he says, inadequate, though he
believes that it was by a divine purpose that the xx and Jerome
preserved the present tense, The true rendering, he maintains, is :
‘I will be the man I will be’ (ero homo qui ero). There is then an
antithesis to be reconciled in this twofold revelation of the Divine
nature; and the antithesis is reconciled for us, he argues, in the
Incarnation.

The language of St Paul in Rom. ix. 28, as represented in the
Vulgate, furnishes Wessel with his next illustration’. ‘Verbum
abbreviatum et consummatum,’ he says, ‘fecit Deus super terram.’
And this was done in three waya. The divine Word, remaining in
Himself unchangeable, was brought within limits (abbreviatum) at
the Creation, but not consummated. He was also brought within
limits in Holy Scripture, as it is said ‘day wnto day uttereth Word,’
but still the Word was not consummated in the written Word
‘quantumlibet liquescentis veritatis claritate resplendens.’ Once
again therefore the Word was brought within limits and consum-
mated by the Incarnation,

Here then, he continues’, is a fitting place to inquire why God
was made man: Cwr Deus homo? Again and again he repeats
Anselm’s famous question, and answers it by paraphrases of passages
of Scripture which he quotes. The whole section is so full of
thought, and offers so vivid a picture of Wessel’s mode of interpreting
the Bible that it must be quoted entire.

‘ Why was God made man? Why, but that that holy and fair
body, the universal Church of the triumphant saints might not be
maimed but rejoice in its proper head. Eph. i 22; Col. i. 18, ii, το.

‘Why was God made man? That the building of the Holy ΄
Temple might have its corner-stone in which the two walls of men

1 De causis Incarn. ο. iv. 3 Id. 0. v. 5 Id. ο. vi.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION, 309

and angels might meet and find their foundation. Ps. cxviii. 22;
Acts iv. 11 [referred to St Stephen]; 1 Cor. iii. 11, 1 Cor. x. 4.

‘Why was God made man? That all creation (creatura) might
have a Mediator common to God and creation. Gal. iii. 19; 1 Tim.
ii 5.

‘Why was God made man? That the whole host (militia) of
God, and all the people of God might have their King. Luke i. 33;
Apoc, xix. 16.

‘Why was God made man? That the School of God might have
its Teacher. Joel ii. 23 (doctorem justitia as mg. A.V.).

‘ Why was God made man? That the city of Jerusalem might
have its Temple. Apoc. xxi. 22.

‘Why was God made man? That the temple of the heavenly
Jerusalem might have its High Priest. Ps. cx. 4; Hebr. v. 4.

‘ Why was God made man? That all the daughters of God might
find their Bridegroom and the pattern (paradigma) of their love.
John iii. 29; Matt. ix. 15.

‘Why was God made man? That all who sacrifice in the Temple
of God might have their sacrifice (hostia). Hebr. ix. 13 f And if
all do not offer sacrifices or victims for the present, still part do for
the past, and all for preservation (de proservato) offer sacrifices and
victims and offerings for sin and ignorance, and tithes and first fruits
and peace offerings. All whether men or angels offer whole burnt
offerings and incense in this Temple.

‘ Why was God made man? That all the sheep of God’s pasture
might have their common shepherd. John x. 2, 9. He left His
ninety and nine sheep on the mountains, going away to seek the one
which had strayed. A common shepherd then had been destined and
predestined for this and for those, as He had been before foreseen
and hated (prewisus et invisus) by Lucifer who pursues the Lamb.

‘ Why was God made man? That all the sons of God and all
creation might have their first-born brother. Rom. viii. 29; Col.
irs.

It is easy to anticipate the answer which Wessel gives to the
next question which he asks: ‘Whether God the Word would have

310 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

‘assumed flesh even if man had not sinned?’ His answer however
rests mainly upon another form of argument akin to that of Duns
Scotus, He regards the humanity assumed by Christ (creatwram
tllam beatam a Verbo adsumptam in unionem hypostaticam) as so full
of grace, and righteousness and glory, that its fulness alone outweighs
in the judgment of God all the fulness of the whole remaining
creation. ‘God therefore loved Christ more from eternity than the
‘whole of the rest of the Church, and before it.’ ‘Nay the rest of
‘the body would not have been destined [to glory], except it had
‘been [included] in the dignity of the Sacred Head'.’

“We must consequently use great care (reverentia) in dealing with
‘the phrase in the Nicene Creed ‘who for us men...,’ as if the Word
‘was made Flesh for our sakes, when otherwise He would not have
‘been so made. For in final causes, which are essentially coordinated,
‘the order is not that the better are for the worse...".’

Even the angels who had not fallen were, as Wessel teaches,
immeasurably blessed by the Incarnate Christ, ‘Whence he con-
‘cludes theirs is an unworthy question who ask ‘Whether if Adam
‘¢had not sinned the Word would have been made flesh?’ For that
‘wise designer (destinator) of the holy city Jerusalem had purposed
‘ (destinaverat) to grant union and perfection among its citizens, that
‘the natural union of the head and members is inadequate to express
‘it. It is then like asking in the case of an ulcerated arm or leg,
‘whether if the arm had not been ulcerated the head would have
‘been given to the combination of members to heal the arm or not’?

This figure presents an impressive view of Wessel’s general
teaching, which he sums up in a series of brief propositions, tracing
the fulfilment of the divine counsel from the creation to the consum-
mation of all things‘. This series concludes thus: ‘God destined
‘and regarded (inéendit) the Lamb as first and the first-fruits of all
‘creation. He destined that the Lamb should become man. He
‘destined the Lamb as King of a blessed state. It was fitting (con-
‘gruebat) that the Man-Lamb being King should have men as
‘citizens of His kingdom,

1 De causis Incarn. ο. vii. 1 Id. ο, vii. 5 Id. ο. xiv, 4 Id. 0. xv.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 311

‘The Lamb has the promise from the Father that men should be
‘given Him at His request as His inheritance,

‘If neither angel nor man had fallen the Lamb in bliss would no
“less have reigned over them.

‘Still truly ‘for us men and for our salvation He came down from
«*heaven.’

‘He was truly made man for our salvation, suffered, died, was
‘buried.’

‘He was not however wholly or entirely (non penitus non proraus)
‘made man for our salvation.’

“For our salvation wholly He suffered, died, was buried, being
‘made a sacrifice and victim. It was not wholly to restore (curare)
‘us from destruction, that He was made an offering (sacrificium), a

, ‘holocaust, incense.

‘That most holy [human] soul [of Christ] was inflamed and
“borne to God by the impulse of its own love. It [or Christ] lived
‘more for God and for itself [as directed] towards good than for
“saving all of us.’

Thus there were in Christ three ‘forma’ The form of God,
which is eternal; and in this He is equal in all things to the
Father: the form of a slave, which He assumed for the sake of
sinners, which was temporal, and in this He emptied Himself: the
form of the supreme creature (supremi plasmatis), which He would
have assumed even if man had not sinned. In the second form He
will receive a kingdom which afterwards He will give back to the
Father. The kingdom which He has in the third form will be for
ever and ever (Luke i. 32 Ε.).

Thus wrote the Dutch mystic from his northern home. About Prous or
the same time Picus, count of Mirandols, the most brilliant type of τω, tr494.
the universal scholarship of the Renaissance, maintained the same
doctrine from a different point of view. ‘It was fitting,’ he writes,
‘that He who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all
‘creation, in whom all things (wniversa) were created, should be
“united in an ineffable union to him (i.e, man) who was made after

1 De causis Incarn, ο. xvii.

312

Naouan-

Tua,

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

‘the image of God, who is the bond of all creation, in whom all
‘things are included (conclusa). And if the whole of nature was
‘imperilled by man, its loss was not to be disregarded, or to be
‘repaired by any other than by Him by Whom all nature had been
‘framed ',’

In the age of the Reformation the question was still debated.
Among the Romanist divines who maintained that the Incarnation
was independent of the Fall, Giacomo Nacutantt, bishop of Chiozza
(Jacobus Naclantus, Zp. Clodiensis, or Clugiensis), a Dominican, is
the most conspicuous’, His general spirit is characterised by a
remark in the preface to his commentary on the Epistle to the
Ephesians, in which he gives as the reason for discussing that
Epistle before the Epistle to the Romans, that it suggests in its
‘loftier and more mysterious revelations, which are truly brought
‘from the third heaven, many thoughts which are necessary for the
‘ understanding of the latter.’

The argument by which Naclantus supports his opinion is an
analysis of the divine counsel of creation as man can apprehend it.
In this he argues that man was marked out as the object of the
Divine love, and that in regard to him an end absolutely perfect

1 In Hept. v. 7.

I do not observe among the theses of
Provs any one on this subject, as there
is commonly said to be.

Wicxrr appears to regard the In-
carnation as lying in some sense
eternally in the Nature of the Word:
assumpsit [Verbum] in unitatem per-
sons humanitatem integram, faciendo
se ease illam personam hominis que
setornaliter fait, quia secundum
naturam Verbi sternaliter prius fait
ic 27, Ῥ. 224).
pees Which are gained of
Nechianti at the Council of Trent are
fall of interest. He spoke
against placing traditions on the same
footing as Scripture: Nemo enim
ignorat contineri in sacris libris es
omnia que ad salutem pertinent...Quod
vero etiam eoclesiastion traditiones re-

cipiantur et eoram mentio in deoreto
fist nullo modo probare possum, cum
tot indictiones jejunioram, tot cere-
monie, que plerumque frustratoris
sunt, ‘nimis Christianum populum
gravant (Theiner, Acta Cone. Trident.
1 58 f). And again: Non possum
pati ut smpe dixi, α. synodum pari
pietatis affoctn suscipere traditiones et
libros sanctos; hoo enim, us vere
dioam quod sentio, impium est. Neque
placet quod ponatur anathema in ipsis
traditionibus,.. A lively soene followed
these bold words, which ended in an
explanation and an apology (id. 85).
Comp. pp. 76, 82. The words of Na-
chiantiwere condemned by the Council,
and Card, Pole joined in the condem-
nation: ‘sed poseet, inquit, defendi,
quia dixit, “mihi videtur”’ (id. p. 86).

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

must have been prepared before the means towards the end. This
end regarded man’s spiritual and eternal state; and therefore his
approach to God and his union with God. And when it is said that
man was the crown of creation, we mean in particular Christ as
man, by whom as God and man, in the divine counsel, and therefore
truly man, even before the Incarnation, it was predestined that the
world should be made, preserved and consummated’. The effect of
the Fall then was that He who ‘was determined to be man, but not
‘passible, ordained the Maker of the world, appointed Heir of the
‘universe, chosen as King of all things, given as Head to the
‘peculiar possession (peculio) of God the Father, should in due
‘season be sent down, lowered (dgjici), emptied, that clothed in
‘passible flesh’ He might make atonement for sin*.

‘Whence Naclantus concludes, ‘it is not only consonant to reason
‘but to Holy Scripture, that although the decree for the assumption
‘of flesh follows the decree for the permission of sin, so that if Adam
‘had not sinned there would have been no need of Christ as a
‘Physician, yet the decree of the assumption of man precedes not
‘only the decree of the permission of sin, but even the determination
‘ of the creation of the world*,’

The eame general conclusion that ‘the Son of God would have Axps.Ost-
‘been Incarnate if sin had not entered into the world,’ was main- ss.
tained in the Lutheran Church by Anpr. OstanpeR‘. This singularly

1 Eodem constitutum est deoreto πι bilem carnem induto.......
per eundem Deum et hominem Cunrs- crabi

313

mortem exe-
asso, impensa tanti sacri-

TUM (hocest) verbum definitions Dei ad
induendom hominem determinatum,
οἱ ob id hominem vere apnd Deum
effectum non solum quelibet condere-
tur, servaretur, ac promoveretur crea-
tura...sed...in longe feliciorem statum
...certo transferretur tempore...p. 38.
3 Decretum......Unigenitam summi
Patris, jam quidem hominem sed non
passibilem definitum, Opificem orbis
ordinatum, Heredem universoram
institutum, in Regem omninm reram
selectum, Peculio Dei patris donatum,
et eidem uti caput ascriptam; tandem
(00d opportuno tempore) eotsgue de-
mitti, dejici, exinaniri: ut eo passi-

fii crimen = exiaetr Ines majostatis
Dai... p. 3

. Qua ἂν το, si non fallor, facile ex
premissis habetar: non modo oon-
sonum esse rationi sed et Soripturis
Sanctis: quod οἷαὶ decretam sssump-
tionis oarnis decretum subsequitar
Bermissionis onlpm, propter quod a
Adam non peoossset Όππιστο medico

nitionem creationis Mundi (ib. 39 f.).
« ‘The title of the work in which he

discusses the question is: An Filius

Dei fuerit incarnandus si peccatum

314 THE GOSPEL OF OREATION.

vigorous and original thinker’ brought the doctrine into connexion
with his peculiar views on justification. Man, he taught, is justified
by the indwelling in him of the Divine Word ‘our Lord and Saviour
‘and only Mediator, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary,
‘very God and very man... And since the one eternal and divine
‘essence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is indivisible, the Father
‘and the Holy Spirit also dwell in πα" The divine likeness, for
which man was made, according to his original constitution, involved
the union of God and man as presented in the Incarnation. This
opinion was fiercely assailed as ‘new, useless, and.impious.’ The
most interesting feature in the arguments by which Osiander sup-
ports his teaching is the form of his biblical proof. He was specially
devoted to the study of Scripture, and thought that the confirmation
of the doctrine was to be sought there rather than in authority.
And such confirmation he found primarily in the account of Creation,
wherein man is revealed to have been ‘made in the image of God.’

This statement then formed the starting point of his discussion,
What, he asks, is ‘the image of God’? The answer, he replies, is to
be found in the words of Christ: ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen
‘the Father’ (John xiv. 9). ‘Therefore our Lord Jesus Christ, the
‘Son of God and the Son of Mary is the image of the Father....The
“Word made flesh, the Word of life which was from the begin-
‘ning, which the apostles heard and handled with their hands, as
«John bears witness (r John i. 1)*’ In other words ‘He in whom
‘the fulness of Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) dwells, Jesus Christ,
‘or the humanity of Christ, embracing the divinity,...is the real ob-
‘jective image of God*.’

non introivisset in mundum. Item de
imagine Dei quid sit ex certis et eviden-
tibus sacra Scripture testimoniis et
non ex philosophicis et humana rationis
cogitationibus deprompta ezplicatio.
Monteregio Prussie 1550. I have bean
unable to obtain 80004 to 8 copy of
the book which is not, as far as I can
find, in any of our grest libraries. I
oan therefore quote it only from Grau’s
Essay (de And. Osiandro doctrine com-

mentatio...cor, Ἑ. Ἡ. Grau, Ματ.
1860). ‘There is 8 good and sympa-
thetio account of Osiander's views in
Maller’s life (Andreas Osiander...von
Dr W. Moller, Elberfeld, 1870).

1 «Homo αὐτοδίδακτοι nullinsque Aca-
demim discipulus,’ as Quenstedt dis

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 315

Thus Christ was destined to be naturally the image and glory of
God; and God made man, the whole man and not any part of him,
capable of becoming like Ohrist through His pure grace and goodness.
Man, that is, was created to be as it was already determined eternally
that Christ should be’.

This being the Destiny of man, the Incarnation, Osiander argues,
was necessarily independent of the Fall. The image of God in which
man was created was first realised in the Incarnation, Looking for-
ward to this, in the language of time, God created man. Otherwise
man could not have been created in God’s image which would have
had no existence’.

Further the relation of Ohrist to the Church as its Head cannot
be supposed to be dependent on man’s sin. And this, Osiander
thinks, was already shadowed forth in the record of Creation before
the Fall (Gen, ii. 23 81 comp. Matt. xix. 4£; Mp. v. 415).

In a word all things were created for the Son, Who was to be in-
carnate (comp. Col. i. 13—20).

Osiander rests his conclusion on Scripture, but he finds support
for it also in the language of the Nicene Creed. ‘Christ came down
‘from heaven for us men and for our salvation.’ Here, he says, we
have two distinct thoughts. He was Incarnate ‘for us men’ as men
created for Him and in His image ; and ‘for our salvation’ as having
fallen through ain’.

Among those who had wandered far from the Catholic faith Sxnvarus,
Senvervs and F. Sooixvs maintained that the coming of Obrist in ‘55>
the flesh was independent of the Fall. ‘Adam,’ the former writes,
‘was made after the pattern, form, figure and image of Christ, in

1 Osiander’s reasons are given at
length by Grau, pp. 12 ff., and Maller,
BP. 394 fl.

3 Bi filius Dei non fuisset incarnan-
dus nisi Adam pecoaeset, sequeretur
aliud absardum, nempe quod Adam
non Imagine Christi sed Christus
Imagine Adami esset factus (Osiander,
ap. Grau, p. 13).

3 Quis non videat Spiritam Sanctum
hic dus inter sese longo diversissimas
causes ostendere propter quas Filius

Dei descenderit de oslis et homo factus
sit? Quarum prior est quia nos ho-
mines eramus homines, propter ipsum
et imagine eius conditi, qui conditi
nunquam fuissemus nisi ipse quoque
voluisset homo fieri et inter nos ver-
sari (Prov. viii). Posterior causa est
quis per peocatum eorrueramus in mor-
tem, unde nos eruere et salutem nobis
restituere dignatus est (ap. Gran, p.
15).

316 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

‘body and soul’,’ And again ‘Christ Himself before Adam sinned
‘was already in the Word with God, destined to be true man. If
‘Adam had not sinned Ohrist would have been Incarnate so as not
‘to die, and would have provided for our change while living to
‘heavenly glory without any form of death’’

F. Soot F. Soomrvs, on the other hand, held that man was created
fides, Without the gift of immortality. Hence in discussing 1 Pet. i. 20
he maintains that ‘Christ came, after men had sinned, to do away
‘their sins, but that He would have come even if men had not
‘sinned. For He was destined to come to give us immortality which
‘the first man did not possess at the beginning of creation...*’
Canvin, CaLvIN attacked the doctrine and arguments of Osiander with
1η. considerable severity in the remodelled edition of his Institutes

(1559). He characterises the opinion ‘that Christ should have been
‘man although there had been no need of His interposition to redeem
‘mankind, as one of those ‘wandering speculations that ravish
‘unto them light spirits.’ ‘TI allow,’ he says, ‘that in the first order
‘of creation, and while nature was undisturbed by the fall, [Christ]
“was set over angels and men, whereupon He is said by Paul to be
‘the first-born of every creature (Col. i. 15). But since all Scripture
‘declares that He was clothed with flesh to become Redeemer, it is
‘an act of exceeding rashness to imagine another cause or another
‘end.’ He then quotes and examines Is, lili 4 £; John i of, 14,
iii, 16, v. 25; Matt. xviii. 11, ix. 12, &.; and continues: ‘If any
‘object that some of these considerations are not opposed to the belief

1 Christianismi Restitutio, 1964. De
Trin. τα. p. 104: Ad exemplar igitur,
formam, figuram, οἱ imaginem Christi
est factus Adam, seoundum corpus οἱ
animum. ,

3 Id. De ord. perdit. 1. p. 382!
Christus ipse antequam Adam peo-
caret jam in verbo erat apud Deum,
faturus verus homo, Si Adam non
pecoaseet citra mortem fuisset Christus
incarnatus, nos ad gloriam cslestem
viventes immutaturus abeque aliqua
morte.

3 Pralect, Theol, x. 8 (Opera, τ. 649):

Ceterum quia certum est Deum ante
mundum conditum de mittendo Christo
decrevisse, ne quis ex eo hominum peo-
cata previsa fuisse colligat, sciendum
est Christum quidem postquam homi-
nes pecoaverant ad ipsorum pecoate,
delenda venisse sed venturum tamen
fniase otiamsi homines non peocassent.
‘Venturus enim erat ad immortalitatem
nobis dandam, qus...ab ipso creationis
initio primus homo carnit,.. Comp.
De statu primi hominis ante laprum, ii.
263 ft.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 317
‘that Christ who redeemed men under condemnation might have
‘shewn His love to them while still safe and fallen by putting on
‘flesh, the answer is short: since the Spirit proclaims that by the
‘eternal decree of God these two facts were united together, that
‘Christ should be our Redeemer, and partaker of the same nature
‘with us, it is not right to inquire farther.... This modesty Osian-
‘der unjustly assails, who at the present time has again unhappily
‘discussed this question which was before slightly mooted by 8
‘few!’

Some Calvinists however maintained, and this touches close upon
the essence of the doctrine, that unfallen men needed the media-
torial work of Christ for the support of their union with God. A
single illustration will be sufficient. Potanvs thus expresses the
thought: ‘ From the beginning of the world [Christ] was and is the
‘Mediator between God and the sons of God, as rational creatures
‘made in the image of God, through Whom alone they had in the
‘beginning and have blessednese, that is communion with and
‘fruition of God as the highest good*’

OL

The long line of authorities which we have examined shews The Gos-
beyond question that ‘the Gospel of Creation’ is a just subject for Baton α
discussion. The belief that the Incarnation was in essence inde- lel te legitimate

Ρίο of
pendent of the Fall has been held by men of the most different inguiry.

schools, in different ways and on different grounds. All however in

2 Instit. ii. 12, 4—7. He concludes:
Quas hactenus refatavi nenias, pro
firmissimis oraculis ducit Osiander,
nempe ut suarum speculationum dul-
cedine inebriatus ridioulos pmanas de
nihilo efflare solet.

3 Syntagma, vi. 27. Comp. Zan-
cbius in Hezaem. πι. Lid, iii. ο. 2.

ᾱ. 4, Ῥ. 106) uses almost the same
words. Ihave not seen that the En-
glish Reformers touched upon the ques-
tion; and I cannot find Willett'’s book
de statu hominis, to which Gerhard
refers (Loc. Theol. iii. p. 444), in the
Library of the British Mosoum or in
the Cambridge University Library.

Docemus etiam in statu ante lapsum
[Adamum] opus habuisse Christo me-
diatore, non per quem reoonciliaretur
Patri...sed per quem preservaretur a

pecoato,., Bucanus (Instit, Theol. Art,

Bp. Bull's Discourse on ‘The State
of Man before the Fall’ (Works ii,
ga ff), contains many suggestive
thoughts which illustrate some aspects
of the problem.

318 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.
the main agree in this, that they find in the belief a crowning promise
of the unity of the Divine order; a fulfilment, a consummation, of
the original purpose of creation; a more complete aud harmonious
view of the relation of finite being to God than can be gained
otherwise.
The sense = In every age the theory of the Divine economy, if we may 5ο
logical speak, will present itself under an aspect corresponding with the
must general aspect under which the whole finite order, so far as it comes
ebange. under human observation, presents itself. It cannot but be that the
views which are entertained of the relations of man to the earth
on which he lives, of the earth to the universe, of the period
of human life to the measurable period of the existence of the
objects of sense, should affect our views of the Redemption and
Consummation of man, not in essence but in the mode of appre-
hension. It is impossible for us now to understand a formula
which deals with man and the world in the sense in which it
was understood when the earth was regarded as the centre of the
system of material creation, and the human race as having existed
for five or six thousand years, The effect upon the mind of the
words in which it is expressed must be different even if we use
the same words, And the sovereign preeminence of Scripture as
the vehicle of spiritual knowledge lies in this, that it finds fuller
interpretation from growing experience. The Scripture does not
change, but our power of entering into its meaning changes.
If then we endeavour to consider the question before us from
Two the position in which we are placed in regard to the teaching of
απο οι” soripture, we shall be led (1) to examine what Scripture teaches or
ation of indicates as to the essential relations of man to God and to the world,

man to

God and go far as we can now apprehend the revelation which is made of
the Teds

1. " them ; and then (2), looking at the whole revelation of the Divine
Soa purpose recorded in the Bible, to determine, as far as may be, the

tibet of motives, if such a word may be used, to which the Incarnation is to
nation. be assigned.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 319

1. The relations of man to God and to the world, as laid down 1. Mas
in Scripture, may be expressed in two brief propositions. In relation η, image.
to God, man was made in His image (i). In relation to the world, [ῇ] ὡς)
man is the representative of the visible creation (ii). felion of

(i) The truth that man was ‘made in the image of God’ admits the {sible
of two distinct developmenta, It may be viewed (a) in regard to the (i) Man as
individual, or (6) in regard to the race. In both respects man was ieimes®
created to gain a divine ideal, It is true indeed that neither the ee aad
race nor the individual can be properly considered apart: each is (a) indi-
dependent upon the other for the attainment of its perfection, But μη ο
much is gained both in clearness and fulness of view by considering °
them separately.

(a) It is wholly unnecessary to inquire in what exact sense man (2) ihe
was ‘made in the image of God.’ We have no faculties for the man.
investigation, There is however no authority for limiting the
image to any particular part of his nature. For us the individual
man in his complex being is one; and as man he was made in God’s
image to gain His likeness,

In this work he had constant need of Divine help. As he was
made he was not at once capable of union with God. To reach this
consummation he required discipline and training. In the Divine
order men are ‘first made men and then afterwards gods'.’

If then man had fulfilled the law of bis being, he would still, so Man as
far as we can 909, have stood in need of a Mediator through whom the “tied

1 Irrationabiles igitur omni modo Athanasius: de Inc. Verbi § 51, p. 75 Mediator.

qui non exspectant tempus sugmenti,
et sum nature infirmitatem adscribunt
Deo...Jam volunt similes esse factori
Deo, et nullam esse differentiam infecti
Dei, et nunc facti hominis, qui plas
irrationabiles sunt quam muta ani-
malis, Ho enim non imputant Deo,
quoniam non homines facit ea...Nos
enim imputamus ei, quoniam non ab
initio Dii facti sumus, sed primo qui-
dem homines, tano demum Dii...(Iren.
iv. 38, 4: the whole passage is worthy
of careful stady: comp. iii. το, 2; iii,
19, 1).

‘The thought, which is startling at
first to us, finds frequent expression in

αὐτὸς γὰρ [8 τοῦ θεοῦ λόγοι] ἐπηνθρώπη-
σεν ἵνα ἡμεῖ θεοχοιηθῶμεν' καὶ αὐτὸν
ὀφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν διὰ σώματοι ἵνα ἡμεῖε
τοῦ ἀοράτου Πατρὸε ἔνροιαν λάβωμεν" καὶ
αὐτὸς ὑπέμεινε τὴν παρ ἀνθρώπων ὕβρω
ἵνα ἡμεῖς ἀθανασίαν κληρονοµήσωμεν. De
decr. Syn, Nic. § 14, Ῥ. 173 ὁ λόγοι
σὰρξ ὀγένετο ἵνα...καὶ ἡμεῖι ἐκ τοῦ πνεύ-
µατοι αὐτοῦ µεταλαβόντει θεοποιηθῆναι
δυνηθῶμεν, ἄλλως οὐκ ἂν τούτου τυχόντεε
εἰ μὴ τὸ κτιστὸν ἡμῶν αὐτὸν ἐνεδύσατο
capa, Compare Newman, Note on the
Second Discourse against the Ariane
§ 21, p. 380, for other referenoes ; and
the Index under θεοποίησιε; and Suicer
4.0, θεοποιέω.

320, THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

relation of fellowship with God might have been sustained, and deep-
ened, and perfected. Nor is it easy to suppose that this fellowship
could have been made stable and permanent in any other way than
by the union in due time of man with God, accomplished by the
union of man with Him who was the Mediator between God and
man, and in whose image man was made’.

Irenwus has given a striking expression to this truth. He starts
indeed from the consideration of man as fallen, but his argument
passes into an absolute form. Speaking of the necessity of the
Incarnation he says: ‘If man had not conquered the adversary of
‘man, the enemy would not have been justly conquered. And
‘again, if God had not bestowed salvation, we should not have
‘possessed it surely. And if man had not been united to God, he
‘could not have partaken of incorruption. For it was necessary
‘that the Mediator of God and men by His own essential relation-
‘ship with both should bring both together into friendship and
‘concord, and on the one hand present man to God and on the other

‘make God known to πια”.

1 This thought is clearly expressed
by many Calvinistio theologians,
though they do not follow it out to
its fall breadth. Hominum integro-
rom Mediator [fait Christus] respecta
prime illus unionis ante lapsum,
quia homines integri non per seipsos
sed per Filium Dei erant Deo uniti
et conjancti, quamdiu ipsi visum fait
largiri illis gratiam persistendi in ami-
citia cum Deo...Inde ab initio mundi
fait atque est inter Deum et filios Dei,
sou creaturas rationales ad imaginem
Dei conditas, Mediator per quem solum
ill» statum initio habuerunt οἱ habent
beatitudinem, hoc est, communionem
et fruitionem Dei tanquam summi
boni (Polanus Syntagma, vi. 27). Com-
pare p. 317.

3 Tren. iii. 18, 7 El γὰρ μὴ ἄνθρωπος
Φίκησε τὸν ἀντίπαλον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, οὐκ
ἂν δικαίως Φικήθη ὁ ἐχθρό. Πάλυ τε,
εἰ μὴ ὁ θεὺς ἐδωρήσατο τὴν σωτηρίαν,
οὐκ ἂν βεβαίως ἔσχομεν αὐτήν. Kat ef
μὴ συνηνώθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ θεῷ, οὐκ ἂν
ἠδυνήθη μετασχεῖν τῆς ἀφθαρσία». “Ede,

γὰρ τὸν µεσίτην θεοῦ re καὶ ἀρθρύπων, διὰ.
τῆς (lar πρὸς ἑκατέρονε οἰκειότητος, els
Φιλία καὶ ὀμόνοιαν τοὺ ἀμφοτέρου
συναγαγεῖν" καὶ θεῷ μὲν παραστησαι τὸν
ἄνθρωπον, ἀνθρώποιε δὲ γνωρίσαι τὸν θεό».

Compare τ. 16, 2 Ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν χρό-
vos ἐλέγετο μὲν κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ Ύεγο-
δέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐκ ἐδείκνυτο δὲ᾽ ἔτι
γὰρ déparos ἦν ὁ λόγος, οὗ κατ’ εἰκόνα ὁ
ὤνθρωποι ἐγεγόνι. διὰ τοῦτο δὴ καὶ
τὴν ὁμοίωσω ῥᾳδίωτ ἀπέβαλε. swore
δὲ σὰρξ ἐγένετο ὁ λάγοε τοῦ θεοῦ, τὰ
dugérepa ἀπεκύρωσε" καὶ Ύὰρ καὶ τὴν
εἰκόνα Berger ἀληθῶτ, αὐτὸε τοῦτο Ὑενό-
peros Oxep ἣν ἡ εἰκὼν αὐτοῦ. καὶ τὴν
ὁμοίωσιν βεβαίωι κατέστησε, συνεξομοιώ-
cas τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῷ ἀοράτῳ πατρί [per
visibile Verbum].

iv. 33) 4 πῶν ἄνθρωπος χωρήσει els
θεὸν, οἱ μὴ 6 Beds ἐχωρήθη els ἄνθρωπον.
‘The form ἐχωρήθη in this connexion is
strange (comp. iv. 38, 2). The Latin
translation has nothing to correspond
to it. The Greek is preserved by Theo-
doret, Dial. ii. p. 139 (Migne Patr. Gr.
Ixxaiii. 171).

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

Moreover, if we regard the predestined humanity of the Son of
God as the archetype of humanity’, light is thrown upon the doctrine
of the Atonement. It becomes in this case in some degree intelligible The ho rela-
how Christ could fitly (if we may 80 speak) take man’s nature upon Oa Sloe
Him, and suffer for man, inasmuch as He took upon Himself a ‘9 {hat
nature which was not alien in its idea, but one which in some worl
mysterious sense was in its propriety partially an image of His own
though it had fallen.

So far then the essential constitution of man suggests at least the
belief that the Incarnation, by which we understand in this case the
taking of sinless and perfected humanity into God, was part of the
Divine counsel in creation.

(6) These considerations which apply to the individual man (ϐ) The

. ῃ human

obtain greater weight if they are extended to the race. We cannot race.
but believe that under any circumstances, and wholly apart from the
Fall, there would have been a progress in the race, as well as in the
individual, towards the gradual fulfilment of the idea of humanity.
All that was potentially included in man in his various relations to
being would have been realised in many parts, In this way the
whole conception of humanity would have been broken up and dis-
tributed, so to speak, through countless separate personalities. There
would then have been need of some power by which at last all the
scattered elements of manhood should be brought together into a
personal unity. In other words the endeavour to follow out the
normal development of the human race leads us to look for that

321

1 Compare Tertull. de Resurr. Carn.
6 Quodcunque enim limus exprime-
batur Christus cogitabatur homo fata-
rus, quod et limus, et sermo caro,
quod et terra tuns. Bio enim prefatio
patris ed filium: Faciamus hominem
ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram:
et fecit hominem Dew. 1d utique
quod finxit ad imaginam Dei fesit
illum, scilicet Christi. Et Sermo enim
Deus qui in effigic Dei constitutus non
rapinam ezistimavit pariari Deo. Ita
limns ille jam tune imaginem induens
Ww

Christi futuri in carne non tantum
Dei opus erat sed οἱ pignus, Id. adv.
Praz. 12 Denique sequens soriptura
distingait inter personas et fecit Deus
hominem, ad imaginem Det fecit ium,
Cur non suam si unus qui faciebat et
non erat ad cujus faciebat? Erat au-
tem sd cojas imaginem faciebat, ad
filii soilicet; qui homo faturus certior

habebat, imago veri et similitudo,

2Ι

322 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

which answers to the Incarnation, by which the completed body
might be brought into a final unity in fellowship with God.
All the ‘or Obrist, as we are taught, supplies that which gives a common
of the life to all the members, He is the Head of the Body. All the dif-
Pobrought ferences of men, so far as they correspond with a true growth, are
toa unity. reconciled in Him, and shewn to be contributory to the manifestation
of His perfection’.
Then In this respect the argument which was drawn from Eph. v. 31 f.,
of Christ by several early writers deserves more consideration than we are at
eee first inclined to give to it. The main idea in the passage seems to
be that the Church, the representative of perfected humanity, of that
which the race would in the end have been if sin had not intervened,
is related to a Head, just as in the typical record of Oreation woman
is related to man. The Church and woman are severally regarded
as derived, and yet belonging to the completeness of that from which
they are derived, and so destined finally to be restored to perfect
fellowship with it. Man ideally is not man only but man and
woman ; Ohrist, such appears to be the thought, however unfamiliar
it may be to us, unites with the Godhead the idea of perfected
humanity, and that not accidentally but essentially. The personal
relation of sex regarded in typical individuals, represents, as we
should express the view, beyond itself a corporate relation which
exists in respect to the race. Just as the individual union is neces-
sary for the fulfilment of the idea of woman ; so the corporate union
is necessary for the fulfilment of the idea of humanity. Christ is the
trae Adam: the Church is the true Eve. And both these relations,
the individual relation and the corporate relation, are independent of
the Fall The Fall has disturbed and disordered each, but it was not
the occasion for the first existence of either’.

1 Eph. i. 22 £. αὐτὸν ἔδωκε κεφαλὴν
ὑπὲρ πάντα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἥτιε ἐστὶ τὸ
σῶμα αὐτοῦ, τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐν
πᾶσυ πληρουµένου. I cannot but be-
lieve that in the last clause πληρουµέ-
νου is (as elsewhere) passive, so that
everything which is is represented as

ing for the manifestation of the
glory of God (Col. ii. 19), Who is ' ful-

filled in all things in all’,

3 The thought finds a confused ex-
pression in a very remarkable passage
of the Homily which is known as the
Second Epistle of Clement. In this
the writer speaks of a spiritual Church,
corresponding to the spiritual Christ,
and of an earthly Church correspond-
ing with the earthly Christ; and he

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 323

(ii) So far we have regarded man only, the individual and the Φ Man
race. We venture to go yet further, and to look upon man as the sentetre
representative of Creation, This thought appears to be distinctly of CT
suggested in the records of the Creation, and of the Fall, and of the
new Oreation. The dominion of man (Gen. i. 28) was such that his
realm shared the consequences of his sin (Gen. iii. 17). His destiny
therefore has not yet been accomplished (Ps. viii; Hebr. ii. 5 ff),

But in ite promised fulfilment lies the hope of the material world.
For that something is in store which answers to the redemption
of man’s body (Rom. viii. 22 ££").

It will at once be obvious how this wider view of the relations of For Crea-
man to Creation tends to confirm what has been already said of the ἕως πα,
inherent fitness of the Incarnation in relation to the plan of Creation, ο νο οι
as we are enabled to look upon it. In all parts of the natural order, 67
and not in humanity only, in the very course of progress, there
is constant division, dispersion, differentiation, of elements; and at
the same time clearer glimpses are opened of a unity to which all
the parts appear to tend. This separation, this unity, as far as we
can see, belong alike to the essence of things. The separation has
been, it is true, influenced by the Fall, but, as a condition of growth,
it is not due to it. The idea of the Incarnation therefore satisfies

finds in this relation the fulfilment of
the words of Genesis: ὁποίησεν ὁ θεὸς
τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἄρσεν καὶ Oru" τὸ ἄρσεν
ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστό, τὸ θῆλυ ἡ ἐκκλησία
{2 Clem, αίν)).

Compare Hermas i. Vis. ii. 4 Ty
πρεσβυτέραν παρ) ἦν Eafes τὸ βιβλίον,
τίνα δοκείν εἶναι; ἐγώ φημι Tae Σίβυλλα».
Πλανᾶσαι, φησίν, οὐκ tors, Ts οὖν dort;
onl, Ἡ ἐκκλησία, φησίν. εἴπον οὖν αὐτῷ
Aud τί οὖν προσβυτέρα: Ὅτι, φησί», πάντων
πρώτη ἐκτίσθη, διὰ τοῦτο πρεσβυτέρα,
καὶ διὰ ταύτην ὁ κόσµοτ κατηρτἰσθη.

1 Tren. iii. 16,6. Unus igitar Deus
Pater quemadmodum ostendimus, et
unus Christus Jesus Dominus noster,
veniens per universam dispositionem
et omnia in semetipsum recapitulans.
In omnibus autem est et homo, plas-
matio Dei; et hominem ergo in semet-
ipsum recapitulans est, invisibilis visi-

bilis factus, et incomprehensibilis fac-
tus comprehensibilis, et impassibilis
passibilis, et Verbum homo, universe
in semetipsum recapitulans: uti sicut
in superowlestibus οἱ spiritalibus οἱ
invisibilibus prinoeps eat Verbum Dei,
sio et in visibilibus et corporalibus prin-
cipatum habeat, in semetipsum prima-
tum assumens, et apponens semetip-
sum caput ecclesia universe attrahat
ad semetipsum apto tempore.

Comp. Theod. Mops. fragm. Lib.
xiv. de Incarn. (Migne Paty. Gr. Ixvi.
P- 990) οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ὁ θεὸς οὕτωτ ἁπλῶν
καὶ ἄνευ rds χρησίμου λόγου ἄνθρωπον
μὲν ἐλάμβανε καὶ frou πρὸν ἑαυτὸν προσ-
κινεῖσθαι παρὰ τῆς κτίσεως παρασκενάζων
ἁπάσηε, τὰς δὲ ye νοητὰς φύσειε προσ-
κιναῖν, ἐδικαίου, el μὴ τὰ περὶ αὖτον
γεγονότα κουὴ πάση: ἦν εὐεργεσία τῆς
κτίσεωτ,

2ἱ--2

324 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

the aspiration towards the vaster unity to which the full development
of Creation pointa. The restoration of unity to man carries with
it the promise of the restoration of unity to all finite being.

«ο. ο. Ἡξ we regard the subject from the opposite point of sight

ἄν Ίσως, we obtain the same general result, Reasons have been alleged for

nation. thinking that man’s constitution as unfallen, required the personal
union of humanity with God for his consummation individual and
social and for the consummation of the world through Him. It
appears also that the Incarnation necessarily included in iteelf conse-
quences which were irrespective of the Fall, and which yet, so far as
‘we can see, cannot be regarded as contingent in the Divine Counsel.

‘These not ‘Theologians have classed the objects or results of the Incarnation
Hmited bY _for in this case the motive and the effect are identical—under three
heads, the Revelation of God, the benefit of man, the conquest of
Satan. Of these in their essential nature the first is wholly and
the second partly irrespective of the Fall. It is not possible upon
reflection to exclude all other conceptions from the Incarnation except
those of satisfaction and atonement. These thoughts naturally rise
at once to our minds in connexion with it from the conditions of
suffering and sin under which we live; but these conditions do not
belong to humanity but to fallen humanity. And if the consequences
of the Fall be set aside, there yet remain those characteristics of
a finite nature which require what they have received from God's
Jove in the Incarnation for their true fulfilment. We must look to
the perfection and not only to the redemption of man. The argu-
ments which we have heard pressed on this point by many writers
seem to me to be of very great weight. We cannot conceive that a
being capable of knowing God and of being united with Him should
not have been destined to gain that knowledge, to realise that union.
‘We cannot suppose that the consummation of man and of humanity
and the realisation of Christ’s kingdom which have been brought
about by the Incarnation are dependent on the Fall: we cannot
suppose that they could have been brought about in any other way

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 325

than in that according to which they are now revealed to us in their
supreme glory’.

It will perhaps be said that the view which has been indicated No limita.
makes the action of God dependent on creation. So far as there is section of
force in this argument it extends not only to the perfection of 904°,
creation but to creation itself. The very act of Creation is a self- not in
limitation of Omnipotence. And as far as we dare speculate on Creation.
such subjects it is easier for us to suppose that the crowning act
of love, the consummation of all finite being, was included in the one
creative act, than that it was contingent on man’s conduct. Or to
put the thought in another way, it is in every way more consonant
with the idea of God’s action which is given to us in Scripture
to suppose that the union of man with God was predestined in
relation to man as answering to the Divine idea of man, than to
suppose that it was first designed for man as he made himself by his
sinful self-assertion.

And here again I would repeat that we must carefully guard the
conception of the Incarnation, as we thus endeavour to view it in
the absolute Divine Counsel, from every thought of humiliation.

We must conceive, if I may so represent the idea, that in that case
glorified humanity would have been raised up to heaven and not
that the Son of God would have come down to earth.

It may again be urged that this is merely speculation on matters The Gos-
too high for us where Scripture is silent. I reply that we cannot Pee
but speculate: that we are so made that we must strive after some arbitrary
view of the relations and end of the system in which we are placed : theory.
that the advance of partial knowledge forces upon us more and more

1 Hippolytas, regarding the Incarna-
tion in its actual effects, points out
how it wrought not only the redemp-
tion of fallen beings, but the sure

ποκλοὰ this divine confirmation, Hipp.
ο. Ber. et Hel. ii. (Migne Patr. Gr. x.
Ρ. 833) διὰ τοῦτο γέγονεν ἄνθρωποι ὁ
τῶν ὅλων Geds ἵνα σαρκὶ μὲν παθητῇ πάσ-

χων ἅπαν ἡμῶν τὸ τῷ θανάτῳ πραθὲν
Ἀντρώσηται Ὑένε, ἀπαθε δὲ θεύτητι
διὰ σαρκὸς θαυματουργῶν πρὸς τὴν ἀκή-
ρατον αὐτοῦ καὶ paxaplay ἐπαναγάγῃ
ory Hs ἀπέπεσεν τῷ διαβόλῳ πειθόµενος"
καὶ τὰ κατ’ οὐραροὺς ἅγια τάγματα τῶν
»οερῶν οὐσιῶν στομώσῃ πρὸς ἀτρεψίαν
τῷ pvornplie Tis αὐτοῦ σωµατώσεως, Fs
ἔργον ἡ τῶν ὅλων ἐστὶν els αὐτὸν ἀνακε-
Φαλαίωσις.

326

general
Silence of
Scripture
natural.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

the duty of looking for a more comprehensive synthesis: that even
if Scripture were silent the real question would be, Is the view
consistent with Scripture? that Scripture gives us facts, and above
all the one Fact, which must be for us the sovereign expression of
the Divine will; that if circumstances prompt the inquiry, we are
bound to inquire with reverence whether that Fact illuminates the
position which we occupy in face of the thoughts and discoveries of
the time. The Fact is final, but the Spirit sent in Christ’s name
enables men to see more and more of its meaning.

Nor is the general silence of Scripture, at least so far as direct.
statements are concerned, on this absolute view of the Incarnation
in any way surprising. The view belongs properly to an order
which has ceased to be. The Gospel is a message to man as he
is. It is perfectly natural therefore that Scripture should for the
most part contemplate the actual state of things and speak of the
Incarnation as dealing with man fallen. It is perfectly natural that
the Creeds (and the same remark applies to early patristic writings)
dealing with the actual history of the Incarnation should state that
Christ ‘came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation.’
The very words ‘came down’ and all corresponding phrases belong
exclusively to the Incarnation as the assumption of passible humanity
in consequence of sin. But this language is in no way inconsistent
with the belief that what was accomplished under certain conditions
due to sin would have been accomplished otherwise if man had
remained sinless. There is force in Osiander’s remark’ that the
two phrases ‘for us’ and ‘for our salvation’ express two distinct
ideas, And yet more: the revelation of love involved in the Divine
purpose is included in the revelation of love given in the Divine act.
And while we cling most firmly to the ideas of ‘salvation’, of ‘the
seeking and saving that which was lost’, we must also bear in
mind that ‘salvation’ is far more than deliverance from the con-
sequences of evil. It expresses also the final preservation of that
which truly belongs to the saved ; to the fulness of human nature as

1 Boe p. 316.

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 327

well as to the condition of fallen nature. There is ‘a making
perfect’ which is correlative with ‘salvation’.’

But in one passage at least we seem to be admitted by St Paul to
look upon the Truth as it is in the divine counsel with regard to
Creation and re-creation, In Col. i. 13 f£ he presents a view of the
work of ‘the Son of God’s love’ in the creation, preservation
(ἔκτισται; ἐν αὐτῳ συνέστηκεν, 16), redemption, consummation (ο. 20)
of finite being. The whole work is fulfilled by one Person (13—20),
who is before Creation, and is also the source of peace ‘through the
Blood of His Cross’. This view is satisfied by the theological con-
ception that the personality of Christ isin His Divine Nature. But
at the same time His human nature is taken into account (ο. 19 f.);
and when He is spoken of as the ‘image of the invisible God,’ He
is presented as the archetype of humanity in creation even as He is
also ‘the firstborn from the dead’.

Doubts however may still remain as to the interprétation of this The iden
mysterious passage. But at least it cannot be said that a belief in one of
the absolute purpose of the Incarnation is at variance with Scripture. one
Nor does it in any way derogate from the infinite love of God. If new
it is ‘most consonant to the judgment of reason’ it seems to be also for man’s
* most consonant to the piety of faith’. It adds to every motive of Stitude.
devout gratitude which is suggested by the circumstances of the
Incarnation, a further motive of gratitude in the contemplation of
that primal love which the selfwill of man could not thwart. For
if the common view moves us to devotion as we look at the indi-
vidual—the one sheep which was lost—this view teaches us to draw
in addition new causes for fuller adoration from the thought of the
whole—of the ninety and nine who have not strayed—who are no
Jess near to the great Shepherd’s love. Nothing is lost, and for those
who cannot but turn from time to time with anxious questionings
from the contemplation of the vastness, the complexity, the contra-
dictions, the earnest expectation, as we are encouraged to call it, of

1 ‘The thought of τελείωσιε is charac- the Hebrews, Comp. John xvii. 23;
teristic of St John and the Epistle to Ἠθὺτ, vii. αχ and notes.

328 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION.

the world, to Holy Scripture, much is gained by the thought that
from the first it was the purpose of God to gather up all things in
the Son of His love’.

Apractical The subject on which we have touched is not, I believe, a mere
matter of speculation, or 8, curious fancy of a past age. If I had so
regarded it, I should not have thought it fitting to give here sketches
of reasoning which must in many cases appear strange and obscure.
But I have chosen to dwell upon it because I think that I have
found in the opinions which I have ventured to maintain, support
and light in the face of great problems which seem likely to grow
more urgent every day. The thought that the Incarnation, the union
of man with God, and of creation in man, was part of the Divine
purpose in Creation, opens unto us, as I believe, wider views of the
wisdom of God than we commonly embrace, which must react upon
life.

It presents to us the highest manifestation of Divine love as
answering to the idea of man, and not as dependent upon that which
lay outside the Father's Will.

It reveals to us how the Divine purpose is fulfilled in unex-
peoted and unimaginable ways in spite of man’s selfishness and sin.

It indicates, at least, how that unity to which many physical and
historical researches point is not only to be found in a dispersive
connexion of multitudinous parta, but is summed up finally in one
life,

It helps us to feel a little more, and this is the sum ‘of all,
what the Incarnation is, what it involves, what it promises, what it
enforces, what it inspires; that Fact which we strive to believe, and
which is ever escaping from us ; that Fact which sets before us with
invincible majesty Ohrist’s ‘power to subdue all things to Himself *’.

1 Comp. Eph. iii. 9 ff.; iv. 10. 3 Phil. iii. a1.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY
TO ART.

ἐκ ΜεΓέθογο KaAAONAC κτιοµότων ἀνδλόγωος

ὁ ΓενεοιογρΓὀο ayTON θεωρεῖτδι.
Wiad. xiii. δ.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART

The relation of Christianity to Art practical question for the student of
the New Testament.
Apparent contrast.
1. Man made to seek beauty.
Nature needs interpretation.
Moral importance of the interpretation.
Sense needs discipline.
2. Art not direotly recognised in the New Testament,
The use of Art in the Old Testament not 4 sufficient sanction.
‘The principle of reconciliation.
Contrast of Shemitic and Hellenic tendencies.
1. No free pursuit of imitative Art among the Jews.
Art consecrated,
2, Imitative Art treated as absolute by the Greeks.
Necessary decline of Greek Art.
Christianity necessarily antagonistic to classical Art in the Apostolic
age.

The task of Christian Art.
Early literary evidenoo as to Christian Art.
‘Tertullian : Clement Alex.: Origen.
1. Painting.

‘The Synod of Elvira.

‘The judgment of Eusebius Cxs.

Change of feeling in the Fifth Century.

Paulinus of Nola.

Gregory of Nysea: Asterius: Nilus: Augustine.

a. Sculpture.

Scanty remains.
3 Architecture.

‘The Church of Paulinus at Tyre.

of Constantine at Jerusalem.
Mosaice.

332

τι.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY ΤΟ ART.

Domestic Art: gems.
Characteristics of early Christian Art.
Conventional in subject.
treatment.
Symbolic.
Reserved.
Treatment of the Passion.
Examples.
Slab at Wirkeworth.
Joytal.

The true relation of Christianity to Art.
Slowly realised.
Controversy as to the appearance of the Lord.
Art aims at the divine ideal.
Christianity does not alter the range of Art.
Unequal edvances of different Arts.
Disturbing effet of the Renaissance.
The Evangelic sign,
Love the guide of Art.
Browning’s analysis of the grounds of failure in Art.

Fra Lippo Lippi.

Andrea Del Sarto,

Pictor Ignotus.
Not ‘ of the world’,
Value of artistic discipline,
The artist interprets and embodies.
Peril of realistic Art in sacred subjects.
Illustrations from treatment of the Madonna : the Crucifixion.
Art ministerial: not an end.
Christian Art 8 nocossary expression of Christian Faith.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

No student of the apostolic writings can fail to find himself Doee

sometimes confronted by the question Does the teaching of the New ity leave
Testament cover all the interests of human life? and more particu- κ fF
larly Does the New Testament, does Christianity as laid down there
in its broad outlines, leave scope for the free development of Art?
This latter question deserves consideration. It is not enough that
it should have been practically answered by general consent: the
answer thus given includes many elements which tend at least to
create misgivings as to its soundness ; and it is, superficially at least,
in conflict with the most prominent utterances of early Christian
feeling. The main issue is not whether the Christian spirit encou-
rages that temper which is the strength of the artist, but whether
it recognises his work as contributory to the fulfilment of man’s
destiny. There can be no doubt that truth, sympathy, reverence,
will characterise all effort which deserves the name of Christian ;
but it is not at once obvious that in the face of the overwhelming
moral problems of life Christian effort can be properly directed to
the pursuit of Art.

Thus there is the suggestion if not the distinct appearance of a
conflict between man’s constitution and the Gospel. He is born
with artistic instincts and powers ; and these, it may be alleged, are
not directly taken into account by the records of the Faith.

The apparent contrast requires to be stated a little more in Apparent
detail. contrast.

On the one side it is certain that Art corresponds with essential 1. Man 2ο
constita-
parte of our nature. Men universally seek particular combinations todas to

of form, colour, sound, and the pleasure which these give can be fee μαι.

334 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

deepened and extended through the study of the principles by which
they are ruled. Men can be trained to a keener and finer perception
of beauty. There is then here a force of influence which cannot be
overlooked in the discipline of life.
External And more than this, the complex scene in which we are placed
needs requires to be revealed to us. We are not at once able to enter into
inferPre- the manifold aspects of Nature which we can recognise when they
are pointed out, There is something of disorder and disproportion
in the impression which we first receive from the world about us.
The ‘form’ of things needs some interpretation ; and the particular
interpretation which we adopt has helped and will help to make us
what we are and what we shall be.
The inter- © For the physical effects which Art produces exercise a profound
pretation moral and spiritual influence upon character. It is unnecessary to
oorert attempt to make any comparison of the relative power of external
nature and society upon the education of the soul. It is enough
that both have their due office in moulding the ideal man. Re
move the discipline of one or the other, and the man is weaker and
poorer however successfully he cultivates the self-centred virtues on
which he has concentrated himself. It may be necessary to ‘cut off
the right hand’ or to ‘pluck out the right eye’, but he who is forced
to do so enters into life ‘maimed’.
Sense This expressive image seems to carry with it a full recognition of
needs the manifold activities of eye and hand, of the power of seeing
* beauty and setting it forth, as belonging to the completeness of
man. And if under the actual conditions of life it is through sense,
which Art uses as its organ, that the most obvious and universal
dangers come to men, the natural conclusion seems to be that this
fact shews convincingly the paramount importance of the study of
Art. In this region we need peculiarly to be trained in order that
we may enjoy rightly; and not be called upon to sacrifice that
which was capable of ministering to a richer service.
2. But Art Such reflections, indicated in the briefest summary, serve to shew
a that Art justly claims a permanent place in the highest training of
Ret ised men ; but on the other hand it may be urged that, with the excep-

oot

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 335

tion of music, there is no recognition of the office of Art in the New
Testament. One or two illustrations from engraving (Hebr. i 3) or
painting (Hebr. viii. 5; x. 1) are all that it contains, The imagery
of the Apocalypse—as the cubic city (Apoc. xxi. 16)—is symbolic
and not pictorial.

And not only so, but it seems as if representative Art were Appa-
distinctly condemned. It is difficult to give any sense to ‘the desire Tt
of the eyes,’ which St John declares to be ‘not of the Father but of
the world’ (1 John ii. 16), which shall not include works of sculp-
ture and painting ; and at first sight the revelation of the transitori-
ness of that out of which they spring appears to carry with it the
sentence of their rejection.

Nor can any stress be laid upon the partial recognition of the The use of
service of Art in the Old Testament. The system of the old Cove- 0, T. not
nant was essentially external It spoke through symbols. But it pond
might be argued, not unreasonably, that, as Christianity is easentially ition.
spiritual, it is likely that it would be independent of all illustrations
from Art.

These are the elements of the contrast which have to be recon- The prin-
ciled. The reconciliation, to anticipate the result of our inquiry, ciple of
lies in the central message of Christianity ‘the Word became flesh.’ siliation.
By that fact the harmony between the seen and the unseen which
had been interrupted was potentially restored. Creation in all its
parts was made known as a revelation of Him through whom it was
called into being. But the reconciliation here as elsewhere lies in
transfiguration. The passage to life is through death. The old
had to pass away that the new might find its proper place. This
truth has even now not been fully mastered; but it will be seen
more clearly if --θ first consider the position of Art in relation to
Christianity in the apostolic age (1), and the character of Christian
Art in the first four centuries (11), and then attempt to determine
the relation of Christianity to Art (111), and the peculiar office of
Art (Iv).

336 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

L

Contrast The position of the early Christian teachers towards Art was
of Shem determined under two powerful and conflicting influences. In no
Hellenic other region of human activity were the Shemitic and Hellenic
cies. tendencies more directly at variance, Each bore witness to a partial
truth; and in the apostolic age each had reached its complete
_ development.
1. No free For the Jews imitative Art had practically no public existence.
greroite of Τη the absence of satisfactory evidence it is impossible to say how
ἀπσαᾳ the far Architecture and Music found free and characteristic expression.
Jews. But in spite of the very narrow range within which Jewish Art was
confined it embodied ο principle which enters into the life of Art.
The commandment which forbade the making of graven image or
likeness was not observed in the Sanctuary itself. By this exception
it was made evident that the enactment was directed against acci-
dental abuses of imitative Art and not against the Art itself. At
the same time the manner in which Art was employed served to
embody another thought. The description of the decorations of the
Tabernacle and of the Temple brings out plainly the idea that repre-
sentations of outward things, and the manifold combination of mate-
rials, which found place there, were designed to suggest more than
the simple figure or effect. Whatever there was of grandeur or
beauty in ‘the ordinances of divine service’ pointed beyond itself.
Natural forms and elements were used to indicate the unseen. How
this could be is still powerfully shewn in the works of Egyptian Art,
which constrain the spectator to rise beyond that which he looks
upon to something which can find no adequate expression externally.
The figures of gods and men alike—Pasht or Rameses—are above
all things symbols of character. They cannot be taken simply as
efforts to present direct and complete portraitures of the beings
whom they call up before the soul. Later experience indeed proved
that there were possibilities of deep corruption in the promiscuous
use of such images of the mysteries of life as were presented in the

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 337

accompaniments of Egyptian worship. The conception was noble
but it was unfitted for common use. So it was that the sacred
legislation of Israel kept the conception and guarded it jealously.
The employment of the symbolic figures in the sanctuary of the Art conse-
Temple, by emphasizing this exception to the general law’, kept the
Jew from the desecration of the symbol, and preserved for him in
its purity the thought which it enshrined. He learnt from the
records of the Old Testament that it was the Divine will that in the
unapproachable darkness of the Holy of Holies the costliest works of
Art should render service before the revealed Presence of the Lord,
No human eye could rightfully ever again trace the lineaments of
those cherubim and palm trees and open flowers when they were
once placed in the oracle, but it was enough to know that they were
there, In no other way could the Truth be more eloquently or
solemnly enforced that the end of Art is to witness to the inner life
of Nature and to minister to God. The repetition of the forms in
the Holy place kept the memory of them fresh in the minds of the
priests’. Their significance could not be mistaken. By that offering
of the best which he could command simply for the Divine glory
Solomon declared to his people for all time the consecration of Art,
and he declared not obscurely that it is the office of Art to reveal
the meaning of that which is the object of sense. Circumstances
delayed for ages the fruitfulness of the idea; but it remained and
remains still; and few can think of all that was implied by the
adornment of that august chamber lighted only by the splendour of
@ manifested Presence of God or the glow of the kindled incense
(Άροο v. 8) without feeling that it has a lesson for those to whom
Art is appointed work. Philosophers and poets have dwelt often
upon the veiled statue at Sais: there is an open secret in the sacred
gloom of the Holy of Holies more sublime and more inspiring.

1 The twelve oxen which supported
the Molten Sea in Solomon’s Temple
(x K. vii. 2g; 2 Chron. iv. 4f.; Jer.
Iii. 20) are a perplexing exception to
the law. The twelve lions on the steps
of the royal throne (1 K. x. 18 fl.;
2 Chron. ix. 18 {) form corresponding

w.

exception in the civil use of Art, The
Brazen Serpent was s work of a wholly
different order; as also was ‘the
Teraphim’ of David (r Sam. zix,

13).
3 According to 2 Chron. iii, 14,
cherabim were wrought on the veil.

22

338° THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

a Imita- The Jewish repression of imitative Art, which the Law still hal-
treated as lowed for the highest service, corresponded with the spiritual con-
μη ception of God which was the endowment of His ‘people’. Spiritual
Greeks. Religion could not at this stage of its development admit the habi-
tual use of painting or sculpture. With the Greeks on the other
hand imitative Art was the characteristic embodiment of the Nature
worship which underlay their life. The form of beauty was for
them not the symbol but the direct representation of the godlike.
The statue was the final expression of the artist’s thought, and his
consummate skill enabled the spectator to rest in it, Humanity
was made the measure of the divine; and under these conditions
anthropomorphism became a fatal temptation, At the same time
Greek Art, if premature and perilous in regard to the complete
spiritual training of man, witnessed to a part of the truth affirmed
in the record of Creation which is most commonly forgotten. The
form of man, the visible expression of what he is essentially embodied
under the conditions of time, answers to ‘the image of God’ in which
he was made, So far the Greek was right in seeking for traits of
divinity in human beauty. The source of error, from which flowed
the stream of later corruption, was that he regarded these as fixed
and final, He failed, necessarily failed in the way of nature, to
claim recognition for the fulness of the truth that man made in the
image of God has to grow into His likeness: that all that is noblest
in form or present embodiment is preparatory to something yet
unseen and higher: that Art in its greatest achievements must be
prophetic, must not rest in a victory but reveal that which is unat-
tained’.
Theneces- It would be difficult to overrate the skill with which Greek
Gecline of Sculpture of the best period represents strength in majestic repose,
Greck Art. and feeling under sovereign control ; but all, so to speak, lies within
the figure before ua ‘The Gods have come down to us in the like-
ness of men’; and we look no further. At first the spiritual, reli-

1 ‘This is only one application of the the recognition of this truth which the
general law that man cannot find Book illustrates from many sides,
rest in the finite, The key to the Comp. Eccles. iii. 11.
understanding of Ecclesiastes lies in

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 339

gious, element is supreme, as in all living Art; but with the decay
of faith that which is sensuous usurps the place of the spiritual, and
Art which takes man as the standard of the divine cannot but fall. A
single illustration will be sufficient to indicate my meaning. This is
given in a crucial shape by the treatment of Aphrodite in the earlier
and later schools, The physical beauty of the Medicean Venus has
lost all the pure sovereign majesty of the Aphrodite of Melos, which
is worthy to be an ideal of ‘ woman before the Fall’.’

It ia unnecessary to trace the decay of Greek Art. It retained to
the last the gift of physical beauty, but in the apostolic age it had
become the servant of the luxury of the Empire. Starting from a
human ideal it became enslaved to man. So far as it had a place in
popular worship it brought down the divine to the level of a corrupt
life. :

This being ao the antagonism of early Christians to contemporary Christian-

‘Art was necessarily essential and absolute. Before Art could be iditven
placed in its true position there was need of a complete change of (agoniatic
centre. For this the stern discipline of Judaism had made provision. it was.
The lesson of consecration which had been kept in silent witness for
long ages could be applied now that ‘the Word had become flesh.’
By that fact a new meaning was given to the beauty which the
Greek artist had felt for, and an immeasurable scope was opened for
the ministry of nature to God which the Jewish legislator had
declared in symbols, But death is the condition of resurrection.
There is indeed a continuity through death ; but a formal severance
from the past was the prelude to the new birth of Christian Art.

IL

It will be seen from what has been already said that Christianity The task
had to recognise and reconcile the partial and contrasted aspects of tia at,
imitative Art which had found expression in Judaism and Hellenism,
Christian Art embodies the twofold conception of the spiritual destiny
1 Kraus (Β. X.), Die Christliche Kunst, 8, 21.
22—2

340 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

of the visible, and of a spiritual revelation through the visible. The
central fact of the Christian Faith gives a solid unity to both
truths.

The realisation of such an idea of Art can of necessity only come
slowly and through the course of life, not by any definite and con-
scious effort but in the gradual conquest of humanity. The begin-
ning was made when St Paul established Christian Churches in
Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, and Rome. The end is still far off, even
if it has come from age to age more clearly into view. When the
Church first appeared openly in the Empire it had already the out-
lines of a system of Art which had been drawn in the times of dark-
ness and suffering. In the first stage of such a progress the inspiring
thought is supreme: the perfection of form comes later.

It is however extremely difficult to trace the course of Christian
Art in the ante-Nicene age. The literary evidence is extremely
scanty; and it naturally deals for the most part with the dangers
and abuses of popular Art. Even in the present age little could be
gathered as to the place which is occupied by Art in ordinary
Christian life from the works of theological controversy and general
instruction, But the stern warnings of a man like Tertullian
are evidently directed against influences and practices which he
felt to be powerful if not dominant. Christian artists did not
scruple to continue their profession even when they were admitted
to the ministry’, The painter Hermogenes is condemned for the use
which he made of his art, but the art itself is not proscribed’. It
may also be fairly concluded from the denunciations of female
luxury that other adornments of life besides rich dresses and jewels
found admission into Christian households ; and excess and extrava-
gance imply a temperate use. It is also of interest to notice that
Tertullian mentions incidentally ‘paintings on chalices’*, and in

fulfilled
slowly.

Scanty
literary
evidence,

Tertullian.

The subject was first engraved by

1 Tertull. de idol. 3 ff., adleguntar
i Fabrotti Inser. Ant. N. oii. p. 587, who

in ordinem ecclesiastioum artifices

idoloram. Comp. de spectac. 23. A
Christian sculptor is represented at
his work on a sarcophagus assigned by
De’ Rossi to the third century. See
Northoote and Brownlow, ii. p. 236.

describes the sarcophagus as ‘ex cm-
meterio Helens.’
3 Tertull. ado. Hermog. i. pingit illi-
cite, that ia, by painting pagan subjects.
5 de Pudic. ο, 7 picturm calicum,

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 341

especial the image of ‘the Shepherd,’ which he speaks of as a usual
subject’,

The scanty notices of Christian Art at Alexandria are of the same Clement
character as those in Tertullian. ‘he language of Clement shows of Ae
clearly that many Christians did not scruple to wear heathen gems ;
and when he defines the subjects which might rightly be admitted in
consideration of their typical significance, he accepts a principle
which is capable of a very wide application’.

At the same time it is evident from Origen’s eloquent vindica- Origen.
tion of the spiritual service of Christians—the spiritual altar, and
sacrifices and images of God—that no religious use was as yet pub-
licly made of imitative Art’. Nor can it be doubted that the feeling
of the great teachers of the African Churches was decidedly adverse
to the pursuit of Art‘, The influence of Judaism was so far prevail-
ing. Local circumstances probably in this case checked what might
have been expected to be the natural result of Alexandrine thought.

The position of the Italian, and specially of the Roman Church, The
sens to have been somewhat different, Among the earliest Italian ανν,
converts were members of noble families who brought with them the
influence of cultivated taste, and at once found a place for the
ministry of Art. But here again the evidence is limited in range.

It is derived almost exclusively from paintings in the Catacombs, and
mainly from the Catacombs of Rome ; 5ο that the simplest remains of
Christian Art are necessarily confined in scope. They throw no —
light upon its domestic use, nor do they furnish any measure of its
actual extent in subject or in prosecution. Moreover many of the
paintings have been retouched at later times and some which are
commonly reckoned among the earliest are of uncertain antiquity.

In spite of these drawbacks however the paintings in the Cata- 1. Paint-
combs appear to give a fair representation of the character and ©
spirit of Christian Art in Italy. They extend in date over the
whole history of the early Church, though the earliest works are

1 id. 6. χο pastor quem in calice de- 3 Orig, adv. Cels, viii. 17. Comp.
pingis. de Orat. 17.

2 Clem. Alex. Ped. iii. 11,§ 59, p. Clem, Alex. Protr. i. § 62, p. 54 P.
1899.

342 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

very few, from the beginning of the second century onwards, and
include works of the greatest rudeness and of high artistio merit.
The earliest Roman example which is known, the decorations of
the most ancient part of the cemetery which bears the name of
Flavia Domitilla, are, as it appears, a unique monument of the
primitive patrician Church of the Imperial City. In this case it
may be supposed that the converts had the means for readily
securing the services of a good artist, and an impartial judge pro-
nounces the work to be such as would not discredit a painter of the
best age’. Both in general style and subject these decorations
closely resemble contemporary pagan works, but there are sufficient
traces of characteristic subjects to establish their Christian origin’.
The decorations of the Catacombs of St Januarius at Naples
and of chambers in the cemetery of St Callixtus at Rome are even
more completely classical in treatment. The artist acting under
Christian instruction has followed as far as he could the custom
of his time, using freely conventional ornaments, birds and flowers
and masks, which were consistent with Christian feeling, and in-
troducing subjects which marked the faith of those for whom he

Cata-
combs

of St
Januarins
at Naples,

worked’.

1 Mommsen, Cont. Rev. May 1871,
P. 170.

2 Northcote and Brownlow, ii. 120 ff.
Garrucei, Storia dell’ Arte Cristiana
119.

UBchultze, Die Katakomben, go 83
Garrucci, Tavv. go—98.

Northcote and Brownlow, ii. pp.
18 ff. Garrueci, Ταν. 26. Compare Gar-
παοοῖ, Tavv. 13, 20, 37, 38, 88 for other
examples of ὢ classical type, and the
Deautifal pagan decorations of the
tomb in the Via Latina (Parker,
Tombs, pl. xiv. ff.).

The following classical subjects may
be specially noticed:

OnpHevs.

8. Domitilla, Northeote and Brown-
low, p. 31.

8. Callixtus, North. and Br. Pl.
xviii. 2 (as Good Shepherd),

Bottari, Lixi.

‘The figure occurs also on a Lamp,
D.G.A. 922.

Ῥρσοπα.

8. Domitilla, North. and Br. 33;
Behultze, Die Katakomben, 98.

8. Gennaro, Naples. Schultze, Tab.
πει id. Die Kat. . 93.

Compare North. and Br. p. 239 (sar-
cophagus).

Dioscunt.

Arles; sarcophagus,
sare. chrét. d'Arles xxiii.

‘Unysexs and the Smrexs.

Cryptof Lucina: sarcophagus: North.
and Br. p. 240.

‘A very remarkable series of scenes
from the Gospel History is found in
the Catacomb of Pretextatus. They
are unfortunately only imperfectly
known. From the drawings published
by Garrucci, they appear to represent
(0) Christ and the woman of Samaria ;

Le Blant, Les

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 343

The other examples of painting in the Roman Catacombs are of Oe ee.
inferior artistic merit, being provided by poorer converts. But the
same general features are preserved throughout. Christians used as
far as they could the resources of popular art, and even adopted
some current subjects which were capable of a Christian interpreta-
tion, There was no chasm of separation between Christianity and
Art except that which was fixed by the ordinary subservience of Art
to idolatrous purposes’.

At the beginning of the fourth century, when the Christian ‘The canon

vir,
Society had emerged from obscurity and begun to erect dignified
places for worship, it was natural that Christians should introduce
into their churches the Art which had decorated their tombs. The
famous Canon of the Synod of Elvira was evidently not directed
against a prospective or imaginary danger, but against an actual and
probably a growing practice. There can be no real doubt as to its
meaning, whatever opinion may be held as to its wisdom and its
authority. The Synod absolutely forbids the painting of pictures on
the walls of churches, in order to guard against the representation
of the objects of worship’. Primitive feeling shrank, most justly, I
(2) The healing of the woman with the The marvellously beautiful group of
Ίππο; (3) The Baptism, The last sub- the Shepherd and Sheep in the tomb
ject is debated, but De’ Rossi’s idea of Statilius Taurus (9.0. 30) is wholly
‘that it represents the striking of the unapproached by any Christian work.
Lord with the reed is wholly at vari Parker, Tombs in and near Rome, pl.
ance with the cycle of subjects in early
Art, and with the appearance of the
Dove in the picture,
The drawing seems to be sii

singularly
good; and the figure of the Lord is of
@ youthful classical type. Schultze, Die

xix.
There are examples of decorations
in Jewish and Mithraic tombs closely
analogous to those of the Christian
tombs: Garruoci, Tavv. 493 ff.
3 Cone, IUib. Can. 36. Ne picture

Kat. 145; North, and Br. 143 4.

Schultze points out that Christian
artists borrowed ornamental figures
from classical myths which embodied
beliefs about the dead: s. a. Ο. 98.

1 E.g. Garrucci, Tavy. 8,12. None of
the groups of figures seem to shew real
artistic merit, unless it be the Ma-
donna in the Cemetery of Priscilla as
interpreted in Northoote and Brown-
low, ii. pl. vii. ; yet contrast the photo-
graph in Parker's Catacombs, pl. ii,

in ecclesia ᾖαπι. Placuit picturas in
ecclesia esse non debere, ne quod coli-
tur οἱ adoratar in parietibus depings-
tur. Comp, Dale, Synod of Elvira, p.
89 n.

‘The Canon is most strangely quoted
by Northoote and Brownlow (ii. p. 4)
as ‘one which forbed “pictures to be
placed in a church, or that which is
worshipped and adored to be painted
on the walls,”

344

The
judgment
of Euse-
dius.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

believe, from the portraiture of Divine Persons. Perhaps there
were already symptoms that this reserve was likely to be broken.
So it seemed better to exclude pictures from the churches altogether
than to run the risk of injuring the sensibility of faith.

There was perhaps something of the sternness of African Chris-
tianity in the Canon of Elvira, It may have been called for by
peculiar local perils. It is therefore of more interest to notice a
similar expression of feeling from an opposite quarter. This is found
in a letter addressed by Eusebius of Cwsarea to the Empress Con-
stantia, which was brought forward at the second Council of Nicwa.
In this Eusebius seems to speak according to the general feeling of
the time, The empress had requested a likeness (εἰκών) of Christ.
‘What do you mean by a likeness of Christ? is the answer of Eusebius,
Not of course the image of Him as He is truly and unchangeably ;
nor yet of His human nature as it has been glorified, of which the
overpowering splendour of the Transfiguration offered some pledge
and likeness. It must then be an image of the frail mortal flesh
which He bore before His Ascension. But such images are forbidden
by the Mosaic Law. They are nowhere to be found in churches ;
and it is notorious that with us alone they are forbidden. ‘Some
‘poor woman’, he goes on to say, ‘brought to me two painted
‘figures, like philosophers, and ventured to say that they represented
Paul and the Saviour; I do not know on what ground. But to save
‘her and others from offence, I took them from her and kept them
“by me, not thinking it right in any case that she should exhibit
‘them further (εἰς érépous ὅλως ἐκφέρειν), that we may not seem like
‘idolaters to carry our God about in an image.’ The images of
Simon Magus and Mani may be worshipped by their followers.
*But such objects are forbidden us, Since we confess that our
‘Saviour is God and Lord we prepare ourselves to see Him as God,
‘using all zeal to purify our own hearts, that if so be when purified
‘we may see Him. For Blessed are the pure in heart because they
‘shall ace God, And if in addition to this hope (ἐκ περιουσίας) before
‘that vision which shall be “face to face” you eet high value on the

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 345

‘images of the Saviour, what better artist can there bo than the
‘God-Word Himself'?’

Such judgments were however unable to stem the tide of popular A revolu-
feeling which soon set in, ‘The revolution in the Empire, which was fitiny.
marked and crowned by the conversion of Constantine, introduced
new and perilous elements into the Christian body. The intense
spirituality of the first ages was lost. Paganism passed not yet
wholly conquered under the yoke of the Church. Within leas than
@ century the representations of sacred scenes obtained for good and
evil a recognised place in Christian sanctuaries, The innovation
was not accomplished without resistance. The familiar anecdote of
Epiphanius (+ 402) is a kind of summary of the controversy. This
zealous and rigid bishop when visiting a village church in Palestine
found there a veil ‘bearing a fanciful image of Christ (imaginem
‘quasi Christi) or of some Saint’, for this detail he could not
remember. He at once tore it asunder, and ordered the guardians
of the church where it hung to use it for the shroud of a pauper.
Nor was any further remonstrance made than that he should supply
a new one, which he did through the Bishop of Jerusalem, begging
him to warn the priest in charge of the church not to hang there
veils ‘which are contrary to the Christian religion’?

But in spite of such isolated action, and the traditional practice
by which it was supported, pictures found a recognised place in
sacred buildings even in the lifetime of Epiphanius. Three illustra-
tions will be sufficient to shew how far their use was extended in the
West and in the East. Paulinus (t 431), who was a scholar of Panlinus.
Ausonius and of consular rank, devoted himself and his fortune to
the service of the Church. He took for his special hero Felix, a
martyr of Nola, whose grave he decorated with noble buildings while
he celebrated his praises in a long series of poems. In one of these
he describes in some detail the pictures with which he had adorned
the cloister of the church*, The series included the events of the

1 Euseb. Ep. ad Const. Migne, Pa- 3 xxvii, (De S. Felice carm. natal.
trol. Gr. xx. 1515 ff. ix) sri ff.

4 Epiph. Ερὶοὲ, ad Joann, Hier. § ix. Nano volo picturas fucatis agmine
(iii. 390 ed. Migne), longo

346 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

history of the Pentateuch, Joshua and Ruth'. By means of these
representations he hoped to attract and instruct the crowds of
ignorant rustics who visited the shrine of St Felix*, Each scene
had, as he describes it, a certain fitness for enforcing some particular
lesson, the new creation, the offering of Isaac, the continence of
Joseph, the overthrow of Pharaoh’, the separation of Ruth and
Orpah*. He admits that the experiment was an unusual one’;
and it does not appear that he introduced into his decorations any
scenes from the Gospel history. His language indeed implies that
he shared to some extent the feeling expressed by Eusebius as to

representations of the Lord*.

Porticibus videas, paulumque supina
fati

iges
Colla, reclinato dum perlegis omnia

Ne maneam terrenns Adam...
Hostia viva Deo tanquam puer of-

ferar Isac...
valta. ‘Sit mihi castus amor, sit et horror
1 Qui videt hese vacuis agnoscens vera amoris iniqui...
figuris Sit mihi ab Aegypto bonus exitus...
‘Non vacua fidam sibi paseet imagine id. 607 ff.
mentem. “Nonne, precor, toto manet hwo dis-
Omnia namque tenet serie pictura cordis inundo,
fidei - Parte sequente Deum, vel parte
Que senior scripsit per quinque vo- ruente per orbem?
lumina Mose id. 537f.
Que gessit Domini signatus nomine —* Forte requiratar quanam ratione
Tesus... gerendi
Jam distinguentem modico Ruth Sederit hee nobis sententia pingere
tempora libro, sanctas
Tempors Judicibus finite et Regibus Raro more domos animantibus ad-
orta, simulatis,
Intentis transcurre oculis: brevis ista id. 542 ff.
videtur “Heo tibi, Christe Deus, tenui faci-
Historia et magni signat mysteris Tique parata
id. 5148. Pro nobis facimus; nec enim te,
2 Proptares visum nobis opus utile, summe Creator,
totis Facta manu capiunt, toto quem cor-
Felicis domibus pictura illudere ‘pore mundus
saneta ; Non eapit.
Si forte attonitas hec per spectacala _In his restoration of the old Basilica
mentes ᾗ Paulinus introduced ‘the two Testa-
Agrestum caperet fucata coloribus ments,’ but his language is very ob-
umbra, soure:
Que super exprimitur titulis ut lit- tribus in spatiis duo Testa-
tera monstret menta legamus;
Quod manus explicuit... Hane qnoque cernentes rationem
id. 580 ft. lumine recto,
3 De genesi, precor, hune orandi col- Quod nova in antiquis tectis, antiqua
lige sensu, novis lex

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 347

The contemporary evidence of Gregory of Nyssa (+ ο. 400) shews Gregory of

that in some places at least the range of subjects had been already NJ™*
enlarged. In commemorating Theodorus he has given # description
of α picture of his martyrdom, which in its intense realism no less
than in its subject is foreign to the spirit of early Christian Art.
The artist, he says, had imaged in glowing colours the heroic acts of
the martyr, his struggles, his pains, the brutal forms of his persecu-
tors, their insults, the flaming furnace, the bleased consummation of
the soldier of Christ. Painting, he adds, even in silence can speak
upon the wall, and do great service’.

About the same time Asterius, bishop of Amasea, gives a strange Asterius.
description of popular extravagance. Men and women wore robes
embroidered with all kinds of subjects ‘as if it were not enough to
have the walls of their houses decorated with pictures’. The more
pious, he adds, choose scenes from the Gospels, and think that in so
doing they dress themselves in a way to please God. ‘If they follow
‘my advice, let them sell such garments and honour the living
‘images of God. Do not paint Christ, for the one act of humility of
‘His Incarnation, which He voluntarily undertook for us, is suffi-
‘cient, but bear in thy soul and carry about spiritually (νοητῶς) the
‘incorporeal Word*.’

Not long afterwards there is evidence that still more remarkable Nilus.
freedom was used in ecclesiastical ornament. Olympiodorus con-
sulted Nilus (+ 430) on the decorations which he proposed to place
in a great church to be erected in honour of the martyrs. It was
his design to represent on both sides of the Sanctuary (ἱερατεῖον)

Pingitur; est etenim pariter decus

utile nobis

In veteri novitas, atque in novitate

vetustas.

Compare also xxviii. 22—27.

In the apse of the Basilica δὲ Funda
he represented the idea of the Passion
as it is found on aarcophagi:

Sanctorum labor et merces sibi rite

coherent,

Ardua crux pretiamque cracis sub-

lime corona,

Ipse Deus, nobis princeps crucis at-
que corona,
Inter gloriferi omleste nemus pare-

isi,
Sub cruce sanguinea niveo stat Chris-
tus in agno,
Agnus ut innocua injusto datus
hostia leto. (Ep. xxxii. 17.)
1 Greg. Nyas. de S. Theod. Mart. iii.
P. 733 (0d. Migne).
4 Hom. de div. et Las p. 167,
Migne (Patrol. Gr. x.).

348 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

scenes of hunting and fishing, with representations of various animals
and fish ; and to erect in ‘the common house’ ‘a thousand crosses,
and histories (ἱστορίας) of all kinds of birds and beasts and reptiles
and plants.’ ‘In answer to your letter’, so Nilus writes, ‘I should
‘say that it would be puerile and childish that the eye of the faithful
‘should wander over such subjects. It befits a strong and manly
‘character to fashion one single cross at the east of the most sacred
‘precinct (τοῦ θειοτάτου reévous)...and to fill the holy sanctuary (τὸν
ἐναὸν τὸν ἅγιον) on both sides with histories of the Old and New
‘Testament by the hand of a skilful artist, in order that those...who
‘are unable to read the divine Scriptures may by looking at the paint-
‘ings call to mind the courage of men who have served the true
‘God and be stirred to emulation of their heroic exploits'.’

Avous- In the time of Augustine the African Church had yielded to the

wiNE- growing fashion. Speaking of the Sacrifice of Isaac he says ‘that it
was sung in many tongues, painted in many places’? And he bears
witness that the fashion had brought the results which earlier
Christians had dreaded: ‘I know many’, he writes, ‘who worship
tombs and pictures,’

2.Sculp- ‘The remains of early Christian Sculpture are singularly few.

‘ure ‘This may be due partly to the costliness of such works, and still
more to the nature of the Art itself. Sculpture far more than paint-

Statues. ing was identified with idolatry. The aversion from ‘the graven

image’ has perpetuated itself in the Greek Church‘, and even to the

1 Nilus, Epp. iv. 61. The letter was
brought forward at the Second Coun-
cil of Niowa. In the following letter
Nilus speaks of a young monk who
recognised a martyr who appeared to
him from having seen him often repre-
sented ‘in the paintings’ (ἐκ τοῦ πολ-
Dams τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦ ἁγίου ἐπὶ τῶν
εἰκόνων τεθεᾶσθαι). The phrase sounds
like one of 8 later time, But Chryso-
stom bears witness to the custom in his
Homily on Meletius (ii. 2, p. 516, ed.
Migne); he says that the portrait of
that Saint was drawn on ‘rings, seals,
bowls, and chamber walls,’

3ο, Faust. xxii, 73. Compare also

de cons, ουν. i. x. 16, Sic omnino errare
meruerunt qui Christum et apostolos
ejus non in sanctis codicibus sed in pio-
tis parietibus quesierant; neo mirum
sia pingentibus fingentes decepti sunt.
5 de Mor. Eccles. Cath. i. 34 (75)
novi multos esse sepulerorum et pic-
turaram sdoratores. The famous phrase
‘picture (imagines) sunt idictaram
libri* is often referred to Augustine,
but, as far as I know, wrongly.
“Tam informed that statues are
used as ornaments of Russian churches,
as (for example) on the outside of the
Isaac Church at St Petersburgh. I
may add here that a friend, who has

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 349

present time Sculpture is for the most part inspired by the spirit of
the old world. A single ideal figure, the Good Shepherd of the
Vatican, which seems to have been suggested by the type of the
Hermes Kriophoros, is referred to the fourth century’; part of a
single portrait statue, that of Hippolytus, is referred to the fifth
century. To these two works may be added a small statue of the
Good Shepherd found at Seville, and pérhaps the famous bronze statue
of St Peter ; and the list of the extant Christian statues of the first
The other early works of sculpture
are sarcophagi, one of which belongs to the third century*.

In spite of the limited scope which sarcophagi offered to the ‘The cha
artist the sculptures which they present are of great interest 35 the sopal-
confirming the general impressions conveyed by the remains of early Cora! subjects.

five centuries is complete’.

given # considerable amount of study
to the monuments of early Celtio
hagiology, especially of the Scoto-
Trish school, informs me that, as far
‘as his reading has extended, he ‘can-
‘not remember meeting with any
‘mention of a sacred picture or image,
‘unless it be in one passage in the
‘Life of Brigid by Cogitosus, a work
‘which Colgan attributes to the last
‘quarter of the sixth century. It is
‘there stated that in the church of
«Kildare, in which the body of Brigid
‘was still lying buried in the time of
‘the author, the paries tabulatus, which
‘separated the eastern part from the
‘twin naves, was decoratus et imagi-
‘nibus depictus, ac linteaminibus tec-
‘tus (Cogitosus, cap. xxxv., in the
‘Trias Thaumaturga, p. 523). But
“what subjects these imagines depicted,
‘is not hinted: it is possible that only
“flowers, or, at most, figures of angels,
‘are meant.’

1 According to Eusebius (Vit. Const.
iii, 497) Constantine set up in the
market at Constantinople ‘the repre-
sentation of the Good Shepherd fa-
miliar to students of Scripture (τὰ τοῦ
καλοῦ ποιµένος σύμβολα, τοῖν ἀπὸ τῶν
θείων λογίων ὁρμωμένοιι γνώριμα), and a
gilded bronze figure of Daniel with the
lions.’

3 The two other figures of the Good

Shepherd which remain (Appell, 1. ο.
}. 5) are hardly so early. A statuette
of St Peter (Appell, p. 6) which was
once at Berlin appears to be of early
date; but is known only by en-
gravings.

* It is dated 273. Bee Le Blant,
Etude sur les Sarcophages Chrétiens de
la ville d’ Arles, p. iv; and compare id.
pl. xxxiv. Le Blant assigns to the
same age the sarcophagus of Livia
Primitiva, which bears a rade represen-
tation of the Good Shepherd between
fo sheep, ΔΝ and an anchor:
Bottari, Τ. xxxv.

Garraoci’s Ath volume contains the
sarcophagi. A very careful and valu-
able list and description is given by
Dr Appell, Monuments of Christian Art
+1872.

Prof. Ramsay has shewn me a draw-
ing of most interesting relief which
is probably the oldest remaining
specimen of Christian sculpture. It is
found on a monument erected by
‘Abercius deacon, to himself, his
wife, and his children,’ and represents a
mall figure with one arm laid across
the breast standing between two profiles
of @ man ands woman exeouted on 8
larger scale. ‘These profiles are evi-
dently portraite, and that of the woman
has considerable artistic merit, Prof.
Ramsay places the work ο. 200.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

Christian painting. The sarcophagi of Helena and Constantine, the
mother and daughter of Constantine, are perfectly classical in charac-
ter. The vine and wine-making which are represented on the latter
recall the earliest wall-paintings. Such objects lend themselves
readily to a Christian interpretation while they are not distinctively
Christian. In other cases classical imagery is found to which a
Christian meaning can only be given with difficulty’, But for
the most part the same scenes are found as in the Catacombs,
and they are treated in the same manner. The sculptor brought
to his work the experience and the traditions of ancient art, as far as
they still survived, and used them for the expression of new ideas*.
Meanwhile Christian Architecture had made vigorous progress.

350

3. Arehi-
‘ecture. When the persecution of Diocletian broke out at Nicomedia (a. 2.
303), ‘a most lofty temple’ there was one of the first objects of de-
struction, At that time it.is evident that the religious buildings of
Christians were of considerable importance; and the church which
Paulinus. Paulinus erected at Tyre not many years afterwards (4. D. 313) pro-

bably ouly reproduced the type of earlier works of which no detailed
description has been preserved. Eusebius has fortunately given
an account of this which proves beyond question that Christians were
ready to devote the costliest work to purposes of Divine worship*.
The central door was decorated ‘with plates of bronze and reliefs’
(παραπήγμασί τε χαλκοῦ σιδηροδέτοις καὶ ποικίλµασιν dvayAdpors).’
Elaborate carvings of wood were freely used. The roof was made of
cedar. And Eusebius taxes the powers of his rhetoric to represent
the splendour of the effect produced both by the costliness of the
materials and by the beauty of the workmanship, The external

1 E.g. The figures of the Dioscuri
on a sarcophagus at Arles. Le Blant,
pl. xxiii. pp. 38 ff. On the use of clas-
sical details see Le Blant, l. ο. Intro-

artistio merit. For example sarco-
phagus in the Lateran Museum, given
in Northoote and Brownlow, il. 255;
Parker, pl. xvii.; Bottari, T. xxiii,
The sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

ων 359) shews thoughtfal work. It is
to understand how other en-
paving come to represent Daniel as
nude, sccording to all but univer.
sal custom, while Parker's engraving
‘taken from a photograph’ (pl, 0
represents him as fully clothed.
‘Appell says that the figure is ae
(Monuments of Christian Art, p. 10.)
2 HELL. 4

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 351

magnificence was indeed designed, if we may believe him, to attract
passers by and lead them to enter the sacred precincts’.

The church of Paulinus was a genuine expression of Christian Gonstan-
feeling. Less stress can be laid on the evidence furnished by the
works of Constantine at Jerusalem. These so impressed Eusebius
that he suggests that they may have been prefigured by the prophets
in their description of the New Jerusalem’. No kind of rich deco-
ration was spared. The interior walls were encrusted with variegated
marbles, The carved ceiling was gilded throughout. The semi-
circular apse was adorned with twelve columns, supporting as many
silver vases which the Emperor ‘ presented as an offering to his God.’
And Eusebius says that he could not enumerate the other gifts ‘of
gold and silver and precious stones’ with which the building was
enriched’.

The works of Constantine at Rome seem to have been of a
similar type; and the drawings of the original Basilica of St Peter
which have been preserved are so full of beauty that it is difficult
not to feel that the present building has been dearly purchased by
the loss of the greatest of his churches,

The development of Christian Architecture gave occasion to the Mosaics.
first original effort of Christian Art, the application of Mosaic on a
large scale to wall-pictures, The earliest remaining examples are in
the churches of St Constantia and St Maria Maggiore at Rome; and
one of the most beautiful in the tomb of Galla Placidia at Ravenna‘.
This form of art, it is obvious, lends itself naturally to con-
ventional representation; and it is not unlikely that the later
Mosaics preserve unchanged the earliest types as they were suc-
cessively fixed.

One example deserves to be specially noticed, that on the apse of

1 Eusob. 1.ο, ox ἂν μὴ παρατρέχΏ ris
ὅτι μὴ τὴν ψυχὴν κατανυγεὶε πρότερον
μνήµῃ τῆς τε πρὶν ὀρημίας καὶ τῆς νῦν
παραδόξου θαυματουργίας, ὑφ Hs τάχα
καὶ ἐλκνσθήσεσθαι κατανυγέντα καὶ πρὸ
αὐτῆς τῆς ὄψεως ἐπὶ τὴν εἴσοδον προτρα-
πήσεσθαι ἠλπισιν.
2 Vit. Cont. ii.
3 Id. 34-40.

33°
Bingham (Antiqui-

ties, viii. § ϱ) has given an interesting
early inventory of Church vessels.

4 There is a drawing of this Moraic
in D. C. A. ii. 6, 1328, and a large
coloured drawing at South Kensington,
It is excellently described in Wolt-
mann and Woermann, Hist. of Paint-
ing, London, 1880, i. 167 4.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

the church of St Pudentiana at Rome. No existing work gives a
better idea of the peculiar spirit and power of early Christian Art.
The treatment is conventional without being lifeless. A spiritual
purpose is dominant without destroying the natural dignity of the
figures and the grouping. The spectator is forced by the beauty of
that which he sees to look beyond to that which is suggested’.

There are very few traces of the domestic Art of the early Chris-
tians, Clement of Alexandria gives a list of subjects which might
properly be engraved on rings; and existing specimens present nearly
all the types which he allows*, Many early Christian lamps are
works of considerable merit*. And one of the gold coins of Constan-
tine offers a unique and most beautiful embodiment of a Christian

352

Domestic
Art.

1 There are valuable representations
of early Mosaics in the South Kensing-
ton Museum. See Christian Mosaic
Pictures by J. W. Appell, Ph. D., 1877-

Garrucei devotes his fourth volume
to Mosaics.

3 For the history and remains of
early Christian glyptic Art see C. W.
King, Antique Gems and Rings, ii. § vii.
pp. 24ff. London, 1872; and Dr Ba-
Dington’s article Gems in D.C. A.

Assimple enumeration of jects
of the small collection of early Chris-
tian gems in the British Museum will
give & fair idea of the general character
of these works,

1. A dove, olive branch and star
(ruby).

2. Α fish, olive, pastoral staff.

8. A fish and anchor, with the word
ΕΠΙΤΥΝΧΔΝΟΥ (D. Ο. A. p. 714).

4 A cross, fish and dove (D. 6. A.
Ρ. 713).

5. Two fish (ascending and descend-
ing) and a bowl.

6. An anchor between two dolphins
with the letters 4. P. 1.

7- An anchor between two fish.

& _1x@yc enclosed between two olive
branches (sard).

9. An anchor-cross with two doves
resting on the arms, two fish (ascend-

ing and descending), and two palms.

1o. Good Shepherd under an olive
with two doves (hematite).

11. Good Shepherd between two
sheep: very rude, -

12. Good Shepherd with 11 Χο:
very rade.

13. Good Shepherd, with sheep and
two lambs, under a tree with a dove:
very rnde.

14. Good Shepherd and Jonah cast,
out by the monster: 4 dove with olive

: iu the centre the mono-

gram.
15. Two parts: above, the Good
Shepherd and Jonah under the gourd :
below, an anchor, dove, branches, fish,
figures kneeling, a figure floating
above,

16, A Cross, which has become »
living tree, with a dove resting upon
it, (This is a singularly interesting
device.)

17. ‘Two sheep between two palms:
very well executed.

18. Chariot with two horses and

19. Four sheep with collars,

20. The temptation.

at. Cross with the Chriama (sap-
phire).

22. Palm between two branches.

18. Palm tree, two branches and
two birds with insoription : very rude.
3 Bee Dr Babington’s article in

DC Α.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 353

thought. The Emperor is represented as ‘looking upwards in the
attitude of prayer’: so, Eusebius says, he wished to express his
faith’.

‘The rapid sketch which has been given of the progress of Chris- Character-
tian Art in different directions will be sufficient to indicate the Ομ λύκο
circumstances under which it gained finally a recognised place in Απ
Christian life, and especially in Christian worship. It was, as we
have seen, fashioned on classical models ; it inherited the use of classi-
al methods ; it incorporated some of the familiar subjects of classical
use’; but at the same time it embodied, even if only in an elementary
form, the power of a new life. It was conventional and it was sym-
bolic. By these characteristics it claimed effectually the office of in-
terpreting the invisible through the visible, of giving predominance to
the spirtual idea over the external appearance, of advancing from
within outwards, from the thought to the expression. The means
adopted for securiug these ends belong, no doubt, to the infancy of
Christian Art. Efforts which were arrived at directly and simply in
the first stage of the new artistic life can be secured now without
avy sacrifice of the freedom or of the fulness of the artist’s labours.
But this fact does not deprive the earliest works of their distinctive
meaning and importance.

1 Vit. Const. iv. 15. An engraving
‘of the coin, which does not do it jus-
tice, is given in D. 0. A. Money,
Fig. 23. Dr Babington (D. 0. A. i. p.
720) refers to an agate in which the
Emperor is represented in the same

‘way.

Some other coins of Christian em-
perora deserve mention as illustrating
the symbolism of Christian Art. Most
conspicuous among these is the small
‘third brass’ ooin of Constantine,
bearing on the reverse the words sper
publica with the labarum, the spiked
‘end of which pierces the serpent
(D. ©. A. ευ. Labarum and Money,
fig. τό). A variation of this design
Constantine is said to have set over
the portal of his palace (Euseb. Vit.
Const, iii. 3). The old device of the

w.

phoonix with the legend Felie tem-
porum reparatis ocours on ooins of
Constans and Constantins. On ooins
of the two Endoxias Victory is repre-
sented inscribing the letters of the
sacred monogram on 8 shield. On 8
coin of Valentinian ΠΠ, which has
the common legend Victoria Augusti,
Satan takes the place of the barbarian
whom the Emperor treads under his
feet. At last the head of the Lord, of
8 singularly dignified type, appears on
agold ooin of Justinian Il. Compare
©. W. King, Early Christian Numis-
matics, pp. 35 Δ.

‘A very complete sccount of the in-
teresting Christian glass work is given
by Dr Babington in D. C. A. (Glass).
See also Garrucci, Tom,

18699 p. 343, 2. 1.

23

354

Early
Christis
Art con-
Yentional

in subject;
and in

treatment.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

Early Christian Art is conventional. This is true both as to the
choice and as to the treatment of subjects. It is indeed necessary to
remember that our illustrations are chiefly drawn from the Cata-
combs, from tombs and sarcophagi. But when allowance is made
for the limitation of the artist’s freedom by the nature of his work,
it seems certain that other influences must have kept him within
the narrow circle of subjects to which he confined himself. He made
a new departure in Art, though perhaps unconsciously, and strove
to call attention to the divine element in life. For this purpose
it was necessary to take a few familiar subjects which could easily
be made to express a universal spiritual truth, Scenes and figures
came in this way to express great thoughts; and when this corre-
spondence between facts and ideas was established in a few cases,
‘a lesson of wide application was surely taught.

Thus it is that a few subjects from the Old Testament and a few
from the New Testament are repeated both in painting and sculpture
with almost wearisome monotony. Among these three scenes from
the history of Jonah ((α) Jonah cast out of the ship ; (6) disgorged by
the sea-monster ; (c) resting under the gourd), Daniel between two
lions, Noah in the ark, the feeding of the multitudes and the Raising
of Lazarus are perhaps the most frequent in early works; and next to
these the Fall, Moses striking the rock, the three Children in the
furnace, Job in his distress, the sacrifice of Abraham, the ascension
of Elijah, the adoration of the Magi, the miracle of Cana’. It
is very remarkable that only one representation of David is referred
to by the historians of early Christian Art*.

The treatment of these subjects offers little variation. Jonah is
always represented nude, and the sea-monster seems to have been
modelled on the type of that found in representations of Andromeda.

1 Lista of examples of these dif-
ferent subjects are given in various
writers. It is sufficient to refer to
Canon Venables’ articles Fresco, and
Old Testament in D. Ο. A. and Mr
‘Tyrwhitt’s article in the same work on

_ the different subjects. See also C. J.

Hemans, The Church in the Cata-

combs, Cont, Rev. Oct. 1866.

‘How great was the tendency of the
subjects to become fixed is shewn by
the identity of the decorations of two
sarcophagi, one at Rome (Bottari,
xaiv.) and the other at Arles (Le
Blant, ix,).

? Bee p. 357, D. 5.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 355

Daniel, nearly always nude, stands in the attitude of prayer between
two lions placed symmetrically. Lazarus is drawn like a mummy,
and his tomb commonly appears like a small chapel, while the Lord
holds a rod in hand. The Magi are dressed in Persian (Phrygian)
costume. The treatment of the Good Shepherd offers a partial excep-
tion to the general uniformity. In addition to the commonest type
in which He bears the lamb over His shoulders, the Shepherd is
represented with the pipe, and leaning on His staff, and with goats’ ;
and on 8 sarcophagus He appears in three separate forms’. It is
not difficult to see the special colouring which is given in each case
to the common thought. Elsewhere there is little change; and
anyone who examines the work of Garrucci will feel the truth of
the words used at the second Council of Nicwa, ‘the msking of
“pictures is not the invention of artists but the admitted legislation
‘and tradition of the Catholic Church*’

This view as it was maintained by the artists of the Greek Chris.
Church was necessarily fatal to Art. The conventionalism of early τα bent
work was no more than a first step in the new life. Conventionalism
was the condition of Symbolism, that is of the simplest assertion of
the spiritual purpose of Art. But when the end was gained, the
provisional restriction of subjects ceased to be necessary.

We are thus brought to the second characteristic of early Chris-
tian Art: it was symbolic. There is no doubt some exaggeration in
the theory, which has gained the support of De’ Rossi, that Christian
artists worked under the direction of theologians and embodied defi-
nite schemes of doctrine in their pictures. But it is impossible to
study the cycle of subjects in connexion with early Christian litera-
ture and not feel that the artists embodied thoughts which their
religious services brought before them. Scenes in the Old Testa-
ment shadowed forth traths of the Gospel and illustrated the reality
of the one purpose underlying all ifs, By repeating these it was not

1 Compare Northoote and Brownlow, «3 Οὐ ζωγράφων ἐφεύρετις ἡ τῶν εἰκόνων.

ii, p. 24. Bottari, Ixxviii, Ixxx., ποίηση ἀλλὰ τῆς καθολικῇν ἐκκλησίας

xovii., ciii., ov., oxili., oxvi., xviii, ἔγκριτοι θεσμοθεσία καὶ ταράδοσι». Cone.

caliii., oxly., clv., olxzii., olxxix. Nic. τε, Act. vi, (Conail. viii. 1085 ed,
3 Bottari, olxiii, Colet.)

23--2

356

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

difficult to suggest the thought of the correspondence between differ-
ent stages in the fulfilment of the divine will, of the inner meaning
of ordinary events, of the way in which things are set ‘one over
against another.’ The offering of Isaac indicated as much as the
early believer thought could be safely indicated, in a direct represen-
tation, of the Lord’s Passion. The deliverance of Noah from and by
the waters was an eloquent symbol of salvation in the Church
‘through water.’ The four rivers of Paradise suggested thoughts of
the streams of grace flowing to the Church through the Gospel and
the Gospels. The domestic feast, and the feeding of the multitudes
called up recollections of the provision which the Lord had made and
still continues to make for the material and spiritual sustenance of
His people. Above all the familiar figure of the Good Shepherd
brought together the imagery of the Old Testament and the experi-
ence of daily life, and in some degree perhaps symbolic forms of
ancient art’, In one subject at least the imagination of the old
world was allowed its full right. The myth of Orpheus expressed
with far-reaching pathos the faith of man in o restored order of
creation; and the Christian artist gladly accepted the pictured parable
of which his faith gave the meaning.

The reality of this symbolic meaning is placed beyond all ques-
tion by the direct testimony of the monuments themselves, In
several cases St Peter, ‘the leader of the New Israel,’ is represented
under the figure of Moses striking the rock. Notonly is the figure of
Moses commonly given in the conventional type of St Peter, but the
identification is completed by the addition of the name, Peter‘.
In other examples Christ Himself appears as Moses* and again as
Abraham‘, Elsewhere, as when a young Christian man in the
attitude of prayer occupies the place of Nosh in the ark, the lessons
taught by the experience of the old saints are brought down into
actual life‘.

1 On the relation of the Good Shep-
herd to the Hermes Kriophoros seo
Northcote and Brownlow, ii. pp. 26 ff.

* Compare Northeote and Browalow, "It is enough simply to refer to the
ii, frontispiece, and p. 180; Le Blant, unquestioned symbolism of ‘ the Fish ”

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

An illustration of a different kind is furnished by the sarcophagus
of Bassus, On this, in the small reliefs which fill the spandrils of
the arcade, a sheep occupies the place of the divine representation in
the familiar cycle of subjects, A sheep receives the Law, strikes
the rock, administers Baptism, multiplies the loaves, raises Lazarus,

So the unity of the working of God throughout the Old and New
‘Testaments is vividly brought out’.

‘When the general principle is once recognised it is scarcely Bymbo-
possible to overlook the combination of thoughts which is indicated ὅσα αρα.
by definite groupings of types, such as Moses striking the rock and
the raising of Lazarus’; Moses striking the rock and Baptism’; Christ
teaching in the centre, and grouped round the sacrifice of Abraham,
the feeding of the multitudes, Moses striking the Rock, Noah, the
three children‘; and again, Orpheus in the centre, and around David
with the sling’, Moses striking the Rock, Daniel, the raising of
Lazarus, separated by four pastoral scenes‘; yet again, the Good
Shepherd in the centre, and around the raising of Lazarus, Moses
striking the rock, the healing of the Blind, Job’. In one example
Daniel, the Good Shepherd, and Jonah cast to the whale occur in a

357

continuous picture *.

λα Except in scenes of ‘ fish-

* this figure hardly comes within
the proper scope of Art, though it ie
Tustrates the attitude of the artist.
Compare D, C. A.s.o. The most re-
markable use of ‘the Fish’ which I
have seen is in picture from Cyren-
aion where several distinct kinds of
fish are combined with 9 figure of the
Good Shepherd (Garracci tav. 105 0).
Fishing and Baptiem are combined:
Garrucci, vii. 2. Figures of some very
curious gems with the ‘Fish’ are
given in D.C, Α. ἱ, p. 713. Le Blant
(Sare. Chrét. Intr, § 5) has pointed out
the remarkable correspondence be-
tween the subjects on sarcophagi
and the historical references in the
Offices for the dead. His last words
are well worth quoting: Mais, je le
répdte, ce qui me semble dominer dans
le cycle des représentations figures sur
Jes tombes, c'est I'idée méme dont s'in-

spirent les liturgies fanéraires et qui
fit mettre aux lavres da preux Roland
ce cri supréme: O notre vrai Pére, toi
qui ressuscitas saint Lazare d’entre les
morts et qui défendis Daniel contre
Jes lions, sauve mon &me et protége-
In contre tous périls (p. xxxix).

1 Compare Northoote and Brownlow,
ii. p. 260.

2 Bottari, T. oxxix.

1 Le Blant, xv.

«Bottari, Τ. lix.; Garr. xxiv.

5 Bottari says that this is the single

representation of David with which he
is acquainted in early art (p. 32). May
not the figure really be that of the
Sower?

© Bottari, Ixiii.; Garr. xxv.

7 Bottari, xci., Garr. xi. Other οχ-
amples are given Garracoi xliii.; xlviii.s
Ki, (Bottari, xviii).

5 Bottari, T. alxx,

358

The re- The symboliam of Christian Art is one expression of another
serve of mark by which it is distinguished, its reserve. This characteristic is
specially illustrated by the treatment of subjects from the Gospels,
and especially of the Person of the Lord. As early as the second
century Gnostic sects had alleged portraits of the Lord’, Such
representations were foreign to the mind of the Church. They do.
not occur in works connected with the Catholic Communion till the
fourth century at the earliest, and then in conventional types‘. At
the same time the figures of the Lord which appear commonly on
sarcophagi shew Him as a youthful figure of » pure classical form
with no attempt at realistic portraiture*. It is no doubt due to the
reverent shrinking from all representations of the Lord in His
human Presence that scenes from the Gospel history were with very

.THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

few exceptions carefully avoided,

A rude sketch of the Nativity is found upon a fragment of a

sarcophagus dated a.D. 343‘.
of the Magi of as early a date.

‘There are representations of the visit
Other scenes, except the Raising of

Lazarus, are very rare and of isolated occurrence.

The bea In this connexion the early treatment of the Passion is of the
the Pas- deepest interest. One of the earliest representations of the subject

sion.

1 Tren. i. 24) 25.
Gems, i. p. 721.

1 Compare Northcote and Brownlow,
ii, 216 ff.; Pearson On the Creed, p. 88
note; and the articles by Mr Tyrwhitt
and Archd. Cheetham in D. 6, A. i.
PP. 874 ff.

The famous statue at Cmsarea (Eu-
seb. vii. 18) cannot in any case be
regarded as contravening the general
statement.

I do not enter on the question of the
date of the legendary portraits of the
Lord. The two specimens on ‘cloth’
reproduced by Mr Heaphy in his work
on The Likeness of Christ (edited by W.
Bayliss, London, 1880), from the origi-
nals at St Peter's at Rome, and St
Bartholomew’s δὲ Genoa, are most re-
markable works. I know nothing in
early Christian Art at all resembling
the former in style. Those who have

Compare D. C. A.

seen ‘the Holy Face’ at Luooa speak
of it as being no less impressive.

5 A very fine example is found on the
sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Appell,
p. 9; Bottari, xv.; Parker, xvii See
also Bottari, xxxiii. Another remark-
able example is given in Bottari liv.
With these may be compared the cor-
responding figures of the bearded
Christ: Le Blant, pl. iv.; Bottari xxi.,
xxii,, xxili., xxv., xxviii. The distine-
tion which has been drawn between the
beardless and bearded figures as ex-
pressing the human and divine aspects
of Christ’s Person (see Le Blant, p. 25)
does not seem to hold good.

4 Northeote and Brownlow, ii. 235.

® The occurrence of the Star in the
group noticed above, Ῥ. 343, n. 2, seems
to shew that that really represents the
visit of the Magi.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 359

is of singular beauty and impressiveness. It is found on a sarco-
phagus preserved in the Lateran and referred to the fourth century’.
‘The face of the sarcophagus is divided by columns into five compart-
ments, The two end compartments shew on one side Christ, a
youthful figure, led by a soldier, and Pilate washing his hands; on
the other Christ crowned by a soldier with a crown not of thorns but
of flowers, and Simon the Cyrenian bearing His Cross’. In the
centre is the Cross terminated by the sacred monogram encircled by
a wreath, On the arms of the Cross two doves are resting, and
‘beneath are two figures of the Roman guards, one watching and one
sleeping. So the whole story of sadness and joy, of suffering and
glory, of death and triumph, is eloquently told.
This representation of the Passion was widely spread, though
without the accompanying scenes’.
In one example below the Cross, in the place commonly occupied
by the two guards, the Lord is represented appearing to two women‘.
In another the crowned Cross is the object of devout contemplation
to the apostles, who stand six on each side with their right hands
upraised, while from above out of the starry heaven a hand places a
‘crown upon the head of each’.
Another treatment of the idea of the Passion, which occurs on
the sarcophagus of Anicius Probus, who died in 395, is scarcely less
beautiful. In this case also the face of the sarcophagus is divided
into five compartments. The two on either side are occupied each
by two disciples. In the centre one, which is wider, the Lord appears
between St Peter and St Paul. He stands, a graceful youthful
figure, upon a mound from which flow the four streams of the new

1 Appell, p. a; Parker, xv.; North-
cote and Brownlow, ii. 253. Compare
Paulinus Ep. xxxii. 17, quoted above,
P. 3460.

2 "This is well pointed out by Le
Blant, Sare, Chrét. p. 18. His en-
-graving p. xxxiii. 3 is admirable. The
emaller size and dress of the figure
‘Dearing the Cross leave no doubt as to
the artist's meaning.

Le Blant observes that this is the

single example in which any incident
of the Passion subsequent to the ap-
pearance before Pilate is represented
in early art (1. οἱ).

3 Examples are given by Garrucei,
Tavv. 349—353 5 493.

4 Bottari, T. xxx.; Garrucci, Τ. οσα].

519 Blant, pl. xiv. A small en-
graving of this work is given in D. C.
ALi, p. 108.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

Paradise: in His left hand He holds the roll of the Gospel, and in
the right a jewelled cross‘.

The full meaning of this representation is brought out more
clearly in other examples, where the Lord stands on the mound, and
by Him a Lamb bearing the Cross upon its head*, The same thought
is indicated by a Lamb standing in front of the Cross ; or by a Lamb
with cruciform nimbus which stands upon a mound from which
issue the four rivers’; and less distinctly by a Oross or the Chrisma
between two lambs‘.

Yet more significant and touching is a representation of the
Passion which is found on a slab: preserved in Wirksworth Church,
Derbyshire. The slab was found some years ago buried under the
floor of the Chancel. The work is rude, and was probably executed
by some English sculptor of the ixth or xth century, but the design
is of a much earlier date, and may reasonably be referred to an
Italian artist of the vith or vitth century.

The larger portion of the slab which remains is in good preserva-
tion, and contains scenes from the Life of the Lord, among others.
less distinct, the Nativity and the Ascension in a most suggestive
juxtaposition, the Feet-washing and the Burial, and between these a
symbolic image of the Passion, On the centre, of a plain Greek
Cross is laid the figure of a dead lamb. As far as I can learn the
conception is unique‘. The drooping head and the bent legs of the
victim tell of death with eloquent force; and under this limited

1 Bottari, T. xvi. A similar group
with the addition of two palm trees is
found in another sarcophagus: Bot-
tari, T. xxv.

3 Bottari, Tavy. xxi., xxii. 1. With
this may be compared the rade, almost
startling, figure of Christ throned with
the Chrisma upon His head: Le Blant,
pk xxvii,

᾽ . T. ooclvi.; T. 206.

“Garrucci, Tavv. το, 303, 337) 345)
389) 393, 433, 426.

On the cover of an Evangelarium at
Milan are several typical scenes from
the Lord’s Life; but there is no Cruci-
fixion. In place of this there is a

Lamb in the centre with a wreath:
Labarte, Hist. dee Arts industriels...
1864; pl. vie; Garrucci, T. 454-

5 The image of the Living Lamb is
found on the centre of the Vatican
Cross (D. C. A. 1, 513) and elsewhere,

very striking example ooours in 8
Parsi on the Ciborium at St Mark’s
‘Venice: Grim. de St Laurent, Icono-
graphie de la Croiz...in Didron’s An-
nales Archéologiques xxvi. Ρ. 213 (Paris,
1869). It is said that the Faoe of the-
Lord is represented as the intersection
of the arms of the Cross in the Trans-
figuration et Ravenna: D. Ο. A. p. 494-

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 361

aspect it is perhaps alléwable to present for contemplation the Deed
Christ’. No one, I think, can regard it without feeling that we
have lost greatly by substituting ο literal representation for such a
symbol *.

The same spirit of reserve which led Christian artista to shrink Repre-
from direct representations of the Lord’s sufferings, kept them also ot martyr
from representing the sufferings of His martyrs, A single painting 2m,
in the Cemetery of St Callixtus is supposed to portray the trial of
Christian oonfessors*, And a single gem, a new-year's gift, of
unusually good execution, which is referred to the age of Constantine,
represents an actual martyrdom, perhaps that of St Agnes‘. It
seemed enough for the most part to represent the death and deliver-
ance of martyrs by the type of the three Children.

In correspondence with the reserve of early Christian Art we Joyfalness
may also notice its joyousness. The reserve was a natural conse- ντι
quence of the vivid realisation of spiritual truth: the aim of the
artist was, so to speak; to let earth speak of heaven and not to
confine heaven in forms of earth. The joyousness was another
manifestation of the same faith. In spite of appearances the Chris-
tian believed that ‘the victory over sin and death was already won ;
and he gave expression to his conviction. The characteristic words
‘in pace’ which marked the ‘rest’ of the believer were reflected in
all the associations of death. The painful literalism which deforms
many of the monuments of the xvth and xvith centuries found no
place in the vth and vith, and still less in earlier times. The terrible
pictures which Tertullian drew of the sufferings of perseoutors, and
the scarcely less terrible descriptions by Augustine of the sufferings
of the wicked were not as yet embodied by Art. No attempt was

1 1 feel unable to believe that a gem
representing the Dead Christ (D. 6. A.
i. p. 718) oan be as early as the ivth

wholly to a later period than that with
which we are concerned here. The essay
of M. Grimouard de St Laurent re-

century.

3 This is not the place to enter on
the history of the direct representa
tions of the Crucifizion first ideal and
then realistic. The subject is of deep
theological importanos, but it belongs

ferred to in note 5, p. 360, is a valuable
contribution to the history, but by no
means exhaustive.

3 Northoote and Brownlow, i. pl 8
ii. 173.

«D.C. Ai p. 719.

362 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

made to give distinctness to the unseen world. It is doubtful
whether there are any representations of angels earlier than the
latter half of the fourth century, and it seems certain that there are
no representations of powers of evil, other than the natural serpent,
till a later date.

By that time the work of early Christian Art was ended.

TIL

a of From what has been said it will appear that the relation of Chris-

Christian- tianity to Art is that which it holds generally to life. It answers to

ity o Art. . sesh birth, a transfiguration of all human powers, by the revela-
tion of their divine connexions and destiny. The pregnant words of
St Paul, ‘old things (τὰ ἀρχαῖα) passed away: behold, they have
become new,’ have an application here. There is no loss, no aban-
donment of the past triumphs of thought and insight and labour, but
they are quickened by a new power, and disclosed in a new position
with regard to the whole discipline of man. Christian Art is the
interpretation of beauty in life under the light of the Incarnation.
The ministry of the beautiful in every shape, in sound, in form, in
colour, is claimed for God through man.

‘The rela The realisation of this idea must necessarily be slow, but it is

Honslcry ismpossible that the facts of the Incarnation and Resurrection can
leave Art in the same position as before. The interpretation of
Nature and the embodiment of thought and feeling through outward
things must assume a new character when it is known not only that
Creation is the expression of the will of God, and in its essence
‘véry good,’ but also that in humanity it has been taken into per-
sonal fellowship with the Word, through whom it was called into
being. Such « revelation enables the student to see in the phe-
nomena of the visible order Sacraments, so to speak, of the spiritual
and unseen, and free him from bondage to ‘the world’ while he
devotes himself with devout enthusiasm to the representation of the
mysterious beauty which it contains. The Old Testament teaches
us to regard Creation as an embodiment of a Divine thought, marred

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 363

by the self-assertion and fall of its temporal sovereign: the New
‘Testament teaches us to see it brought again potentiully to harmony
with God through the Blood of Him who is its Eternal Author and
Head (Col. i. 1423).

The Gospel therefore seeks the service of Art in the sensible but neces-
proclamation of its message. The spirit must clothe itself in some asserted.
way, and the dress may help to emphasise salient features in that”
which it partly veils. No doubt it is true that the spirit can in any
case illuminate that in which it is confined; but it is no less true
that it has a necessary tendency to fashion its own shrine, even as
the soul ‘doth the body make’.’

The early controversy as to the outward appearance of the Lord αν
illustrates this twofold truth *. Some argued from the description of the con-
‘the servant of the Lord’ that the Son of man had ‘no form or *icting |
comeliness,’ ‘no beauty that we should desire Him.’ And others the Lord's
replied that it could not but be that perfect holiness should become ance.
visible in perfect beauty. To the spiritual eye, we feel, there would
be no final antagonism in the two statements, And Art by spiritual
sympathy is able to guide the spectator to a right vision of that
which is not naturally discerned.

Or, to present the same thought from the opposite side, as all Artroveals
Art brings the ideal, in some sense, before us in a material form, end.
and preserves for earth a definite place in the present order, s0
Christian Art is characterised by the endeavour to present ‘in many
parts and in many fashions’ that view of Creation wherein it is
shewn in ‘earnest expectation’ ‘waiting for the revelation of the
sons of God’ (Rom. viii. 19). In other words Obristian Art treats
ite subject as that which has partly lost and is partly striving

1A remarkable and somewhat ob- ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων (80. ἑώρα), ὄψει τῶν

soure passage of Athenagoras points ἀδήλων ροών τὰ φαινόμενα ddpor, αἰθέροι,
to one aspect of this truth in the die. γῆς (Legat. pro Christ.c. 5). To the

cussion of the objects of worship in
pre-Christian times. After quoting
the famous lines from the Melanippe
of Euripides (épis τὸν ὑψοῦ τόνδ ἄπειρον
αἰθέρα...) he says τῶν μὲν γὰρ οὔτε τὰς
οὐσίαι, alt ἀπικατηγορεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα
συµβέβηκσ, ὑποκειμέναι ἀώρα...νὸν δὲ

true spiritual eye natural phenomena
reveal something of the Divine charac-
ter more really than any creation of
the imagination of man.

3 On the appearance of the Lord
compere the Oxford translation of
Tertullian, note F, pp. 252 ff.

364

Christian
ity does
not alter
the range
of Art.

Opposing
influences,

Unequal
advances
of Chris-
tian Art.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

towards a divine type, not self-complete and not an end, and seeks.
to make clear the signs of the true character and the true goal of all
with which it deals. It is directed not to humanity and nature.
in themselves, but to humanity and nature as revelations of the
Divine.

Such an effort is obviously of universal application. Christian
Art, like Christianity itself, embraces all life. The inspiration of the
new birth extends to every human interest and faculty. Christian
Art, as Christian, does not differ from classical Art in range of
subject but in its prevailing treatment. It will indeed happen again
and again that ‘the soul naturally Christian’ unconsciously falfils
ita high office of spiritual interpretation in classical works, but
Christian Art exists by and for this, And there is nothing to which
the office does not apply, nothing in which it does not find scope for
exercise, The joys and sorrows and energies of men, the manifold
forms and varying moods of nature, all have their ‘religious’ aspect,
if religion be, as it assuredly is, the striving towards the unity of
man, the world, and God. Music, which is, as it were, the voice of
the society, and architecture which is as its vestment, have in all
their applications a religious power. This Christianity affirms as its
postulate, and by affirming determines its relation to Art.

The fulfilment of this universal claim, as has been already ssid,
will be necessarily slow. The conquest of life for Christ is gradual
and not without reverses, New forces are not subdued without a
struggle, and old forces, which have been subdued, not unfrequently
rise up again in dangerous rebellion. More than once the fanatical
iconoclasm of a false Judaism, and the sensual nature worship of a
false Hellenism, have troubled the development of Christian Art.
No struggle indeed has been fruitless ; but even now we cannot dare
to say that the office of Art is frankly acknowledged, or the exercise
of Art spiritually disciplined.

The development of Christian Art has been gradual, and it has
been unequal in different branches. The social Arts, if I may so
describe them, Music and Architecture, were soon welcomed by the
Church and pursued in characteristic forms It is not too much to

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 365

say that modern Music is a creation of the Church ; and the con-
tinuous and rich growth of Christian architecture up to the Renais-
sance in types of varied beauty is in iteelf a sufficient proof of the
power of the Faith to call out and train the highest genius in Art.
‘The advance of painting and sculpture was checked perhaps in a
great degree by the influence of Eastern asceticism. Both were
treated as subsidiary to architecture, which was preeminently the
Art of the Middle Ages ; but some of the single statues of the ΧΙ
century contain a promise, not yet fulfilled, of a Christian Art
worthy to crown that of Greece. Meanwhile a new style of painting
-was being prepared by the illumination of manuscripts, in which not
only scenes and persons but small natural objecta, flowers and insects,
were treated with the utmost tenderness and care, Here again the
Renaissance checked the direct development of the twofold promise
over which the student lingers in admiration and hope as he regards
at Bruges side by side the works of Van Eyck and Memling.

The forces of the Renaissance have not yet been completely Disturb-
assimilated. The wealth of ancient material then poured at once μον,
before Christian Artists hindered their normal progress; but they Daissance.
have moved since along their proper lines and the Past contains the
assurance that ‘all things’ are theirs.

So much at least the history of Christianity fairly shews, that
nothing which is human lies beyond its range. It lays the greatest
stress upon practical duties, upon ‘the good part’ of moral discipline,
but none the less it finds place for the satisfaction of what we regard
as less noble instincts. The single incident recorded in the Gospels
in which the Lord received a costly offering seems to illustrate the
principles which hallow even the simplest gratifications of sense.

‘When Mary lavished the precious spikenard over the Head and The Evan-
Feet of her Master, ‘the house,’ St John tells us, ‘was filled with Stic sien.
the odour of the ointment.’ It was natural that the thought of the
apostles should find expression by the lips of Judas. ‘Why was not
this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor!’
«Το what purpose was this waste?’ And the judgment was given:
+ Verily I say unto you, wherescever this gospel shall be preached in

366

ην
RE

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done, be
told for a memorial of her.’ The fragrance was most transitory, but
it was diffusive: the waste was most complete, but it gave clear
witness of love, of that highest love of which the chief reward is
that it should be known that its object inspired the devotion of
perfect sacrifice. So it is with every work of Christian Art. It
aims not at a solitary but at a common enjoyment: it seeks to make
it clear that all to which it is directed has a spiritual value able to
command the completest service '.

Iv.

Christianity, it has been seen, claims the ministry of Art in the
whole field of life. What then is the peculiar office of Art? It is
in a word to present the truth of things under the aspect of beauty,
to bring before us the ‘world as God has made it’ where ‘all is
beauty.’ The fulfilment of this office involves the exercise not only
of insight but of self-control. Man and nature are evidently dis-
ordered. The representation of all the phenomena of life would not
be the representation of their divine trath. Love therefore, a look-
ing for the highest good of the whole, will guide and limit the search
after beauty to which Art is directed.

In the imitative arts, painting and sculpture, the effort to make
visible the truth of God in man and in nature is immediate and
direct. In the creative arts, music and architecture, the effort is to
find an expression, an embodiment, harmonious with the truth of
things for elementary emotions and wants. Men in society seek a
common voice, a common home: the hymn and the temple belong to
the first stage of the state. But in these arts there is necessarily
more freedom and variety than in those which are directly imitative.
The application of the general laws of Art to them is complicated by

1 This is the lesson of the soul in that are
The Palace of Art: So lightly, beautifully built:
“Make meacottageinthevale,"shesaid, Perchance I may return with others
“Where I may mourn and pray. there

Yet pull not down my palace towers, When I have purged my guilt.”

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 367

many physical influences. It is best then to endeavour to determine
the office of Art by a consideration of the imitative arts, and speci-
ally of painting which is both richer than sculpture in its effects and
wider in its range.
In three most suggestive studies of painters of the Renaissance a

Browning has marked with decisive power the mission of Art, and jag Tation νά
the grounds of its failure. He has not crowned the series by a por- failure
traiture of the ideal artist, but it is not difficult to gather his linea-
ments from the sketches of the other three. In ‘Fra Lippo Lippi’
the poet vindicates the universality of Art answering to the fulness
of life, and yet plainly indicates the peril which lies in this frank
recognition of ‘the value and significance of flesh.’ In ‘ Andrea del
Sarto’ he shews the power of faultless execution neutralised by the
deliberate acceptance of a poor and selfish motive. In ‘Pictor igno-
tus,’ the loftiest ideal and the fullest power of imagination and exe-
cution are supposed to be combined, but the artist shrinks from
facing a world sordid proud and unsympathising, and buries his work
in obscurity.

It would not be possible to describe the artist’s feeling more truly Fra Lipo
than in Lippi’s words : Uiprl.

This world’s no blot for us

Nor blank: it means intensely, and means good:
To find its meaning is my meat and drink.

So it is that for him’ to see the world is to see

The beanty and the wonder and the power,

The shapes of things, their colours, lights and shades,
Changes, surprises—and God made them all...

ων paint any one, and count it crime

To let a trath slip.

If it be said that nature is before us, and that the artist can
neither surpass nor reproduce it, the answer is complete:

we're made ϱο that we love
First when we seo them painted, things we have passed
Perhaps α hundred times nor cared to see ;...

.. Art was given for that:
God uses us to help each other 80,
Lending our minds out.

368

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

It is therefore faithless disloyalty to the Creator to seek to ‘paint
the souls of men’ by disparaging their bodies Even if such a thing
as soulless beauty were possible, the devout spectator would ‘find
the soul he wants within himself, when he returns God thanks.’

These pregnant words describe the manifold field of Art, ite pecu-

” liar interpretative power, and its moral effect, but in connexion with

Andrea
del Sarto,

8 perfect, an unfallen, world. They take no account of the sorrows
and failures which come from ‘what man has made of man’; and the
circumstances under which they are spoken give powerful emphasis
to the reality of that disorder in life which imposes on Art the neces-
sity of discipline. There must indeed be no violent suppression of
any part of true nature in the endeavour to gain the highest lesson
of earth, but the divine meaning must be sought through the traces
of the divine ideal, so that the artist ‘makes new hopes shine through
the flesh they fray.’

The failure of Lippi springs from a reaction against convention-
ality. In the assertion of the divine glory of Nature he overlooks
the reality of corruption. The failure and the success of Andrea
del Sarto are of a different kind. There is in him no sense of an
illimitable progress of Art as it ‘interprets God to men.’ ‘I can do,’
he says, ‘do easily,

what I know,
‘What I see, what at bottom of my heart,
I wish for, if I ever wish so deep.’

The last words give the clue to his position, He has deliberately,
irrevocably, limited his ideal by an unworthy passion. In earth and
in heaven, as he looks forward, he accepts defeat as the consequence :
so he chooses. He has fettered himself and strives to think that
‘God laid the fetter.’

But none the less he is conscious that his matchless power was
given him for something nobler. He recognises truer greatness in
pictures less perfect than his own. The complete fulfilment of his
design is his condemnation:

@ man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for? all is silver grey,
Placid and perfect with my art—the curse!

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 369

He has said of the Madonna, which was but the image of his wife,
1: is the thing, Love! so such things should be—
but yet looking back to the early and unsullied days he thinks, ad-
dressing Lucrezia, how he
could paint
One picture, just one more—the Virgin's face,
Not your's this time!

The artist has need of discipline: he has need of devotion to an Pictor
unattainable ideal: he has need also of un-selfregarding courage. The ὃν ο
pathos of earthly passion in the confession of Andrea is less touching
than the self-effacement of ‘the unknown painter,’ who, conscious of
power and purpose, keenly alive to the joy of triumphs which he
might secure, yet shrinks from the cold hard criticism of the crowd,

‘as from the soldiery a nun,’ and chooses for his works silent un-
noticed decay. He has failed to acknowledge the reality of his
mission. The question for him was not how men would judge him,
whether ‘their praise would hold its worth,’ but whether he had a
trust to discharge, different from that monotonous task which he
took to himself, painting
wath same series, Virgin, Babe and Saint,

With the same cold, calm, beautiful regard.
It might have been that ‘merchants would have trafficked in his
heart’; but they could not have disguised the heart’s teaching. It
might have been that his pictures would have lived with those who

count them for garniture and household-stuff,
but no dull eye could have extinguished the light of his interpreta-
tion of life. The work of the artist is a battle, not without loss and
suffering, and he must bear its sorrows, just as he must exercise the
patient self-control of one who has to recover an image partly marred
and defaced, and to keep in vigorous activity his loftiest aspiration.

All nature, all life, so far as it can be presented under the form Beauty
of beauty, is the field of Art. But the beauty which is the aim of toa diving
Christian Art is referred to a divine ideal. It is not ‘of the world, hares)
as finding its source or its final measure there, but ‘of the Father,’ as Art.
corresponding to an unseen truth. The visible to the Christian eye
is in every part a revelation of the invisible. The artist, like the

w. 24

370

Positive
value of
artistic
discipline.

The Artist

and em-
bodies.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

poet, sees the infinite in things, and, under the conditions of his
works, suggests it.

So far the artist’s pursuit of beauty is limited. The boundaries
within which he is confined will not always be ‘the same, but they
will always have.the same relation to moral discipline. They will
correspond with the circumstances of the time. And the discipline
of sense has a positive and not only a negative value. It brings
into healthy action a power of goodness which a rigid asceticiam
keeps unused and tends to destroy. In this way Christianity is able
to give back, as has been already indicated, what was lost by the
corruption of the old Aryan passion for Nature. All that was at
first referred to limited divinities is shewn to be essentially an ex-
pression of one Divine Will The spiritual sigus may be greatly
obscured: they may not be in every case distinctly discoverable ;
but the assurance of the significance and purpose of the whole cannot
but illuminate the study of every part.

And while the field of Christian Art is in one sense limited by
the recognition of a spiritual destiny of all its fruits, it is, in another
sense, unlimited. The understanding of Nature is deepened and
enlarged with the progress of life. Every discovery as to the history
of creation, sooner or later, places new forces in the artist’s hands.
It may be some detail as to the formation of rocks, some law as to
the arrangement of leaves and branches, some phenomenon of light
or vapour, which has been more firmly seized; and shortly the
painter's interpretation of the landscape will offer a fuller trath.
The instructed eye will discern the importance of some minute effect
and the artistic instinct will know how to convey it to the ordinary
spectator’,

For the artist has both to interpret and to embody. He has to
gain the ideal of his subject and then he has to present it in an
intelligible shape. He has to give the right effect and to call out

1 When the Turner Collection was following effect: ‘N.B. The under-side
first exhibited at Marlborough House, of a laurel leaf does not shine.’ It
1 remember examining a sketch-book would be interesting to know how

which contained some studies of laurel Turner conveyed the effect which he
bushes. At the side was a note to the noticed.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 371

the right feeling. He has, as it were, to enter within the veil, and
coming forth again to declare his heavenly visions to men. He
is not a mirror but a prophet. The work of the photographer may
help him, but it in no sense expresses his aim, which is not repro-
duction but translation, He has abdicated the office of an artist
who simply repeats for the mass of men what they see themselves.
The artist bids them behold the ideal as it is his privilege to realise
it. He strives to make clear to others what his keener sensibility
and penetrating insight have made visible to him. There is, as in
every true poem, an element of infinity in his works.. They suggest
something beyond that which they directly present : something to be
looked for, and felt after, thoughts which they quicken but do not
satisfy. So it is that
Art may tell 8 truth

Obliquely, do the thing shall breed the thought,
Nor wrong the thonght.

This consideration places in a true light the danger of the Pail of
popular realism in Art. There is a charm, no doubt, in being Sa
enabled to see some scene far removed from us in time or place as it
would have presented itself to an ordinary observer; but exactly
in proportion to the grandeur of the subject such a superficial
portraiture is likely to be misleading. The spectator is tempted
to rest in that which he understands at once; and the loftier though
vague impression which he had before is lost and not assisted by the
external details which profess to give the literal truth. Or, to put
the truth in another light: the divine act was fitted to convey the
divine meaning at the time of its occurrence, in relation to those
who witnessed it, but a realistic representation could not give the
same impression to a different age.

This is signally the case with scenes in the Gospel History. The in scrip-
early Church by a right instinct refrained from seeking any direct subjects.
representation of the Lord. It was felt that the realistic treatment
of His Person could not but endanger the living sense of the
Majesty which the Ohurch had learnt to recognise. By no effort
could the spectator in later age place himself in the position of the
disciples before the Passion and the Ascension. The exact repro-

372 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

duction, if it were possible, of what met their eyes would not
produce on him the effect which they experienced. The scene would
require artistic interpretation in order that the idea might be pre-
served.
Πα A great artist can alone determine what the law of interpreta-
the treat- tion must be, and even then he will not himself always obey it.
Bec! ‘Two illustrations taken from the commonest of sacred subjects, the
donna. Madonna and the Crucifixion, may serve to bring out the thought
which I wish to emphasise. In the Madonna della Seggiola Raffaclle
has given an exquisite natural group of a Mother and Child, over-
flowing with human tenderness, affection and proud joy, and we look
no further: in the Madonna di San Sisto he has rendered the idea
of divine motherhood and divine Sonship in intelligible forma. No
one can rest in the individual figures. The tremulous fulness of
emotion in the face of the Mother, the intense far-reaching gaze of
the Child, constrain the beholder to look beyond. For him too the
curtain is drawn aside: he feels that there is a fellowship of earth
with heaven and of heaven with earth, and understands the meaning
of the attendant Saints who express the different aspects of this
The Cruci- double communion. It may well be doubted whether the Crucifixion
jon. is in any immediate shape a proper subject for Art. The image of
the Dead Christ is foreign to Scripture. Even in the record of the
Passion Death is swallowed up in Victory. And the material repre-
sentation of the superficial appearance of that which St John shews
to have been life through death defines and perpetuates thoughts
foreign to the Gospel. The Crucifixion by Velasquez, with its over-
whelming pathos and darkness of desolation, will shew what I mean’.
In every trait it presents the thought of hopeless defeat’. No early
Christian would have dared to look upon it. Very different is one
of the earliest examples of the treatment of the Crucifixion on the
Sigmaringen Crucifix’. In that life, vigour, beauty, grace, the open
1 A amall engraving is given in flict as over before the physical Death:
‘Mrs Jameson’s History of the Lord, ii. ἵνα τί µε ἐγκατέλιπες;
205. 5 Mrs Jameson’s History of the Lord,
Ἡ The Lord’s words in the Gospel ii. 330. 1 is, I fear, doubtful whether
narrative speak of the uttermost con- the youthful figure is correctly given.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 373

eye, and the freely outstretched arm, suggest the idea of loving and
victorious sacrifice crowned with its reward. This is an embodiment
of the idea: the picture of Velasquez is a realisation of the appear-
ance of the Passion.

If the view of Art which has been given is correct, its primary Art minis-

destination is public and not private, and it culminates in worship. Wan and
Neither a great picture nor @ great poem can be for a single possessor.
So it has been at all times when Art has risen to its highest triumphs.
But as an element of worship Art must be seen to be distinctly
ministerial. In every form, music, painting, sculpture, it must point
beyond the immediate effect. As long as it suggests the aspiration
‘to Thy great glory, O Lord,’ it is not only an offering, but a guide
and a support. When it appears to be an end idolatry has begun.

The artist, we have seen, must use every fresh help and dis- The Artist

covery : he must make evident new thoughts or illuminate thoughts * “be
which are imperfectly understood. It is clear therefore that he
cannot follow one constant method in the fulfilment of his office.
His work will be accomplished according to the conditions of his
time. He will choose that mode of presenting the truth that he
sees which is on the whole likely to be most effective. As a teacher,
with a limited and yet most noble range of subjects, he will consider
how he can best serve his age. Nothing short of this conviction can
overcome the influence of fashion, or sustain that resolute purpose
which bears temporary failure.

1 have touched only upon the highest forms of creative Art. The Decorative
principles by which these are animated apply also with necessary
modifications to the humbler types of decorative art. The problems
which these raise are in many respects more difficult and of wider
application than those connected with the artistic interpretation of
nature and life. It is no affectation to speak of the moral influence
of colours and shapes in the instruments and accessories of every-
day life. Here also there is room for 8 manifold apprehension and
embodiment of truth. If once thoughtfulness of workmanship could
‘be placed in general estimation before richness of material, a legiti-
mate and fruitful field would be opened for domestic art. When

374

Summary.

THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART.

Greek Art was greatest it was consecrated to public use; and one
chief danger of modern society is lest the growth of private wealth
should lead to the diversion of the highest artistic power from the
common service, and at the same time leave the appropriate labours
of domestic art unencouraged.

This however is not the place to pursue the questions which are
thus opened for inquiry. It is enough to have shewn that Christian
Art is a necessary expression of the Christian Faith; that the early
antagonism of Christianity to ancient Art was an antagonism to the
idolatry, the limited earthliness, of which it was the most complete
expression ; that from the first beginnings of the Faith there were
strivings after an Art which should interpret nature and life as a
revelation of God, leading the student through the most patient and
reverent regard of phenomena to the contemplation of the eternal ;
that the consecration of Art, involved in the facts of the Christian
Creed, limits the artist only in the sense that a clear exhibition of
the ideal saves the beholder from following wayward and selfish
fancies.

The works of the greatest masters of the Middle Ages, of the
greatest masters of the Renaissance, and the statement holds good
still, shew how constantly foreign elements, fragments of the old life,
not wholly transfigured, intrade themselves in that which as a whole
belongs to a new order. Here perhaps traces of sensuousness, there
traces of unlicensed satire, reveal disturbing forces in the artist’s
soul which are yet powerful enough to make themselves felt. But it
is trae, I believe, without exception that the noblest works, those, on
which we look with the deepest gratitude, drawing from them new
powers of spiritual vision, new convictions of a spiritual world about
‘us, are those which are moat Christian.

INDEX.

Abstract forms, v. 4

ABEAGSS, ii. 95 iii. 135 128

αδικία, i. 9

ἀγάπη (ἡ dy. τοῦ θεοῦ), ii. 5; iii. 165
130 ff.

ἀγαχητός, ii. 7; iv. 75 37.1

ἀγγελία, i. 5

ἀγγέλλειν and compounds, i. 5

αἴρειν, iii. §

αἰσχύνεσθαι ἀπό, ii, 28

αἰτεῖν, αἰτεῖσθαι, ¥. 14

αἰών, els τὸν αἰῶνα, ii. 17

ἀκούευ ἀπό, ἀκούευ, 1. 53 ¥. 15

ἀλάζων, ὑπερήφανον, ii. 16

Albertus Magnus, 297

Alexander of Hales, 294

ἡ ἀλήθεια, i, 6, 8; 4 ὔ.1

ἀληθωός, Geds ἀληθωός, ν. 19: 3184.

ἀλλά, δὲ, iv. 18; 3 J. 191.

ἀλλ ἵνα, ii. 19

Απιζώμιιοι, ii. 18; 92 ff.

Aorist, ii. 7, 115 iii. 25 iv. 105 57 £3

ἀφιέναι, ἄφεσιε, i. 9

ἀπό, παρά, i. 5; ii. 273 iv. ax

ἀποστέλλευ, πέµπειν, 124 f.

ἅπτεσθαι, v.18

ἀρχή, dw ἀρχῆς, ἐν ἀρχῆ, i. 15 ii. 7; 11.8

Architecture, Early Christian Church
at Tyre, Jerusalem, 350

Art, in relation to Christianity, 333 ff.;
characteristics of Christian, 333;

15 HL 9, 10, 14
airés, αὐτοί, i. 75 ii. 2, 253 iv. 5, 10

‘ Believers,’ 129

Biel, Gabr., 306

βίος, ζωή, ii. 16; iii. 17

Blood, The, of Christ, 34 ff.

Bonaventura, 301

‘Brethren,’ 129

Browning, on the failure of the artist,
369

ral, ia, 5

καὶ---δό, i. 3

Cain's sin, iii. 12, 15

Calvin, 316

Calvinists, Later, 317

4 καρδία, iii. 20

καταγινώσκεω, κατακρίνευ, iii. 20
καθαρίζευ, i. 7

Catholic (Epistles), xxviii
καθώς, ii, 27

Celsus on national religion, 257
χαίρει», 23.19

χάρω, iii, 1

χάρω, 25.35 3 S04

Children of God, 122 fl.

χρείαν ἔχευ, ii, 17: iii, 17
χρίσμα, ii, 20; xlv.

376

Christ, Messiah, 198 ff.; Christ and
Christians, ii. 20; iv. 9; Christ and
the Church, 322

Christianity, unique classes of, 255;
universal, 242 ff.; absolute, 261 ff. ;
aggressive, 264 1.; spiritual, 267 f.

‘Christians,’ 128

Church, Relation of the, to Christ, 322

κοινωνία, ἔχειν κ.ι i. 3

Coming, The, of Christ, r26f. See
UpxeoBar

Consecration of the Emperors, 271 f.

xéopos, ii. 16

Creation, Idea of, in St John, go

Creation, Gospel of, 286

κυρία, 23.1

Days, The last, ii. 18
δὲ, v.20

Death, ¥. 16; sin unto, 209 ἄ.
bei, 99

Desires, 62

διά, gon. ace., ii. τὰ

διάνοια, V. 20

δίκαιοι, i. 9

“Disciples,” 129
Divus, use of, 278

δοκιµάξεν, iv. 1
Dominus used of the Emperors, 268
Duns Scotus, 305 :

«άν, ii. 29; ἐὰν οἵδαμεν, Υ. 15
ἐκεῖνον, ii, 6; itt. 3

ἀκελησία, 4 ἐκκλησία, 3 J. 6, 9
ἀελεκτόν, 23. 1, 18
dxew τιν i. 3, 85 iii.

ἔχευ ἀπό, ἐκ, παρά, ii, 27
εἰδέναι, iii, 6: ν. 13, 18

«ἴδωλα, τ. 21

εἶναι ἐκ, ii. 16, 215 iii. 195 iv. 55 1235
a, ii. 55 πρός, L235 ἦν, i. αἱ ἔστω,
standing first, i. 5

εἰρήνη, 25.33 3 1-16

ἀλπίδα ἔχειν ἐπί, iii, 3

Empires, The two, 1698.

ἐπαγγελία, ii. 19

ἐπιδέχεσθαι, 3 5.9

ἐπιθυμία, ii, 16

INDEX.

ἔρχεσθαι, ii. 18; iv. 25 v.65 23-7
ἐρωτῷν, v.63 23.8

ἐσχάτη (dpa), ii. 18

Eternal Life, v. 20, add. note
ἐθνικόε, 35.7

εὐοδοῦσθαι, 3 J. 2

Evil, Powers of, 89 f.

Example, Christ as our, ii. 6
ἐξελθεῖν ἐξ, Ἡ. 19

Faith, iii. 23
Faith and Confession, v. 1; and Know-
ledge, iv. 16

γάρ, ὅτι, Ἡ. 19

Genius, The, of the Emperor, 279

γεννηθῆναι ἐκ, iii. 9: 122

γέχνεσθαι, ii, 18

γίγνεσθαι πρός, 23.12

γινώσκειν, Ἡ. 3, 135 iti. 6, 205 7. 2, 185
tyra, iv. 85 ἔγνωκα, ii. 35 τὸν Oebr,
iv. 6f.

God, The kingdom of, 251 f.; the love
of, iv. 113 the Revelation of, 166 f.

Greek Art, 338

ἅγιον, ἁγνόν, καθαρός, iti, 3
ὁ ἅγιοι, ii, 20

ἁγνί[εω, καθαρίζεω, iti 3

ἁμαρτάνω, iii, 6
ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἁμαρτίαι, i. 7; iti. 4
ἁμαρτίαν ἔχευ, i. 8

ἑαυτούς (of first and second persons),
1.8

ὥρα, or

ὀρῷν, ἑωρακέναι, i. 1

8: by, ii. 5

Boru, ia

ὅταν, ἐάν, Υ. 3

ὅθιν, ii. 18

ὅτι (6 τι) ἐὰν, iii. 205 ὅτι, γάρ, ii. 195
ὅτι (recitative), i. 6

INDEX.

οὗτοι, ¥. 203 ἐν τούτῳ, ii. 31 ἐκ τούτου,
fi. 35 iv. 6; καὶ τοῦτο, 3 J.

ulds, ii, 22 £; 6 vide τοῦ θεοῦ, iii. 8

‘Humanity destined for union with God,

Rere, iii. 1

Idolatry, Early Christian view of, 264
ft.

Ἴησοῦε Χριστόν, Jesus, Christ, Jesus
Christ, i. 35 iv. 35 136

Imitation of Christ, ii. 6

Incarnation, Aspects of the, 124 ff.

Incarnation and Manifestation, i. 2

Jewish Art, 336

λαμβάνει ἀπό, παρά, ii, 27
Last, The, days, hour, ii. 18
Law, the Law, ili. 4

λέγεω, with ink, i. 6
Light, i. 5

λόεω, iil. 8

Μαη, Btate of, 87 Π.; nature of, 134 ff.
made in the image of God, 319; the
representative of Creation, 319

μαρτυρεῖν, i, 2

μόνειυν, Ἡ. ϱ, 10, 173 iii. 6

Naclantus, 312

Name, Idea of, ii. 12; iii. 235 3 J. 75
136 ff; 243 ff.

Names of the Lord, 136 ff.

National Religion, 260

Negative and positive statements, i. 5;
v.12

nude, ii. 13

wlan, νι 4

ofBare, οἴδαμεν, iii. 55 ¥. 18

ὀφείλευ, Ἡ. 6; ili. τό

Order of words, ii. 24, 18: iii, 45 1.3, 19
Ww.

377

Osiander, Andr., 313

οὐ with was,ii, 19; after ἀρνεῖσθαι, iiaa

οὐδέ, ii. 23

οὐδείι, added to a negative sentence,
is

παιδία, τεκνία, ii. 14

Painting, Early Christian, at Rome,
342; Naples, 342

πάλυ, ii, 8

παράγεσθαι, ii. 8, 17

παράκλητοε, ii. 1

Parentheses, St John’s use of, i. 2,75
iii 1323.2

ἡ παρουσία, ii. 29

παρρησίαν Exew, ii. 28; iii. 21

ris, use of, i. 75 iii. 33 ¥. 19; πᾶν., οὐ,
ii. 19

Passion, Treatment of the, in Christian
Art, 358

πατέρες, ii. 13

8 πατήρ, i 25 ti. 225 27 ᾱ.

περικατεῶ ἐν, 1. 62 3 5.43 κατά, 25.65
abs., ii. 6; 3 J. 3

Perseoution of Christians inevitable,
254

Peter Lombard, 294

φαίνεω, ii. 8

Φανεροῦσθαι, i. 2; ii. 28; Πλ. 55 iv. 95
1a7t

Φιλεῖν, 131 [.

Φιλοπρωτεύεῳ, 3 2. 9

Φίλος, 35.15

pis, i. 5

Picus of Mirandola, 31

πιστεύει», iii. 23

πιστεύευν els τί, V. 105 Tw, iii. 233 ὅτι,
v.15 πεπίστευκα, ¥. 10

alors, ve 4

πιστόε, i. 9: 35.5

αληροῦν, τελειοῦν, 9: Ἡ.; i 4

Plural, Use of, i. 4

ανεῦμα, 135

τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης, τῆς ἀληθείαι, iv. 6

ποιεῖν τε, i. 6, 103 iii. 45 7

Polanus, 317

ὁ πονηρός, ii. 13

Positive and negative statements, i. 5;
σι τα

25

378

rorarés, iii, 1

Prayer, iii. a2; v. 15 fl.
πρεσβύτερος, 25. 1

προάγευ, 1. 9

γευδοπροφήτηε, iv. 1

ψηλαφθν, i. 1

ψυχή, 3 J. 25.1355 Ψ. τιθέναι, iii. 16

Righteousness, i. 9; ii. 1, 293 iii. 7, 10
Bupert of Deutz, 289

‘Sainte,’ 129

σάρξ, 1341.

‘Boeing’ and ‘knowing’, iii. 6
σκάνδαλο», ii. 10

oxorla, oxéros, i. 6

Sculpture, Early Ohristian, 348
Bervetus, 315

Bin, iii. 4; v. 17; 38ff.; unto death,

209 ff.
Bocinus, F., 315
Son, The, 137

Bon of God, The, iii. 8; 137

Sonship, Tests of, ii. 29

σωτήρ, iv. 14

ogdtur, iii 23

τὰ σπλάγχνα κλείευ», iii. 17

Btyle of Bt John, i. 2, 62 ii. 65 v. 1,
12; xxxix

συνεργόε, 3 7. 8

INDEX.

τέκνα θεοῦ, 1391 τοῦ διαβόλου, ili. το
τεκνία, παίδια, ii. 12, 141 γ. 2
τέκνων, υἱός, iii. 1

τελειοῦν, ἐπιτελεῦ, ii. §3 91 π.
raped, Vv. 18

Typed, φυλάσσων, ii. 3

8 θάνατοι, iii. 14

θαυμάζευν el, iii. 13

θεᾶσθαι, θεωρεῦ, i.
τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ,
Gebs, ὁ θεό, x70.

θεωρεῦ, iii. 7

‘Thomas Aquinas, 199
Toleration, Roman ides of, 257 1.
‘Treason, Roman law of, 282
Trath, The, 1. 8

Witness, i. 2; ¥. 7,9

Word, The, i. 1, 10

World, The, embodied in the Emperor,
268

de, iv. 9

ζωήν i a5 214 8.5 45 ἡ αἰώνιος, ἡ αἰών.
£, id. 5 τῆς Rots, i. 15 ἡ ut, iii. 14

ζωὴ αἰώνιο, v.11

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